Is one time enough

[lefedex]

How many times per week I should train each part? Usually I do 2 times per week, but I heard once a week will be enough.

[widdoes2504]

Depends on whether you want to maintain where you are at or if you just want a break for awhile. 2 times a week is more optimal if you want to grow.......

[Kane]

Depending on your training I would say 2 times for exercises that directly work a muscle, ie Bench twice, rows twice, squats twice. Keeping in mind that when doing a fullbody routine there is alot of overlap as well, deadlifts work everything, bench hits the shoulders, pullups and rows hit biceps, Military press hits the tri's. So really you're hitting the muscle two times a week directly and maybe another 4 times indirectly.

[lefedex]

Actually I want to get big but never seen any gain, that’s why I thought if I train each part once a week so I can perform as many different exercises for this part as I can may be I can see result.
Since working a body part 2 times or more per week will mean I have to do more than one part per session which result in 2-3 different exercises only for each body part !!
What is the best split you think will work better if I have 5 days a week to work out.

[widdoes2504]

I would recommend a 5x5 program and the "How to Bulk" sticky in the nutrition forum. 5x5 has worked the best for me and many others in the never-ending quest for size and strength and remember to EAT!!!

[Kane]

Keep in mind a 5x5 program is fullbody and 3 days a week, not 5, or a split.

[lefedex]

What if I used the 5X5 for split and 5 days a week? Isn't going to work? Also what we mean by bulking and cutting program?

[The IronBull]

The main thing to remember Bro is that your recovery time is, if not more, as important as training.

After all, your muscles grow during recovery and not training.

Another important factor to consider is intensity.

You can workout 5 days a week without intentsity and it wouldnt be the same as working out 1 day with intentsity....you will grow from the 1 day and not the 5.

The problem most people, who are natural, have is overtraining.

[Iron]

I prefer and I believe the applicable studies support 3 X week full body workouts. Sets need to be kept at a minimum 2-3 per body part per workout. Intensity is a part of it but not every body part every workout. Most studies show anything more than 2-3 sets don't do anything but burn calories. They also seem to show that muscles are recovered within 48 hours and begin to regress after this.

I know that can seem like a lot but I suggest that the need for 4, 6, or 7 days between bodypart workouts is more a need of the CNS to recover than the muscle itself. Intensity may have to be decreased or rotated to prevent CNS burnout. This in itself is a good thing as for most of us it gives a new lower starting point in intensity to work up from thus furthering gains as we do.

I've noticed that Bryan Haycock's HST is the closest thing I've seen on this and seems to be the most scientifically based.

Iron

[Eric3237]

I agree on the full-body workouts but the rest is entirely dependant on traning status, i.e. the adaptive state of a particular individual. Studies are a good thing to look at but the particular study is only applicable to the particular study setting. Most studies are done of untrained individuals and this kind of science for a long time has attempted to treat every athlete as the same regardless of training age. A big mistake.

BTW, I wouldn't really compare the way HST cycles intensity to traditional intensity cycling. It depends on stategic deconditioning, for one thing, which results in some CNS detraining. You've going to be losing strenght and working back up from an intensity deficit all the while employing weights that MAY actually result in more CNS detraining. The whole question of intensity becomes beside the point as you are continually shortchanging you ability to work up to you full potential intensity wise. Good intensity cycling allows the cns to recover but doesn't allow it to detrain so much.

I recommend the 5x5 like the others. A fullbody NOT a split.