How long should I wait between workouts?

[DuncanMcFl]

Hey, I'm new to weight training and I was wondering how long is long enough to wait between working the same muscle group again, and how long is too long.

I find that if I try to work the same group sooner than 3 days later I am too sore and weak still. If I try to work it past 3-4 days later however I find myself losing almost all of my progress. But then I see that many people only work each group once a week which seems waaaay too long for me to make any kind of gains. I am a very hard gainer and I tend to lose gains easily if I'm not persistent. But at the same time I don't want to work out too frequently and inhibit gains. Any thoughts?

[MAURER]

since you are new to lifting, i'd say three total-body workouts per week. since you're just starting out, you can lift through the soreness. there is no way to get around soreness when you are new to lifting. also, you are right you won't make progress lifting once a week, especially being new to lifting. so as i said before, total-body three times a week. and also i'd suggest keeping reps in the 12 range for now and don't go to failure. once you have been lifting for a few months, you'll want to change this up a bit.

[DuncanMcFl]

Originally Posted by MAURER

since you are new to lifting, i'd say three total-body workouts per week. since you're just starting out, you can lift through the soreness. there is no way to get around soreness when you are new to lifting. also, you are right you won't make progress lifting once a week, especially being new to lifting. so as i said before, total-body three times a week. and also i'd suggest keeping reps in the 12 range for now and don't go to failure. once you have been lifting for a few months, you'll want to change this up a bit.

Yeah, about every 3 days total body is what I've been doing so I guess I'm with you on that. As far as working out while sore though, is this generally counter-productive? In other words, does being sore mean it's too soon because I'm still healing and do I need to wait until the soreness mostly dissipates?

[MAURER]

no thats not what it means. muscle soreness doesn't mean your muscles are still repairing. anyway, i generally don't like to work through soreness but since you are just starting, its more important to keep the frequency high. just make sure you aren't overworking. like how many reps/sets are you doing right now and how close to failure do you go?

[DuncanMcFl]

Originally Posted by MAURER

no thats not what it means. muscle soreness doesn't mean your muscles are still repairing. anyway, i generally don't like to work through soreness but since you are just starting, its more important to keep the frequency high. just make sure you aren't overworking. like how many reps/sets are you doing right now and how close to failure do you go?

A typical workout for me consists of wide arm push ups, military presses, bent over rows, dips, bicep curls, and other exercises as needed. I will usually do three sets of each usually reaching failure by the last set and under 10 reps per set.

[MAURER]

ehh that routine stinks. any particular reason you are doing it?

[DuncanMcFl]

Originally Posted by MAURER

ehh that routine stinks. any particular reason you are doing it?

Basically because I can't afford gym membership or the purchase of any more equipment right now so I have to make do with what I have available to me at home which is basically just a bar with some weights. Best I can do under the circumstances.

What I have found to work fairly well at times is to have two workouts that I call Workout 1 (W1) and Workout 2 (W2). W1 would have something on the order of weighted dips, weighted chins, squats, sld's, wrist curls, toe raises. Day 2 would have deads, military press, shrugs or upright rows, close grip bench, curls. Off days would be for abs and cardio. On Monday I would start off with W1, Wed would be W2, Fri would be W1 again. Following Mon would be W2, Wed W1, etc. It gives a good rotation and keeps the whole body stimulated.

I don't gain on once per week workouts. They just don't cut it for me. Whole body several times per week is the only way I can really make progress.

[DuncanMcFl]

Originally Posted by IronMan

What I have found to work fairly well at times is to have two workouts that I call Workout 1 (W1) and Workout 2 (W2). W1 would have something on the order of weighted dips, weighted chins, squats, sld's, wrist curls, toe raises. Day 2 would have deads, military press, shrugs or upright rows, close grip bench, curls. Off days would be for abs and cardio. On Monday I would start off with W1, Wed would be W2, Fri would be W1 again. Following Mon would be W2, Wed W1, etc. It gives a good rotation and keeps the whole body stimulated.

I don't gain on once per week workouts. They just don't cut it for me. Whole body several times per week is the only way I can really make progress.

Glad to hear more than once per week is a good way to go. I won't worry so much that I'm overdoing it now. Once per week doesn't do a thing for me. My options are fairly limited right now without a bench or even a chin up bar but hopefully my financial situation will allow the purchase of more equipment soon.

[MAURER]

in my opinion, whatever muscle you are training goes out out of "training mode" when you don't stimulate that muscle through weightlifting for a full week.

[cursor]

Ideally, the amount of rest that a muscle group requires will depend on how hard it has been worked out, and how much muscle mass you're talking about. Quads, for example, will take longer to prepare for your next session than biceps (even if worked out with the same intensity). Here is a list of factors that come into play when determining how much rest is ideal between sessions:

• Mental Umph!
• Adding repetitions
• Adding weight
• Decreasing rest between reps
• Decreasing rest between sets
• Increasing exercises per body part
• Increasing total number of exercises per session
• Increasing number of sessions per day
• Increasing speed of movement
• Increasing eccentric work

For now, at your stage of lifting, get by with the equipment that you have (I don't have much either ) and do something like IronMan is recommending. You could even do three full-body workouts a week — with rest days alternating in between your workout days.

[DuncanMcFl]

I tend to do resistance training every three days and cardio every three days. Sort of like this:

W= weights, C=Cardio, R=Rest

CWRCWRCWR and so on...
I rest the day after weights and do cardio the day before weights so that I still get the metabolic boost from cardio to burn some fat but so that I am also providing sufficient growth and repair time for my muscles after lifting. I definately prefer the full body workouts but as maurer said, my workout program is kind of shoddy. Any ideas on how I might improve it with the limited equipment I have?