Working out twice a day. Work the same muscle groups the 2nd time?

[Chingylol]

Just got laid off so have some time on my hands. Just started working out twice a day 1-2 days out of the week, and I work out about 4 days a week. Now I know, people say this and that about working out twice in a day how its not effective, but again I have free time.

My question is for people that do, is it better do work on the same muscle groups in the evening that I did in the morning or switch it up? Like if I do back/shoulders in the morning, should I do it again or do something like bis/legs or etc.

[Projali]

Just got laid off so have some time on my hands. Just started working out twice a day 1-2 days out of the week, and I work out about 4 days a week. Now I know, people say this and that about working out twice in a day how its not effective, but again I have free time.

My question is for people that do, is it better do work on the same muscle groups in the evening that I did in the morning or switch it up? Like if I do back/shoulders in the morning, should I do it again or do something like bis/legs or etc.

Muscle grows during rest period when your body is repairing the micro-tears caused during weight lifting. If you don't give body parts adequate rest periods, you won't progress. How long is long enough to rest? Only your body can really tell you. My roommate swore by his 48 hours per muscle group policy but I found when he did my "squat til you puke" type leg days, 48 hours wasn't nearly enough. His chest days would put me out for a week. Your workout intensity, caloric consumption, genetics, sleep, hydration, muscle group, conditioning and overall motivation have a lot to do with how long you need to rest. This is something that comes with experience and a good mind-muscle connection. When I'm healthy and not out with a really annoying shoulder impingement, I usually do a 4 day split with chest/tricep, legs, rest, rest, back/bicep, shoulder/calves, rest.

Most splits are also centered around a push/pull split mentality. Back and bicep get used with most pulling motions like dead lift, rows, pull ups, curls, etc. Chest and triceps tend to get worked with pressing (push) motions like bench press, flyes, dips, and pushdowns.

I'd recommend finding an established program on T-nation or Bodybuilding and working with that. Randomly deciding that you're gonna do some lat raises tonight and maybe a few face pulls in the morning isn't a good way to go. Lift smart.

[akaTheDude]

Muscle grows during rest period when your body is repairing the micro-tears caused during weight lifting. If you don't give body parts adequate rest periods, you won't progress. Most splits are also centered around a push/pull split mentality. Back and bicep get used with most pulling motions like dead lift, rows, pull ups, curls, etc. Chest and triceps tend to get worked with pressing (push) motions like bench press, flyes, dips, and pushdowns.

I'd recommend finding an established program on T-nation or Bodybuilding and working with that. Randomly deciding that you're gonna do some lat raises tonight and maybe a few face pulls in the morning isn't a good way to go. Lift smart.

Damn I was going to post something......but Projali pretty much nailed it.

[drake741]

It was touched on before, but I really want to harp on this:

Remember the secondary or helper muscles that support and/or complement the main motion that you are doing.

For instance, in a standard bench press, the main mover is your pectoralis major (chest muscle), followed by your triceps, and shoulders, but also to some extent your biceps, and some back muscles.

If youa re working out multiple times in a week, don't do chest one day, then triceps the next, because that won't give them adequate rest time.

I suggest mixing in a cardio day, because having good cardio helps everything perform better.

Source: Personal experience, Army fitness training

[waddiwasi]

Muscle grows during rest period when your body is repairing the micro-tears caused during weight lifting. If you don't give body parts adequate rest periods, you won't progress. How long is long enough to rest? Only your body can really tell you. My roommate swore by his 48 hours per muscle group policy but I found when he did my "squat til you puke" type leg days, 48 hours wasn't nearly enough. His chest days would put me out for a week. Your workout intensity, caloric consumption, genetics, sleep, hydration, muscle group, conditioning and overall motivation have a lot to do with how long you need to rest. This is something that comes with experience and a good mind-muscle connection. When I'm healthy and not out with a really annoying shoulder impingement, I usually do a 4 day split with chest/tricep, legs, rest, rest, back/bicep, shoulder/calves, rest.

Most splits are also centered around a push/pull split mentality. Back and bicep get used with most pulling motions like dead lift, rows, pull ups, curls, etc. Chest and triceps tend to get worked with pressing (push) motions like bench press, flyes, dips, and pushdowns.

I'd recommend finding an established program on T-nation or Bodybuilding and working with that. Randomly deciding that you're gonna do some lat raises tonight and maybe a few face pulls in the morning isn't a good way to go. Lift smart.

I know posts that chime in with "I agree!" are redundant and pointless, but in this case, I wanted to quote him to give him further credibility. This guy's advice is 100% spot on, which is surprising, since there is just so much bad advice out there.

One of the hardest things I had to learn from experience was that I wasn't putting on muscle quick enough or making quick enough progress in my lifts because I wasn't giving myself time to rest. I'd spend the first day maxing out my squats, and then everyday after that significantly weaker and unable to reach any new personal records, all because I kept squatting everyday with no rest. Some people have good genetics and can put on muscle without any intelligent program or eating habits, but for a lot of us, we have to be efficient and smart with how and when we work out.

Seconding finding a routine on BB.com, or even Starting Strength (google it!).

[Dupree]

Honestly, I would say no, (I am not an insanely dedicated lifter, however) My Uncle, who I used to work out with, Weighed 198 pounds and benched 445 (just using as a bench mark for the guys fitness), and he swore, that the best way to go about it was work one muscle group (chest, triceps, shoulders, legs, etc) on seperate days of the week, and to only come back to a muscle group if it has been 7 days since you were last on it, because muscle builds after repair.


If he did work out 2x a day, it was cardio in the AM, lifting later.

Just throwing out some of what I know, hopefully this helps


edit: dont do chest - triceps in a 2 day period, stuff like that, because chest excercises usually use your triceps, and they will be sore.

[Skarsguard]

Unless your on roids or HGH (which I hope your not) you are not doing your body any good by working out twice a day. If you are that bored I would do some running or swimming on your days off. Also always have a day off or two where your not working out you can still run/swim/jog but let your muscles rest.

[Deleted]

Ultimate guide to building lean mass & getting stronger.
Step 1: Workout at the gym.

Typical 3 days split.
Monday: Chest/biceps
3x8-12 Dumbell press
3x8-12 Incline Bench Press
3x8 Dumbell Flies
3x8 Dumbell Curls
3x8 Barbell Curls

Wednesday: Back, Quads & Calves
3x6 ATG Squats
3x8-12 Leg extensions
3xfailure Standing Calf Raises
3x8 Leg Curls
3x8-12 LAT Pulldowns
3x6 Deadlifts

Friday: Shoulders/Triceps
3x8-12 Pulldowns
3x8-12 Skullcrushers
3x8-12 Dumbell Side Raises
3x8-12 Dumbell Shoulder Press

Nutrition: Calculate BMR (use google) and eat +500 calories to this every day, consume atleast 1g of protein per 1lb of bodyweight (spread out over 6 meals, can only absorb 30g protein/sitting).

The rep range is based on Hypertrophy, adjust the weight so u can only do 8 reps, and work your way upto 12. When you can do 12 reps, increase the weight so u can only do 8. If you want to train purely for strength, u can do 6-8 reps, but hypertrophy is made more for visible muscle gain. Important also to drink atleast 3 litres of water a day - if your pee isnt almost crystal clear, its because your technically dehydrating. Its a BAD idea to work out everyday, muscle is built while your sleeping, which is also why its important to have 8-10 hours of sleep every night.

[Projali]

Nutrition: Calculate BMR (use google) and eat +500 calories to this every day, consume atleast 1g of protein per 1lb of bodyweight (spread out over 6 meals, can only absorb 30g protein/sitting).

The rep range is based on Hypertrophy, adjust the weight so u can only do 8 reps, and work your way upto 12. When you can do 12 reps, increase the weight so u can only do 8. If you want to train purely for strength, u can do 6-8 reps, but hypertrophy is made more for visible muscle gain. Important also to drink atleast 3 litres of water a day - if your pee isnt almost crystal clear, its because your technically dehydrating. Its a BAD idea to work out everyday, muscle is built while your sleeping, which is also why its important to have 8-10 hours of sleep every night.

I'd like to see the study showing that only 30g of protein can be utilized at a time.

While I definitely encourage getting adequate amounts of sleep, that necessary amount can vary greatly between people. Some of the AnimalPak guys get maybe 5-6 hours of sleep a night and are huge.

[Deleted]

I'd like to see the study showing that only 30g of protein can be utilized at a time.

While I definitely encourage getting adequate amounts of sleep, that necessary amount can vary greatly between people. Some of the AnimalPak guys get maybe 5-6 hours of sleep a night and are huge.

The body cant store protein, if you eg eat 100g all at once, your going to excrete a good 50% of that as waste. Its a scientific fact, various studies have concluded this, cba to find any, but google it, they are out there :P

[chukabi]

If you're concerned about rest time for your muscles, whilst at the same time looking to work your muscle groups twice, stick with compounds. Or you can simply do pre exhaustion exercises(Isolations before compounds), but it's more or less a once a week thing to do.

[Zyzzyx]

The body cant store protein, if you eg eat 100g all at once, your going to excrete a good 50% of that as waste. Its a scientific fact, various studies have concluded this, cba to find any, but google it, they are out there :P

It really isn't a scientific fact at all. If it were physiologically possible to eat a ton of excess protein (it's tougher than it seems), it would likely be broken down and then ultimately stored as fat. Some might get wasted, but it absolutely can be stored...as fat. Obviously not as protein. It will get broken down into amino acids first.

[chukabi]

Excess in carbs/proteins/good fats will result in fat being stored if it is not used as energy, the thing about protein is it takes longer to breakdown into fat.

[Chingylol]

Thanks alot for the good advice. Decided to just lift three days a week, and then one day a week full cardio.