The clean ups have started

November 28, 2013
Sorry I missed yesterday, I got so busy cleaning up the snow I didn't get to the gym, I figured the work out shoveling and moving the snow was enough for me. I was so tired last night that I was in bed at 7:30 and slept until 5 am. I think I needed that.
So I was up and out this morning to the gym, did 45 minutes on the elliptical machine and then had to hurry home for a Dr's appointment, got some good news, she is making me an appointment with a new surgeon, hopefully he will be willing to do my reconstruction. It's a very long surgery and a long recovery as well, 12 weeks. We will see how I make out when I have my appointment.

Workout Schedule – The Best Weekly Weight Training Schedules & Splits

Choosing your overall weekly workout schedule is one of the key aspects of creating the weight training routine that is best for you.

What makes it a little tricky is the fact that there’s a lot of ways it can go. The amount of potential workout schedules, splits, and plans to choose from is enough to make your head explode.

However, you can greatly narrow them down to just the handful that are best for you by factoring in 3 key workout schedule requirements. They are:

1. Your workout schedule must fit your ideal training frequency.
   The workout split you choose must allow you to reach the weight training frequency that is BEST for your specific goal and experience level. Meaning, do you need a split that allows you to train each muscle group once per week, twice per week, or 3 times per week?
2. Your workout schedule must fit your personal weekly schedule.
   How many days can you actually manage to work out per week? 3 times? 4 times? More? Less? Are there specific days you can work out on and specific days you absolutely can’t? Do you need to take the weekends off, or are the weekends the days you need to train on?
3. Your workout schedule must fit your training preferences and needs.
   Fitting your ideal frequency and personal schedule is what’s most important, but at the same time you should also actually enjoy what you’re doing and make sure the smaller details suit you and your goal.

Once those 3 factors are taken into account (and the crappier choices have been eliminated), we’re only left with a few to choose from.

So, I figure the best thing to do now is go through those few and list what I (and many others) consider to be the best weekly weight training schedules and splits for various goals and experience levels.

You can then pick the one that seems best for you. Sound good? Here we go…

The 3 Day Full Body Split

1. Monday: Full Body Workout
2. Tuesday: off
3. Wednesday: Full Body Workout
4. Thursday: off
5. Friday: Full Body Workout
6. Saturday: off
7. Sunday: off

Weekly Schedule: It’s 3 total weight training workouts per week (all of which are full body) done in an every-other-day format with 2 consecutive days off at the end.

Weight Training Frequency: Each muscle group/body part is trained to some degree once every 2nd or 3rd day, making this a high frequency split.

Best Suited For: Beginner’s with any goal, and intermediate or advanced trainees with the primary goal of increasing strength or improving performance.

Additional Details: I discuss this split in detail right here: 3 Day Full Body Split

The 2 Day Full Body Split

1. Monday: Full Body Workout
2. Tuesday: off
3. Wednesday: off
4. Thursday: Full Body Workout
5. Friday: off
6. Saturday: off
7. Sunday: off

Weekly Schedule: It’s 2 total weight training workouts per week (both of which are full body) ideally done with 2-4 days off in between each workout.

Weight Training Frequency: Each muscle group/body part is trained to some degree once every 3rd to 5th day depending on your specific set up, which makes this a moderate frequency split.

Best Suited For: Anyone who can only manage to fit in 2 weight training workouts per week.

Additional Details: I discuss this split in detail right here: 2 Day Full Body Split

The 4 Day Upper/Lower Split

1. Monday: Upper Body Workout
2. Tuesday: Lower Body Workout
3. Wednesday: off
4. Thursday: Upper Body Workout
5. Friday: Lower Body Workout
6. Saturday: off
7. Sunday: off

Weekly Schedule: It’s 4 total weight training workouts per week (2 upper body and 2 lower body) done with a 2 on/1 off/2 on/2 off format.

Weight Training Frequency: Each muscle group/body part is trained to some degree once every 3rd or 4th day, making this a moderate frequency split.

Best Suited For: Most of the population, most of the time. Specifically, intermediate or advanced trainees with virtually any goal (building muscle, getting “toned,” increasing strength, improving performance, etc.).

Additional Details: I discuss this split in detail right here: 4 Day Upper and Lower Body Split

The 3 Day Upper/Lower Split

Week 1

1. Monday: Upper Body Workout
2. Tuesday: off
3. Wednesday: Lower Body Workout
4. Thursday: off
5. Friday: Upper Body Workout
6. Saturday: off
7. Sunday: off

Week 2

1. Monday: Lower Body Workout
2. Tuesday: off
3. Wednesday: Upper Body Workout
4. Thursday: off
5. Friday: Lower Body Workout
6. Saturday: off
7. Sunday: off

Weekly Schedule: It’s 3 total weight training workouts per week done in an every-other-day format with 2 consecutive days off at the end. The workouts alternate between upper and lower body so that you do Upper, Lower, Upper one week, and then Lower, Upper, Lower the next.

Weight Training Frequency: Each muscle group/body part is trained to some degree once every 4th or 5th day, making this a moderate frequency split.

Best Suited For: Most of the population, most of the time. Specifically, intermediate or advanced trainees with virtually any goal (building muscle, getting “toned,” increasing strength, improving performance, etc.).

This is just a slightly less frequent 3 day version of the 4 day upper/lower split mentioned earlier, so it’s still best suited for the same people. The only difference is that this version is more ideal for people who can only train 3 days per week (or would just prefer to) as well as people who prefer the slightly reduced frequency.

Additional Details: I discuss this split in detail right here: 3 Day Upper and Lower Body Split

The Rotating Push/Pull/Legs Split

Week 1

1. Monday: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
2. Tuesday: Back & Biceps
3. Wednesday: off
4. Thursday: Legs & Abs
5. Friday: off
6. Saturday: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
7. Sunday: Back & Biceps

Week 2

1. Monday: off
2. Tuesday: Legs & Abs
3. Wednesday: off
4. Thursday: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
5. Friday: Back & Biceps
6. Saturday: off
7. Sunday: Legs & Abs

Weekly Schedule: It’s either 4 or 5 total weight training workouts per week (it changes from week to week) done with a 2 on/1 off/1 on/1 off format that repeats every 6th day.

This means the days you work out on will change from week to week unlike the previous schedules shown where the workout days always remain fixed and constant. This could be a big problem for many people from a scheduling standpoint.

Weight Training Frequency: Each muscle group/body part is trained once every 5th day, making this a moderate frequency split.

Best Suited For: Intermediate or advanced trainees whose primary goal is “looks” related (building muscle, getting “toned,” etc.) AND who also have a very flexible schedule.

Additional Details: I discuss this split in detail right here: Push/Pull/Legs Split

The Push/Pull Split

Week 1

1. Monday: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps + Quads & Calves
2. Tuesday: off
3. Wednesday: Back & Biceps + Hamstrings & Abs
4. Thursday: off
5. Friday: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps + Quads & Calves
6. Saturday: off
7. Sunday: off

Week 2

1. Monday: Back & Biceps + Hamstrings & Abs
2. Tuesday: off
3. Wednesday: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps + Quads & Calves
4. Thursday: off
5. Friday: Back & Biceps + Hamstrings & Abs
6. Saturday: off
7. Sunday: off

Weekly Schedule: It’s 3 total weight training workouts per week done in an every-other-day format with 2 consecutive days off at the end. The workouts alternate between “pushing” muscles and “pulling” muscles so that you do Push, Pull, Push one week, and then Pull, Push, Pull the next.

It’s basically a 3 day version of the previously mentioned Push/Pull/Legs split, only here the “legs” workout is eliminated. Instead, leg training is also divided up in terms of “push” (quads/calves) and “pull” (hamstrings and usually abs) and then included along with the upper body push and pull workouts.

The only potential issue with this schedule is the overlap between quad and hamstring exercises. Meaning, training hamstrings and then quads with just 1 day in between could potentially be problematic for some people from a recovery standpoint.

Weight Training Frequency: Each muscle group/body part is trained once every 4th or 5th day, making this a moderate frequency split.

Best Suited For: Intermediate or advanced trainees whose primary goal is “looks” related (building muscle, getting “toned,” etc.).

 
Today's Quote:

Winter is on it's way, yikessssssss

November 26, 2013
I have to say I really enjoyed my day yesterday, I never went out after I came home from the gym, and I got so much done, spare rooms cleaned in case we need them over the holiday's. Wrapping caught up, baking started, and I even through in a little weight training.
I went to the gym this morning and did 40 minutes on the elliptical machine and then did my weight routine.
Today I need to do some shopping. So will head there after an appointment this morning.
We are suppose to be getting a big storm today and tomorrow, 25 cm in all, might be another good day to stay home.
Today's quote:

Training Each Muscle Group About Twice Per Week

Here’s some examples of exactly what I mean when I say “about” twice per week…

Example Split #1

Week 1

1. Monday: Upper Body
2. Tuesday: off
3. Wednesday: Lower Body
4. Thursday: off
5. Friday: Upper Body
6. Saturday: off
7. Sunday: off

Week 2

1. Monday: Lower Body
2. Tuesday: off
3. Wednesday: Upper Body
4. Thursday: off
5. Friday: Lower Body
6. Saturday: off
7. Sunday: off

Example Split #2

Week 1

1. Monday: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
2. Tuesday: Back & Biceps
3. Wednesday: off
4. Thursday: Legs & Abs
5. Friday: off
6. Saturday: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
7. Sunday: Back & Biceps

Week 2

1. Monday: off
2. Tuesday: Legs & Abs
3. Wednesday: off
4. Thursday: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
5. Friday: Back & Biceps
6. Saturday: off
7. Sunday: Legs & Abs

Split #1 is the classic alternating 3 day upper/lower split, and split #2 is a rotating push/pull/legs split done over a 5 day span.

Both splits provide an example of each muscle group being trained about twice per week, meaning each muscle group is trained 3 times in 2 weeks.

This means that each muscle group gets trained once every 4th or 5th day.

While this is slightly less frequent than the exact twice per week frequency I showed you first (where each muscle group is trained every 3rd or 4th day), this is still right smack in the middle of high frequency (once every 2nd or 3rd day) and low frequency (once every 7th day).

For this reason, I (and many others) like to consider any workout frequency where each muscle group is trained somewhere between once every 3rd day (like the original twice-per-week example) and once every 5th day (like the two twice-per-week examples above) a part of the same “moderate frequency” group.

Meaning, if each muscle group is trained between once every 3rd and 5th day, I’m classifying it all in this same twice-per-week category from this point on.

Got it? Good.

How To Make A Twice-Per-Week Training Frequency Work

The key to making a training frequency of twice (or about twice) per week work is really a combination of what it takes to make the other two frequencies work.

And that is, ensure you provide enough of a training stimulus to be effective, but not enough to cut into recovery.

For that same reason, the pitfalls of this training frequency are a combination of the pitfalls of the other two as well, albeit to a lesser degree. HOWEVER…

Those “CONS” Are Actually A “PRO”

The thing is, because this is a moderate frequency (neither too high nor too low) and because it falls in the middle of the other two extremes, it really kinda cancels out the biggest problems the other two frequencies faced.

Think about it.

With a once-per-week frequency, the main problem is de-training and losing the progress you made during that full week when you’re waiting to train each muscle group again (not to mention the time being wasted by waiting that long in the first place).

With a three-times-per-week frequency, the main problem is ensuring you do just enough to stimulate progress WITHOUT exceeding that ideal amount and negatively impacting your ability to recover.

But, with a frequency of about twice-per-week, you sort of get the best of both worlds while at the same time lessening their biggest drawbacks.

It’s frequent without being TOO frequent, yet just infrequent enough to not be TOO infrequent.

So really, it’s not too high and it’s not too low. It could be just right. Let’s see if it is…

So, Is A Twice-Per-Week Training Frequency Optimal?

For most of the people, most of the times… YES! Specifically…

If you are an intermediate or advanced trainee with any goal, a training frequency of twice (or about twice) per week is the MOST EFFECTIVE way to train.

I consider an intermediate or advanced trainee to be anyone who is past the beginner’s stage (more about that here: Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced).

As always, this is not just my opinion. It’s the opinion of every single qualified expert, trainer and strength coach with half a brain.

And once again, it’s actually fully backed by science and real world results.

Literally all research and scientific studies looking at weight training frequency have come to the same conclusion: training each muscle group about twice per week (between once every 3rd and 5th day) is the most effective way for an intermediate or advanced person to train.

That means, with the exception of beginners (who will do best with a 3-times-per-week frequency), the majority of the population will get their best results training each muscle group about twice per week.

And yes, that applies to all goals. Let me make that even clearer…

Who Is A Twice-Per-Week Frequency BEST Suited For?

Training each muscle group twice (or about twice) per week tends to work best for the following people:

• Most of the population, most of the time.
• Intermediate and advanced trainees who want to build muscle, increase strength, get “toned,” lose fat, improve athletic performance, or really do anything that involves improving the way their body looks or performs in virtually any capacity.

It’s not a coincidence that the majority of the most proven and intelligently designed weight training programs in existence happen to be built around this training frequency.

It’s just what flat out works better than everything else the majority of the time, regardless of goal.

Sure, other frequencies can work if everything else is done right. That’s a fact. But again, this is not about what works… this is about what works best.

And, scientific research, real world results, most expert recommendations and my own firsthand experience all show that a training frequency where each muscle group gets trained somewhere between once every 3rd day and once every 5th day is what works best most of the time.

Who Is A Twice-Per-Week Frequency LEAST Suited For?

Pretty much just beginners.

Is it possible this frequency could work for beginners? Yup, for sure. However, it’s just not what will work BEST for them.

Instead, beginners will get their best results with a 3-times-per-week frequency.

Whats Next?, Come back tomorrow.