[Rhyalus]

Hi guys,

I am 38 and I have been nice and regular at the gym for at least the last year and a half.

I have a three day split;

Tues: Chest / Tri / Abs
Thurs: Back / Bi / Calves
Sun: Shoulders / Legs

I do cardio about 4x week.

The problem is, I *CAN'T* do two days in a row of lifting - I need at least one day in-between to recover.

i.e., if I miss Tues workout and do it Wednesday, I need Thurs to recover to hit the usual body parts. Even though I am not working those muscle groups, my body just wants to time off.

Anyone else like this?

Later,
R

[Beelzebub]

nah, i've missed before and made it up the next day with a split very similar to yours. chest/tri/abs shouldn't interfere with a back/bi/calves workout IMO.

[B5150]

If you are having so much of an issue to not recover enough to do a pull after a push you may need to look into your nutrition or the type of exercise/intensity. Your split is a very good basic split and you should be able to do 2on, 1off, 1on, at the very least, if not three consecutive.

[llb4]

you might consider putting your two day break following legs if you do them with intensity.

[delta314]

I'm 49 and my partner is 40, we do a Mon-Chest, Tues-Tris & Bi's, Wed-legs, Thurs-Shoulders, Fri-Back with Sat & Sun off. Doing just legs on Wed breaks it up pretty good for us. We do a high intesity hour each morning and I usually go back each day for at least an hour of cardio. The diet is the hardest part. My nose is turning into a freakin beak........

[Rhyalus]

Thanks for the info so far - I know that this split is super basic.

As it stands, I have no problem unless I try to stack them closer.

There is no doubt that my intensity is high - I put on the headphones and crank it up, and the world could explode around me and I would never notice.

I do 3-4 excercizes per body part for 3-4 sets each, at 7-10 reps. It takes me about 60-75 mins for an average workout, without the cardio.

My diet is pretty clean, high protein, low carb. I am 6'2" 227lbs. I am pretty religious about pre and post workout nutrition. I am getting some good results, so I know the body is responding the way that I want it to.

The reason I posted in this area was to see if other older dudes like me have a similar problem.

Can you guys think of any more specifics that I could provide that might explain this, other than age? I guess two variables that I have left out are that I am on a statin drug (lipitor), and I am also a completely controlled type II diabetic - BG is perfectly normal.

Maybe I am a pus and I just need to suck it up?

Later,
R

[Rhyalus]

Originally Posted by delta314

Mon-Chest, Tues-Tris & Bi's, Wed-legs, Thurs-Shoulders, Fri-Back

Damn, so Tues arms following chest the day before is no problem eh?

I could probably do back the day after shoulders. The problem might be more the fact that I am really working three body parts and going high intensity for so long.

Unfortunately, I can really only make it to the gym on these days - so they have to be busy ones.

[B5150]

Originally Posted by Rhyalus

Maybe I am a pus and I just need to suck it up?

Is it really that bad or are you just stiff/sore. I know I sometimes train and I am still stiff/sore from the previous days workout. But after a reasonable 15-20 warm up the wheels are greased and I can perform my days workout. Are you warming up thoroughly every time you train?

3-4 exercise per body part at high intensity is quite a bit. You could be over training. If you do 4 exercises for 4 sets thats 16 set for a body part. If you are doing chest and tris that is 32 sets. Way too much. Cut it in half. Chest 3-4 sets of incline, 3-4 sets of flat (or exercises of choice). Tris 3-4 sets crushers and maybe a couple three of push downs (or exercises of choice). Then the next time that day comes around use the other two exercises, for each body part, respectively.

JMO

[Beelzebub]

damn, i just realized i posted in the old folks home. sorry gents

[jonny21]

Originally Posted by Rhyalus

Damn, so Tues arms following chest the day before is no problem eh?

I could probably do back the day after shoulders. The problem might be more the fact that I am really working three body parts and going high intensity for so long.

Unfortunately, I can really only make it to the gym on these days - so they have to be busy ones.

I wouldn't do tris after chest, not giving them enough recovery that way.

But back to your question, yes some weeks I feel that I need more time between resistance training days. Usually has to do with my attitude rather than anything physical. I can convince myself that I need the day off from lifting very easily, especially when not taking any "Ergonomics"

[Knowbull]

Yes I hear you, consecutive days dont work for me either, I think we have to remember that these split routines and other routines listed in bodybuilding magazines are designed by guys using lots of juice. Split routines always exhausted me and killed my muscle tone. What does work for me is 3 full body workouts a week using a modified HST periodization. It doesnt mean you are a wuss, I have felt similar in the past and decided to just "suck it up" that attitude resulted in injury and put me out of routine for months.

[jonny21]

Originally Posted by Beelzebub

damn, i just realized i posted in the old folks home. sorry gents

Don't worry, your time will come.

[Beelzebub]

8 mo' years brudda

[Rhyalus]

Originally Posted by B5150

Is it really that bad or are you just stiff/sore. I know I sometimes train and I am still stiff/sore from the previous days workout. But after a reasonable 15-20 warm up the wheels are greased and I can perform my days workout. Are you warming up thoroughly every time you train?

3-4 exercise per body part at high intensity is quite a bit. You could be over training. If you do 4 exercises for 4 sets thats 16 set for a body part. If you are doing chest and tris that is 32 sets. Way too much. Cut it in half. Chest 3-4 sets of incline, 3-4 sets of flat (or exercises of choice). Tris 3-4 sets crushers and maybe a couple three of push downs (or exercises of choice). Then the next time that day comes around use the other two exercises, for each body part, respectively.

Well, I guess the answer is that the muscles are sore, and my body feels like it wants rest. I like going to the gym feeling fresh, so that the accessory muscles won't get hurt from over exertion. I usually do an eliptical for 10mins to get the pulse up, then I stretch for about 5 mins. My first set is usually light weight, for 12 reps.

I guess 16 is the upper limit of what I would do for a body part - usually it is 3-4 excersizes for 3 sets. Either way, I hear you on the "too much".

I'll post some printouts of my workout schedule. I have an excel sheet with all of the excersizes that I do, and I rotate from week to week.

Later,
R

[Rhyalus]

Originally Posted by Beelzebub

damn, i just realized i posted in the old folks home. sorry gents

Hey!

I represent that comment!

[Rhyalus]

Originally Posted by Knowbull

Split routines always exhausted me and killed my muscle tone. What does work for me is 3 full body workouts a week using a modified HST periodization. It doesnt mean you are a wuss, I have felt similar in the past and decided to just "suck it up" that attitude resulted in injury and put me out of routine for months.

Hi Knowbull,

I have to tell you that I did wholebody for years, and in the last year and a half where I went to split routines, I have made huge gains.

There is no way on earth that I have enough energy (or time!) to do all the work that is needed on a particular muscle group to get hypertrophy.

Thanks for the reminder that not being a pus can result in injury, too... point well taken.

Later,
R

[Rhyalus]

Originally Posted by jonny21

I can convince myself that I need the day off from lifting very easily, especially when not taking any "Ergonomics"

I have only done one cycle of legal supps, but I have to say that I did not get that enhanced recovery thing going on. This was PP....

I was hoping for it, too!

Cissus Rx seems to help - although my joints are fine.

Later,
R