How do you properly ‘focus’ on one or two muscle groups?
6 min read
Asked by: Stanley Camacho
In order to maximise growth, it’s best to focus on just one major muscle group each session (chest, legs or back). Supplement your workout with exercises that focus on two smaller muscle groups (biceps, triceps, hamstrings, calves, abs and shoulders).
Can I focus on one muscle group at a time?
Training Frequency
Muscle groups need time to rest so they don’t become overworked or tired. Muscle group splits allow you to focus on one muscle group at a time, which is easier than working out your whole body every day. Muscle groups need 48-72 hours of recovery after resistance training sessions.
How do you train two muscle groups?
Here’s an example of how you could combine muscle groups using the more detailed groups we outlined:
- Day 1: chest, shoulders, triceps, forearms.
- Day 2: calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes.
- Day 3: biceps, back, abdominals, traps, lats.
Should I train 1 muscle group a day or 2?
It’s completely acceptable to work out one body part each day. In fact, most fitness professionals will tell you not to work the same muscle group on consecutive days, particularly when it comes to strength training. Your muscles need time to recover, so working one body part a day falls within this guideline.
Can you work 2 muscle groups in the same day?
Some muscle groups make good pairs to work out together. These are generally muscles or muscle groups that work with each other. A person can work these groups one day, then move onto another muscle group the next day. Regarding strength training, there are generally six muscle groups that people train and exercise.
What order should I workout muscle groups?
Below is the common workout split example:
- Monday: Chest and triceps.
- Tuesday: Back and biceps.
- Wednesday: Legs and shoulders.
- Thursday: Rest.
- Friday: Chest and triceps.
- Saturday: Back and biceps.
- Sunday: Legs and shoulders.
Is chest and biceps a good combo?
Yes, chest and biceps can be trained together in a single workout safely and effectively. While many will train their full upper body or have days dedicated to just chest or biceps, combining chest and biceps on the same day can help you maximize training efficiency. It also allows you to follow many push-pull splits.
Should I alternate muscle groups during workout?
In order to maximise growth, it’s best to focus on just one major muscle group each session (chest, legs or back). Supplement your workout with exercises that focus on two smaller muscle groups (biceps, triceps, hamstrings, calves, abs and shoulders).
Can I do biceps and triceps on same day?
It is fine to work tricep and biceps on the same day. The biceps and triceps are both located in the upper arm, though they are situated in different areas. Because they belong to different muscle groups: one posterior and one anterior, you can perform biceps and triceps same day workouts.
Should you do abs and legs on the same day?
Related. On a given day, you can combine any muscle groups into a workout — as long as those muscles are healthy and you give them plenty of time to recover before working them again.
Is it OK to do chest and shoulders on the same day?
Training Chest with Shoulders
Because the shoulders aid the chest in movements such as the bench press or dips, it may be beneficial to train them on the same day. It takes a muscle about seven days to fully recover from a workout, notes Karen Sessions, NSCA-CPT.
Should I do cardio and abs the same day?
You don’t need to (and shouldn’t) do abs for hours before your cardio; Lee recommended 20 to 30 minutes of core work before moving on. Schedule time for an ab workout two to three times a week, aiming for earlier in the week if you can.
Can I do biceps and shoulders on the same day?
Can you train your shoulders and biceps on the same day? Yes, training shoulders and biceps together can be an effective way to structure your workouts, especially because some bicep exercises involve parts of the shoulder and vice versa.
Do chest and triceps go together?
Chest and triceps are two separate muscles that you can work in the same session, without one impeding the development of the other. So, should you train your chest and triceps together? Yes, you can train your chest and triceps together. They’re ‘pushing’ movements so it’s ideal to pair them in a workout.
Is chest and back a good split?
Chest-and-back supersets work ideally with a weekly split that has you training on a three-day split that starts with legs on the first day, places upper body on the second day, and includes a third day of rest and recovery.
Should I do triceps or shoulders first?
Aim for three sets of eight to 12 reps of each move, leaving about 45 seconds between sets. Work your shoulders first, then move on to biceps and finish with triceps. A sample routine could include these exercises in this order: shoulder presses.
Should I start with biceps or back?
Never Do Biceps Immediately Before Training Back
With some splits, pull-day muscles (biceps, back) are trained on the same day. Most likely, you arranged the order such that the larger muscle group is worked before the smaller one (back before biceps).
What muscles should I train first?
Exercises for bigger muscles should come before exercises for smaller muscles. Examples: Chest or back before shoulders, biceps or triceps. Shoulders before biceps or triceps. Quads or hamstrings before calves or abs.
What should I train first biceps or back?
Perform your back exercises before your biceps exercises when your goal is to strengthen your back. Complete your back exercises first to warm your biceps and to pre-fatigue the arm muscles.
Should I curl heavy or light?
Gaining strength all comes down to fatiguing your muscles, and heavy weights will get you there faster. It just takes longer to get tired when you’re curling a 5-pound weight versus a 25-pound dumbbell. “Heavy compound exercises offer the most bang for your buck.
Should I do curls everyday?
No body part grows by beating it every day—you need to rest to let your arms recover. In the hours after a workout, your muscles lose strength and power as they heal; after 36-48 hours, the muscle actually gets stronger, which is a process called “supercompensation”. You must give yourself rest.
Should you fully extend on bicep curls?
Also be sure to extend your arm fully at the end of the rep – a properly executed curl should be performed slowly with full control, working equally hard on the way down as it does on the way up. For starters: pick a weight you can lift for a set of 12. The last three reps should be tough.
Should you flex when doing curls?
Even when you curl it’s important to focus on tension in the right places. It’s not just about flexing and extending your arms. First, you want to tense/flex your triceps to get into the proper starting position. Flexing your triceps will allow you to fully straighten your arms in the starting position.
Should your elbows move when doing bicep curls?
The position of your elbows should not change during the curl. They should remain close to the side of your body and only the lower arm should move. If you notice your elbows moving away from your torso or floating in front or behind the body, you are probably lifting too much weight.
