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Building
Muscle Mass - Using Split
Routines
While
beginning athletes who try
building muscle mass are
able to make gains with a
whole-body workout or a
two-day split, more
advanced athletes need to
divide their bodyparts into
three or four groups. These
routines let you spend more
time and effort on each
muscle without creating
excessively long workouts.
This increases your
intensity level and
stimulates more muscle
growth over time, provided
that you train correctly.
Be sure to include a rest
day between bodypart cycles
for recuperation.
When
building muscle mass, many
athletes begin their weight
training with a whole-body
workout, in which all of
the muscles are exercised
on the same day. Later,
they may divide their
bodyparts into two separate
routines. For example, the
upper body would be trained
on Day One and the lower
body on Day Two. Both of
these training regimens are
productive for beginning
athletes. Their bodies
respond with a surge of
growth as the muscles,
unaccustomed to the rigors
of progressive resistance
training, pack on size. In
fact, most athletes notice
a considerable increase in
strength and muscle mass
during their first six
months with the
weights.
At some
point, however, these gains
begin to taper off. The
body gets used to the
demands placed upon it and
stops growing at the same
rate. In certain cases, the
gains stop altogether. When
this happens, you need to
divide your muscles into
three or four groups when
building muscle mass. With
a three-day split you
usually train three
bodyparts per day. A
four-day split allows you
to train only two parts per
day. The advantage of these
training systems is that
you can do more sets for
each muscle without
draining your body through
excessively long workouts.
This increase in training
volume will stimulate
additional growth over
time.
Athletes
who want to train a
bodypart twice per week
frequently use a three-day
split. For example, you
could train chest,
shoulders, and triceps on
Day One; quads/hamstrings,
calves, and abdominals on
Day Two; and back, biceps,
and forearms on Day Three.
This training system for
building muscle mass can be
very effective. By giving
each muscle two major doses
of weight training each
week, you stimulate your
body to its maximum. As
long as this greater volume
does not push you into the
overtraining syndrome, you
will achieve significant
muscle gains. Athletes who
train for another sport at
the same time, such as
football players, often
find that a three-day split
performed once a week helps
to increase their strength
and size while still giving
them enough time to train
for their other event.
Four-day
training cycles are
becoming increasingly
popular as a way to extend
the time between bodypart
workouts. With four-day
splits, two bodyparts are
usually trained each day.
For example, you could
train chest and shoulders
on Day One;
quadriceps/hamstrings and
calves on Day Two; back and
abdominals on Day Three;
and arms on Day Four. The
four-day system lets you
perform even more sets per
bodypart. It also allows
more time for recuperation
to occur. This may further
increase your gains in
muscle size and strength
compared to the three-day
system, provided, of
course, that the muscles
are trained at their
maximum intensity during
your workouts.
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