BP Frequency... For Natural BB'ers

Training Bodybuilding
21

[quote]pja wrote:
Each individual should treat their own body as if it were a research project. The way research
works in general is the following. After one determines that an answer to a question posed does not exist (which should be the starting point for each lifter since the human body is so complex and each
individual is different) one starts with a hypothesis. In this case the hypothesis would be to maximize
my muscle gains I need to work a body part once a week.I would then work it once per week and see what happens.
However in order to prove or disprove my hypothesis I would also need train it twice a week and then note my progress under these conditions. The same things can be said for diet, cardio, amount of sleep etc.

Before the internet this is what people did instinctively since
they had no choice. Now it appears everybody thinks all lifting questions can be answered on T-Nation
when in fact the human body is so complicated that it really makes little sense to ask a person who
doesn’t have your genetic profile to answer such a question.
[/quote]

This.
Essentially, pja outlined a simple method that should make the (over)analytic crowd happy, as well as affirm what experienced lifters mean when talking about going by what their bodies tell them needs doing.
This is so simple. A few years back I wouldn’t even have guessed this to be necessary to be written down. And it doesn’t pertain to lifting alone.

22

[quote]mr popular wrote:

[quote]MODOK wrote:

[quote]monatu wrote:
@OP

pretty sure most of the crap posted recently is advocating higher frequency (you can still use a body part split, but hit everything twice a week)

dunno what its worth, but thats the “latest and greatest”[/quote]

What in the fuck are you talking about? People have trained bodyparts twice weekly for as long as there have been barbells. In the 80’s and 90’s, EVERYBODY at every gym I ever went to did the Heavy/Medium twice weekly split training M-T-Th-F and I hate to say it but there was a ton more muscle on their bodies than what 96% of this board has. And they didn’t even have Finibars.

LMAO at “latest and greatest”. I hope you are a young guy.[/quote]

From what I have gathered, nobody trained any bodypart less than twice a week in the 60’s and 70’s either. And in fact, when I think of the most prominent/successful Mr. Olympias of all time, the three that come to mind right away: Dorian Yates, Ronnie Coleman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger; All trained each bodypart at least twice a week, each champion from a different era/generation.

Kevin Levrone seems to love the higher frequency of a push/pull/legs split, and Branch Warren has stated that his now incredible chest used to be a pathetic weak point for him until he trained his incline, flat, and decline presses all twice a week.

There is a lot to be said for greater frequency of training, and as Professor X pointed out, recovery ability is a completely individual issue. You simply must do as much as you can.[/quote]

Dorian didn’t train each bodypart twice per week except in his first routine of the first 1/5 years of his training that him training each one every 4 to 5 days. His second routine had him hitting each once every five days, and his last one had him hitting each every 6 to 7 days. Towards the end of his career, he sometimes even hit a bodypart once every 8 days.

There have been elite bodybuilders who trained each part once per week and some elite that trained each twice. It has to do with personal preference (and yes, this does matter - your outlook and enthusiasm for your own program), how their WHOLE PROGRAM is set up, and how they respond to training.

23

If you train the way you feel you have to train you will make the most progress. I train legs once a week because my legs get extremely sore therefore meaning i wont perform optimally in my next training session and if i have 2 leg sessions a week my numbers dont go up. i train everything else twice a week because that is not the case with other body parts. i didnt read this in an article and i didnt see this in any bb dvds. i went to the gym, listened to my body, and made sure that my weights, and performance progressed and when it stops progressing ill find another way. how can any author, scientists, or guru tell me this about MY body. just go to the gym man and eat. and if your progressing then stfu and keep it moving. i remember modok saying he only deadlifts once every two weeks because his body has a hard time recovering from that particular exercise. if he was to listen to the latest and greatest his progress would have been slower. go train and listen to your body and dont do pussy shit in the gym. assistance doesnt change shit, the concept still applies. train, eat, listen to your body, dont be a pussy. thats the outline to success in bb.

24

[quote]MODOK wrote:

[quote]D Public wrote:
you should split it to according what you are capapble of…

[/quote]

This (minus the misspelling).

To grow as fast as you can, you need to do as much as you can get away with. If you can train twice weekly, awesome. If can only train once weekly, awesome. You have to find out what YOU can handle and quit treating training frequency, sets, reps, warm-ups, recovery like there is some Bible out there that contains all the answers. Put together a solid routine, then start testing your limits when you get accustomed to it. If you use your brain to think critically about your training instead of always trying to find out what others do and why, you will be a lot bigger, stronger, and know your body much better.[/quote]

And just to add to this, if I may. Training frequency also needs* to be tailored to specific bodyparts.

For example. I can train my chest and arms twice a week and see better results than if I do those groups once a week. But my back has always grown great training it once a week.

I can also handle a lot more volume per workout for my back while my chest gets completely destroyed after far less sets (~25 sets for back vs. 12-15 sets for chest). And the only reason I end my back workouts at 25 sets is because I cant stay in the gym for 2 hours.

My training does not change significantly when training naturally or not.

edit
*Well nothing NEEDS to be done. But I found that it CAN be done with success.

25

For ME training 6 days a week has given me great results. I do:
Mon: Push
Tues: Pull
Wed: Legs
Thurs: Push
Fri: Pull
Sat: Legs/Lower back

This routine is what I’ve found I respond best to at this point in my training career.

26

[quote]Rocky2 wrote:
This routine is what I’ve found I respond best to at this point in my training career. [/quote]

^This is important as well. You may respond very well to a higher frequency workload early on, but have to taper off as you get older, or more experienced.

S

27

I’m 32, just started lifting a little over a year ago. I like the 6 day PUSH/PULL/LOWER but I feel like I really can’t get after it 6 days a week. 5 is probably better, so following the same setup I’ve found this to be pretty productive: lower, push, pull, off, lower, total upper, off. Here’s a few more interesting 3,1,2,1 variations:

Chest/Back/Shoulders
Legs
Arms
Off
Upper
Legs
Off

Chest/Tri
Back/Bi
Legs/Shoulders
Off
Upper
Legs
Off

Chest/Back
Legs
Arms/Shoulders
Off
Upper
Legs
*This one is probably my fav.

Alan

28

I wonder if getting older means that you should train more often. I find that I can no longer gain strength by training a BP once a week. I feel I detrain before my next workout and wonder if this is just because of dropping test levels. I used to make gains on a once a week routine, but now do much better twice a week.

When I was in my 20’s I could take 3 weeks off and still be exaclty as strong when I came back. I think those days are over for me.

29

Bill Pearl mentioned that as you get more seasoned, your body will actually be able to handle and thrive on more work in the gym.

S

30

With 49 around the corner, I seemed to get better results from training each body part twice a week. But I train with less volume per session.

31

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Bill Pearl mentioned that as you get more seasoned, your body will actually be able to handle and thrive on more work in the gym.

S[/quote]

x2

There’s a lot of good posts in here. If I’d just listened to the “myths/rigid books”, I’d have limited myself in some way. Because I limited myself with calorie/protein intake in the past, I would have been fooled into thinking that I was a “hardgainer” who needed to do a little as possible in the gym. And I would have been even more fooled into believing that assisted users “get away” with their routine just because of the drugs. As Bill has said, your work capacity increases also. What may have “wiped you out” at one point, may be needed at present.

Frequency of bodyparts training changes. Some weeks you may be able to cope with twice weekly, and others less (depending on stress/rest/food intake etc).

In general though, if you have body parts to “bring up”, then twice weekly tends to be more appropriate and larger muscle groups like legs tend to do well with lesser frequency (in most people).