There are two main approaches to training – full-body (training the entire body in one workout) and split (dividing exercises into muscle groups over the week). Let’s analyze which approach is more effective, for what purposes and for whom it is more suitable. Let’s also identify the pros and cons.
Training approach: full body or split.
Most fitness experts say that full body is the ideal system for beginners. When a beginner is first introduced to the workout, there is awkwardness, embarrassment. Gradually, they learn to perform exercises correctly, become familiar with exercise machines and free weights.
Veteran rockers are advised to cool their enthusiasm and not to repeat all the movements for experienced athletes.
Brad Shanhold – a scientist, trainer and author of 10 books in the field of sports – conducted the study. Twenty people took part in the experiment to test the effect of training systems on muscle recruitment and strength of athletes. The athletes were divided into two groups: the first group trained the whole body 3 times a week with one core exercise per muscle group, and the second group trained each muscle group once a week.
The results of the experiment.
The results of the experiment showed that muscle volume increased more in the group that used the whole-body principle. The strength performance of both groups remained about the same. Strength was measured based on the maximum single repetition in the bench press.
With such a small number of exercisers, the margin of error may be high. It is also not known what other training and recovery conditions the lifters used, what specific exercises they performed, the volume they performed, the number of repetitions they approached, how long they slept and how they ate.
Another experiment was conducted in Sweden. The following conclusions were drawn. Training in which one muscle group was loaded with 30-60 repetitions totaled 2-3 times a week.
There are two ways to achieve this training volume: 2 to 3 full-body workouts with 1 to 3 approaches per muscle, or four split workouts per week.
You will need to load your muscles 2 times a week, and the most popular split is to alternate training the upper and lower muscle groups. For example, on Monday and Thursday you train the upper body, and on Tuesday and Friday you train the lower body.
So what is the best way to train, in order to make a choice, let’s look at the pros and cons.
Pros and cons of combined and separate training 3 arguments FOR a whole body system.
First, the frequency of muscle training has a positive effect on the rate of muscle growth. In whole body training, all muscle groups are loaded 2-3 times a week.
Second, it is a high energy expenditure.
As a rule, more energy is consumed compared to split training, because the whole body is worked and more energy is required. Imagine doing heavy squats and bench presses during one workout, followed by pull-ups. You have to eat a lot of calories during such workouts if you don’t want to lose weight, but if you want to lose weight, the fat will melt away faster due to the huge energy expenditure.
Thirdly, it’s a powerful super-compensation because the muscles experience peak loads, which contributes to better recovery.
2 pros for splitting.
First, it is the only way to use very heavy weights and thus increase mass.
In full-body training, one basic exercise is substituted for another, but if you give it your all after the first exercise, you have about 30% less strength for the second.
In this case, you can change the exercises, putting the first one first
Second, is to pay attention to a separate muscle group.
Despite the advantages of full-body, split allows you to emphasize the work of each muscle and you have less chance of overtraining. On the other hand, full-body training is more exhausting than a split. If you train on this principle for a long time, you may overtrain.
The popular tactic of training beginners with full-body and intermediate and advanced athletes with splits is not always correct.
It doesn’t matter how an athlete trains: arm muscles and legs at the same time or a separate day for legs – growth is not affected if you distribute the load correctly. Neither split training nor full-body training will help you if you don’t do it correctly. A well-designed full-body training program will give better results than a failed split program.
What is the best way to train for a beginner?
If your goal is to improve your overall body tone, do whole-body exercises, but if your goal is to work on a specific muscle group in detail, do split exercises.
