Hi members,
I am a newby to this forum, and to body building.
My question is, can i get the same muscle gain if i split my workouts throughout the day, or do you get the best results from doing the workout in 1 sitting. e.g.
Do my chest routine, and 20 minutes later do my back exercises, and an hour later do my biceps, e.t.c.
They would be the same exercises and same length of time as i would do in a 50 minute workout.
The reason i ask is that i have free time during work, but i may be interupted 20 minutes into a workout,due to probs at work.
1 more ?.
e.g. if i was doing my chest routine, and half way through the routine i was interupted, would it be o.k. to start the routine again from the beginning, some time later, e.g.(15 minutes later) and still get the same results.
Well I guess it’s okay to split but try not to do so in the middle of a muscle group trainning. Like if you’re in chest/biceps day slit between chest and biceps, don’t split in middle of chest.
If you have to do so (job probs as you say) don’t start over…That body part is done, too late, skip to biceps. But bare in mind you’ll be able to recuperate alot sonner than if you had done the whole workout…so hit it twice that week (or trice depending on your training schedule)
Welcome to the forum. I don’t think that your idea of training in smaller intervals is as much a problem as your nutrition surrounding those workouts. As you may have read, getting adequate amounts of simple carbohydrates and protein following your workout is crucial to your muscle recovery and growth. Doing a segment of your workout and not consuming your shake may leave you in a less than optimal state. HOWEVER, there is some evidence to suggest that if you were to consume your shake within 3 hours of your combined workouts you could still experience SOME benefit. Personally, I wouldn’t go that route, but if it is your only option the decision is up to you.
Secondly, having your workout interrupted constantly means not being able to focus 100% on your training. This in itself will lead to sub-optimal gains. If you can, turn off the cell phone for 45 minutes and FOCUS. It probably won’t kill you.
The answer to your first question is: no, it probably won’t matter if you split bodyparts up throughout the day. In fact, you may find that you get better results from this than if you did everything at once.
The only potential problem that I can see with this might be with post-workout nutrition. If you take a full drink after only 1/3 of a workout (for instance), then you would probably be in for some fat gain. But if you split the drink up as well, then there shouldn’t be any problem. Same thing for your post-workout meals. You’ll have to be careful with the timing.
As for splitting a particular bodypart up, no, I don’t recommend it. I don’t think that you’ll be able to work the part in question as efficiently as you could with a single session.
I’m in agreement on the splitting of a body part. Once you’re done that part it’s done. Come back and do something else. The idea of splitting your post-workout nutrition is possibly a good one.
Thanks for the help.
At the moment i am doing a basic routine.
bench presses
sqats.
deadlifts.
military presses.
barbells rows(upright.
behind the neck presses.
bent arm pullovers.
cheat curls.
leg extensions.
leg curls.
upright rows(bent over).
crunches.
lat pulldowns and calf raises.
I do 5 sets of 6 using a weight where i struggle to do the last rep.
I take a 2 minute rest between sets.
I do this casually over a 3 to 4 hour period, after the second hour, i have a protein and carb shake and start again an hour later( as i do it at work)3 times a week,(mon,wed,fri).
I have also calculated the amount of protein and calories i need in a day and eat 6 times a day.
After reading articals on this site would it be better to break up the routine and concentrate on different muscles during the week.
I have been told i could be overtraining ( because i have not had much gain after 12 weeks)and losing muscle due to this, and eating more carbs or protein will not help if i overtrain (is this true).
Just wanted to add my .02 to this discussion. I have done what you are asking about before, and didn’t find that it really hindered my gains too much.
Due to job situation as well, I would often split workouts up, or get interrupted in the middle of a workout, and finish later in the day. I have found that the few times when I’d be in the middle of a chest workout, get interrupted, and then finish the workout hours later, I didn’t notice any real difference in strength / results.
My personal philosophy is this: as long as you are not overtraining, the benefits of working out will outweigh any drawbacks. So my take, finish your chest workout later in the day (or whatever body part you are doing) if you are interuppted. Be sensible though (if you only had one or two sets left, just forget it).
After reading through your routine I am hoping that this isn’t something that you’re doing all in one day. I could go through a whole series of reasons why you should change this, but suffice it to say you are probably overtraining. My personal thoughts are that you shouldn’t be in the gym more than an hour (not including stretching & cardio).
If you split up your routine and post your goals (i.e., fat loss/muscle gain, and priority parts) we’ll be able to help you with it. BTW, good to see that you’re sticking with many of the basic movements.
