Should I train one body part a day, or...

I am thinking of changing up my routine and was thinking about moving to working out one body part a week, rather than twice (as I have been feeling really drained and wiped out, even with eating insanely and sleeping lots).

My question is: do you feel there is a better way to train or is the one body part a day rule pretty sound? i.e.,

M: Back T: Chest W: Legs T: Biceps F: Triceps S: Shoulders

Something along those lines? Is there a more effective split you'd recommend? Would I be training too much? Too little? How many sets would you recommend per session?

Thanks for answers,

You should train a major and minor part of the body on the same day and always leave 24 to 48 hours to rest. This breaks your training routine into 3 to 4 days per week, instead of everyday. You should do as many reps per set that you feel comfortable with a lighter weight, and always try to increase the weight as you go along. Only HARD TRAINING, good food, and plenty of rest, will get you there.

I found this sort of once-a-week split program to be a great way to stagnate. The problem is, this sort of schedule encourages you to pound a muscle group into oblivion, then rest it too long. It's like training for a track race by running a marathon every week.

If you're 'wiped out', it's probably because your whole body is overworked. The way to remedy that is to reduce your workload, but that does not necessarily mean reducing the training frequency for this muscle group. A thought experiment: if you stopped training chest, legs, and back, and trained only arms twice a week, do you think that would you still feel wiped out ?

A split workout is one of many ways to reduce workload, and it's probably not even one of the better ways.

Take a look at HST (http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com) and some of the powerlifting programs posted here. Or any other succesful strength training program. Sprinters, olympic lifters, powerlifters, shot-putters/throwers, all have something in common

There are no hard and fast 'rules'....we're all different and should start out following general advice....when you reach a plateau then you should start experimenting and figure out what works best for you. Set goals, do what you think will help you towards your goals. You can get lots of advice here but take it for what it's worth....try things out...not everything will suit you or work for you.

Really hard to say because you give no indication of your current training volume or whether you're doing a lot of cardio. Other lifestyle factors may be a factor (school ,work, kids, etc.). And your fatigue level, is that for just a particular body part or overall?

To partially answer your question, a variety of training methods work, including the one you describe. See the FAQ:
http://www.trygve.com/mfw_faq.html#justbegan

Or you could give Coltrane a rest and listen to Kenny G ))

- Hwan

I'm doing almost jack for cardio, as I have been trying to put on mass (pretty good so far, as I have gained a lot of good weight in the last 2 or 3 months). In Feb I will be going on a cutting up phase.

Training volume was similar to Ronnie Coleman's workout that you can find on Flex Online. And my fatigue level was all over...I just felt generally sore, and that was still with lots of rest and eating good protein and carbs like a maniac.

Does this help?

And dude, Kenny G?!?!