Help::: bodybuilders/weight lifters

W

wendyjpa

Cathlete
I've been weight lifting for about 8 yrs/ off and on, with mix up of heavy/light/ endurance/ etc...
Now, i'm thinking i want to get serious with heavy lifting. I'm naturally thin... small framed, 5 foot 2. 108 lbs. I want to change the shape of my arms and legs as much as i can,

I'm wondering what the benefits of one body part a day, as compared to two body parts a day, how much cardio etc....

I seem to lift so much heavier with one body part a day, due to lack of fatigue in the other muscles, but yet to have doms from this. When i do... say a three body part w/o such as hardcore shoulders/back/biceps, by the time i get to biceps, my arms are fatigued ( i go as heavy as possible.)

what do you think???
 
For size you should stick with Heavy weights, low reps, long rest. Example: 5-8 reps at the heaviest weight you can safely lift but you should be at, or very close, to fatigue at the end of the set.

I don't know what to tell you about the lack of DOMS, are you lifting until you can't possibly do anymore reps? If you are having a hard time with the order of upper body work you could do the workout backwards one or two days - start w/ biceps, shoulder, back.
 
Hi Wendy, I am a slow and heavy lifter. Do a little endurance but not much. I know what you mean about exhausting your muscles. I still like to workout each body part about 2x a week. If I up my weights for legs, I usually workout them out only once that week. I do floor work for legs too, about 2x/week. What works for me..is working out 2 body parts/day. You can even split it up...one part early in the day..the other in the evening. I know Heavy Lifting can bulk muscles up but its hard for women. I have a hard time bulking up but I am definitely getting more defined.
 
Hi Wendy--I'm a heavy lifter. Right now I do each body part once a week w/three lifting workouts, so I don't lift every day.

But during the time I gained the most muscle mass/strength, I lifted 6X a week, one body part per day. You're right in thinking that this does not fatigue your muscles as much & therefore you can lift more weight.

It took me about a year to really gain the strength that I now maintain, & during that year I did have a training partner. I can't say enough about how much this helped. Having someone to encourage me & to spot me on the last 2-4 reps made an amazing difference.
 
Lift heavy, and give each body part a week to recover. It's in the resting stage that the muscles repair themselves and grow bigger.

Too much cardio will burn off the muscle you're trying to gain. Mix it up 20 to 40 minutes. I'm small, and trying to build too, and my trainer told me to limit my cardio to 40 minutes max. When I do Cathes, I use premixes that meet that critera.
 
Thanks for the replies!!
Snazzy, how many times a week are you hitting each body part??
Are you doing splits or one body part per day?
And for your shorter cardio, are you doing that like say 3 times a week? Thanks again, i appreciate all the help!
 
>Thanks for the replies!!
>Snazzy, how many times a week are you hitting each body
>part??
>Are you doing splits or one body part per day?
>And for your shorter cardio, are you doing that like say 3
>times a week? Thanks again, i appreciate all the help!


I hit each body part once per week, except for abs and calves. Abs I try to hit twice, calves I'm just not good at remembering....which explains why they haven't grown a bit. LOL I always thought my back wouldn't grow, but hitting it heavy once a week consistently, and I've got lats coming in! So, I'm hoping if I religiously do calves once a week they'll grow too. Calves are largely genetic, so we'll see. I may have bird legs forever, but I'll give it a shot!

I used to do splits, but now my time is so limited, I prefer to do one body part per day, hit it hard, and call it good. The exception is biceps/triceps. I do those together in the same workout. I guess techincally, glutes/hams/quads are an exception, because I do them all at once too (I know people who do hams and glutes one day, quads a different day.)

Yes, I do the shorter cardio 3 times a week on average. I try to get in 4, usually manage 3. So in that respect, I keep my body guessing by accident....it never knows if it will be a week with 3 or 4 cardio sessions. LOL
 
Hi Wendy-

I love doing a one bodypart/day strength training regimen. I use this style of training as my base foundation for weight training..

Hands down, I have seen the best results in my physique when training this way....more muscular gains w/ cuts than when I am training any other way. I also do heavy w/ less reps.

As far as cardio, I do cardio almost every day.. but not more than 30-40 minutes... depending on how I am feeling depends on how rigorous I want to go. CTX series cardio portions work well.

I have used the S and H series mostly as far as incorporating Cathe workouts for strength. I do have the hardcore series, and have been using those at one body part /day , but its too soon to tell whether or not I will see the same gains as I have w/ S and H.

Also, I do try to do abs 3x/week. That seems to work best for me.

Most of my workouts clock in around an hour, give or take.

Lastly try to put a couple of days in between your chest and shoulders workout.. Alot of those same muscles get incorporated in both workouts so its good to have time in between for recovery.

Here is a sample of what I will do:

Mon Chest/abs- CTX Step
Tues Back + Interval run
Wed: Legs + CTX Kickbox
Thurs: Shoulders/Abs + Cardio (misc)
Friday: Tris + longer run
Saturday: Bis/Abs + Swim or cardio of choice
Sun Rest


Good luck and take care, Lynn M.
 
Thanks for all the help!! Lynn, thanks for the sample of what you do, i think i'll follow that exact plan for a few weeks and see what happens. Subbing maybe some spinning, as i miss that if i eliminate it.
Do you usually do your strength work to videos, or on your own or at a gym?? I find i like to use videos, but i don't think the hardcores are going to do it for me. too much endurance like to me.
I do like slow and heavy, but it tends to bore me after a while.:)

thanks again, i appreciate the replies!
 
Hi Wendy-

I hope the schedule works as well for as you as it does for me!! :)

As far as gym workouts, yes I do workout at a gym 1-2x/week as well as Cathe Videos. It just kind of depends on my schedule that week. I like using machines for chest, back and tris, so on gym days, I will try to hit one of those parts that day.

Good luck and let me know how it goes. Lynn
 
Lynn,

Your rotation looks very doable from a schedule point of view. I might give it a try as my next rotation as I have been thinking of trying one body part per day. Thanks for posting it.
 
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