The philosophy behind my current workout is that working one bodypart with high intensity stresses the body as a whole, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to fully isolate a single muscle group without activating another. For me, this has resulted in a workout that lasts less than one-hour, usually every other day or so, with one bodypart worked per session. This means that most bodyparts get worked approximately two or three times a month! The key to making this work is intensity, which I'll cover later. Also, this philosophy only covers those past the beginner's stage, which for these purposes I consider to be at least three to six months of consistent total body workouts for three days per week (consisting of only one or two sets of one exercise per major bodypart).An example of the body being stressed as a whole from working one bodypart is, for instance, after a heavy quad (front of the upper thigh) workout, the body (as a system) has to do its best to rush nutrients and send resources to the lower body. That's what a true workout is. You're not building up, but rather breaking down tissue. The building up process happens as a result of the body attempting to prepare itself for the next time you place it under great stress (the next workout). If the body has to try to do this for too many areas at once, or doesn't have enough time to complete repairs, you're not going to make as steady, if any, progress. You also need plenty of sleep and food, but even getting extra of those wouldn't be enough to compensate for overwork.
Certain people can handle more frequent workouts - even thrive on it - but it is my belief that more often than not these people are either genetically gifted (i.e., "made for it"), chemically assisted or are eventually headed for burnout (Note: Higher frequency workouts do bring results for short periods of time, as will almost any new or different stress to the body). Still, it took me many years to come to the conclusions that I've come to, and getting there by trying a variety of different workouts and schemes was certainly fun and educational. However, if I knew then what I know now (yada yada), I firmly believe I would be much further along in my progress (though as with all things bodybuilding, patience must be a virtue and I accept that).
An example of how working one bodypart affects another is when working chest by doing pressing movements. Not only is the chest fully activated (or should be), but the triceps, shoulders and abs (as stabilizers) are also indirectly (unavoidably) involved. That's how the body works, it's a simple enough concept to understand, yet few want to accept it. It all ties in with thinking of the body holistically.
Intensity is perhaps the hardest concept to explain. How do you know when enough is enough? Just because you can keep on working out another hour, does it mean you should? Of course not. If you did everything correctly and worked out with proper intensity, you would know that you shouldn't continue because the body would be overworked. Any longer than about an hour and you're moving into aerobic and endurance territories, which do not build the type of muscle that you're after if you're in the gym to bodybuild (and bodybuilding should not be a dirty word for anyone, especially women (see Women and Bodybuilding)). Unfortunately, only personal experience and time served will really make the difference clear. The good thing is that when this time does pass, you will almost certainly have learned other important concepts, such as following instincts and feeling the muscle work, rather than working the muscle without any real physical/mental connection.
And that's it. Nothing here is set in stone and I'm sure I'll continue to refine concepts and ideas indefinitely. This is a lifetime quest where you should never be as well off as you are at this very second, knowledge-wise or physique-wise. And yes, I really believe that.
