I like opinions on what best way to workout to gain muscle efficently. Either 3x a week hitting each muscle every 2 days with 2 days rest in between. A total body workout or work a different muscle on a different day but do more workout days per week. a split. My friend goes 3x a week doing each muscle part so say he does biceps on Monday it be a whole week till he hits biceps again. Is this too long a rest between muscle groups for maximum gains? or is a whole weeks rest better than 2 days rest? which you think is better...

My thinking is on a split workout that even though you don't workout a particular muscle on one day you still exercising it a little when you do another exercise because you doing compound exercises so you not resting it as well.

I have read this

If you do not allow time between workouts for your muscles to repair the damage and grow, then you overtrain and can completely tear or rupture the muscle. Performing a targeted arms workout (for example) three times a week will not make you grow muscle. Instead you will overtrain the muscle, become weaker because the muscle is not repairing and if you continue, you will risk permanent muscle damage.

so wouldn't that surely happen if you do a total body workout 3x a week?

eg.

Monday: Elliptical, stationary bike or stair climber, 23 mins (HIIT) or 50 mins (aerobic); Abs
Tuesday: Weight training: back & biceps (injured, could not do)
Wednesday: Elliptical, stationary bike or stair climber, 23 mins (HIIT) or 50 mins (aerobic); Abs
Thursday: Weight training: legs
Friday: Elliptical, stationary bike or stair climber, 23 mins (HIIT) or 50 mins (aerobic); Abs
Saturday: Weight training: pecs, delts, triceps (injured, could not do)
Sunday: Rest, no workout

As you notice back and biceps is only done once a week on the Tuesday and not exercised until the following week. Do you think it best to do like that or do a total body workout so in effect back and biceps along with other major muscles are hit every 2 days Mon Wed Fri for maximum results.

Save yourself the time and frustration of worrying about the best type of workout (body part splits, full body, push/pull, etc...). This is especially true if you're new to strength training in general. You can research this ad nauseum and be no closer to finding an answer until honestly you've tried them for yourself. It's highly subjective, there are way too many variables, and all of them are capable of producing great results anyway.

Hitting a muscle three times a week does not gurantee overtraining. Annihlating a muscle three times a week will. As an example, you wouldn't want to select a set/rep scheme from a body part split approach for your chest (4 different exercises, 4 sets each, performed once a week) and suddently start doing this 3 times a week with the same intensity as part of a full body routine. You would burn out quick.

In a similar thread you started responders suggested a couple routines from Chad Waterbury (ABBH or TBT) that I think would be good selections for you to consider. This takes some of the guesswork out of the picture as litterally tens of thousands of people have proven you can get results from these programs exactly as written as long as you dedicate yourself to following what they prescribe. This includes the most important factor, your diet!

Hope this helps.

It's tought when your brand new. There is so much information out there. Your not sure what to try. Would A be better than B? What if C is better but I'm wasting time on B? I switched a lot of stuff around when I first started. You got to just pick one see wich one gives YOU the best results, what works for me may not work for you. Also, it is important (I think) to like your routine. If you find it boring than quit it. I had this problem around December and I found that I was not as motivated as I was. The program helped me out a lot but it was not for me. Too boring. You may find that you like full body workouts as opposed to working out a bodypart each day. But you'll never know until you pick one. Good Luck!:gl:

As a beginner, anything you do will give you results. There is no "best way to train", or magical formula for massive hypertrophy gains. Too many people underestimate intensity. You can have a relatively crap program but if your diet and attitude are in place, along with constant progression, muscle gains will be inevitable.

For newbies though, frequent, full-body workouts will give you the most bang for your buck. Beginners can handle more frequent training because of their uncoordinated nervous systems, and 3-4x per week full body programs will lead to fast strength and mass gains because of this.

However, I know people who have always used split routines and made excellent progress.

The most important thing is:
1) To find what works for you.
2) Lift with superhuman intensity.