What is the difference between a 3 Day split & a 4 day split?

[Carmen829]

I have Cathes 4DS series and I love it. I've gotten good results with it. In recent postings I've read where some get even better results doing a 3 day split. Could someone give me an example of how they work that?

Also I read somewhere on these forums that with the new STS series (which some are calling a 3 day split) Cathe's older DVD's would be obsolete, so I'm wondering whether to even invest in the Body Blast series (I've always wanted).

Thanks.

Carmen

 

[lainiefig]

I wouldn't ever guess her older DVDs would really be obsolete considering lots of people have had great results with them--I think they'll continue to be great and effective for fitness.

Anyway, the easiest way to do a 3-day split is to use workouts designed that way--like the Gym Styles which are divided on 3 DVDs: 1 is Chest & Triceps, then Legs, then Back, Shoulders, & Biceps. Slow & Heavy is another 3-day split (but that is Chest & Back, then Legs & Shoulders, and Triceps & Biceps).

Here are some sample rotations:

Total Body Rotation
DAY PLAN
DAY 1 Total Body Weights (like Muscle Max)
DAY 2 Cardio
DAY 3 Total Body Weights or a Total Body Circuit video (like Low Impact Circuit)
DAY 4 Cardio
DAY 5 Total Body Weights
DAY 6 Cardio
DAY 7 rest or yoga

Upper/Lower Body Split Rotation
DAY PLAN
DAY 1 Upper Body Weights (like Pyramid Upper Body)
DAY 2 Cardio
DAY 3 Lower Body Weights (like Pyramid Lower Body)
DAY 4 Cardio
DAY 5 Total Body Weights or Circuit
DAY 6 Cardio
DAY 7 rest or yoga

3-Day Split Rotation
DAY PLAN
DAY 1 Part upper body (something like back, shoulders & biceps)
DAY 2 Cardio
DAY 3 Lower Body
DAY 4 Cardio
DAY 5 Other part upper body (like chest & triceps)
DAY 6 Cardio
DAY 7 rest or yoga

Hope that helps!

Edit: I love the Body Blast series myself and I'm sure I will for years to come--I highly recommend it.

[font face="comic sans ms" font color=purple]***Lainie***
My fitness blog: http://fitnessfig.blogspot.com/ http://bestsmileys.com/exercising/7.gif

If you want to give God a good laugh, tell Her your plans.[/font]

 

[Carmen829]

Thank you very much.

Carmen

 

[kathryn]

If you want to try your own 3-day split, you can break workouts into either of the following basic splits:

Split 1:
Day 1: upper body 1 (back/biceps: the "pull" muscles)
Day 3: lower body
Day 5: upper body 2 (chest/shoulders/triceps : the "push" muscles)


Split 2:
Day 1: upper body 1 (back/chest: This works the 'agonists' or opposinng muscle groups, so you can rest one while working the other)
Day 3: lower body
Day 5: upper body 2 (shoulders and arms)


I actually like the first split better, as it spaces out working large muscle groups (legs, back, chest) throughout the week, rather than combining some large muscle groups on some days.

 

[kathryn]

>I read somewhere on these forums that with the new STS
>series (which some are calling a 3 day split) Cathe's older
>DVD's would be obsolete, so I'm wondering whether to even
>invest in the Body Blast series (I've always wanted).

I don't think STS will make previous Cathe workouts obsolete. In fact, I recently went back to Pure Strength, and was pleasantly surprised at how good of a workout it is: the number of reps and the rest between sets is better, IMO, than in some of her more recent workouts.