How to get the Most Out of Your Workout Split
Thursday, July 7, 2022 at 12:32PM ;)
There are many ways to program how you weight train, some people like to hit each muscle super hard once per week usually splitting each workout focussing on one to two muscle groups per workout but hitting each muscle group really hard with multiple exercises.
Then there is the other extreme where you hit every body part each workout but only doing one quick exercise per body part, this can be a bit of a marathon for sure…
I have tried both and both do work but which one is best or perhaps is there something in the middle which will get the absolute most out of each weight training session.
Personally I believe volume at the end of the day is the most important factor. What I mean is if you add up all the sets and all the reps you did for the week and totaled the weight you lifted. Then more is better. This is also assuming you spend the same amount time in the gym each week weight training.
One other factor we need to make sure we consider is recovery time. How much do you really need? Most people would say at least 24 hours but 48 hours is a good rule of thumb especially if you trained a muscle pretty hard with multiple exercises, sets and reps. I would even go so far as to say that in some cases three days may be required for a muscle to fully recover, especially a large muscle group like your legs after a full leg training day with squats, deadlifts and accessory work. But let’s stick with 48 hours in most situations.
So if we use 48 hours as a baseline for muscle recovery then that means you could workout each body part 3 times per week based on a two day split meaning you hit half your body one day and then the other half the next day repeating daily with one day off per week.
If that seems like too much time in the gym for some people with busy schedules then you could do a two day split four days per week and train each body part two times per week. Still good!
The real question is, would it be better to do a two day split and hit each body part two to three times per week or would it be better to do what is commonly called the Bro-Split and train each body part once per week but hit it crazy hard with three to four exercises per weight training session?
There is one more factor we need to consider before going into this further and that is muscle atrophy. Muscle atrophy is when a muscle does not get stimulation and essentially starts to lose size and strength because of lack of use. But how long does it take before noticeable muscle atrophy begins? Most people will say even after a week it can start to happen but I would say two to three weeks is when it really become more noticeable. Does that mean muscle atrophy is not happening on a more micro scale during the week if you are not using a muscle for say three to four days post recovery? I believe it happening on a small micro scale but even if I am wrong and you are not training a muscle for several days post recovery then you are at a bare minimum not utilizing potential training opportunities with that muscle group. So in the example of the Bro-Split hitting a muscle on only once per week, you may be experiencing a micro amount of muscle atrophy since that muscle group is not being stimulated much for at least four to five days at a time between workout session.
Getting back to training volume which again I feel is the measuring stick for workout efficiency which at the end of the day should get you the best results. To me it is pretty obvious that training a muscle with one exercise to failure and then moving on to a new muscle will yield the most weight moved in a workout or weight training session and for the week. Using the example of three exercises per week for a muscle group, If you hit a muscle with multiple exercises in a session then you either have to pace yourself the entire time or go all out on the first exercise with each follow up exercise having less and less strength available, so moving less and less weight. If you where to split the three exercises up into three separate weigth training sessions (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), then you will have full available strength for each exercise session.
The key is to be smart about how you break down your two day split as to not overlap already worked muscles. I find it best to hit Chest, Back and Shoulders with Calves and Core on day one and then I hit Legs and Arms with Core on day two. I also make sure to only do one press exercise on upper body day. For example if I start with a chest press then I would do back between chest and shoulders followed by something like shoulder raises so as not to hit my already weekend triceps doing a shoulder press. And similarly if I started with a shoulder press I would do something like Flies for Chest. The key is to really mix up your workouts and always be doing a different exercise for each muscle group. Here is an example of what I mean… Shoulders Day One - DB Shoulder Press, Shoulders Day two - Raises with DB or Cables, Shoulders Day three - Upright Row or Machine Shoulder Press.
Now what works for me may not work for you and some people just like to workout a certain way because that is what they are use to and at the end of the day being motivated to get into the gym consistently is really the most important factor. Of course you have to do the work when you are at the gym but if you are hitting the gym often and training hard you will see results no matter what workout program you use. You can give my methods a try and see if it works for you or not?
