Rob Woollen Personal Training Manchester &UK

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  Q: I'm doing weight lifting 5 times a week this is what i do,monday-shoulders tuesday-arms wednesday-chest thursday-legs friday back and after each session i do 20 min on tread mill is 5 day too much or is it ok?

A: From Rob Woollen

You're doing what we call a split routine, concentrating on different body areas each time which is a good thing as you are not overloading the same areas daily. If you are quite used to exercise, you can certainly weight train five days a week just like this. It is also great to see that you are getting your cardio-vascular exercise on the treadmill, although I would recommend you up this to 30 mins if you have the time. Although there is nothing wrong with a routine like this, you may benefit more from working all groups twice per week such as outlined below:-

Mon: Legs 100%

Tues: Push exercises 100%  (ie triceps, chest, front shoulders)

Weds: Pull exercises 100% (ie biceps, lats, traps, rear shoulders)

Thurs: Legs 80%

Fri: Push and Pull 80%

The 100% and 80% refers to the amount of weight you use compared to what you could lift. For example, if you are doing 12 repetitions, and can bench press 30kg 12 times, then on Tuesday you will bench press 12x30kg, and on Friday you will bench press 12x 24kg. This is the latest thinking from the NSCA.