Quote (mizure @ Oct 15 2010 03:42am)
Okay brother had a question for ya.
Why not work out 1 or 2 days a week
doing the intire body with big compound excersises.
Working out at high intensity with max weights. 30mins
Instead of doing all these isolation and dysfunctional nonsense
for like 4-5days a week 1-2hrs per day.
I hope you know what DOMS is and can give me a good
reason backing up with anatomy
Hey there.
There are many different types of working out based on goals.
In order to train to be a bodybuilder (symmetry, sculpture, size, thickness and separation) requires a lot of training at the gym in order to spark life into smaller muscle groups, forcibly tear muscle fibers to accelerate hypertrophe, and constantly encourage a blood and oxygen pump to the major muscle groups. In addition, GH production increases, test production increases, and more calories are burned (hinders some unnecessary fat gain). Bodybuilders thus take anywhere between 4-6 days a week for training, but more likely 6 days with the 7th day dedicated to solid rest, recovery, and massage. The true greats like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dorian Yates, Franco Columbu, Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler (great to see him win mr. O this year), etc. have all used a minimum of 5 day a week plans. These guys spent at least 3-4 hours a day in the gym, often going 2x per day (morning and night). They focused on supersets, breakdowns, failures, overloads, etc. It was balls-to-the-wall training until they often puked. The results are indisputable. If training 2x per week worked, these guys would not be former and current Mr. O.
To train to be a powerlifter (strength, form, focus on several particular exercises) requires a LOT of rest between sets, a lot of focus on particular exercises, and also all the max efforts going into one muscle group at a time. Thus this requires a minimum of 4 days a week of training, but more efficiently 5. Because of the nature of powerlifting, one sometimes needs to focus a day on stabilizer muscles to prevent injuries by strengthening the muscles which are stressed the most during a lift and can be the difference between success and failure of the rep. As a result, you can expect to train 4-5 days / week as a powerlifter. Greats like Scott Mendelson, Gene Rychlak, etc. all like(d) to take huge breaks between sets and rarely focus on more than 1-2 muscle groups per workout. They use 1-2 days off per week, but on the days off sometimes focus on stabilizer muscles, stretching, and massage.
Now, for strongman training (pure strength, total muscular endurance, moderate cardiovascular stamina), you will require the MOST training of all. Sometimes 4 or more hours per day for efficient gains. The reason for this is because in order to train cardiovascular and for muscular endurance requires a lot of TIME dedication in order to increase both of those things. You will not see any gains lifting heavy 2x per week in the strongman department. Paying huge attention to muscular endurance training along with practical lifts, power lifts, and exclusive lifts will all be necessary each and every day of the week. You do get ONE day off, but during that day it is advised to do some mild cardio throughout the day (swimming is HUGELY encouraged), but if muscles need more recovery, stick to light jogs. This plan is a true 7 day a week plan. Greats like Mariusz Pudzianowski and Bill Kazmier trained heavy and hard (4+ hrs per day) 6 days a week and on the 7th day rested but also did cardio or focused stretching/massage.
Lastly, we have general strength/muscular/tone/shape gains. This is for the average person who wants to either maintain or achieve small gains at the gym. This is for regular people who don't have a specific goal in mind other than to look better, feel better, and get a bit stronger (or hold onto all their hard work after years of toil at the gym). For them, 2x per week is absolutely fine. One day focused on the entire upper body, and other day focused entirely on the lower body. The huge gap in days in which the body has a chance to rest really slows gains tremendously, regardless of the intensity of the training for each one of the 2x days per week. However, combined with good cardio training (HIIT preferred) and maybe even a day or two of swimming, one can see a good overall bodyshape as a result (compared to doing nothing). I have seen people make small gains each year with plans like this (after the honeymoon phase of lifting where the body responds like crazy and grows no matter what). So in theory, while this plan does work, it is simply not the BEST or even close.