Words by Wilf
To get the gains you want, you’re going to have to train smart – starting with training splits.
Training split: The division of your workouts throughout the week either by body region, movement, specific body part or by lift.
It’s all fine and dandy being told (ahem, by me) that consistency with your workouts is vital to achieving your goals. And that’s still the case, but it’s impossible without the perfect training split catered to you.
It can sound daunting, especially for a beginner, but hopefully, my insights throughout this blog make the process of (splitting your workout as easy as splitting a KitKat) organising your workout split sound as simple as it should be.
Let’s talk about it.
Availability
Crafting your “split” revolves around factors that are specific to you.
When crafted right, your training days seamlessly slot in your everyday life and staying disciplined becomes a whole lot easier.
The best ability is availability, right? So, the first port of call, figure out how many times you can realistically make it to the gym (per week).
If your schedule only allows you to attend three times a week then choose a three-day split, and so on and so forth. Fit the gym around your lifestyle non-negotiables (work, family, other responsibilities) to remove any possible excuses.
Recovery
How quickly you recover from your sessions depends on many things. Internal factors such as genetics and external factors such as your job, lifestyle, and sleep all play a part.
Muscle breakdown happens in the gym, true, but muscle growth occurs outside of the iron paradise. The rule of thumb: Avoid training a muscle group that’s still experiencing soreness. Leaving two or three days minimum between is a great starting place.
You should ABSolutely consider your capacity to mentally recharge between sessions too. Your training intensity and your ability to mentally recharge enough to attack the following sessions with the same focus is imperative.
Some people can attack their sessions relentlessly 7 days a week for long periods, some can’t. Everyone’s different – it’s the beauty in life, remember?
Strengths & weaknesses
As you venture along your fitness journey you’ll realise that some body parts recover quicker, and effectively grow more efficiently than others – these are your genetic strengths. Your ego will tempt you to focus more on these body parts than the ones that require above-and-beyond effort (genetic weaknesses) – resist.
Instead, manipulate your split to allow yourself to place more emphasis on your genetically stubborn body parts. There are two main ways to achieve this:
· Train the body part(s) more frequently
· Assign a specific day to just that body part(s)
It’s important to develop these weaker body parts for overall body health, strength and performance in the gym. So, women show your upper body some love and men, the chest gains won’t go anywhere if you train your legs – I promise.
The three main splits you need to know
I hope you didn’t think I was going to leave you without some examples to deliberate on. In my humble opinion, there are three main workout splits followed in the fitness community:
Full Body Workout Routine
Training most or all body parts during each workout. It is widely regarded as the most beginner-friendly split.
Upper-Lower Training Split Workout Routine
Separating sessions to be upper or lower body focused. For example, 2 days upper, 2 days lower equalling 4 sessions and 3 rest days in a 7-day period.
Push/Pull/Legs (PPL) Workout Routine
Push/pull/legs include separating your sessions between pushing muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps), pulling muscles (back, biceps, forearms, abs), and lower body (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves).
There is also a fourth – The “Bro-split”:
“Bro-split” Workout Routine
Assigning each day to a specific muscle group. For example, having a chest day or an arm day etc.
Find your ideal split
Part of the appeal to fitness is generally, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to working out. I recommend trying different splits to find your ideal one.
Listen to your body, it will tell you what it prefers.