Amateurs constantly argue in the halls about which groups should be pumped together, are antagonists muscles or, on the contrary, synergists? Interestingly, local fights on this topic are also going on in the network in the same way, and depending on the level of training of each of the debaters, the advantage is shifted to one or the other side.
So which muscle groups are still better to rock together, antagonists or synergists? For those who have forgotten the school curriculum in biology, a little help:
those groups that are opposite each other are called muscle antagonists, examples of such groups are biceps / triceps, chest / back, quadriceps / biceps of the thigh. But synergists are those muscles that have the same functions, for example triceps and chest (they are both extensors).
As any beginner bodybuilder can be convinced, there is simply a huge number of different training options, in each of which muscle groups are divided differently. You can find such options when everything is worked out in one training session. If you think for a second about the causes of such a variety, it becomes clear, in fact, the iron rule that muscle antagonists should be trained together or separately simply does not exist. But specialists are well aware of the fact that any program should be based solely on the principle of controlling the time required for muscle recovery after training. It is these principles that are at the forefront in drawing up the cycle of classes, and then the distribution of the load and the breakdown of muscle groups depends on the condition of the trainee.
For example, there is an athlete with average training and good data. He trains in the power cycle, where he either works out all the muscles in a day, alternating intensity and weight (Plintovich system), or divides the body into parts (chest / back, shoulders / legs). In the second scenario, muscle antagonists, of course, will work together. After the end of the force, there is a half-force cycle, during which the muscle groups should be divided into three days. This raises the question of what the training schedule will be, because you can relax for one day between workouts, and after a month of active work arrange supercompensation. You can relax between classes for two days, but then the whole cycle will take longer.
If you choose the first option, then muscle antagonists should be set separately, back / biceps, chest / triceps, and so on. With this version of the load, the muscles are worked out weekly, slightly restored, which means that this type of training will be quite normal.
In the second option, we train each group once every two weeks (with a break of two days). During this time, even such large muscles as the chest will recover, and even small ones (triceps) and even more so. So it is necessary to take these factors into account and load the triceps a little more often so that it is not restored as well as the chest. In this training regimen, muscle antagonists swing together.
For example, on the first day we develop the chest and biceps, a couple of days back and triceps. The first workout partially loads the triceps and the entire chest, then the biceps are loaded. In the second lesson, after working out the back, we refine triceps. In this mode, a week will remain until the next chest workout and when that day comes, the triceps and chest will be in approximately the same condition.
Summarizing all that has been said, we can briefly describe the answer to the question asked at the beginning of the article in this way - there is no rule that would determine how to put muscle antagonists and synergists, but there are other rules, and you need to break down groups according to them.
I hope that I was able to explain the main points and shed some light on the question about which many copies have already been broken. Now you know exactly what rules need to build training. And maybe the next time someone next to you tries to start a discussion again about whether synergist muscles and antagonist muscles should be pumped together, this small study will help you respond to a dispute in the right way.