The Optimal Number of Times to Work Out a Body Part Each Week

In this QUAH Sal, Adam, & Justin answer the question “How many times a week do you need to exercise each body part? Is once a week ok, or do you need to hit each body part twice or more a week to really see results?”
If you would like to get your own question answered, follow us on Instagram where we post QUAH requests weekly.
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Video - • #1326: Optimal Number ...
“The Optimal Number of Times to Work Out a Body Part Each Week“
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[@Maximum_Natural_Muscle]

It all comes to WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU because we are all different. For example when I tested the 2-3 days per week I was always becoming weaker and smaller. In my case the Bro split works for the best for muscle building. I have a friend that is working full body 4 times/week and having great gains. So it all depends.... and only YOUR body can show how it responds best by testing things out.

[@justinwright7469]

Well put sir.

[@damiandmb2092]

💯💯💯

[@tracyelder8514]

I do full body three days per week for a total of 9 sets per bodypart per week and it works great for me

[@brandoncook8300]

Bro splits are my thing. I do better with them. I only spend an hour in the gym so I pulverize my one select group until they can’t function the rest of the day

[@CuddlyBarkxo]

I use to love 2x a week but now I’ve been training for a few years I seriously believe 1x per week is better for me. I feel better and not as fatigued

[@rudianger123]

Just found this podcast and am loving it. Bringing questions we all have to the forefront...FINALLY. Adding to my daily viewing rotation immediately. \m/

[@anishphi1]

I just love these videos so much. Questions that anybody who trains, have. Especially newbie to early intermediate. Thx fellas

[@MindPumpShow]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@mayukhsen8195]

Absolutely, there is a reason why this is my favourite fitness KZbin channel. The only channel geared towards exploring resistance training like us normal everyday Joes. Every other channel out there assumes outright that you are a dedicated lifter and have a lifestyle dedicated to lifting. Which is often impossible, for everyday normal people. I just hope they made more bodyweight home workout videos, Sal already has a friend who was in the pen and came out jacked.

[@Rakyr]

As a person who has tried every split and the bro split performing 12 hard sets a week worked best for me. Everything is always recovered and you give each session your all. Studies have even come out where as long as the volume is the same, the spit does not matter in the long run.

[@anthonysolis8933]

Love this channel, best information for the average guy starting to work out.

[@colemeyer3575]

Been watching the channel and learning a ton thanks!

[@ChubbYJimz]

Best video on training practice. Thank you!

[@heyyall9037]

Each person is different, you need to find out what works best for you!

[@mayukhsen8195]

Couldn't agree more. I have had good results with 3x a week frequency.... However.... When I do an annihilation type workout, I will be sore for days.... Maybe more than a week even.... But when the pain is gone and I am fresh again.... Boy, there is a clear increase in strength and the body looks different every single time. I am a guy who got to a double bodyweight bench doing nothing else but one arm push ups, feet elevated, feet together, regulars etc. I would do a workout of 10 sets of amrap, each set 60 seconds apart. Until I recover I would do one easy oapu set and multiple easy push up sets, by easy I mean I stop the set before I even feel any fatigue or slow down.... So active recovery. I got huge chest, delt and tricep muscles every month. The key role was that of eating. I would be eating to gain about 2lbs every week. So body had plenty of calories and protein from bread and lentil hummus to get strong off of. I would eat the required amount of eggs for bcaa. Leucine and methyonine requirements.

[@eiseneuter2034]

For me 2 hard workouts a week is best.

[@mayukhsen8195]

@@eiseneuter2034 When a workout is ACTUALLY hard. Meaning you are going to authentic muscular failure for multiple sets, your performance wont return to baseline until after 4-5 days of that session.

[@5065ca]

I built a great body on one day a week

[@davidanctil4671]

Guys thank you , outstanding information you all shared in the video..Thank you again..

[@brianfenech10]

These podcasts are pure gold.

[@hudontraining9726]

Great stuff, love you guys

[@JaironPlease]

This gotta be the PERFECT podcast. Yall dont miss fr.

[@abdumhaa]

Personal experience, once per week, gives tendons a better chance for next week, 5 sets of 4 exercises of 8-12 reps. 65-75% of 1RM. Rest up to 5 min mostly compound. Worked like magic results comes in recovery.

[@blazkrajnc8687]

How long have you been doing bro split?im begginer so im not sure if thats the best for me

[@bellyflopman]

Lol ok

[@abdumhaa]

@@bellyflopman yeah still new to lifting I see

[@ckrumme2331]

I've had great success doing once a week. 2 days a week I find I don't have enough recovery time especially with my legs. Recovery is most important.

[@jmass4207]

@@ckrumme2331The thing with hypertrophy is that each workout doesn’t need to be a fresh, peak effort. Muscles respond to intensity, frequency, and volume. Compromise on any of those and you’ll get suboptimal results.

[@tieggibbs7601]

Thoroughly enjoy the content of the show. This is a hard question to answer as everyone is working for a different outcome. Size/Athleticism/Functional/Strength all have different types of programing that work best for that specific outcome.

[@AlexAlex-fw1ze]

This podcast is awesome!!!!

[@smaganas]

Training my whole life and they are on point. Wasn't really mentioned but time constraints is a factor. So busy week maybe 2 and an easier week get in 3 or 4. Great conversation.

[@Tony-boxingcoaching]

I have a question for chase or squats If I do 5set with rep of 20 ?

Great video thanks 👍

[@ironmanix2835]

Great informative discussion. We need more of this on KZbin!

[@ramilurazmanov]

Really valuable!

[@silkbrown2071]

Thanks you!

[@christianbotello8537]

Yeah I’m getting 100 pound adjustable dumbbells and I’m going split up my exercises to 5 days a week to better focus on intensity for each body part (chest, back, legs, arms, shoulders)

[@thirdy4threetv]

MWF - Chest Shoulder Tricep Calves. TTHS - Back Bicep Legs 6 sets per muscle group per day. Total of 18 sets per muscle group per week. Works for me.

[@xavierayayaell546]

What day is H

[@sundin57]

@@xavierayayaell546 Must be Haturday

[@Sharkenite]

​@@xavierayayaell546I think the T and H go together so probably Thursday.

[@nl3712]

Firas Zahabi on Joe Rogan has a brilliant approach to this, which is to exercise every day but at lower intensity. The cumulative volume is MORE when doing this AND it’s more fun, with less chance of injury. Highly recommended podcast.

[@manchesterfellow]

I used to kill myself trying to workout and fall off the wagon. This would happen over and over again. Then I followed firas's advice you mentioned. I've dropped 30lbs since new years day, I believe its mostly fat because I've also clearly put on muscle. How much of muscle i have no idea but my lifts are stronger, I feel more energetic everyday, my moods much better and I'm no longer overweight. Its been a revelation to me and I second your comment. Everyone should check it out

[@rocketeightyseven1823]

I always cycle between three main workout each year every 6-9 weeks. Hypertrophy: 9 weeks Chest/Back, Legs, Shoulders/Arms Strength: 5 x 5(9 weeks) Sometimes...I only do this 3 weeks. Pure fun(Full Body)(9 weeks) Repeat

[@gavinnorthants]

I do one body part, once per week. But everyone has been telling me twice per week per body part. So I'm going to do the push-pull workout for a few weeks. Chest/upper back, Shoulders/lats. Legs/abs. I will also train my arms when doing an upper body workout when it's my day off work. Which will help work out fit into my daily routine.

[@owinojesse-bobogembo9602]

why is it that almost all mr olympia winners train each body part once a week?

[@ghtraining1]

I've always preferred split routines cause I enjoy looking forward to doing different muscles each day at the gym. But I got good results when I did a push, pull, legs 2x a week. Then I went back to a chest, tri/ Back, bi/ Legs, shoulders/ arms routine cause I liked it but quickly hit a plateau again. I like the gym, I've found 5 days a week the sweet spot and have had great results going to an upper/ lower split. Upper 3 days, lower 2 days. And then I go hiking or biking a day on the weekend which gets my legs. Funny is I typically trained my clients 3 days a week and did full body workouts but not myself!

[@nickm808]

I've been doing different muscle groups each day for 5 years - just recently I've been getting into push, pull, legs. Is there a good way to warm up each muscle group? For example, on push day - I start with bench press, but when I go to do shoulders, they don't feel warmed up.

[@ghtraining1]

@@nickm808 I do a few minutes of some of the mind pump mobility/ priming exercises. over head circles, overhead straight bar, the cobra, half moon. They help a lot. Then some very light trx rows and a set of some push ups and I feel good to go for my upper body.

[@bradturner7678]

Full body seems best for the majority of gym goers looking to improve their physique, p/p/l for those getting serious into it.

[@Lorenzo-gt3xg]

This is an underrated channel.

[@vasilbachev6592]

i do one time a week for muscle group heavy training(6-7 exercises 3 sets each 3-7 reps max excluding warm-up sets) all sets to failure! its working for me very good.

[@sternits]

Haha. This is the same thing I tell my chemistry students. Spread your studying out in 4-5 times a week rather than one long session once a week. Brain works like other muscles. Better performance with frequent repetition.

[@tayzk5929]

Don't think that analogy quite holds up lol, afaik you're not damaging and rebuilding braincells when you're studying lol

[@chltmdwp]

I didn't know that the brain can flex and have joints to build muscles...

[@iInspireSuccess]

I keep my workouts at an hour. That's on a split workout. Monday legs (4-5 sets). Tuesday back & biceps (4-5) sets. Wednesday shoulders & triceps (4-5 sets). Thursday chest & abs (4-5) sets. Friday try to hit all body parts twice

[@manimal9871]

Definitely beneficial to spread volume over the week to avoid junk volume, I agree.

[@glamoc0000]

And to eliminate silliness such as arms only day or shoulders only day.

[@Existentialkev]

@@glamoc0000 what makes a split silly?

[@glamoc0000]

@@Existentialkev separate "arms" and separate "shoulder" days.....i would call those stupid and wasteful rather than silly

[@Existentialkev]

@@glamoc0000 Do you have any evidence it's wasteful? Or do you just feel full body workouts are more efficient?

[@glamoc0000]

@@Existentialkev think about it. Every time i work my chest, I already work my shoulders and triceps by default. So, why would i have a tricep (arm) day without working out my shoulders and chest....w Very wasteful. Let me ask you this : how can you train your chest 2+x per week, have a separate arms and shoulders day AND avoid overtraining of your triceps and shoulders for that matter. Impossible. Give me a regimen where you can achieve all these things....I'm all ears.

[@carl_anderson9315]

2 per week, with intensity and with intention. I split the week in 2 four-day halves: Sunday to Wednesday and Wednesday to Saturday. Whatever I do I make sure I worked out the entire body before Wednesday ends and the same before Saturday ends.

[@trevorbourne4171]

It’s called overcompensation training. Quads, hams, glutes, - every 4 days Chest, shoulders, back - every 3 days Bi’s, tri’s, forearms, calf’s, abs - every 2 days. Design a program that balances each, and you will have a different combination of muscle groups every 12 days.

[@DinoTheThird]

I've tried a little bit of everything. The "Bro" split, full body, upper/lower and push/pull/legs. With fullbody 3 days a week I got strong as hell fast but i noticed I didnt have much muscle definition or mass for that matter. I also started having over-use pain on my elbow joint and knees and shoulders (mostly because it was hard for me to hold back reps and sets when I was off the preworkout lol). I was most cut and lean with the bro split but was also the weakest. Upper/lower was okay but i stopped because i feared of muscle imbalances.

[@KingKhan-fu5ij]

So what was the best method did u find for yourself

[@DinoTheThird]

@@KingKhan-fu5ij best for me was 2 weeks bro split with some modifications and then 2 weeks full body

[@orlmagicfan4life528]

Why did upper lower make you fear imbalances, I'm doing that currently and would appreciate your input

[@Cenot4ph]

even with this anecdote there are many variables such as your diet that come into play feeling stronger or weaker. Hard to conclude anything from this

[@jamesgilmore1684]

I've been working out with weights 42 yrs. I'm 57 and too many workouts a week causes inflammation thus makes my arthritis worse.

[@mgonzalez8880]

Turmeric

[@KinzeHansebyner]

OMEGA 3, Turmeric, Vitamin D3 and calcium has greatly improved my joint health 2 months into starting.

[@Gengh13]

Try removing seed oils from your diet, and if you really want to get rid of it, give carnivore a try, it has worked really well for a lot of people in your situation.

[@infiniteg7852]

@@KinzeHansebyner what about Glucosamine?

[@HillbillyYEEHAA]

@@Gengh13 I second this. Nothing more immflamitory than refined seed oils. That and sugar.

[@lsporter88]

Agreed.

[@EriPages]

Interesting. I've been doing a grueling 5 day-body split the past 2 weeks. I'll change it to a upper/lower/upper/lower split focused on form and not complete exhaustion

[@Beggingbrigade]

I've been doing 3 full body workouts for 14 weeks now , mom Wed Friday, incorporating 5 x 5 on compound movements, great results so far , but my diet has helped with clean food and some fats 5 times a day

[@beyondthebeats7852]

Full body routines are great, however, in my experience, I have found many people who develop great physiques while performing body part splits or upper/lower splits.

[@hanskazan7403]

yeah ive noticed that to the natural guys who did bro splits are more jacked

[@Sokman00]

@@hanskazan7403 it’s weird isn’t it , the advice and research goes against it , but it kinda works ?? I’m starting to think that push pull legs is optimal

[@MJ-mi5sb]

@@Sokman00 arnold split is better imo

[@xxOblivionxx]

It’s because full body routine have too much frequency. If you do full body twice a week you will get better results

[@Cenot4ph]

@@xxOblivionxx it all depends on your personal situation. For me being 40 and intermediate, 2 times a week is not enough. I go 3 times full body per week.

[@NBDYSPCL]

When you say x amount of sets, does that combine compound and isolation? E.G; you use biceps in pull ups, so do they count towards the max sets of bicep engagement or do you just count the sets of curls?

[@Cenot4ph]

The skill argument is a big one, how much difference in effectiveness there is between a well trained squatter versus someone that barely knows how to do it. It makes an enormous difference in effectiveness

[@BatEatsMoth]

I've always responded best to whole body 6x a week, 1 set of 1 exercise per bodypart to failure. For super high reps.

[@HillbillyYEEHAA]

I really want to try this style of programming. How long are your workouts?

[@BatEatsMoth]

@@HillbillyYEEHAA Less than an hour; maybe 45 minutes on average. But I rest a long time between sets. You can do it in about a half hour if you cut the rest periods down. It's only 10 sets total.

[@Hohmies86]

We grow outside the gym Aka food

[@BatEatsMoth]

@@Hohmies86 Thanks, Captain Obvious.

[@king-qi2ks]

🤮

[@TheAmericanDreamed]

What do you measure your results by ? Just a feeling ? Or strength or actually measured muscle growth with a dexascan

[@DTM117]

When you start out, learn the skill and do multiple sets. As you learn and get good at the exercise, add more intensity and reduce sets. You need enough intensity to provide a stimulus to the body it needs to build more muscle. This doesn't mean do more sets and reps, it means do less of them, but with greater skill and quality. Otherwise, you may find you lack enough intensity and are just doing junk volume. I personally hit a body part 2 times per week and I am testing 1 set to positive failure. So far (about 5 months) works great and has a lot of evidence showing that is all you need. Get rid of the junk volume, get good at the skill of an exercise (if you need to), and then add intensity. From there, make sure to provide a lot of recovery so that you can rest, recover, and grow on top of that recovery. Sal gets it right regarding athletes and skill. However, muscle building and skills are separate things and should be done separately unless you are competing in that particular skill/exercise with weights (such as powerlifting). A high intensity, controlled exercise to positive failure will recruit all muscle fibers. That is all the average person needs to see results and saves a ton of time. Now, if you need to develop a skill, do that separately from your muscle building workouts as there is no carry over unless you are competing with that specific exercise.

[@steelphantom9105]

Great advice!

[@danielformica-yourvocalteacher]

Ok 53 year old here always stay in shape but I’m looking to cut down workout days from 6 to 3 so on off days I can do Muay Thai. Here’s what a typical week looks like. Monday and Friday- 3 sets db incline or flat bench 50lb dbs 3 sets chin ups 3 sets knees over toes guy lunges with 50lbs 3 sets goblet squats 50lbs 3 sets hip thrusts 50lbs db 15 reps each 3 sets overhead press 3 sets light deadlifts(careful with old back surgery) Wednesday- 5 sets cable flys 3 sets upper chest stretch behind head(name look like skull crusher) 3Rear flys 3 sets lateral raises 3 sets deadlifts 3 sets bent over rows Banded clam shells 3 sets curls 3sets tricep push or skull crushers Abs and calves Muay Thai days Any help? Is this too much or enough to gain sculpted look? I’m 150 5’6

[@lordnelsonmc.billionberg9166]

Push you through comments.

[@caffeinatedsaints]

Question: If I start working my chest (or another muscle) three times a week, and my max I can do a good form set is 10 reps 135lb rn, should I do max 35lb on each side on each of the three days?

[@pollepuzzle2626]

What is your take on mike mentzer?

[@wifeybaby4001]

how many excercises for each body part? specifically for strenght training

[@seal9454]

Bro Split works best for me. I've never seen such great results on other programs/splits.

[@MrZwhitt2]

I do 1 workout for each muscle Group per week: Monday: chest Tuesday: legs Wednesday: shoulders Thursday: back Friday: biceps&triceps I don’t really get fatigued when I do these workouts. I found it works best for me and keeps me on track what exercises I hit. I tried hitting multiple workouts throughout the week, but personally I didn’t get as good results that way

[@fernandocabanillas8133]

My man I was thinking about doing this also, one particular muscle group one day a week for 100 reps. What are your results like? Thank you

[@fernandocabanillas8133]

@neal cassady Who died? The cat that made the video?

[@starfox4919]

Rest 48hrs (at least) in between workouts. 1 warmup set and 1 working set to failure, that is all you need to stimulate muscle growth. Anything more than that is muscle endurance training.

[@irishinnj72]

There's a story about the great Steve Reeves that I've always liked. Reeves believed that every rep should be done with strict, perfect form and to never let your ego make you add weight that prevented your form from being perfect. One day at the gym, some young guy made a snide comment to Reeves about the weight he was using, being "girlie weight" or something like that. Without a word Reeves walked over to where the guy was doing deadlifts, he had about 350 lbs. on the bar. Instead of grabbing the bar, Reeves reached out and grabbed the first plate on either side of the bar with the tips of his fingers and then without much effort, stood up with the weight and then put it back down again, walking off all without saying anything, leaving the younger guy standing there with his mouth hanging open.

[@Cenot4ph]

and then you woke up and it was all bs

[@jerbaancap5244]

I do hit everything once every week hard for few weeks. After that i do full body work out and hit every body part 3 times. You need to shock the muscle, doing 2 hours legs can be very good for a few weeks, just switch it up

[@MikeCoryer-zi2ty]

I workout the same muscles every other day and my results are insaaaane. It’s all what works for you.

[@jz1414]

Guys the answers is at1:30.

[@thunderkat5282]

Thank the lord! This has been my experience as well but your frequency is high… depending on how your other variables are. But I guess I just get better results with less than you guys. Weird.

[@Beggingbrigade]

I know dorian trained a body part once a week which I used to do on and off for years , only pepblem was I never trained to thst intensity, also with work I missed sessions so sometimes the body part was getting trained some times every 10 days , full body keeps me more consistent even if I miss a day or 2

[@HUGEbanks]

I do 3 on 1 off. Push Pull Legs. I love it.

[@WilRockQ]

I switched from benching three days per week at the same intensity to one day and I got huge gains. Then I realized if I added one more day with super light weight and only one set that I was way stronger the next week. It was as if the second day of benching helped my recovery. A few years ago I went back to just one day per week and then I transitioned to one heavy week and one light week. Now I've hit a wall. 1) Do you guys think just doing each part one day a week actually prevents someone from recovering? 2) I know you say don't train to failure but - and leave a few sets in the tank - but as you get stronger don't you eventually get to a point where you hit failure (i.e., you can't do anymore reps with a particular weight)?

[@Football__Junkie]

Yes, every time I did a heavy day and then came back the next day and worked the same muscle with 1-2 warm up sets it felt great. It gets blood pumped to those muscles and speeds up recovery and eliminates soreness/tightness

[@2ndAveScents]

When I hit a wall with a given weight, I push past it with volume. Up the number of sets and/or reps and that helps me get stronger. I hit my PR on flat bench doing a 13 week program I got out of Flex magazine back in 2008. It involved hitting chest 3 times one week then two the next and alternating with pyramid sets and 5x5’s and doing drop sets and forced reps on the last chest day each week, something along those lines. I don’t remember it exactly but I know there was 3 different blocks broken up through each 13 week set where you max out once a week and use the number to calculate your working weight.

[@blah8934]

I do about every 4-5 days, some times 6 depending on how deep of a trench I dug during the workout. Then again I do HIT training now so you are maxed out anyway for the first 3 days and sore as hell.

[@newton5954]

I guess the real question is. What is the person is in a deficit trying to cut and drop bodyfat and they are losing 1 pound to 1.5 pounds a week which would be considered a healthy range as it’s under 2 pounds a week.. training a muscle group twice a week every third day would that be the best an ideal or do you think maybe once a week in this particular situation obviously, no steroids no enhancements all natural? As I believe, recovering is more important, especially in a deficit, and if you are already losing weight, it might just be too much for your nervous system and your whole body ? So maybe perhaps once a week would be ideal if someone is specifically cutting? What’s your thoughts about doing so in this particular situation in which would be the better option and way of doing so?

[@jaimegutierrez5520]

My whole like I trained slip monday chests ect. I never grow any significant amount of muscle since I stared full body each other day. I grow some muscle

[@TheAmericanDreamed]

Does any body actually measure their results with a dexascan ? Or is it measured by strength gain or just what they think

[@trevorvarney4900]

I do stronglifts I can't imagine doing 15 sets of squats in one session

[@Game7Mode]

I do lots of intense cardio so 1.5-2 days per week is best for me because I'm getting like 5 leg days essentially per week

[@ponylover1998xxx]

I love the information that these guys give out and it is working for me. However I am slightly confused about the fact that they have so much good advice but their physiques do not seem that impressive to me. However it still does not take away the fact that their information is fantastic!

[@tayzk5929]

If they're natural they're pretty impressive

[@travman228]

These guys seem like natty to me thumbs up to them they gonna outlive most lifters

[@jre5811]

Maybe because were sold "natty" bullshit online

[@ramblr5900]

can you still do mini workouts every day?

[@nicholasdimartino705]

I hit legs once a week most of the time, sometimes twice a week I find they take around 5 days to recover most of the time

[@samuele.marcora]

Studies always have "limitations". But it s about time somebody says something about the MASSIVE and much more serious limitations of personal experience.

[@jordanbatka033]

Every other day is counter productive, It took 8 months for me to realize I only need to work muscle groups 2 times a week and at most 5 times in a two wk time frame

[@davidwombwell6779]

My experience I’ve always got injuried if I trained my body more then once a week and I never recovered properly I’ve tried every routine going and I always gone back to bro split

[@philmcrackinnow]

Same

[@zachmitchell5290]

Leroy Colbert, Steve Reeves and Reg Park (body builders from the 40s and 50s) did full body work outs 3 to 4 days a week.

[@tamimhusain3376]

Were they on steroids? Not having a shot on your comment or anything, I just genuinely know nothing about them lol (or of many bodybuilders before the 70s tbh). Wondering as I'm sure that would be a factor in terms of recovery speed to be able to do full body workouts frequently.

[@varnadorel]

True and they looked fantastic.

[@JohnDoe-id5ih]

​@@tamimhusain3376Yes they were. Only the bodybuilders from the 30's and lower were natty becaise gear didn't exist before 1930

[@saitamaking324]

Training in general 3-4 days a week or each muscle group 3-4 times a week? There’s only 7 days a week so what if I only have 4 days to hit the gym

[@vyacheslavperesunko732]

As someone with fked up elbows doing ppl or upper lower is real hard

[@Beggingbrigade]

The PT I speak to in the gym says" bro splits are what thr pros do" bro we everyday people and have work and life , said try push pull or full body so I took his advice and working well for me

[@godwarrior3403]

Well yeah that makes sense. Those same studies ultimately suggest a minimum of 9 sets per week per muscle group. You can look at me and see I'm nowhere near qualified to speak with authority on muscle, but 9 sets on one group in one workout seems like your overall performance would suffer, leading to less awesome gains than if you spread it out and did quality work. I'm betting it DOES work the same for most people, if every set is done optimally, but I'm betting if you do it all in one day, it usually isn't.

[@es2cs]

10000x agreed. Best progress i got muscle and strength wise was a modified sheiko i modified after 1 year of running it (ran another 6months after).

[@davidkopatz8270]

Personally I prefer hitting each muscle group twice a week!

[@philmcrackinnow]

I disagree. I enjoy my workouts more when I only hit each muscle once per week, because I want it more when I have to wait 7 days to hit it again and I actually feel like that muscle got worked. If I do 2 or 3 times per week, my muscles feel like they got a half assed workout and I dread the next time I hit the muscle because I just did it and it bores me. I also don’t like limiting my exercises because I’m having to hit the muscle multiple times per week. I maintain the same level of mass doing it this way as I did working everything multiple times per week. There’s no point in doing it any other way for me.

[@SsamF1]

i feel the same

[@misfits12o]

I was doing PPL hitting each 2 times a week and completely destroying myself. I almost started regressing. I Switched to 3 day full body split focusing on only compound lifts and only isolation on Bis and Tris. I saw insane strength gains very quickly. To each their own I guess but you can definitely hit a specific muscle group hard on a full body split.

[@zero1188]

Do you work out to failure?

[@philmcrackinnow]

@@zero1188 On the last set of each exercise.

[@jnolette1030]

Each body part once every 6 days. I take stuff and I won't really go more than that. That's how to grow

[@topshelfbullys7889]

How many exercises per body part

[@jeffreyrupright807]

Id like to see pics of y’all’s physique saying that bro splits are best once per week.

[@Arjun-eb1yc]

For me two days a week full body works cause I don't want to commit more time than that for resistance training. I guess it depends on everybody's priorities in life.

[@5065ca]

true , that's why guys in prison look great

[@brilliancewinz81]

I'm sure the extra volume helps the pockets with this guy lolz....

[@jjuyjhhj]

Could I do 5x5 of the main compound workouts daily? Alternating squat and deadlifts each day.

[@Whiskydanger]

If you’re joints can handle it

[@issasd1172]

I agree agree with this man even me when I star hitting my chest 3 times a week I got good results results 💪

[@Tony-boxingcoaching]

How many reps and set are you doing

[@potentatewags]

My best gains were doing bis and tris one day, chest and back the next, shoulders on their own, then legs on their own. Take one day of rest and then repeat the cycle. End up hitting each muscle group twice in a seven day stretch and get plenty of rest. Alas, my work makes it hard to do that now, and I end up getting each muscle group once.

[@rocketeightyseven1823]

I've used this set up as well. I tend to do arms and shoulders on the same day now. I also use every other day approach now that I'm in my 40s.It works very well.This type of training ensures muscle balance and works the joint the way it's designed. Ric Drasin worked out with Arnold back in the day and preached this routine. He passed away two years ago, but his advice is golden. He ran your routine for decades and had tons of success with it.

[@Cenot4ph]

@@rocketeightyseven1823 there's no one thing magic formula, you ask any of the top athletes they all do different routines. Some 2 days, some 3, some 4.

[@rocketeightyseven1823]

@@Cenot4ph I never said there was a perfect routine or 1 way. Your body may respond to different protocols. I used to do PPL back in the day, but now I can’t do a push day without rowing because it kills my shoulders. I used opposing movements and my joints feel better. The only thing I would say is a one way approach is that you have to cause enough trauma to the muscle to cause growth. It doesn’t matter if it’s high volume, low volume, 5x5, PPL, full body, etc..if you’re only doing minimal effort and not using enough intensity..the body has no reason to grow.

[@adampark5418]

“Bang for your buck”

[@mofrekinfoe]

Honestly, I think these dudes that do legs only once or every other week did the 2 to 3 a week for years and no longer needed it after they gained their size so now once a week is enough to keep their size.

[@RenFlames]

Hell no! Screw frequency and volume! It’s kept me plateaud for years, as soon as I introduced intensity and one time a week each muscle with super intensity gives me tremendous gains 30+ plus but only the first 5 sets heavy

[@jmass4207]

Frankly it’s easier to get away with working related muscle movements the same day because you don’t have to warm up for totally separate movements in one workout, and you basically have to take your sets easier to make it through the workout. If my workout is 3 sets bench, 3 sets pullups, 3 sets squat, I need to make every set on every lift count because the stiumuls for each muscle area is only 3 sets - which overall means 9 rough consecutive sets. People don’t like that.

[@dlvox5222]

I hit 12-14 sets per body part twice every 8 days. Seems to work well. But I’m on HRT.

[@ethan982]

i obviously dont know shit about your HRT, but i feel like if youre on gear your recovery rate should be way higher, no? im on nothing and hit push pull leg 6 days a week, isnt the whole point of being on gear so your recovery is higher so you can go harder?

[@bepreparedforwhatscoming4975]

@@ethan982 no. Hrt should reduce recovery time. He’s getting more time under tension, that’s why his muscles are bigger than ours. That’s how I understand hrt

[@bepreparedforwhatscoming4975]

@@ethan982 pure stupidity though. Workout out is supposed to make you MORE not LESS healthy

[@ramenman534]

Me personally its once a week, i used to do 2 a week but i have seen more growth and strength on once. Its just my personal experience

[@matrjmiratovic920]

ahahhaahah

[@barrybarnett731]

30 yrs training experience and in my opinion hitting a body part once a week hard is best once you turn late 40s as recovery is the key , ppl or upper lower done nothing for me except make me weaker, there is no such thing as the most optimal way to train , each person should find the best split for them and stick with it all you need to do is switch angles and rep ranges from time to time and I don't need anybody who's wet behind the ears telling me otherwise

[@adamzoubi96]

Let's say i do a 4 day split: Day 1: back & shoulders Day 2: arms Day 3: legs & abs Day 4: chest Does that mean I trained my bicep twice once on arms day and once on back day? Or is it considered once per week?

[@keysersoze9592]

Technically? Yeah. Maybe swap the days around. Do legs & abs on day 2. Personally, i dont dedicate and entire workout to bi’s&tri’s. Id rather not burn them out and do a couple sets everyday for volume. But whatever works for you my man.

[@adamzoubi96]

@@keysersoze9592 i deadlift on my back day that's why i didn't make day 2 legs. And the reason i have an arm day is becuase for some reason my arms are my weakest body part, i think it's my anatomy I'm very torso dominant

[@misfits12o]

Dude if you’re gonna do a 5 day split do upper, lower, upper, lower

[@misfits12o]

4*

[@keysersoze9592]

@@misfits12o that is what works for me. I didnt wanna say that bc maybe his splits work for him. Everyones diff, but the frequency of the upper/lower splits have given me the most gains.

[@pewdiepink1054]

When you say 2-3 times a week. What do you mean by that. I train push,pull, legs. Lets say Monday:Push Tuesday: pull Wednesday: legs Then how Can i hit every mucle group 2-3 times in that week. I only have Thursday, fridag,saturday and sunday. If i should hit every mucle group 2 times a week i only have 1 rest day -sunday. But you are saying that 3-4 times a week is optimal. But how do i so hit every mucle group 2-3 times a week It sounds impossible Can anyone explain this to me? :)

[@georgelopez4193]

These guys should go to the gym, they sound very smart about this stuff.

[@EnligUlv]

It depends. Are you on steroids? Are you lifting to failure using low forced reps? What’s the quality of your sleep?….the details are endless.