Joe Pietaro
Joe Pietaro Contributer
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That is the oldest question in 'The Book' when it comes to fitness and bodybuilding and it may - but should not - surprise you that there is no specific answer. As a matter of fact, each individual may have his or her own answer which works for them, albeit it an issue of time, fatigue/soreness or just plain boredom of going to the gym. Yep, that's right; many people hate it and that's fine. As long as you drag yourself there a few times every week and get it done... even at a m minimum.
If you're one of those gym rats who live there, then good for you. Most of us don't have that luxury nor want to be there more than we have to be. But at the end of the week, as long as we all took care of business, it's all good. You may have aspirations of becoming a big time pro bodybuilder while the guy impatiently waiting for that bench you've been on for 43 minutes just wants to drop 15 pounds before summer so he can get laid more. Both are equally important to each respective person.
Let's say for example that you can get to the gym an average of four to five days per week and have a window between 90 minutes and two hours each time. You can get in a full body workout and cardio more than once easily if you use your time wisely. You may have to be creative and hit more than one body part a day, but that's where knowing your way around a gym and what works what comes into play. Not sure? Ask someone there. Or if you're shy, look it up. You may see someone performing an exercise you've never come across and find out it's very helpful to add to your regiment.
And here's a tip: don't always look at the monsters when trying to come up with new ideas for your routine. Many of these guys are doing partial reps to work on one specific part of that muscle and others have been making the same mistakes for years. Sure, they may look like they jumped out of a comic book, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are doing each rep with perfect form. If you get that big one day, perhaps you can take a few liberties. But the best and smartest way to weight train is to do full reps slowly with a wide range of motion.
Let's take a look at some options for different days and how you can break down your body parts:
*3-DAY ROUTINE - Not recommended unless you have no other choice due to a busy schedule. But if this is all you can do, you have the make the best of it.
Biceps, Back, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Chest, Shoulders, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Legs, Triceps, abdominals
*4-DAY ROUTINE - Easier to break it up with one extra day. You can vary this and do the body part that is lagging for you on the third day to give out more attention. We put shoulders as an example, but you cab easily swap it for back, chest ir even arms. If you do the latter, do biceps abd triceps together that day.
Biceps, Back, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Chest, Triceps, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Shoulders, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Legs, abdominals
*5-DAY ROUTINE - Broken down to one body part per day counting arms as one.
Biceps, Triceps, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Chest, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Back, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Shoulders, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Legsm abdominals
If you're one of those gym rats who live there, then good for you. Most of us don't have that luxury nor want to be there more than we have to be. But at the end of the week, as long as we all took care of business, it's all good. You may have aspirations of becoming a big time pro bodybuilder while the guy impatiently waiting for that bench you've been on for 43 minutes just wants to drop 15 pounds before summer so he can get laid more. Both are equally important to each respective person.
Let's say for example that you can get to the gym an average of four to five days per week and have a window between 90 minutes and two hours each time. You can get in a full body workout and cardio more than once easily if you use your time wisely. You may have to be creative and hit more than one body part a day, but that's where knowing your way around a gym and what works what comes into play. Not sure? Ask someone there. Or if you're shy, look it up. You may see someone performing an exercise you've never come across and find out it's very helpful to add to your regiment.
And here's a tip: don't always look at the monsters when trying to come up with new ideas for your routine. Many of these guys are doing partial reps to work on one specific part of that muscle and others have been making the same mistakes for years. Sure, they may look like they jumped out of a comic book, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are doing each rep with perfect form. If you get that big one day, perhaps you can take a few liberties. But the best and smartest way to weight train is to do full reps slowly with a wide range of motion.
Let's take a look at some options for different days and how you can break down your body parts:
*3-DAY ROUTINE - Not recommended unless you have no other choice due to a busy schedule. But if this is all you can do, you have the make the best of it.
Biceps, Back, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Chest, Shoulders, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Legs, Triceps, abdominals
*4-DAY ROUTINE - Easier to break it up with one extra day. You can vary this and do the body part that is lagging for you on the third day to give out more attention. We put shoulders as an example, but you cab easily swap it for back, chest ir even arms. If you do the latter, do biceps abd triceps together that day.
Biceps, Back, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Chest, Triceps, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Shoulders, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Legs, abdominals
*5-DAY ROUTINE - Broken down to one body part per day counting arms as one.
Biceps, Triceps, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Chest, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Back, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Shoulders, abdominals, forearms, cardio
Legsm abdominals
