Body Part Splits Are Out-dated, Or Are They?
If you mention the words "body part split routine" in the strength and conditioning world, you will probably get quite a few, not so nice, comments about your training knowledge. To be honest, they will probably be right in their reasoning for giving you flack. Most people train with a split routine because they do not know any better. Many people that are trying to get into great shape end up causing injury or overtraining to the point of the inevitable plateau with this style of training.
After saying this however, split routines are potentially more effective in gaining muscular hypertrophy, when muscular strength is not the main concern. The trick is to schedule it so that you can maximize workload while preventing overtraining.
WHEN TO TRAIN?
As a general rule of thumb, when training for muscle size, you should train less often. So maybe a three day per week program with a day of rest between workouts. With this type of training the muscle acquires a large amount of damage that it must recover from. The repair can take anywhere from 3-7 days depending on the amount of stress put upon it. The best way to schedule your week is to alternate upper and lower body parts (I will get into this later).
HOW MUCH WORK?
It is hard to determine total reps because the muscle is maximally stimulated when it is pushed close to failure. However, greater than 50 reps per body part begin to get a bit high. Rather than going to failure every single set, it is better to perform a high number of repetitions (8-12) for your first 3 sets and go to complete failure on only your last set. This way your muscle can still get a ton of work done while getting enough recovery to last the rest of the workout.
HOW MUCH WEIGHT?
If you are training for muscle size, weight does not matter. Use a weight that you can perform for your goal reps. You should progress to a higher amount of weight only if you exceed this number.
HOW TO SPLIT BODY PARTS?
I have experimented with several combinations, chest-tri's, back-bi's, shoulders-legs, upper-lower, etc. The most effective split that I have found is a 3 day program splitting the body into chest-back, legs-core, and shoulders-arms. This allows the upper body to recover between day one and day three. Being as the legs is the biggest muscle group they get a full week to rest. Also the legs usually get more work through interval or cardio training.
WHAT TYPE OF EXERCISES?
The best type of exercises is no secret. Compound exercises that require a ton of energy such as dead-lifts, squats, bench press, pull-ups, etc. are best due to the amount of muscle activity they require. However, another type of exercise can be used to maximally recruit muscle fibers. Explosive exercise like plyometric pushups, plyo pullups, jump squats, sprints etc. can be used at the end of a similar exercise to create maximum muscle recruitment. Use extreme caution when doing any type of explosive exercise as doing so when there is a lack of strength, coordination or technique can result in serious injury.
HOW DO I PROGRESS THE ROUTINE?
Progression should be done in the form of exercise rotation. Instead of changing the reps and sets every week, change the exercise. Since the goal is not necessarily to get stronger in a certain lift, there is no need to become efficient in that exercise. By switching exercises, the body never adapts fully to that exercise and therefore the body is in a constant state of adaptation.
Note: I would recommend using the downloading technique once a month for 5 days or so. This means that your workouts should be reduced in weight and repetitions to allow the body to fully recover (not adapt) from the months hard work.
SO WHAT WOULD A WEEKS ROUTINE LOOK LIKE?
Sample:
Monday- Chest/Back
A1. Bench Press (3 x 12/1 x failure)
A2. Chinup (4 x 8/1 x failure)
B1. DB Incline Bench (3 x 10)
B2. DB Row (3 x 10)
C1. Pushup (2 x failure)
C2. Facepull (2 x 10)
Wednesday- Legs/ Core
A1. Front Squat (3 x 8/ 1 x 10 Jump Squat)
A2. Plank Hold (3 x :30sec)
B1. DB RDL (3x 10)
B2. Stability Ball Crunch (3 x 10)
C1. DB Lunge (3 x 20 yds)
C2. Side Plank Hold (3 x :20sec)
Friday- Shoulders/ Arms
A. DB Overhead Press (3 x 10/1 x failure or Pushpress)
B1. Barbell Curl (3 x 10)
B2.DB Skullcrusher (3 x 10)
C. Circuit: Front Raise + Side Raise + Bent-over Raise (3 x 8 each)
D1. DB Hammer Curl (2 x failure)
D2. Rope Pushdown (2 x failure)
After saying this however, split routines are potentially more effective in gaining muscular hypertrophy, when muscular strength is not the main concern. The trick is to schedule it so that you can maximize workload while preventing overtraining.
WHEN TO TRAIN?
As a general rule of thumb, when training for muscle size, you should train less often. So maybe a three day per week program with a day of rest between workouts. With this type of training the muscle acquires a large amount of damage that it must recover from. The repair can take anywhere from 3-7 days depending on the amount of stress put upon it. The best way to schedule your week is to alternate upper and lower body parts (I will get into this later).
HOW MUCH WORK?
It is hard to determine total reps because the muscle is maximally stimulated when it is pushed close to failure. However, greater than 50 reps per body part begin to get a bit high. Rather than going to failure every single set, it is better to perform a high number of repetitions (8-12) for your first 3 sets and go to complete failure on only your last set. This way your muscle can still get a ton of work done while getting enough recovery to last the rest of the workout.
HOW MUCH WEIGHT?
If you are training for muscle size, weight does not matter. Use a weight that you can perform for your goal reps. You should progress to a higher amount of weight only if you exceed this number.
HOW TO SPLIT BODY PARTS?
I have experimented with several combinations, chest-tri's, back-bi's, shoulders-legs, upper-lower, etc. The most effective split that I have found is a 3 day program splitting the body into chest-back, legs-core, and shoulders-arms. This allows the upper body to recover between day one and day three. Being as the legs is the biggest muscle group they get a full week to rest. Also the legs usually get more work through interval or cardio training.
WHAT TYPE OF EXERCISES?
The best type of exercises is no secret. Compound exercises that require a ton of energy such as dead-lifts, squats, bench press, pull-ups, etc. are best due to the amount of muscle activity they require. However, another type of exercise can be used to maximally recruit muscle fibers. Explosive exercise like plyometric pushups, plyo pullups, jump squats, sprints etc. can be used at the end of a similar exercise to create maximum muscle recruitment. Use extreme caution when doing any type of explosive exercise as doing so when there is a lack of strength, coordination or technique can result in serious injury.
HOW DO I PROGRESS THE ROUTINE?
Progression should be done in the form of exercise rotation. Instead of changing the reps and sets every week, change the exercise. Since the goal is not necessarily to get stronger in a certain lift, there is no need to become efficient in that exercise. By switching exercises, the body never adapts fully to that exercise and therefore the body is in a constant state of adaptation.
Note: I would recommend using the downloading technique once a month for 5 days or so. This means that your workouts should be reduced in weight and repetitions to allow the body to fully recover (not adapt) from the months hard work.
SO WHAT WOULD A WEEKS ROUTINE LOOK LIKE?
Sample:
Monday- Chest/Back
A1. Bench Press (3 x 12/1 x failure)
A2. Chinup (4 x 8/1 x failure)
B1. DB Incline Bench (3 x 10)
B2. DB Row (3 x 10)
C1. Pushup (2 x failure)
C2. Facepull (2 x 10)
Wednesday- Legs/ Core
A1. Front Squat (3 x 8/ 1 x 10 Jump Squat)
A2. Plank Hold (3 x :30sec)
B1. DB RDL (3x 10)
B2. Stability Ball Crunch (3 x 10)
C1. DB Lunge (3 x 20 yds)
C2. Side Plank Hold (3 x :20sec)
Friday- Shoulders/ Arms
A. DB Overhead Press (3 x 10/1 x failure or Pushpress)
B1. Barbell Curl (3 x 10)
B2.DB Skullcrusher (3 x 10)
C. Circuit: Front Raise + Side Raise + Bent-over Raise (3 x 8 each)
D1. DB Hammer Curl (2 x failure)
D2. Rope Pushdown (2 x failure)
posted by John Timmerman at
12:42 PM
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