is once a week really enough

werewherewewere · Post by **werewherewewere** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:07 am

a few years ago when i was in high school i would do the same few exercises 3 times a week and it actually worked out pretty well... i gained strength in all areas quickly... but now all i hear and read is that its best to work each muscle group once a week... i have been doing this for a few months now and i havent noticed much improvement if any at all

thekid24 · Post by **thekid24** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 11:43 am

simple really. "if it ain't broke......."

RK19 · Post by **RK19** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 12:34 pm

training a muscle group once a week is just a ridiculous way to train, your probably losing muscle as your not stimulating them enough. go back to 3x a week full body.

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 1:31 pm

What you did might have worked depending on the volume.

If someone did something like 10-12 sets on a Chest, then yes a bit of Atrophy during the week would occur, but gains could be kept. This is not because the individual uses prohormones or A.A.S, as it can be done without these things, as long as diet is right and you use bog standard supplements.

If you only did 4-6, the chances of keeping it would be slim.

However if you went back to what you did as before, I think it would be better for you.

clem · Post by **clem** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:22 pm

just out of curiosity what few exercises did you use for your 3x/week regiment

werewherewewere · Post by **werewherewewere** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:43 am

clem wrote:just out of curiosity what few exercises did you use for your 3x/week regiment

what i did was flat bench press (sometimes switched with incline bench), preacher curls, skull crushers, military press, and leg extensions... that was usually all i had time for in class.. oh and each was 3 sets of 10

clem · Post by **clem** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:49 am

I would suggest switching that to Overhead press, Squats, Deadlifts, Pull ups and Dips. Also switch 3x10 to 3x5 and that would be a good program. (Alternating Bench for Overhead press and Power Cleans for deadlifts works well. Only one heavy work set is needed for deadlifts. If pull-ups/dips can be done to 15 weight should be added then reduce reps to 5)

lens_d · Post by **lens_d** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 10:53 am

only one heavy working set for deadlifts? how come? i normally do 3 or 4 heavey working sets is that to much you think. deads keep going up

clem · Post by **clem** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:25 pm

it depends lens, as someone just starting out you might be able to get away with doing a couple work sets. It also depends on how often you do deadlifts. Its because a true heavy deadlift that is close to your 1RM is a huge strain on your Central nervous system and 1 set is enough. However there are other variables to consider but to keep it simple 1 heavy work set is the best

lens_d · Post by **lens_d** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:33 am

working sets usually consist of 315, 365, 405, i can only squeeze out about 2 or 3 reps at 405. 4 or 5 at 365 and 8-10 at 315 i ususlly warm up with a set of 135X 10 and 225X10. so your saying thats way to much?

clem · Post by **clem** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 12:46 pm

If you can lift 405 then i would consider 315 still a warm up so include that with your warm up (*edit but only do 5 reps at 315) but skip the 365 lift and see if you can get 405 for 5. If not lower a little bit and try for your work set to be 5 reps

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:03 am

1 - 2 -3 rep warm up sets are enough, don't induce fatigue before you start

2 - any sets done before you're top weight are warm up sets, not working sets

3 - a 90pd jump is probably too much in book

www.uponlinetraining.com

lens_d · Post by **lens_d** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 10:11 am

Good to know thanks for the info. I might have to drop a little weight to get 5 reps. form suffers a bit at 405 as well, i can do it but it dont look to pretty. I will keep working on it. Its almost more of a max then a working set.

what damage does it do to your nervious system?

what is a good jump from a warm up to a working set?

clem · Post by **clem** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 10:28 am

lens I wouldn't make any warm up set more than 80% of your 1RM which sounds like it is close to 405. It doesn't damage your CNS it just puts alot of strain on it. Even with one heavy work set because of the large amount of weight used. If you do too many sets it will make it harder for your body to recover.

lens_d · Post by **lens_d** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 10:38 am

That makes sense. Stupid recovery always standing in the way of lifting heavy things lol, I hate that.

Any ideas of what you can do to speed up recovery? I know steroids will help but anything else?