Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 22:05     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
I target different areas so that I can be sure that all areas are getting adequate rest. With repeated full body workouts, there's a decent chance of over training. It's important to think in terms of injury and fatigue prevention.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 19:31     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It really depends on your goals, what kind of strength training you like, how much time you have - there is no single best strength routine.

Generally, you want to work your large muscle groups (legs, chest, back) before smaller (biceps, triceps), but most classes are structured that way. People go on about “leg day” or whatever, but it’s fine to train your whole body two or three times/week (more than three wouldn’t allow for adequate recovery). But hey, if you love leg day, have at it!


Most people start out with full body workouts. The reason people move to workouts targeting specific muscle groups on specific days is that it’s pretty common to progress to a point where you can’t continue to advance with full body workouts. When I was lifting seriously, my twice a week leg day as

3x5 squats @275-300
3x5 deadlift @350-400
4x12 leg press @450-550
Leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises

This was as a middle aged, not very strong dude with bad knees. Lots of guys at my gym lifted much more. It’s hard and takes too long to do other exercises after a workout like this, at least for me.

Now that I’m even older and even weaker, I’m back to full body workouts.


Your point? I’ve done all kinds of strength training from Olympic lifting to powerlifting to solidcore to Peloton strength to yoga to my own random workouts at the gym. Neither I nor the OP need mansplaining about full body vs. accessory work. Your first sentence is somewhat helpful; the rest, not so much.

DP, but how is this mansplaining? I think of mansplaining as when a man tries to school me on a topic on which I’m more informed than he is, not someone trying to answer a question I’ve asked. I think your response was a bit aggressive for no apparent reason.


Read the full exchange above. I do know more than this guy, at least based on what he posted. There was very little reason for him to post that level of detail about leg day for someone inexperienced in strength training. Also, I wasn’t asking a question; I responded to OP’s post, and this guy saw fit to respond to mine even though I wasn’t asking for any kind of input or response from him.

As a woman who is more experienced with different styles of weight-lifting and strength training than most men, yeah, I do get annoyed when men proactively try to school me in it.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 19:28     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It really depends on your goals, what kind of strength training you like, how much time you have - there is no single best strength routine.

Generally, you want to work your large muscle groups (legs, chest, back) before smaller (biceps, triceps), but most classes are structured that way. People go on about “leg day” or whatever, but it’s fine to train your whole body two or three times/week (more than three wouldn’t allow for adequate recovery). But hey, if you love leg day, have at it!


Most people start out with full body workouts. The reason people move to workouts targeting specific muscle groups on specific days is that it’s pretty common to progress to a point where you can’t continue to advance with full body workouts. When I was lifting seriously, my twice a week leg day as

3x5 squats @275-300
3x5 deadlift @350-400
4x12 leg press @450-550
Leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises

This was as a middle aged, not very strong dude with bad knees. Lots of guys at my gym lifted much more. It’s hard and takes too long to do other exercises after a workout like this, at least for me.

Now that I’m even older and even weaker, I’m back to full body workouts.


What are those numbers? Pounds??
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 19:27     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
I do full body workouts 3 days/week and also 2 days with focused lower body work.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 18:04     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It really depends on your goals, what kind of strength training you like, how much time you have - there is no single best strength routine.

Generally, you want to work your large muscle groups (legs, chest, back) before smaller (biceps, triceps), but most classes are structured that way. People go on about “leg day” or whatever, but it’s fine to train your whole body two or three times/week (more than three wouldn’t allow for adequate recovery). But hey, if you love leg day, have at it!


Most people start out with full body workouts. The reason people move to workouts targeting specific muscle groups on specific days is that it’s pretty common to progress to a point where you can’t continue to advance with full body workouts. When I was lifting seriously, my twice a week leg day as

3x5 squats @275-300
3x5 deadlift @350-400
4x12 leg press @450-550
Leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises

This was as a middle aged, not very strong dude with bad knees. Lots of guys at my gym lifted much more. It’s hard and takes too long to do other exercises after a workout like this, at least for me.

Now that I’m even older and even weaker, I’m back to full body workouts.


Your point? I’ve done all kinds of strength training from Olympic lifting to powerlifting to solidcore to Peloton strength to yoga to my own random workouts at the gym. Neither I nor the OP need mansplaining about full body vs. accessory work. Your first sentence is somewhat helpful; the rest, not so much.

DP, but how is this mansplaining? I think of mansplaining as when a man tries to school me on a topic on which I’m more informed than he is, not someone trying to answer a question I’ve asked. I think your response was a bit aggressive for no apparent reason.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 17:57     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It really depends on your goals, what kind of strength training you like, how much time you have - there is no single best strength routine.

Generally, you want to work your large muscle groups (legs, chest, back) before smaller (biceps, triceps), but most classes are structured that way. People go on about “leg day” or whatever, but it’s fine to train your whole body two or three times/week (more than three wouldn’t allow for adequate recovery). But hey, if you love leg day, have at it!


Most people start out with full body workouts. The reason people move to workouts targeting specific muscle groups on specific days is that it’s pretty common to progress to a point where you can’t continue to advance with full body workouts. When I was lifting seriously, my twice a week leg day as

3x5 squats @275-300
3x5 deadlift @350-400
4x12 leg press @450-550
Leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises

This was as a middle aged, not very strong dude with bad knees. Lots of guys at my gym lifted much more. It’s hard and takes too long to do other exercises after a workout like this, at least for me.

Now that I’m even older and even weaker, I’m back to full body workouts.


Your point? I’ve done all kinds of strength training from Olympic lifting to powerlifting to solidcore to Peloton strength to yoga to my own random workouts at the gym. Neither I nor the OP need mansplaining about full body vs. accessory work. Your first sentence is somewhat helpful; the rest, not so much.


I’m the poster you’re responding to.

It sounds like you have a lot of experience. Why not tell OP your experience with how/whether you do/did full body workouts or splits? That perspective would likely be really useful.

Cheers.


I do have a lot of experience. That’s why I responded to the OP as I did - the post you quoted.

There is no single best strength training regimen for everyone, or even necessarily for one person over a lifetime. What matters in determining what’s best for a given individual are the following:

What kind of workouts do you like to do?
What are your goals?
What are your resources (time, money, gym membership, home gym, etc.)?

Someone inexperienced asking about full body vs. splits needs to be clear on the answers to those questions first, because they determine what’s most likely to be effective (and what they’re likely to stick with). It’s not about me sharing my experience, it’s about me asking questions and listening to the answers.


Great. And my response was intended to point out that for most people, the answer to full body vs splits changes over time. Specifically, many people build up to weights and rep numbers that would have been unbelievable to them when they started, but become necessary to continue improving. Often, that drives them to splits because the volume is just too tiring or time consuming to hit the whole body in a day.

Sorry you found my response so upsetting. It was meant to be helpful by providing some detail of my experience. I find that kid of detail in others’ posts really interesting. YMMV.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 17:24     Subject: Re:Target areas when strength training?
I started off doing full body, but factoring in warmup time full body was taking about an hour for me. I didn’t have time to do that plus as much cardio as I wanted, so I switched to doing muscle splits instead - I can get those done in 30 minutes including warmup time. I have to do more days per week this way, but it’s easier to fit the shorter workouts into my schedule.

I do think I can push a little harder in the split workouts, so they may be more effective for me, but honestly I think whichever you prefer works.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 17:21     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It really depends on your goals, what kind of strength training you like, how much time you have - there is no single best strength routine.

Generally, you want to work your large muscle groups (legs, chest, back) before smaller (biceps, triceps), but most classes are structured that way. People go on about “leg day” or whatever, but it’s fine to train your whole body two or three times/week (more than three wouldn’t allow for adequate recovery). But hey, if you love leg day, have at it!


Most people start out with full body workouts. The reason people move to workouts targeting specific muscle groups on specific days is that it’s pretty common to progress to a point where you can’t continue to advance with full body workouts. When I was lifting seriously, my twice a week leg day as

3x5 squats @275-300
3x5 deadlift @350-400
4x12 leg press @450-550
Leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises

This was as a middle aged, not very strong dude with bad knees. Lots of guys at my gym lifted much more. It’s hard and takes too long to do other exercises after a workout like this, at least for me.

Now that I’m even older and even weaker, I’m back to full body workouts.


Your point? I’ve done all kinds of strength training from Olympic lifting to powerlifting to solidcore to Peloton strength to yoga to my own random workouts at the gym. Neither I nor the OP need mansplaining about full body vs. accessory work. Your first sentence is somewhat helpful; the rest, not so much.


I’m the poster you’re responding to.

It sounds like you have a lot of experience. Why not tell OP your experience with how/whether you do/did full body workouts or splits? That perspective would likely be really useful.

Cheers.


I do have a lot of experience. That’s why I responded to the OP as I did - the post you quoted.

There is no single best strength training regimen for everyone, or even necessarily for one person over a lifetime. What matters in determining what’s best for a given individual are the following:

What kind of workouts do you like to do?
What are your goals?
What are your resources (time, money, gym membership, home gym, etc.)?

Someone inexperienced asking about full body vs. splits needs to be clear on the answers to those questions first, because they determine what’s most likely to be effective (and what they’re likely to stick with). It’s not about me sharing my experience, it’s about me asking questions and listening to the answers.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 17:01     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It really depends on your goals, what kind of strength training you like, how much time you have - there is no single best strength routine.

Generally, you want to work your large muscle groups (legs, chest, back) before smaller (biceps, triceps), but most classes are structured that way. People go on about “leg day” or whatever, but it’s fine to train your whole body two or three times/week (more than three wouldn’t allow for adequate recovery). But hey, if you love leg day, have at it!


Most people start out with full body workouts. The reason people move to workouts targeting specific muscle groups on specific days is that it’s pretty common to progress to a point where you can’t continue to advance with full body workouts. When I was lifting seriously, my twice a week leg day as

3x5 squats @275-300
3x5 deadlift @350-400
4x12 leg press @450-550
Leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises

This was as a middle aged, not very strong dude with bad knees. Lots of guys at my gym lifted much more. It’s hard and takes too long to do other exercises after a workout like this, at least for me.

Now that I’m even older and even weaker, I’m back to full body workouts.


Your point? I’ve done all kinds of strength training from Olympic lifting to powerlifting to solidcore to Peloton strength to yoga to my own random workouts at the gym. Neither I nor the OP need mansplaining about full body vs. accessory work. Your first sentence is somewhat helpful; the rest, not so much.


I’m the poster you’re responding to.

It sounds like you have a lot of experience. Why not tell OP your experience with how/whether you do/did full body workouts or splits? That perspective would likely be really useful.

Cheers.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 12:31     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It really depends on your goals, what kind of strength training you like, how much time you have - there is no single best strength routine.

Generally, you want to work your large muscle groups (legs, chest, back) before smaller (biceps, triceps), but most classes are structured that way. People go on about “leg day” or whatever, but it’s fine to train your whole body two or three times/week (more than three wouldn’t allow for adequate recovery). But hey, if you love leg day, have at it!


Most people start out with full body workouts. The reason people move to workouts targeting specific muscle groups on specific days is that it’s pretty common to progress to a point where you can’t continue to advance with full body workouts. When I was lifting seriously, my twice a week leg day as

3x5 squats @275-300
3x5 deadlift @350-400
4x12 leg press @450-550
Leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises

This was as a middle aged, not very strong dude with bad knees. Lots of guys at my gym lifted much more. It’s hard and takes too long to do other exercises after a workout like this, at least for me.

Now that I’m even older and even weaker, I’m back to full body workouts.


Your point? I’ve done all kinds of strength training from Olympic lifting to powerlifting to solidcore to Peloton strength to yoga to my own random workouts at the gym. Neither I nor the OP need mansplaining about full body vs. accessory work. Your first sentence is somewhat helpful; the rest, not so much.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 11:37     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
Anonymous wrote:It really depends on your goals, what kind of strength training you like, how much time you have - there is no single best strength routine.

Generally, you want to work your large muscle groups (legs, chest, back) before smaller (biceps, triceps), but most classes are structured that way. People go on about “leg day” or whatever, but it’s fine to train your whole body two or three times/week (more than three wouldn’t allow for adequate recovery). But hey, if you love leg day, have at it!


Most people start out with full body workouts. The reason people move to workouts targeting specific muscle groups on specific days is that it’s pretty common to progress to a point where you can’t continue to advance with full body workouts. When I was lifting seriously, my twice a week leg day as

3x5 squats @275-300
3x5 deadlift @350-400
4x12 leg press @450-550
Leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises

This was as a middle aged, not very strong dude with bad knees. Lots of guys at my gym lifted much more. It’s hard and takes too long to do other exercises after a workout like this, at least for me.

Now that I’m even older and even weaker, I’m back to full body workouts.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 10:39     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
Depends on what your goals are. If you're trying to grow your muscles in a certain area then you will need to do more targeted heavy exercises to that muscle group 2-3x/week. if you're more interested in overall toning then full body workouts are great.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2023 08:45     Subject: Target areas when strength training?


Training fully body is fine, but if you do so you should rest at least one day in between days.

Overall though as long as you are working all major muscle groups training full body is fine.
Anonymous
Post 03/16/2023 22:23     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
It really depends on your goals, what kind of strength training you like, how much time you have - there is no single best strength routine.

Generally, you want to work your large muscle groups (legs, chest, back) before smaller (biceps, triceps), but most classes are structured that way. People go on about “leg day” or whatever, but it’s fine to train your whole body two or three times/week (more than three wouldn’t allow for adequate recovery). But hey, if you love leg day, have at it!
Anonymous
Post 03/16/2023 22:07     Subject: Target areas when strength training?
Is it better to take 3-4 total body strength classes a week or target different areas in each class? So legs then arms then chest etc. assume the class is 30-4( minutes long. Thanks for the advice!