A body part split refers to a training plan that focuses on training one specific major group of muscles per session. While this might work for the professional bodybuilders you admire, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will bring you optimal results as well, especially if you’re a beginner.
It’s really simple: the regular body part split training program doesn’t make the best use of your real muscle-building potential. Actually, this technique has often proven itself as ineffective at building muscle mass because of the following reasons:
– It doesn’t stimulate maximum growth because of lack of consistent training of any muscle.
– It doesn’t boost testosterone levels because large muscle groups are not being trained every session.
– It doesn’t stimulate metabolic rate and fat loss because of less workload being placed on large muscle groups.
However, that doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with full body workouts for life. There is a smart and simple way to split your workout, as long as you include many sets and reps for each muscle group, train large muscle group at every session and give your body enough time to rest and recover.
Let’s take a look at two training splits that meet those criteria: the push-pull split and the upper-lower split.
1. Push-Pull split:
This split is based on alternating pushing and pulling movements, which allows you to work different muscles at different rates, train more often and score some insane gains in no time. In addition, you’ll avoid over-stressing certain body parts and increase your fat-burning potential. This is how a basic push-pull split looks like:
Monday (push): Squat, Bench Press, Tricep Dips
Tuesday (pull): Deadlift, Pull-Up, Bicep Curl
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday (push): Walking Lunge, Overhead Press, Calf Extensions
Friday (pull): Stiff-Leg Deadlift, Bent-Over Row, Hammer Curl
Saturday: Rest
2. Upper-Lower split:
Using the same logic as the one before, this split alternates upper body musculature and lower body musculature to create a hardcore training that will melt your body fat and push your muscles to growth to their max. And by hitting all big muscle groups you’ll have a great and steady supply of testosterone that will further increase the efficiency of your muscle-building efforts.
The basic upper-lower split looks like this:
Monday (upper): Bench Press, Cable Fly, Bent-Over Row, Chin-Up
Tuesday (lower): Back Squat, Leg-Press, Leg-Extension
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday (upper): Single-Arm Row, Overhead Press, Lat Raise, Rear Delt Fly
Friday (lower): Stiff-Leg Deadlift, Walking Lunge, Calf Extension
Saturday: Rest
You can easily adjust both types of splits to your own needs and goals, and use them to optimize your workout routine. Remember, only advanced lifters benefit from standard body part split routines – after they spend a lot of time building a solid muscle foundation, they progress to perfecting their physique with the help of targeted development.
But when you’re a rookie or at an intermediate level, the first thing you want to do is get your hormones flowing and develop some decent level of muscle mass and strength in terms of the whole body. And that’s exactly what these two split routines will give you – a lean, strong and well balanced body.
