Planning your workouts in advance might be confusing for some. Today I will be sharing on how you can split up your workouts and have a structured training system to maximise your muscle gains.
What is a training split?
A training split means you’ve broken up your workouts throughout the week.
Split routines are simply how you divide the different muscle groups between workout sessions.
For example, on Monday you’ll train upper body and Tuesday, Legs.
Why is training split essential for maximum muscle growth?
To maximise your training, it is important to break up the areas of your body that you want to focus on so that each muscle develops in proportion. This will also prevent over training your body and allows your other muscle groups to recover.
The different types of training split
Full body split
Upper lower split
Push pull legs split
Full body split refers to training your entire body every session.
However, do take note that when you do a full body split, it will take a longer time to complete your workout in the gym! And since you’re training your entire body, it is best to take a rest day in between every session to allow your muscles to recover.
Upper lower split refers to training your upper body in one session and lower body in another session.
Push pull legs split
Push: All the upper body pushing muscles, i.e. the chest, shoulders and triceps.
Pull: All the upper body pulling muscles, i.e. the back and biceps.
Legs: Entire lower body, i.e. the quads, hamstrings, calves and abdominals.
However, today I will be covering on push pull legs split as thats my current training regime.
Should I follow the split training routine?
As split training requires you to plan, it is more suitable for athletes who train 5-6 times a week. This is because it is recommended that you train a particular body part at least twice a week.
If you are a beginner that trains 3-4 times a week, I will recommend the full body split as it allows you to train every body part in moderation rather than burning out on one particular muscle group.
How your training split should look like
You should aim to train each body part twice a week.
Here are some of the muscle groups to focus on
Chest
Back
Legs
Shoulders
Triceps
Biceps
Abs
And here’s how my push pull leg routine looks like:
🏋🏻♂️ Monday: Legs (Free weights)
🏋🏻♂️ Tuesday: Push (Chest, triceps, shoulders)
🏋🏻♂️ Wednesday Pull (Back and biceps)
🏋🏻♂️ Thursday: Leg (Machines)
🏋🏻♂️ Friday: Push (Chest, triceps, shoulders)
🏋🏻♂️ Saturday: Pull (Back and biceps)
💤 Sunday: Rest / light cardio
Ultimately, do choose the type of training split based on your fitness level, goals and your availability to train.
For beginners, the best approach would be the full body split as it allows you to develop an overall balance. And it helps to activate all your muscle groups.
To maximise your muscle gains, a push pull legs split would be the most effective way to target specific muscle groups.
Hope this article helped you to understand more on how training split works and happy training!
Til next time,
Ely
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