3 days a week training?

[BALDNAZI]

Looking to change a few things up from my 4 day a week routine.Coming back from the long layoff and injury Im forced to take it slow anyway,so Im going to do mon/wed/fri. The split is chest/back.....delts/traps/quads.....bis/tris/calves. Legs are naturally thick,so I rarely train them anyway,but on this type of routine I might. I might carry the 3 days into my winter training while doing more power movements to pack on more size.All the rest days should really allow alot of recovery along with heavy eating and of course juicing,the size should pile on.Any of you guys do something similar?I have read alot of power guys do 3 days and who the hell is thicker then them?

The reason Im saying this,is that Im realizing how much of my time is spent in the gym,and how my whole life the past few years revolves around going to the gym.I schedule my appointments,social events,everything around the gym.Even my girl is starting to break balls,and I don't know if Im getting soft as I get older,but I find myself agreeing with her for once.

What Im saying is, how does someone continue to grow,and I mean GROW if they want to do only 3 days a week?It seems logical to me that it can work,what do you think?

 

[Iabadman]

Three days a week is all you need period.Check out guys like BIGA and DOGGCRAP.They understand that you must recover in order to grow.Look thier routines .They both train very intense.I think the key is that once your hand heals, start working out with very hard intensity {you sound like a very expirenced guy ,but if you need any ideas feel free to pm me]Try to get stronger every workout even if only by a couple of pounds.The main thing bro ,is to constantly be progressing on your wieghts and with your eating.Just push yourself really hard 3 days a week for 20-60 minutes and believe me you will grow ,probally better than before .Especially if your diet is right .Unless you plan on competing don't worry about the gear [don't waste the money or take chances without a purpose]Gains will [ie. slower] come if you do things right and sounds like you got one hell of a foundation already.......

 

[MikeS]

Everything has its pros and cons. Great for recovery and gaining pure size. More time resting/recovering=more size! But also you must wonder how much intensity the 2nd/3rd muscles worked each workout get after that initial muscle group is trashed.
I do one big muscle/one small 5 x wk. But like BN said-takes alot of sacrificing of your life being in the gym almost every day.

 

[Dave_19]

i trian 4 days a week at the MOST.

 

[BALDNAZI]

TRUE

Badman,check my old pics in the pic section,I think I do alright, hehe.The juice is something I know ALOT about as I have done many high dose cycles.Intensity is all I know.I train hard and heavy,I love pain.You don't go up to 270lb by accident.Of course most of that knowledge came from the UG and this board.I'd be lost if I never came to these boards.Thank you for the offer,we will definetly talk training at some point.

MikeS,you are so right brother.The second muscle seems to get the short end of the stick.Thats why 4/5 days seems ideal.But again training power style,doing squat, dead and bench on separate days allow you to hit the auxillary muscle pretty hard too.I may have to try it.You know I'm not into the ripped look(well,Im too lazy to get the ripped look,hehe) and like the thick massive jacked look better for myself.

Dave19 you have mail my friend.

 

[gnpower]

BN, the doggcrapp training sounds like it would be perfect for you. It is all about becoming the most massive/strongest you can in the shortest amount of time. It is a 3-day a week program and he has some diet and super supplement rules to go along with it. But the way he explains the 3-day training makes alot of sense. If you don't want to read the 90 page thread over at animals board, my friend (Crimson Ghost) has a couple links to where everything is summarized. Let me know and I'll have them sent to you. I have been having to work alot recently and only have time for such a program. I really like it and I think I might stick with it, although I am not doing his diet but rather one that Wylde gave to me. My friend has made some very impressive gains and my lifts have been going up weekly as well.

 

[BigBoyJ]

For me personally, I didn't like training only 3 days a week. I gave it a shot for a couple of months, but even with maximum intensity it just wasn't enough time to give proper attention to each body part. The thing that has really saved me was getting a home gym. I was like you said you were doing, BN, every thing in my life revolved around the gym. Now I have a lot more freedom and save a lot of time since I just have to walk into my spare bedroom to workout. You'd be surprised at how little equipment you really need to blast the hell out of every muscle. Anyway, goodluck.

 

[xcelbeyond]

I'm trying this HST program out for a couple of months. It's really kicking my butt, if nothing else. It's basically full body workouts, 3x week and varies rep scheme every two weeks. You can read about it at **broken link removed**

xcel

 

[drgoodbody]

BN, I train like you - heavy, intense, with a good amount of pain. Forced reps, negatives once in a while too. For me it works, but I also find that I need more rest as I have gotten older (and hopefully more advance muscle wise). I train 3 days per week, and if I do a 4th day it is typically cardio so that I don't turn into a wheezing fat boy. The 3 days I train like a wild man - total focus, no talking, just lifting. And yup, it's simple:

* Chest, tri's, abs - heaviest exercise first (after warm up) bench.
* Legs, abs - heaviest first (after warm up) is squat
* Back, biceps, delts, abs - heaviest first (after warm up) is dead's or upright barbell rows

I hit the big muscle groups first, and hardest, then finish with smaller groups. I don't go for detail movements, so cables and related stuff are out. I'm looking for mass - I don't have it so I always want it.

Good luck with the recovery bro, and welcome back.

DrG

 

[MikeS]

Drgoodbody-I would hang until that last one Back Bis, Delts.
How can you maintain any intensity after a good hard back workout? Then, Biceps exhaust me almost as much as back and quads, going heavy on bar or DB curls.
If it works for you great! It would kill me - I never even attempt back and bi's together.

 

[stevehnsn]

Maybe someone can benefit from this...

After 8 years of training, I have found what works best for me.
A four day split:

Day 1&2: Chest, Bis, Tris/ OFF
3&4: Back, Bis, Tris, Calves/ OFF
5: DE Bench, Shoulders, Bis, Tris
6&7: Quads, Hams, Calves/ OFF
Repeat

I structure my workout so that the main muscle group is hit with three exercises, separated by assistance work.

Chest Day Example:
Max Effort Chest Exercise (flat bar, close grip, pin press, etc...)
Pullovers
Incline Press
A bicep curl
Incline/Flat DB Press
A tricep extension
Abs

This way my chest is fully recovered from the previous exercise so I can take the next set to full exhaustion, and it works... even when I get to Flat DB Press as the 5th exercise, I still have enough left to hit a PR. By hitting bis and tris with at least one exercise on every upper body day, my arm size and strength is growing like they never have before. When I'm feeling especially sore, I take 2-3 days off for recovery as my body sees fit. Because I lift with a partner, our workouts usually last for 75-90 mins, but after this point no matter what we have left to do (which is usually nothing) we call it quits... 2 hrs is too much.

Back Day Example:
Bent Over Rows (supinated or pronated)
DE or ME Deadlift Exercise (rack pulls, deads, gms, etc...)
Weighted Pull Ups
Weighted Dips
One Arm DB Row
A bicep curl possibly superset with a standing calf raise
Abs

 

[pitbull]

XCELL

Xcel
HST looks vry interesting to me. How does it work with AS? I noticed they touch on the subject in a sideways manner. “Using hormone replacement (HRT) therapy would of course, increase the number of sets you could do without undue stress.”

Do you increase the # of sets you do?
How do you feel it would work for someone doing there 1st or 2nd cycle? w/ the dramatic change in strength.

thanks

 

[xcelbeyond]

Here's the way I approach it. You're doing each exercise 2x ED, 3x/week for 2 weeks, then changing rep scheme. If the first excercise was too light I just do more reps then add weight accordingly for the next set. If I didn't get it right, I still have 10 more sets to adjust.

Since most of the workout time is spent "Setting-up" exercises, I do a push-pull superset to speed things up (in this order): "slight incline" bench + bent-over-rows (a killer), weighted dips + close-grip pulldowns, squats + leg curls, shrugs + standing OH press, DB Pullovers + DB Side Laterals, DB Curls + Skull Crunchers, Standing Calves + Forearm Curls (alternate between forearm and wrist curls). I get everything done in one hour!

xcel

 

[rippedboy]

d

i dont know, but i think i grow better when i do a 5 day split, like chest, arms, legs, delts, back, rest, rest, repeat. and do 3 exercises 4 sets each. i switched to just 1 exercise, 3 sets each like HIT, and i think it does work, but i seem to grow better from volume. i think alot of BBers in the 80's trained with volume.

 

[rippedboy]

Also, I have to add the volume makes me look better because it burns more fat and i train 5 days per week so when i look at myself in the mirror, i am bigger and leaner. i still train intensely, but will do more sets, also, i do not like 5-6 reps, i like failing on 8-10 or not even failing but struggling on 9. there has to be more sets IMO, to fatigue the muscle. so more volume and you'll fatigue it for sure. i wont go to the gym for 20 minutes, i'll be there just under an hour. i'll put back and shoulders in the same day too. this is my opinion.

 

[pitbull]

XCELL

you do twice a days. this crazy to me, havnt done that since football camp years ago. I do not have a home gym so that could eat up alot of time for me. then again it is only 3 days a week.

I might tryit out when i plateau or need a change. It sounds like it might be a great program for someone who is bridging.

 

[shawnfreaks]

I used to train 4 days a week. Each bodypart 2 times per week. I got to a pretty decent level working out like that. About 3 months ago i started training only 3 days per week and it has truely taking me to a new level.

I follow a slightly modified HIT training method and go all out 100% in each and every workout. It's just me, my MP3 player, my gallon of fluids and the weights. Get the F**k out of my way for the next 60 minutes while i destroy myself and these weights.

I really enjoy it when on Wednesday i train at around 5pm or so and the gym is packed and you can hear me yelling, screaming, grunting, etc and everyone is looking at me like "Who's the freak?"

The other week i had some fruit loop aerobics guy ask me why i yell and such when i train. I told the homo, "You see, it's called intensity. It's just something you fags wouldn't understand while doing stair steps and rocking out to Richard Simmons."

At that point his face was about as pink as his shirt. Shit like that and the fact that everyone in my shitty gym knows not to f**k with me while i train is great. I'm a mild mannered guy for the most part, but during those 60 minutes, it's World War 3. I love it, and this newest style of training is really starting to shine through. I feel alot better this way.

 

[xcelbeyond]

Re: XCELL

you do twice a days. this crazy to me, havnt done that since football camp years ago. I do not have a home gym so that could eat up alot of time for me. then again it is only 3 days a week.

I might tryit out when i plateau or need a change. It sounds like it might be a great program for someone who is bridging.

NO! I do "each" exercise 2X or should have said 2 "sets" per workout day.

xcel

 

[Kidrok]

BN,
I switch over to a 3 day program every once in awhile (usually summers cuz there's too many other things to do than go to the gym) and I see a size and strength increase everytime. Seems that the additional rest helps. But as you said, you don't maintain that "ripped" look very easily this way. I also find that it refreshes me mentally so that I cannot wait to get there and train 110%! I split my bodyparts as
1) Chest/tri/bi
2)legs/calves
3)back/ traps/ shoulders

KR

 

[Trulyhuge]

I like to alternate from 4 days to 3 days. for my 3 day split i do...
mon..chest, shoulders, tri's
wed..legs
fri..back/bi's

I gain well of this split!

TH