Is training each muscle group once a week sufficient for maintaining muscle?

[Anonymous]

Say, I don't want to get any bigger but I want to keep the miscle I have earnt. Is eating enough protein and training each muscle group once a week with high intensity enough to maintain the muscle?
I'm talking about a split like this;
Monday; Legs and glutes
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Abs
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Upper Body
Saturday: Maybe a light leg work out.

[Anonymous]

I quit going to the gym instead I just avoid sitting. I spend more time walking around the house, doing planks and pushes at random, and pretty much moving like a five year old with a super short attention span. The results? I'm in the best shape of my life. I'm a biologist who studied senescence (the negative effects of aging) in undergrad and there is a little known but rising idea in the biological and medical community that a lot of the health problems that we face today may have more to do with prolonged sitting then it does with lack of excercise. So excercising for 45 minutes once a day but spending the rest of the day sitting isn't really healthy. Our distant ancestors didn't even own chairs yet many of us spend the majority of our day sitting in one or laying in bed. Switching out a chair for a stool is a good start but reducing sitting time altogether is a great way to improve your health. Adding in light exercise throughtout the day is even better. But if your goal is to keep up the bulk of your muscles then you have to keep working out because most of their size (if they're large) are due to glucose storage which only happens when your body is anticipating that that muscle will need it soon.

[Scrambledagain]

Depends on your intensity. You can have one sufficient leg day (most body builders do) but you must work it. But generally you have to activate the muscles twice to keep gains. May I suggest supersets? It helps you do more with less days for example. I do what's called anterior muscle supersets: I work one muscle, then immedietly work the opposing muscle. So for example, I will do bicep curls, followed by tricep extensions (bicep and opposing tricep). So your week can look like this:

Monday:bicep an tricep
Tuesday: rest
Wed: legs
Thursday: chest, back n shoulders
Fri: rest
Sat: abs and core.

[Asker]

That's a good idea. I've been wanting to introduce super sets into my leg days because I hate leg days so much, but as a girl I need to train legs a lot more than my upper body!
Thanks, that looks like a better maintaining split than I had originally planned to do.

[musculargirl]

Your goal should never be maintaining, it should be growing more and more, you'll hit a plateau and than you won't be able to grow more, that's the moment when you are done. Don't stop if you can grow bigger and more defined, bigger is always better!

[Red_Arrow]

Nope. Not at all. You should try to work everything you work on about three times a week. Many people work them even more, but I figure you should have a life outside the gym, too. I need to exercise my shoulders to deep from needing surgery for my torn rotator cuffs. So I do all those exercises three times a week. After I finish them, I spend about a half hour on the stationary bike for cardio fitness. So it is just three times a week that I go to the gym, but I do all my exercises each time.

[Asker]

But I only want to maintain, not build any more muscle. I'm really trying to lay off my upper body, too because my boyfriend says I'm starting to look like a man lol
And I also want to make sure I'm giving my muscles enough rest, so I think working every muscle group three times a week would be too much.

[Red_Arrow]

I am just maintaining. You don't have to work them real hard an try to build them. If I go less than three times a week, I find that my shoulders start giving me trouble again, so it is losing ground, so that is why I go 3 times a week.

[WeaponZero]

Generally speaking training in splits is only ideal for people looking to bulk up and add muscle mass, and even then it only works if you're in a caloric surplus. For any other goal, workouts that have you doing full body work 3 or so days a week are far better.

[AdamThomas]

Yeah that's fine. Beginners have to work each muscle group two to three times a week, intermediates and advanced lifters usually do each muscle group once a week because their workouts are more intense. The main thing that determined whether or not you gain muscle is the amount of calories in vs. calories out, as long as you have that under control you'll be fine.

[Other_Tommy_Wiseau]

here was my workout when i worked out regularly and not a lazy bum
monday- upper body and abs
tuesday- lower body and back
wednesday- rest
thursday- upper body and abs
friday- lower body and back

at one point when i was still doing track, i also did 100 pushups and sit ups a day, but that's not necessary. 25-50 is a good amount.

[Iron_Man]

Thats not a good workout plan at all

[Asker]

For maintaining!
My usual split is;
M- Legs; Quad dominant day
T- Upper Body
W- Abs
T- Legs- Hams and glutes dominant day
F- Abs again
But I only want to maintain now. Why don't you like the split? What would you suggest I do?

[Iron_Man]

When I saw your head lines and words you had said one day a week for each muscle group, now I see more then once a week so thats fine

[Asker]

Yes, but I want to only train each muscle group one day a week now, like the split I mentioned in the original question, and I was wondering if this was enough just to maintain the muscle, not grow them anymore.

[Iron_Man]

You need more though then once a week on upper body It takes years to look all bulky and if you train light you will still keep your sex appeal

[Asker]

So, you think training with my usual split, but not as much intensity will be okay? I only train my upper body once a week and as a whole because my boyfriend says I'm starting to look like a man. :(

[Iron_Man]

How long have you been working out? It could be in your Genes that you look muscular. Well in that case cut it back and train light

[Asker]

Almost two years. My arms are very dominant. They just pop with little work, but my legs are pretty hard to grow.

[Iron_Man]

Ok work your legs hard two or 3 times a week and do your upper body one day a week but dont break your ass so hard on the upper body since you feel to pumped up already

[OrdinaryGentleman]

If it works for your body yes but usually no.

[CapitanMurica]

2 times a week is more effective...