The 8 most effective training splits

The best training split...for you

When it comes to training splits, there is no such thing as the perfect split that is ideal for everyone. Your training depends on your goals, your energy system needs, your schedule and numerous individual factors. With that being said, let's take a closer look at the basic, proven training splits for successful training so you can decide for yourself which one best suits your needs.

1 - The training split by muscle group

Training splits, which divide the training over the course of the week according to different muscle groups, are the typical bodybuilder training splits. In most cases, each muscle group is trained once a week for a total of 5 to 6 training sessions per week.

Advantages:

Training splits by muscle group usually use a wider range of different exercises to train individual muscles. These splits are great for shocking the muscles with high, localized volume, which is especially the case for exercisers who typically train with a full-body program.

Increased volume and more metabolic stress will lead to greater hypertrophy than other training splits. However, you should make sure that you already have a significant base of training experience before starting such a program.

Disadvantages:

It is difficult to train with heavy multi-joint exercises without some degree of impaired recovery ability from previous training sessions. For this reason, it is important that you pay careful attention to your training nutrition, adequate sleep and the basics of good recovery.

Training splits by muscle group are also time consuming and can be impractical for people with varying schedules, as missing a training session can throw off the entire program. Many splits by muscle group can excel in the details and are better for improving visual appearance than improving actual performance, which doesn't necessarily make them the best option for athletes or beginners.

Example:

• Monday: Chest
• Tuesday: Back
• Wednesday: Shoulders
• Thursday: legs
• Friday: Arms/abdominal muscles
• Saturday/Sunday: No training

2 - Upper body/lower body training split

Upper body/lower body training splits are a new progression for those who are used to full body training, as these splits allow for more recovery and a higher training volume. Upper body/lower body training days are alternated 4 days per week.

Advantages:

Upper body/lower body splits are an excellent progression from a full body workout and work well for most people who want to build muscle mass and strength at the same time.

Upper/lower body splits allow a higher training frequency for faster learning and mastery of new exercises while still using significant weights. They provide a moderate training frequency and a moderately high volume for hypertrophy.

Disadvantages:

Upper body/lower body splits generally include unbalanced workouts, with upper body workouts being much longer than most lower body workouts.

Upper body/lower body splits offer only a shorter recovery time compared to splits by muscle group, which can hinder recovery. Lower body training is also brutal and performing two of these lower body workouts may simply be too much for the faint-hearted.

Example:

• Monday: Upper body (push with an emphasis on strength)
• Tuesday: lower body (squats based with emphasis on strength)
• Wednesday: No training or active regeneration
• Thursday: upper body (pull with emphasis on strength)
• Friday: lower body (hip-based with emphasis on strength)
• Saturday/Sunday: No training

3 - Full body workout

Full body workouts are maximally efficient and train the body as a unit rather than its individual parts.

Advantages:

Full body workouts are suitable for those who are short on time and want full body stimulation. Stimulating the muscles with high frequency and moderate training volume suits many training goals such as fat loss, strength building and hypertrophy.

Whole-body training sessions are more suitable for athletes and allow easier integration into the rest of the workout. Minimizing "filler" forces you to focus on the essential components of your workout instead of 13 variations of side lifts.

Full body workouts are good for beginners, fat loss and overall health. It's easy to add other workout modalities on top of your full-body workouts, as most movements and muscles are worked during each session.

Disadvantages:

Low intra-workout volume could hinder hypertrophy associated with metabolic stress. Heavy exercisers may struggle with their recovery ability with three leg training sessions per week.

It is also difficult to train more than three to four times a week without extensive training knowledge and a keen awareness of autoregulation. In addition, "show muscles" are often neglected, which can be a disadvantage for bodybuilders.

Example:

• Monday:

o A. Power Cleans 5x3

o B. Bench press 3x6

o C.Lunges 3x8-12

o D1.Farmers Walk 3x30 seconds

o D2.Dips 3x 30 seconds - timed sets

• Tuesday: No training
• Wednesday:

o A. Standing shoulder press 5x3

o B. Deadlift 4x6

o C.Pull-ups 3x8-12

o D1.Planks 3x30 seconds

o D2.Bicep curls 3x 30 seconds - timed sets

• Thursday: No training
• Friday:

o A. Squats 5x3

o B. Rowing bent over 4x6

o C.Dumbbell bench press 3x8-12

o D1.Kettlebell crosswalk 3x30 seconds

o D2.Hip Thrusts 3x12

• Saturday/Sunday: No training or fitness training

4 - Push/pull training split

The push/pull training split breaks up the training according to movement patterns. The muscles on the back of the body are predominantly responsible for pulling actions (pull), while the muscles on the front/side of the body are primarily responsible for pushing actions (push). The legs are often trained on pull days.

Benefits:

Push/pull training programs are suitable for intermediate to advanced exercisers. They are an economical way to train and allow for flexible planning. A moderate frequency of exercises is better for learning athletic skills than splits by muscle group with only one training session per week.

Disadvantages:

Pull/push splits are often of limited benefit to athletes because they divide the body based on muscles working together. Pull/push workouts are also a bit too advanced for beginners who want to maximize their gains.

Example:

• Day 1:Pull (hamstrings, back, biceps, lower back)
• Day 2:Push (chest, shoulders, triceps, quadriceps, abs)

5 - Intensive/Extensive (intensive/extensive) training split

This split is based on the neural requirements of a training session. For example, a heavy/explosive day is often followed by a metabolically demanding/high-volume training day. Three or four days of training work best.

Advantages:

Intense/extensive training splits represent an advanced program planning strategy for athletes looking to take the next step. These splits are great for athletes and for training sport-specific technical skills (such as acceleration) in combination with resistance training. They also provide a solid progression for developing higher levels of performance.

Disadvantages:

Intense/extensive training splits are quite advanced in nature and require a complicated design. They are not necessarily ideal for hypertrophy-oriented exercisers, as these splits focus on integrating movement training, which can be detrimental to overall recovery for hypertrophy. The training sessions are of longer duration on the intense days due to the demands of neural regeneration during intense training.

Example:

• Monday: Speed training, Olympic weightlifting exercises and multi-joint press exercises
• Tuesday: metabolic training/changes in the direction of movement, emphasis on pulling exercises
• Wednesday: Training free
• Thursday: Speed training, Olympic weightlifting exercises and multi-joint press exercises
• Friday: Metabolic training, emphasis on pulling exercises in the weight room
• Saturday/Sunday: Active regeneration

6 - Agonistic/antagonistic supersets

In antagonistic/agonistic supersets, opposing muscle groups are trained together. An example of this would be performing dumbbell bench presses and rowing with supported chest.

Advantages:

Agonistic/antagonistic supersets are good for building muscle and achieving a balance of training opposite sides of the body. Increased blood flow to antagonistic muscles can improve performance and hypertrophy associated with metabolic stress.

Agonist/antagonist supersets are flexible and can allow for 3 to 6 training days per week depending on training experience. Supersets are performed to maximize training efficiency.

Disadvantages:

It is difficult to integrate training for movement-specific skills, making it difficult for athletes to use agonistic/antagonistic supersets as a primary training method. Agonist/antagonist supersets are also a little too advanced for beginners and can cause recovery issues for older exercisers.

Example:

• Monday: chest/back
• Tuesday: legs/shoulders
• Wednesday: No training
• Thursday: chest/back
• Friday: biceps/triceps
• Saturday/Sunday: Active regeneration or no training

7 - Primary muscle plus synergist

These splits combine primary muscles of an exercise with secondary muscles on the same training day. Back and biceps or chest and triceps splits would be examples of such a split.

Advantages:

Flexible training frequency with 3 to 6 training days per week. Supersets enable time-efficient training. The high training volume leads to greater muscle damage during training.

Disadvantages:

Too advanced for beginners and too demanding for recovery in older exercisers. The variability of the training frequency may be difficult to implement for younger exercisers.

Example: 5 training sessions per week

• Monday: Back/biceps
• Tuesday: chest/triceps
• Wednesday: legs/shoulders
• Thursday: back/biceps
• Friday: chest/triceps
• Saturday/Sunday: No training

8 - Specialization Training Splits: Hypertrophy Specialization Programs

Specialization programs focus on bringing a lagging muscle group up to the level of the rest of the body in a short period of time. This involves focusing on that muscle group 3+ days per week while performing maintenance training for the rest of the body one day per week.

Benefits:

Specialization programs can jumpstart stagnant gains in one muscle group. High volume and frequency results in a dramatic increase in hypertrophy of the specialized muscle group. Such programs are well suited for experienced exercisers.

Disadvantages:

Specialization programs neglect other muscle groups during the program, which can potentially lead to atrophy and a reduction in performance. Specialization programs are unbalanced and make it difficult to maintain other fitness parameters.

Example: Back specialization

• Monday: Horizontal pulling with low repetitions
• Tuesday: Vertical pull with high rep s Pull
• Wednesday: Horizontal pull with high repetitions
• Thursday: Vertical pulling with low repetitions Pull
• Friday: Full body maintenance training

Which split should I use?

Determine your main goal

Your goal must be clear. A focus on isolation is not ideal for athletes as they need to move their body as an integrated unit.

If your goal is to become as muscular as possible, then you don't need to spend time improving your sprinting mechanics. Make your goals as specific as possible and then tailor your training split to your individual needs.

Determine your schedule

Regardless of how busy you are, you still have the same 24 hour day as the rest of us. I have trained a client with three kids, an hour commute to work each day and 5 to 6 twelve hour work days a week - and he still finds a way to work out three to four times a week.

My point is that you need to prioritize the time you have available. If training 2 hours a day, 5 days a week isn't ideal for you, then choose a more efficient training split. A training session is only as good as its execution. Determine what you want to do and then do it.

Training experience

Training experience is highly variable, but is an important factor in training.

Beginners move on to muscle group splits and isolation workouts before they are strong enough to reap the benefits of concentrated isolation. Older exercisers are often unable to train as hard due to higher neural demands, joint problems and reduced recovery ability.

Regenerative capacity

The body is an integrated system. Instead of judging recovery based on how your muscles feel, you also need to consider daily stress, the nervous system, your sleep quality and your diet.

From Eric Bach

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/8-most-effective-training-splits