hi coach thibaudeau, i thoroughly enjoy reading damn near every article youve written and have learned more than anticipated from u and i have a true passion for training. im posting in regards to my training regimen. i understand you are a busy man so ill attempt to keep it as short as possible; when it comes to training i like to lift 5 days per week with single bodypart split being monday- chest tuesday-back, wed- off, thursday- shoulders, friday-arms, saturday-legs, sunday- off. and currently using rep ranges from 8-12 reps. due to my OCD when it comes to the training i feel i do to much volume in relation to the frequency/ intensity im using. all that aside dialing that in do u feel that this basic type split is maximizing my potential for hypertrophy? also do u feel i should switch bouts of 8-12 rep range to say 5x5’s for given period of time or should i mix all rep ranges in my training like compund movements to lower rep ranges and keep isolation work in the 8-12 rep range? and final question if i was to follow youre i,bodybuilding program is it possible to switch thursdays off for wednesdays off as thisnwould better fit my busy schedule? thanks coach greatly appreciated!!
- I personally think that a muscle needs to be trained around twice per week to grow optimally. So in that case a push/pull/leg split might be best. That would give you 6 weekly workouts and everything is hit twice. If you want to keep training 5 days a week you can simply rotate through:
WEEK 1
Monday: push
Tuesday: pull
Wednesday: off
Thursday: legs
Friday: push
Saturday: pull
Sunday: off
WEEK 2
Monday: legs
Tuesday: push
Wednesday: off
Thursday: pull
Friday: legs
Saturday: push
Sunday: off
etc.
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One should never stick to one sets/reps scheme… after a while your body gets accommodated and responds much more slowly. I personally like to use 2 or 3 sets/reps scheme in a workout
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If you respect the order of the workouts, where you put your rest days doesn’t matter much… except for one exception: I don’t like putting two days off in a row
understood!! thanks! i understand everyones body responds differently to overall volume/ intensity but in hitting each muscle twice a week what general volume approach would you use per workout in order to prevent overtaxing as this seems to be an issue for me? thanks again
Again this is an individual thing and I can’t give you a clear cut answer. I’ve trained an elite athlete who could only manage 6-9 TOTAL sets in a workout (not per exercise, for the whole workout) and others who could handle 30 sets per workout or more.
It depends on your neurological profile (dopamine dominant can tolerate a lot more high intensity work than other neurological types), hormonal profile (those with a naturally lower testosterone level or higher cortisol level can’t handle a high volume), training experience and lifestyle stress.
understood thanks. sorry last question, so in a 2 part body split would you go heavier on compound lifts on the first day say on push day, then the second push day do moderate weight? also would you throw in trap work on both pull days or do u think it is only necessary to train once per week? thanks coach!