Find out which muscle groups are best to combine in your workout to maximize your muscle growth. Many aspiring athletes are not satisfied with the results they get in training. By the way, it is the low rate of progress or its complete absence that pushes a person to use sports pharmacology. If you cannot do without this in professional sports, then at the amateur level it is very possible, because the priority should be health, not the size of the muscles.
However, we digress, and today's article will answer the popular question, which muscles should be trained together and in the first place? There are many options for conducting classes and it all depends on your priorities, tasks, training experience, etc. Now we will consider the most popular options for combining training of muscle groups. Let's start with the simplest and finish with a complex system that is suitable for those who plan to achieve high results and possibly take part in competitions.
Which muscles need to be trained together?
As your fitness level rises, it becomes clear that it is necessary to increase the intensity of the exercises and introduces additional exercises into the training program. Now we will talk about the possible and most popular combinations in the training of muscle groups. We recommend that you start with the simplest and gradually move forward.
Fullbody
This type of combination involves training all the muscles of the body in each session. This system should be used by beginner athletes performing two or three sets in each movement. Do not be intimidated by the relatively low intensity of such activities. If you have not been involved in sports before, then the body needs time to adapt to new living conditions. If you follow all the principles of bodybuilding, then in the first stage, full body will be an excellent choice, and you will progress quickly enough.
At first, your main task will be to train the body in the rational use of its own capabilities. We also remind you that you should devote the first month of training to mastering the technical nuances of performing the basic exercises. You should not immediately progress the working weight, because if the technique for performing movements is violated, then they will not be effective.
Classes should be carried out three times a week, giving the body about 48 hours to recover. Another reason for the low intensity of training at the initial stage of the session is the ability to minimize pain in the muscles after the end of the training. Choose one basic exercise for each muscle group and do it in two or three sets. The number of repetitions in each approach should be from 10 to 12.
Top bottom
This system is also called a two-day split. We recommend switching to it after full body. The essence of the system is simple - the body is split into top and bottom. After that, in one session, you work the muscles of the upper body, and in the second, you swing your legs. Two movements will have to be performed for each group. Moreover, within a week, you can train for five days. For each exercise, do three sets, and the number of repetitions can be as follows:
- For mass gain - from 10 to 12.
- To increase the power parameters - from 6 to 8.
Three-day split
This training system will be your next step towards creating an attractive body. Each muscle group will be pumped three times during the week. The simplest division of the body into groups is the following principle:
- Pulling muscles.
- Pushing muscles.
- Legs.
As a result, you have to alternate the training of the following muscles each lesson:
- Shoulders, chest and triceps.
- Legs.
- Biceps and back.
The number of repetitions is similar to the previous scheme, and the number of sets in each leg exercise should be increased to four.
Four-day split
This is already a fairly serious training system, which implies a significant increase in the intensity of classes. By doing a four-day split over the course of a week, each muscle group will get about 72 hours to recover. The training schedule may look like this:
- 1st day - biceps and back.
- 2nd day - triceps and chest.
- 3rd day - recreation.
- 4th day - legs.
- 5th day - shoulders.
- 6th and 7th days - recreation.
For each group, we recommend choosing three or four movements, and for pumping your legs it is worth doing five. The number of sets is three or four, and the reps are 6-15.
Five day split
This system will be an excellent choice for experienced athletes who can be called gym fans. It is very similar to the previous split, just the body is divided not into four, but five groups. You can alternate training throughout the week in the following order: back, chest, legs, shoulders, triceps together with biceps. The remaining two days are for rest. You may have noticed that in none of the systems did we mention the abs and calf muscles. This is because small muscles recover quickly and you can work on them every other day.
What muscles should you train first?
Today's topic, which muscles need to be trained together and in the first place, we decided to divide into two parts. You already know the principles of building splits. By and large, the body must be pumped harmoniously. However, depending on gender, people try to give preference to one or another muscle group. It is quite obvious that girls pay special attention to the legs and especially the buttocks. For guys, chest, arms and abs are more important. The rules for training these muscles will now be discussed.
Buttocks
Today, many blue-collar occupations are associated with sedentary work. This has an extremely negative effect on the condition of the muscles of the buttocks. Moreover, this statement is true not only for women, but also for men. Another thing is that girls during training pay much more attention to working on this part of the body. Guys, in principle, just need to train their legs. But for girls who want to have elastic buttocks of an appetizing shape, the following information will be very useful.
A great solution for you would be combining hyperextension and lunges in one series. Lunges can be considered one of the best movements for the muscles of the glutes. This is due not only to their active work, but also to high-quality stretching. At the same time, the quadriceps and hamstrings are being worked out. Hyperextension, in turn, allows you to provide an isolated load on the buttocks.
Girls should start training the buttocks with deep squats or leg presses in the Gackenschmidt simulator. Do two or three sets of 8-10 reps. After that, it is the turn of the superset:
- Lunges - two or three sets with 8-10 repetitions each.
- Hyperextension - 2-3 sets with 8-10 repetitions each.
Recall that a superset involves the execution of two movements without a pause between them.
Breast
Do not assume that the pectoral muscles are important only for men. Girls should also pay attention to this group, because it allows you to raise the bust and make it more elastic. The muscles of the chest can be roughly divided into three sections: middle, upper and lower. It is considered that the most difficult to pump the upper section with high quality.
We recommend using two supersets for good results.
The first will include the following movements:
- Dumbbell press (barbell) on an incline bench (angle up) - two or three sets with 1012 reps each.
- Breeding-mixing of hands in a crossover - two sets of 10 repetitions each.
The second superset looks like this:
- Setting dumbbells on an incline bench - one or two sets of 8-10 repetitions.
- Incline Dumbbell Press, Reverse Bend - one set with 8-10 repetitions each.
Abdominal muscles
The abs are part of the core muscle group, which is responsible for stabilizing the core. Many athletes are sure that the more actively they pump the abs, the faster the long-awaited cubes will appear. But you must remember that the abs will look beautiful only if there is a minimum amount of fat in the abdomen. This suggests that you need to pay close attention to the training cream and the nutrition program.
In order for the training of the abdominal muscles to give results, we recommend using a few simple tips:
- In each set, you must perform from 15 to 20 repetitions and no more.
- It is necessary to progress the load using weights for this.
- Work on a muscle group once or twice a week as the muscles need time to recover.
- Work on the lower abs first.
The last point requires clarification. As you probably know, the press is one muscle and, in principle, it should not be divided into sections. Simply put, when performing any movement, the entire press is worked out. However, if you first perform, say, classical crunches, and then leg raises in the hang, then the top of the press will get tired earlier and the bottom will not receive enough load, we recommend that you proceed as follows:
- Hanging leg raises - two or three sets of 10-15 repetitions each.
- Classic crunches with a similar intensity.
Hands
Another muscle group that is important not only for men but also for women. If everything is clear with the guys, then by pumping their hands, the girls will be able to eliminate the sagging of the skin. Despite some differences in physiology that exist between the sexes, the principles of training remain unchanged.
In this regard, I would like to remind the lovely ladies once again that they should not be afraid to pump their pens. This is simply impossible due to the minimum testosterone content in the female body. In addition, there are differences in the composition of muscle fibers.
To get a good result, we again recommend two supersets. The first one is as follows:
- French press on a horizontal bench - two sets of 8-10 repetitions each.
- Bench press in a prone position, narrow grip - similar intensity.
The second superset includes the following movements:
- Sitting dumbbell curl - two sets of 10-12 repetitions.
- Scott's Bench Curl - the intensity is similar to the first movement.
Before starting supersets, you need to prepare all the necessary sports equipment so as not to run after them. Otherwise, the whole point of the superset will disappear. Note that supersets are an effective way to increase training intensity. That's actually all the information with which we wanted to share when answering the question, which muscles need to be trained together and in the first place?
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