i'm 16, 6'2 and 77 kgs. i train with weights 3-4 times a week. i split my trainings with chest and triceps, back, biceps and shoulders, legs and core. i do make consistent improvements with split training but i wonder if full body workouts would be more beneficial. could someone shed some light on this?
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split training or full body?
- Thread starter brad m
- Start date
That is a dramatic question. The answer relates totally to what you want to gain. I like powerlifting training so my training is centred around the 3 movements and 100% compound due to time constraints.
If your idea of improvements are the ability to use your whole body in activities like olympic lifts etc. you need to train it as a unit with some more isolated assistance work. Similarly if you want a more cardio effect you want to use as much of your body as possible to keep the heart and lungs working hard.
If your aim is to build yourself up recovery becomes a major factor and splits become far more viable.
Thing to be careful of on your session as with many is overtraining the arms. Virtually all 'chest' excercises have triceps as prime mover as will most for shoulders. Majority of back exercises use the biceps as prime mover too, meaning you split comuld be splitting major muscle groups but not the minor ones.
If your idea of improvements are the ability to use your whole body in activities like olympic lifts etc. you need to train it as a unit with some more isolated assistance work. Similarly if you want a more cardio effect you want to use as much of your body as possible to keep the heart and lungs working hard.
If your aim is to build yourself up recovery becomes a major factor and splits become far more viable.
Thing to be careful of on your session as with many is overtraining the arms. Virtually all 'chest' excercises have triceps as prime mover as will most for shoulders. Majority of back exercises use the biceps as prime mover too, meaning you split comuld be splitting major muscle groups but not the minor ones.
But seriously though, it all depends on your goals. CrazyOldMan hit the nail on the head.
If what you're currently doing is working for you and bringing the gains you want, then there's no reason to stop, but if you hit a plateau and/or aren't seeing the results you want, change it up. Switching it up never hurt anybody. If you like what you see, keep it. If not, go back. In the end, it's all just trial and error. What works for your body and what doesn't.
If what you're currently doing is working for you and bringing the gains you want, then there's no reason to stop, but if you hit a plateau and/or aren't seeing the results you want, change it up. Switching it up never hurt anybody. If you like what you see, keep it. If not, go back. In the end, it's all just trial and error. What works for your body and what doesn't.
5x5 DEAD LIFTS!! lol
Fixes everything! What's so funny?
As it's been pointed out, this really depends on what you're trying to do, how well your current program is going for you (and, if it's not working, whether that's because the program isn't good for you or because you aren't eating or resting appropriately), and other individual factors. I generally recommend full-body to beginners, because it allows lots of practice throughout the week without normally accumulating too much fatigue per session. I often recommend this fullbody starter program, which gives you 2x10 of the main movements 3 times a week, adding up to 60 working reps of each exercise -- this is good for the learning curve, enough stimulus for most beginners to make progress and a small enough stimulus to easily recover from.
Of course, different strokes for different folks, and as you progress you'll need different things. Once you've attained a certain degree of mastery over basic technique (you never achieve true mastery, but with practice we can all achieve basic mastery, which is doing the exercises with a technique that is generally safe, generally useful, and not having to think much about it), have progressed a certain amount and have built up a higher workload tolerance, it may become more appropriate to train over a split, meaning less frequency of each lift/muscle group (as you don't need to practice as often) with more volume (creating a higher training stimulus and demanding longer recovery between sessions of the same lifts/parts).
Of course, different strokes for different folks, and as you progress you'll need different things. Once you've attained a certain degree of mastery over basic technique (you never achieve true mastery, but with practice we can all achieve basic mastery, which is doing the exercises with a technique that is generally safe, generally useful, and not having to think much about it), have progressed a certain amount and have built up a higher workload tolerance, it may become more appropriate to train over a split, meaning less frequency of each lift/muscle group (as you don't need to practice as often) with more volume (creating a higher training stimulus and demanding longer recovery between sessions of the same lifts/parts).
Fixes everything! What's so funny?
Mass building routine. My answer to everything!
Based on your genes and your structure, you may be endowed with massive quadriceps but weak chest.
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