Anyone try the one set per bodypart per day workout?

[Brianbomber]

I will usually hit big body parts by themselves... back, chest... shoulders always mix them in and arms alone. Cant seem to ever get a crazy workout if I put in bis and tris with another body part.

 

[Equalizer]

I printed out the sample routine Phil posted on his own forum a few years back before it went off-line, its as follows:

In a rotation as many days in a row as you can..... 1 set each at a fast pace... maybe 1 minute tops per set. Do all sets to absolute failure and aim for 8-15 reps each set.

1. crunches on floor
2. calf raise - rotate seated with standing
3. abductor machine
4. hyperextension
5. leg curl
6. leg extension
7. squats
8. pullups
9. rows
10.side laterals
11.bicep curls
12.bench press (half way down to chest)
13.dips for triceps

 

[maldorf]

Looks like for now I am doing good if I hit the gym 3 days in a row and then take 1 day off. Last week I only managed 3 on, 1 rest, 2on,

 

[Kag94]

There is a Asian competitor that does very well internationally who does a variation of this. Each bodypart is trained about 4 days a week..he does 12sets total a week for big groups and 8 or so small groups.

So he does a upper body lower body split. He keeps alternating until he feels he needs a rest.. the first workouts of the week are 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.. usually one exercise a group.. arms 2 sets . He picks 4 exercises per muscle and alternates them per session

The second is 15 to 20 reps ( same cadence as first workout).. the third is cluster sets or muscle rounds two exercises per group except arms where 1 is all he does..

The last workouts are all isolation exercises.. chest is pec deck.. lats are pull overs .. laterals etc. Then the rotation will start again..

Similar to Phil's old workouts and Scott Stevenson's fortitude.. just hit it.. give it some time and hit it again.. it hasnt hurt david henry..

would you remember his name?

 

[LATS]

would you remember his name?

Yes

 

[Elvia1023]

I am following this training system now. I like to mix things up through the year. I have trained this way and similar ways many times before. I do think slightly more volume and less frequency (each body part 2-3 times weekly with a few working sets each day) is optimal for most but I will still be doing the 1 exercise (1 working set) per bodypart.

Whilst I am all for keeping things simple there should be some intelligent thought put into your program structure especially the more days you train per week. Exercise selection and overall intensity are significant factors. Ones idea of failure is different to others. Meaning for me when I do 1 working set it can get very crazy. To the point I think even if it's just 1 working set you can't do that everyday of the week. Where I go on some sets you only need 1 set and your nervous system takes a fucking big hit. I couldn't do a crazy squat, leg press, pressing movement everyday. However if you do train daily you could maybe add in 2 of those per week and for the others days still go to muscular failure but pick smart exercises (ham curls, leg extensions, flyes etc). I couldn't do what I done on leg press yesterday (minimal time warming up and 1 working set) everyday as I would be mentally drained after a few days. So there comes possible recovery/rest days and many may want to follow this system but for approx 4-5 days per week.

Then comes warm up sets and these are key. Generally I like to warm up slowly but that can't be done with a system like this as you would be in the gym all day (training all body parts). So you warm up your entire body for 5-10 mins then obviously be smart when warming up for each lift. Meaning if you are gonna press 3-4 pps I wouldn't do my typical 6-7 warm up sets (when it's my first exercise) and starting with the bar for 20 reps then doping 15 then 12 etc. At the same time you need to ensure you are safe and warmed up effectively. For this I would recommend a very light set of approx 12 reps then move up and do approx 5-7 reps then as you get heavier even about 3 reps. Then you do your working set of 12 reps. Go through things fairly quickly as well. The CNS still takes a big hit even when warming up if you are doing higher reps. So if you are doing 10 reps in your last warm up set with say 70% of the weight from your working set if you repeat that for every movement that day it's a lot of unnecessary work in regards to the CNS and ensuring optimal recovery between sessions.

 

[M@NU]

Started this 11 days ago and right now i still feel good.
I dont do every body part each day, BIs and Tris are usually rotated same with hams and quads.i also rotate with which group i start.. (either legs, back or chest)
So an example workout looks like this (thats what i did yesterday)
2x warmup sets, 1 set 6reps decline maschine
1x teaser set (for example 34kg x 15 decline dumbell bench press yesterday)
then 1 set 40kg x 13 or 14 (cant remember xD)
2x warmup sets, 1 set 13 reps on underhand rowing maschine
1 set parallel grip pullups superset pullovers cable 10 reps/20 reps
2 warumup sets, 2 sets a 6-8 reps romanian deadlifts SS standing ham curls
2 warumup sets, 2 sets a 6 reps military press
1 warmup set, 1 set french press on slight incline 8-10 reps
abs and calves supersets.

i still can not train quads thats why right now quad work is only body weight squats and easy leg ext. (due to my injury where ive partially torn my quad and patella tendon + meniscus 8 weeks ago). Maybe thats one reason why i still did not require a break.
I also have to add that i have a office job and no girlfriend right now, so stress level is quite low . Sleep is on point and nutrition too

 

[supermofo]

Maldorph are you still using this training protocol? If so how's it going?

 

[maldorf]

Maldorph are you still using this training protocol? If so how's it going?

I used it for a few weeks and it was going real well. Tougher than I thought it would be and I was only able to do 3 days on 1 off then 2 on 1 off. If I had continued then I would have been able to workout more days in a row, like LATS said.

I had to get my defibrillator replaced and took off 2 weeks because of that and then I had a bad GI bleed and my hemoglobin dropped down to 10. Ive been off now more than 1 month. i plan on starting back up again in the gym but I think I will start back up with my old 3 days split, 3 on 1 off. Ill do that for awhile and get back into shape and then try to transition back into the whole body workouts again. I feel like the whole body workouts require a lot more fitness overall and Im not ready for it again now.

 

[Swifto]

I trained full body EOD for about a year. 1-2 exercises per muscle group depending on size. 2 sets to failure. 1 heavy load, 1 back off with higher reps/lighter weight but failure again. 5-6 exercise rotation. Was very good, but moved to upper/lower split now.

 

[unc0mm0n]

I do 2 sets of lateral raises and calf raises every workout. Been doing it for the past month, as training those bodyparts the traditional way wasn't effective anymore. So far no issues, and it's a lot more enjoyable this way, as sometimes after the 5th-6th set for any bodypart I get bored.

 

[b-boy]

I really don't think this method is optimal for size except maybe for a change of pace every once in a while

It's progressive overload, it's exactly what your always praising!

Anyways, it worked far better than I ever imagined, I started with 315 for 20 reps on squats and ended doing 425 for 20 reps. You have to be a seasoned trainee and know your body. I went as many days straight as possible, I went 21 days straight before I took a day off.

 

[houndsman1]

Yes I love hitting one muscle group per day, and when i say one muscle group i mean i hit bi's and tri's one day then legs then back with traps, i'm usually in the gym for about 45 mins and longer on cardio days seems like i recover really nice that way

 

[buck]

I used it for about 2 months. Was able to train pretty much every day. I saw some improvements early on but that was about it. I was less tired with this workout. But after decades of training I am not sure how much progressive overload can be added when tendons and joints are the deciding factor as how heavy to go as opposed to how well rested the muscles are.

 

[Biggerp73]

It's progressive overload, it's exactly what your always praising!

Anyways, it worked far better than I ever imagined, I started with 315 for 20 reps on squats and ended doing 425 for 20 reps. You have to be a seasoned trainee and know your body. I went as many days straight as possible, I went 21 days straight before I took a day off.

Interesting! One set to failure? What was the results in terms of hypertrophy?

 

[maldorf]

It's progressive overload, it's exactly what your always praising!

Anyways, it worked far better than I ever imagined, I started with 315 for 20 reps on squats and ended doing 425 for 20 reps. You have to be a seasoned trainee and know your body. I went as many days straight as possible, I went 21 days straight before I took a day off.

Exactly! People seem to think of it as a beginner's workout, but it is no such thing. It can be brutal after just 3 days straight, when you start out. I was excited to start it but got kicked back down the hill again when I ended up in the hospital with my bleed for 5 days. I will start climbing up that hill again.

21 days in a row is impressive! How many days in a row were you able to do in the beginning, such as the first couple weeks after you started?

 

[b-boy]

Exactly! People seem to think of it as a beginner's workout, but it is no such thing. It can be brutal after just 3 days straight, when you start out. I was excited to start it but got kicked back down the hill again when I ended up in the hospital with my bleed for 5 days. I will start climbing up that hill again.

21 days in a row is impressive! How many days in a row were you able to do in the beginning, such as the first couple weeks after you started?

I went 21 days straight the first time I tried it, it was pre contest and I was jacked full of drugs also. But to get stronger like that in a calorie deficit was scary also.

 

[thewizkid]

Wondering if anyone gave this workout a shot. Do one set all out to failure for each bodypart, so each day is whole body. Workout each day until you feel like you need a break. Phil Hernon put this idea out there years ago and said it works great for him. I am going to try this soon and want some feedback.

I had my best results doing less sets per exercise per dorians recommendation. I never had big arms and when I worked out this way my arms actually grew

 

[maldorf]

I had my best results doing less sets per exercise per dorians recommendation. I never had big arms and when I worked out this way my arms actually grew

Over training is a real thing. So often you hear the mantra of "there is no over training, only undereating and/or under sleeping". I for one have had more than adequate sleep and food intake and still had your experience where I lowered volume and grew more.

 

[Vision]

I can see this working for an athlete or an intermediate lifter.. I'm very confident that the majority of the individuals in this community are far too advanced for this.. for myself personally this routine wouldn't work, this would maybe work for someone that is less seasoned on a cruise/maintenance..

But then again I can't critique this thing, because I've seen things in this lifestyle which by science and theory doesn't make sense but yet it works for someone, an example would be I know a guy that would only eat once or twice a day yet he was stacked like a fire hydrant..