Workout Splits - Why they are important ?

 WORKOUT SPLITS

You need to know what you're doing and why you're doing it whether your objective is to increase your strength, burn fat while building muscle, or become more athletic. And selecting the appropriate workout split is a crucial step in creating a comprehensive training plan.

A workout split is the division of your weekly workouts into separate sessions for each body part, exercise, lift, or specialized body component. Bodybuilders and regular gym attendees can concentrate their efforts in a way that maximizes results by using this divide-and-conquer strategy for workouts.



How Workout Splits Are Organized

Your workout split will ultimately be determined by whatever your end aim is. For instance, someone who is exercising to increase their athleticism will have a different split than someone who is only concerned with appearance. For powerlifters, the same holds true. There are three basic workout splits, and each has advantages and drawbacks of its own.

They are:

  • Body part workout splits
  • An upper/lower workout split
  • A push, pull, legs workout split

Bodypart Workout Splits

You exercise one to three body parts in each training session, twice weekly, according to a body part workout split. Body part splits allow you to train your muscles more frequently for faster muscle gain, making them a favorite choice among bodybuilders.

According to a meta-analysis published in the journal Sports Medicine, this method of training produced the most hypertrophy when compared to other methods. This was supported by a 2018 study that discovered that in comparison to other workout splits, working a muscle twice a week resulted in enhanced muscle thickness and overall body composition.

A body part workout split may look like this.

  • Monday: Chest and triceps
  • Tuesday: Back and biceps
  • Wednesday: Legs and shoulders
  • Thursday: Rest
  • Friday: Chest and triceps
  • Saturday: Back and biceps
  • Sunday: Legs and shoulders
Muscles typically require 48 hours of rest to recuperate. You can see from the split above that each muscle gets three days (or 72 hours) of rest. Sometimes a bodybuilder who wants to strengthen a weakness will exercise that muscle three times per week, adding it to a day that isn't as demanding.

Pros Of a Bodypart Workout Split

  • Your focus is set on two muscles for the entire session.
  • Allows for a full recovery.
  • Less equipment is needed during your session.
  • You’re less tired since you’re not working out multiple muscles.

Cons Of a Bodypart Workout Split

  • If you miss a workout, it takes longer to catch up.
  • You may become impatient waiting for a specific session.
  • Some body parts may recover faster than others.

Upper/Lower Workout Split



Workouts are split into days that are lower-body focused and days that are focused on the upper body. This split is great for newbies, busy individuals, and people who want to get stronger. It compels the lifter to focus on the essentials and trim the fat from their regimen. You'll spend less time in the gym if you have an upper/lower split, which is an advantage. In essence, you're dividing your workload into four shorter but more intense sessions each week. Also, don't be concerned about your degree of strength. Less frequent training nevertheless results in gains in strength, if not gains in strength (that is, how often your train).

In fact, a 2019 study indicated that compared to a total body workout performed three times per week, an upper/lower workout split led to greater increases in muscle size and strength. Similar to the body part split, you continue to work on each muscle twice a week, which has been determined to be ideal for bodybuilders.

A Upper/Lower Workout split may look like this.

  • Monday: Upper body
  • Tuesday: Lower body
  • Wednesday: Rest
  • Thursday: Upper body
  • Friday: Lower body
  • Saturday & Sunday: Rest

Pros of Upper/Lower Workout Split

  • You’re in the gym less.
  • You’re still hitting each muscle twice per week.
  • You can work on increasing the main lifts.

Cons of Upper/Lower Workout Split

  • There’s less volume per workout.

Push, Pull, Legs Workout Split



The upper/lower split is comparable to this workout split. The primary distinction is that a PPL split separates upper-body exercise into pushing and pulling. Because athletes may create their program around the "big three" movements — the bench press (push), deadlift (pull), and squat — this split is common in the powerlifting community (legs).

Furthermore, it has a wide range of frequency scalability. Lifters with busy schedules can train hard three times per week (more exercises for more sets and reps). People who want to work out more frequently can reduce their volume per session and perform each workout twice a week. You can also add an additional push, pull, or legs exercise to your four weekly training sessions (depending on what you need to work on).

A Push, Pull, Legs workout split may look like this.

  • Monday: Push (heavy bench press)
  • Tuesday: Pull (heavy deadlift)
  • Wednesday: Legs (heavy back squat)
  • Thursday: Rest
  • Friday: Push (high volume or bench press alternative)
  • Saturday: Pull (high volume or deadlift alternative)
  • Sunday: Legs (high volume or back squat alternative)

All of the aforementioned research concluded that push/pull/leg exercises are a good way to build strength and muscle. You're still exercising every muscle twice a week, giving it plenty of time to rest and recover before the following session.

Pros of Push, Pull, Legs

  • Emphasis on training specific muscles.
  • Ample recovery time.

Cons of push, push, legs

  • Less room for modification to address weak points.
  • More time in the gym.
  • More equipment is needed.

Have a Back-Up Plan

It's nice to have a strategy before you enter the gym, but what happens when things don't go according to plan? Imagine you arrive on leg day and see that the squat racks are all taken.

The likelihood is that you won't have enough time to wait for them, in which case you will need a backup plan for the activities you had planned for that day. If you are unable to squat, attempt hard lunges or step-ups instead. Is no open bench press available? Replace by presses using dumbbells. You see what I mean.

Another suggestion is to look for a local family-run gym and ask if they will sell you a one-day pass for a reasonable charge. There's no reason why they shouldn't let you in for a quick workout as long as the gym isn't extremely crowded.

While skipping a day here and there won't stop your progress, workout splits only work if you actually follow them, so you must have a backup plan if you want to see results.

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