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Weight Training

# Is working out one muscle group a day enough to gain weight and strength. and…

The question

Is working out one muscle group a day enough to gain weight and strength. and howmuch rest would i need For example Day 1 Legs Day 2 Arms Day 3 Chest Day 4 Shoulders Day 5 Back

Dan's answer

Dan Wirth, MA, CSCS

The one problem with this type of program design is that you are only training each muscle group one time per week. Working a muscle group once a week might be enough to gain weight and strength, but I have always noticed better results from training a muscle two times per week. Below, I have attached a response that I have given to a somewhat similar question. RESPONSE: Everyone can have small differences in how their body reacts to training. I have been training for 20 years and I have trained thousands of people professionally in the past 12 years. What I have found to be the best training program is one that works each muscle group twice per week. However, one of the training days should be a little more easier and one of the training days should be hard. Take your legs for example. I would recommend training them twice per week. One of those days would be heavier squats, step ups, lunges, etc. The other training day would be a much easier squat workout or just the step up and lunges. This will provide the best balance in your training program. You can also train every day as long as you are training on a split program. A split program simply means that you are splitting up the muscle groups so that you don't train the same muscle group 2 days in a row. I even have variations on a weekly basis. Some workout weeks are very hard and some are very easy\! This is called periodization. This type of weekly variation will keep you away from being overtrained or having plateu's in your progress. Work hard and be consistent\!\!

Dan designed the periodization models the Wave Engine runs.

See how the Wave Engine turns his programming rules into your workouts.

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## More in Weight Training

- [I have just started working out and on one day split up my workouts but for example i do 5 exercises for biceps with 5 sets but how do i know how much i should lift when im done im tired but i still feel that i could do more. First set i do 15 pounds 15 times to warm up then i do 20 pounds 12 times twice then i do twenty five pounds 8 times twice and then 30 pounds once. I do this for a few different types of exersice and of course I'm sore afterwards but i dont feel tight its like i should lift more, should I?](https://www.workoutsmart.com/ask-dan/weight-training/i-have-just-started-working/134)
- [I finished my first workout yesterday, and am completely sore all over today. Should I just workout through the soreness?](https://www.workoutsmart.com/ask-dan/weight-training/i-finished-my-first-workout/40)
- [Does squating, Leg pressing, or Deadlifting stunt your growth in any way?](https://www.workoutsmart.com/ask-dan/weight-training/does-squating-leg-pressing-or/330)
- [Should all sets end at failure. With some of the exercises listed in my program the weight is way to low for that many reps. For example, the toe press is listed at 35lbs for 12 reps, but i can do 12 reps with 140lbs. I was just curious](https://www.workoutsmart.com/ask-dan/weight-training/should-all-sets-end-at/576)
- [I am presently taking the 4 day bodybuilding course. My question is should you wait 48 hrs. between workouts, or can you do them on consecutive days?](https://www.workoutsmart.com/ask-dan/weight-training/i-am-presently-taking-the/504)


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