Weight Lifters: Which Muscle Groups Do You Work Together?

[vailpass]

I'm lifting for tone more than bulk, doing the standard push/pull muscle splits. Wondering what groups other people work together.

I had these splits reccomended to me,what to you think? (cardio not included here). What do you do?

Day 1-Chest & Bicep/Forearm
2-Back & Tricep
3-Rest
4-Legs & core
5-Shoulders
6-Rest
7-Legs & core

[Ming the Merciless]

Originally Posted by petegz28

THIS.

Monday - Chest, triceps and shoulders
Tuesday - Cardio or rest
Wednesday - Legs\Abs
Thursday - Cardio or rest
Friday - biceps and back

this

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Brock

Lifting for tone is a meaningless term for fat housewives. You mean you want to cut fat so that your muscles are more visible in detail.

Lifting for tone, no. Lifting to help tone, yes. Lifting works the fat out of the muscles as well as burns calories thus making you leaner overall. Any good toning program, imo, should include some sort of resistance training as a secondary focus with cardio being the primary focus, of course.

I am old school, I don't believe in all the crap toys they sell on TV or the 15 minutes to a beach body program. You want to be toned up? Do a buttload of cardio 4-5 times a week and throw in 2-3 sessions of some not too light but not too heavy lifting.

And since most people mean "I want a flat belly" when they say they want to be "toned", DON'T FOCUS ON YOUR ABS, ffs! I have seen and know people who do crunches until they lose count, leg lifts, twists, this, that, the other thing, all focusing on their abs and they are no thinner.

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by vailpass

You mean?

Chest/Back
Bicep/Tricep
Shoulder/Leg

I do something very similar:

Chest/Back
Shoulder/Bicep/Tricep
Legs
Core

I mix in plyometrics, cardio, yoga, & pilates on the days in between.

When I'm ready to switch it up, I do this:

Chest/Tri
Back/Bi
Shoulders
Legs

Mix in the same stuff, but I do a shorter core workout 3-4 times a week in addition.

[Oh Snap]

Stats: 6'3 227 8% body fat

Mon-Fri (thur, sat, sun off)
Chest/triceps
Back/biceps
Shoulders/abs
Off
Legs
Off
Off

I usually kill my legs on Friday, so its always good to do legs on the last day of your workout for the week. Remember that 70% of all your bodies muscles are in your legs. So recovery is crucial.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Oh Snap

Stats: 6'3 227 8% body fat

Mon-Fri (thur, sat, sun off)
Chest/triceps
Back/biceps
Shoulders/abs
Off
Legs
Off
Off

I think that is the way to go. I don't understand why someone would work their biceps and triceps in the same day? For one you are taking energy away from yourself and not getting the full benefit of the exercise. Two, you are risking injury a lot more than if you were just focusing on one or the other.

Peope tend to think of working their arms in the same manner they work their legs, meaning doing the entire limb at once. Legs are the largest muscles in the body and can take that sort of abuse. Arms are more fragile and should be isolated. That goes for chest and back as well.

That's just me anyway and most of the trainers and gym-rats I have talked too all say the same.

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by petegz28

Lifting for tone, no. Lifting to help tone, yes. Lifting works the fat out of the muscles as well as burns calories thus making you leaner overall. Any good toning program, imo, should include some sort of resistance training as a secondary focus with cardio being the primary focus, of course.

I am old school, I don't believe in all the crap toys they sell on TV or the 15 minutes to a beach body program. You want to be toned up? Do a buttload of cardio 4-5 times a week and throw in 2-3 sessions of some not too light but not too heavy lifting.

And since most people mean "I want a flat belly" when they say they want to be "toned", DON'T FOCUS ON YOUR ABS, ffs! I have seen and know people who do crunches until they lose count, leg lifts, twists, this, that, the other thing, all focusing on their abs and they are no thinner.

I agree with a lot of this. I do, however, believe that diet & lifting are the two most important things when trying to lose fat. Also, don't be afraid to go heavy. You will need to break down the muscle tissue to get the benefit.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Omaha

I agree with a lot of this. I do, however, believe that diet & lifting are the two most important things when trying to lose fat. Also, don't be afraid to go heavy. You will need to break down the muscle tissue to get the benefit.

Diet is 60%-70% of how you are going to look. I had a trainer tell me that years ago. No matter how much you exercise, if you are not eating right you won't lose the gut. You'll just have rock hard muscles under your fat. I push myself when I lift but I am not a "power lifter" per say. I increase weight each set and by the 3rd set I can usually only get 6-8 reps instead of my target 12. When I can get 12 I start upping the weight some more.

People get this idea if they start lifting they are going to bulk up like a gorrilla. They don't realize just how hard that is to do and since they want more of the swimmer's build they stay away from proper lifting, imo.

I just got my wife started lifting a couple months ago and on a high protein diet. She was so afraid she was going to bulk up. Now she is figuring out that the lifting is helping her slim down.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by Omaha

I agree with a lot of this. I do, however, believe that diet & lifting are the two most important things when trying to lose fat. Also, don't be afraid to go heavy. You will need to break down the muscle tissue to get the benefit.

Lifting weights does very little at all to burn fat. It's about 80-90% diet and 10% cardio.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by petegz28

Diet is 60%-70% of how you are going to look. I had a trainer tell me that years ago. No matter how much you exercise, if you are not eating right you won't lose the gut. You'll just have rock hard muscles under your fat. I push myself when I lift but I am not a "power lifter" per say. I increase weight each set and by the 3rd set I can usually only get 6-8 reps instead of my target 12. When I can get 12 I start upping the weight some more.

People get this idea if they start lifting they are going to bulk up like a gorrilla. They don't realize just how hard that is to do and since they want more of the swimmer's build they stay away from proper lifting, imo.

I just got my wife started lifting a couple months ago and on a high protein diet. She was so afraid she was going to bulk up. Now she is figuring out that the lifting is helping her slim down.

I would say how you are going to look is about 50% genetics, 40% diet and 10% training. You can probably figure chemicals in there somewhere if you want, but look no further then a prison yard to figure out genetics is king where guys all eat the same thing. Diet is a huge part of maximizing what your potential is.

[Oh Snap]

Originally Posted by petegz28

I think that is the way to go. I don't understand why someone would work their biceps and triceps in the same day?

They don't know any better. Compound lifts will actually work your Bi's and Tri's the best. But in collaboration with Isolation, you get a better pump and tear down of the actual muscle fiber. It all depends on what you're trying to accomplish though. Gaining muscle mass, or toning up.

Recovery and proper nutrition is crucial though.

Peope tend to think of working their arms in the same manner they work their legs, meaning doing the entire limb at once. Legs are the largest muscles in the body and can take that sort of abuse. Arms are more fragile and should be isolated. That goes for chest and back as well.

I do not do anything other than legs on legs day. I also dont bother much in doing cardio, but again, my body fat % is 8%. My workouts also usually last 2hrs. But I am a gym rat. One of the finer highs in life, and you dont need needles. Im addicted to this shit!

[penguinz]

Mon: Chest
Tue: Biceps/Triceps/Core
Wed: Legs
Thurs: Shoulders
Fri: Back/Core

As far as cardio... I ref about 12 soccer games a week and run at minimum 1.5 miles a game up to about 6 miles a game.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

You are now officially a brah! Congrats man.

I prefer this

Chest/Triceps
Legs/Biceps - I hate legs, so I reward myself with biceps on that day.
Shoulders/Traps
Back/Core

Since I use my Tri's more on Chest and Shoulders day I try to seperate them out. I like having fresh tri's when chest day arrives.

Thanks man but I'll never achieve brah status. I've been going to the gym for a few years now but mainly on the spin and cycle side. going to lift 5 days/week instead of 3 for the next 3 months just for a change.
Appreciate the input.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Brock

Lifting for tone is a meaningless term for fat housewives. You mean you want to cut fat so that your muscles are more visible in detail.

Maybe I said it wrong. I don't have any fat to speak of but do not want to bulk up. I lift light weight/multi reps for definition and strength.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Oh Snap

Stats: 6'3 227 8% body fat

Mon-Fri (thur, sat, sun off)
Chest/triceps
Back/biceps
Shoulders/abs
Off
Legs
Off
Off

I usually kill my legs on Friday, so its always good to do legs on the last day of your workout for the week. Remember that 70% of all your bodies muscles are in your legs. So recovery is crucial.

I did legs last week and worked in the hack squat pretty heavy, don't usually lift legs except for machines because I cycle a lot. Then went upstairs and did 8 miles on precor.
Went to walk downstairs and my legs wouldn't bend, almost fell down the godamned stairs.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Lifting weights does very little at all to burn fat. It's about 80-90% diet and 10% cardio.

I hear you although a pound of muscle burns 10-20 calories/hour, a pound of fat burns 5 calories/hour so from the standpoint that the more muscle you have the more fat you burn lifting wieghts does help you burn fat.