When you walk into the gym, choosing your workout for the day can be stressful. Will you choose vigorous aerobics or strength training, or will you choose slow yoga? Do you want to build muscle all over your body or just some of your muscles or body strength? Do you want to work out your whole body until you’re exhausted or do you want to avoid being sore all over the next day? But working out all muscle groups can be overwhelming if you’re looking to strength train. Then you can choose workout splits.
Whether you have limited exercise time, lack of energy, or partial workout goals, workout splits are a way to get in an effective workout. Of course, if you have time and energy, you can do full-body exercises every day, including strength training, aerobic exercise, or body flexibility exercises. However completing these exercises is not feasible for most people, nor is it the best way to exercise for maximum results. Especially if you are focused on building muscle or strength. But workout splits are a critical way to achieve your fitness goals.
As big supporters of physical exercise, Relife Sports knows that scheduling exercise is crucial for some people, but workout splits are also a matter of course. So you ask, what exactly are “workout splits”? If you don’t know about workout splits, read on. Workout splits are used to describe divided workouts per week. We’ll move on to why workout splits are good for your body later, but for now, you need to know that you can participate in workout splits whether you’re a beginner or a regular exerciser.
Below I’m going to dig deeper to understand what workouts are best for you and consider why you need to do workout splits, including what types of workout splits are best for you and what workout splits can bring you in return. make persistent efforts.
Related Reading: The Best Upper Body Workout Routine for Beginners
What Is a Workout Split?
A workout split, also known as a training split, refers to how you divide your workouts throughout the week, focusing on specific muscle groups or movements during each session. The purpose of a workout split is to allow for adequate recovery time for each muscle group while maximizing training volume and intensity.
Workout splits are designed to fatigue the body and work only one body muscle group at a time, rather than hitting every part of the body in one workout. The choice of workout split depends on factors such as training experience, goals, schedule, and recovery capacity. It’s essential to choose a split that aligns with your goals and allows for adequate recovery between sessions. Additionally, it’s crucial to vary your split periodically to prevent plateaus and keep your training program challenging and effective.
The Benefits of Workout Splits in Training
The biggest advantage of workout splits is that they can more directly focus on each muscle group of the body, thereby improving muscle definition. Workout splits also make your daily workouts shorter, giving you more time to focus on other activities on your schedule. Workout splits offer several benefits in training, depending on your goals, preferences, and fitness level. If you want to complete workout splits, you can use some fitness equipment appropriately, such as a Relife power tower, folding exercise bike, and other tools.
Targeted Muscle Focus
Workout splits allow you to focus on specific muscle groups or movement patterns during each session. This targeted approach helps you emphasize weak areas, improve muscle imbalances, and develop muscle groups more effectively.
Increased Training Volume
By dividing your workouts into specific muscle groups or movements, you can increase the volume (sets and reps) for each muscle group without overloading your entire body in one session. Higher training volume can lead to greater muscle hypertrophy (growth).
Enhanced Recovery
Workout splits give each muscle group more time to recover between sessions. Adequate recovery is essential for muscle repair and growth. By allowing sufficient rest, you reduce the risk of overtraining and injury.
Improved Performance
When you target specific muscle groups or movements in each session, you can optimize performance for those exercises. This can lead to better strength gains, improved technique, and enhanced mind-muscle connection.
Time Efficiency
Some workout splits, like full-body or upper/lower splits, can be time-efficient for those with busy schedules. You can get a comprehensive workout in a shorter period by focusing on specific areas in each session.
Variety and Preventing Plateaus
Changing up your workout split periodically can prevent training plateaus. The body adapts to the stress of exercise over time, so altering your split keeps your muscles challenged and promotes continuous progress.
Customization
Workout splits can be tailored to individual goals and preferences. Whether you’re aiming for muscle growth, strength, endurance, or a combination, you can adjust your split accordingly.
Improved Recovery and Injury Prevention
By not overloading the same muscles every day, workout splits can reduce the risk of overuse injuries. Properly structured splits also allow for active recovery days or lighter workouts, promoting overall recovery.
It’s important to note that the effectiveness of a workout split depends on factors such as consistency, intensity, nutrition, and adequate sleep. Additionally, individual responses to training vary, so it’s essential to listen to your body and adjust your split as needed.
5 Types of Workout Split Routines
Workout split routines are a way of organizing your workouts throughout the week by targeting different muscle groups on different days. If you have just done workout splits, you can make different exercise plans based on your physical condition. And you don’t have to follow these plans every day, either. Even if you do a workout every other day, you can adjust the focus of each workout accordingly depending on your level of exercise. Below, Relife Sports gives you a detailed introduction to the 5 most popular workout splits methods.
1. Push-Pull-Legs (PPL) Split
Push Day: Focuses on exercises that target pushing movements, such as chest presses, shoulder presses, and triceps exercises.
Pull Day: Focuses on exercises that target pulling movements, such as pull-ups, rows, and bicep curls.
Leg Day: Focuses on exercises that target the lower body, such as squats, deadlifts, and lunges.
This split is popular because it divides workouts based on movement patterns and allows for adequate rest for each muscle group.
2. Upper-Lower Split
Upper Body Days: Focuses on exercises targeting the muscles of the upper body, including chest, back, shoulders, and arms.
Lower Body Days: Focuses on exercises targeting the muscles of the lower body, including quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
This split allows for higher frequency training of both upper and lower body muscle groups.
3. Full Body Split
Full Body Workouts: Workouts include exercises targeting all major muscle groups in a single session.
Typically performed three times per week, with a day of rest between sessions.
Each workout includes compound exercises that target multiple muscle groups simultaneously.
This split is suitable for beginners or individuals with limited time for exercise.
4. Body Part Split
Chest and Triceps Day: Focuses on exercises targeting the chest and triceps muscles.
Back and Biceps Day: Focuses on exercises targeting the back and biceps muscles.
Shoulders Day: Focuses on exercises targeting the shoulder muscles.
Legs Day: Focuses on exercises targeting the leg muscles.
This split allows for high-volume training of individual muscle groups but may require a higher number of weekly sessions.
5. Push-Pull-Legs with Rest Day Split
Similar to the PPL split, but includes a rest day after each cycle of push-pull-legs workouts.
Provides additional rest days to aid recovery and prevent overtraining.
Allows for flexibility in scheduling workouts throughout the week.
How to Properly Do a Split Workout Routine
Properly executing a split workout routine involves several key considerations to ensure effectiveness, safety, and optimal results. Here are some steps to help you implement a split workout routine effectively:
Set Clear Goals
Determine your fitness goals, whether they involve muscle growth, strength gains, fat loss, or overall fitness improvement. Your goals will influence the specific split routine you choose and how you structure your workouts.
Choose the Right Split
Select a split routine that aligns with your goals, preferences, and schedule. Common split routines include upper/lower split, push/pull/legs split, body part split, and full-body split. Consider factors such as training frequency, recovery capacity, and the emphasis on different muscle groups.
Plan Your Workouts
Create a workout plan that outlines which muscle groups you’ll target on each training day. Include a variety of exercises that target different angles and ranges of motion to ensure comprehensive muscle development.
Balance Volume and Intensity
Distribute training volume (sets, reps, and weight) and intensity appropriately across your split routine. Avoid overloading any single muscle group or movement pattern, and ensure adequate rest between sessions to promote recovery.
Warm-Up Properly
Before each workout, perform a thorough warm-up to prepare your muscles, joints, and nervous system for the upcoming exercises. Include dynamic movements, mobility drills, and activation exercises specific to the muscles you’ll be training.
Execute Exercises with Proper Form
Focus on maintaining proper form and technique during each exercise to maximize effectiveness and reduce the risk of injury. Start with lighter weights to establish proper movement patterns before increasing intensity.
Progressive Overload
Gradually increase the intensity, volume, or difficulty of your workouts over time to stimulate continued adaptation and progress. This can involve adding weight, increasing reps or sets, or progressing to more challenging exercises.
Include Recovery Strategies
Incorporate rest days, active recovery activities, and recovery modalities such as stretching, foam rolling, and massage to support muscle recovery and reduce the risk of overtraining.
Monitor Progress
Track your workouts, progress, and any changes in strength, muscle size, or body composition. Adjust your split routine accordingly to ensure continued progress toward your goals.
Nutrition and Hydration
Support your training with a balanced diet that provides adequate nutrients and hydration to fuel your workouts, support recovery, and optimize performance.
Rest and Sleep
Ensure you’re getting sufficient quality sleep and rest to allow your body to recover and adapt to the training stimulus effectively.
