Helio Health Hints – Which Training Split Is Right For You?
Training splits.
When it comes to weight training there’s a lot of different approaches, mainly what kind of workout split you do and what your main goal is. The amount of free time you have should decide this. Some people may only be able to get to the gym a few days each week, where as others can get there every day.
If your goal is to build muscle but you can only get to the gym three times a week, it wouldn’t make sense to train one body part each session, It would make sense to do a full body session which in turn would triple the training frequency on all muscles and each muscle is trained equally.
Muscles repair 48 hours after training them, so by training them more frequently they’re able to grow at a continuous rate instead of waiting another week to train that muscle again.
So let’s go through the 3 main training splits that will be most beneficial for you.
Full body:
Training all muscles in one session, ideally by having at least 1 compound movement in each session, and assisting exercises. (3 training days)
Pros:
- Training muscles more frequently and evenly
- Easy for beginners to understand
- More recovery days
- Better for people with less free time
- Good for building muscle and strength
Cons:
- Less focus on smaller muscles
- Some muscles may not be fully recovered for the next session
- Longer sessions, depending on how much you want to do
Upper & lower:
Training all upper body muscles on one day, and all lower body muscles on the next day. Have a rest day after the first lower session, after your rest day then it’s best to train upper and lower again. (4 training days)
Pros:
- All muscles trained frequently
- Adequate recovery time
- Easy to start on if you’re new to training
- Good for building muscle and strength
- More volume for each muscle than Full body sessions
Cons:
- Can be unbalanced training times, as upper body will generally take longer than lower body
- Some may find it challenging training legs twice a week
Body part:
Training one muscle group per day, for example chest on a Monday, shoulders the next day. (5 training days)
Pros:
- Greater volume to stimulate muscle growth
- More exercise variation to target individual muscles
- More time to focus on mind muscle connection
If you have any questions regarding your training please feel free to speak to one of our qualified coaches in the club or message us through our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HelioFitnessBlackpool/
Content Courtesy of Jake Barr PT.
