Whole Body vs. Separate Workout - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

JoeK · 02-05-2003, 02:15 PM

Hi,

I’d like to hear your advice regarding whole body vs. separate body parts workout... My goal is to gain weight; should I work each body parts separate? Now, I’m doing whole body workout 3 times per week... I don’t know if I should train my legs more than 2 days. Furthermore, I don’t think I can recover in two days unless I’m not doing it intensely.

Thanks,

Joe

darkwolfofvoid · 02-05-2003, 03:40 PM

Different muscles will take different times to recover, and it comes down to how much damage you stressed on them. Time constraints come into play. The best method for high intensity lifting is to work a muscle group, like back and shoulders for one day, then lift another group after some split. This allows those muscles to recover, but if you work your whole body, it will one (to do it properly) will take a long time and you'll put yourself through a lot of damage (if you're going for hypertrophy especially). Full body routines are usually made for people who just want to have conditioned bodies, and keep their connective tissue strong and their muscles active, and burn calories.

Naxis · 02-06-2003, 06:42 AM

I second that. If you're already "fit" then go with a split. Dedicating a whole workout to 1 or 2 muscle groups will really make a difference in muscle growth. Longer recovery and more time to really fatigue the muscles. Some people like to stay with a full body, but I think it's the least productive way to go about it, personally.

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Keep your body lean, your blood clean and your mind sharp. -Rollins