Change routine to increase size

I've been working out for almost 4 months now, and I want to focus now on building muscle mass. For the first 3 months I mainly wanted to get my weight down to a better level (180), which I have.

For the last month I've increased the amount of food I eat greatly, which has helped me put on a fair bit of muscle. However, now I want to increase the intensity of my routine.

Right now I workout my Back/legs/abs, biceps/chest, triceps/shoulders, all on separate days with one day of rest between. What I want to do now is workout all three muscle groups on back to back days with a days rest in-between.

Does anyone think working-out the same muscle group twice in a week is too much? If it is what is the first sign of too much working out?

No. I work out the same muscle groups four times a week. This may interest you.
http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/hst_index.html

Hi - I just joined this group in search of the same answer

Also

The whole hardgainer thing is way overblown. Different people have different metabolisms, hormonal environments, and genetics, and respond differently to different workout routines. Limiting workouts to 2 per week is something I'd only do if I really lacked time or had extreme difficulty with recovery.

If you're making progress with your current routine and enjoy it, I wouldn't change. Come back and ask this question when you're no longer making progress, grow stale and lose interest, or develop signs of overtraining. I personally consider 4 workouts per week the sweet spot for most people.

Good perspective, Wayne

How about doing a light workout? Active recovery is often better than sitting on your butt.

Ok, I'll do that - My glutes are still sore (walking up stairs is really fun lately!), so I was just planning on working the calves and quads. I'll run them lighter.

I've had some of my best workouts when I'm still sore from a previous one - anyone else?

-Scott Johnson 'Always with the excuses for small legs. People like you are why they only open the top half of caskets.' -Tommy Bowen

Forget it.

There are tons of people who make GREAT gains working out 4-5 times a week. If you're having problems, then experiment with backing off on the number of workouts a week; but if you're recovering fine, then work out as often as you can or want to.

For a different view (that has a lot more science behind it), check out: http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com

Watson (the pencil neck) Davis

I used to work biceps with chest. The reasoning was that if your triceps are already partially toasted from benching, you're not going to be able to move as much weight with them. As an experiment, one day work bench press and then military presses and then the next week work military presses and then bench press. Your strength on the military press is going to suffer if you bench first. To try and be as fresh for each exercise as you can be, separate the exercises so that you're not pre-exhausting a muscle before you actually work it.

I'm not saying it's right or wrong, that's just the reasoning behind it. Personally, I don't separate my workouts into body-parts anymore.

What do you mean when you say 'shoulders'? You hit you front delts with the benching and most chest/triceps exercises.

There are lots of different splits. Take a look at this one:

Day 1: Push (Benches, presses, etc.) Day 2: Pull (Rows, chins, etc.) Day 3: Rest Day 4: Legs Day 5: Rest Day 6: Either rest or start over with Day 1.

Or the classic MFW MWF split: Monday: Legs, Abs Wednesday: Chest, Triceps, Shoulders Friday: Back, Biceps, misc

Try doing a full body workout 3x per week.

Watson (the pencil neck) Davis