Title: Pros and Cons of Training One Body Part Per Day • Cathe Friedrich
Headings: Pros and Cons of Training One Body Part Per Day
Pros and Cons of Training One Body Part Per Day
Advantages of Training One Body Part Per Day
Cons of Working One Muscle Group per Session
Tips for Training One Body Part per Week
The Bottom Line
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Content: Although you can make muscle gains using a once a week training approach, the jury is still out as to whether it’s as effective as training more than once weekly. In one study, a group of men worked various muscle groups once per week while another group did a similar volume divided into three weekly sessions. After three months, the men who trained each muscle group once a week gained 5 pounds while the split training group gained 9 pounds. Tips for Training One Body Part per Week
If you take the approach of training one muscle group weekly, be sure you’re physically and mentally prepared to give your workout the volume and intensity you need to justify training it only once a week. If you have a sub-optimal workout, you’ll have to wait a week to work that muscle group again. If you have too many “slack” days, you won’t make progress due to the low frequency of training. If you’re going to train a body part only once every 5 to 7 days, you have to train it with focus and intensity. The Bottom Line
You can build strength and size training each muscle group only once per week, but you’ll have to hit the muscles you’re working hard. It’s a time expedient way to work out but not one that necessarily suits everyone. If you can only train two or three days per week, the body part a day approach obviously won’t work for you.