If you go to the gym, or for that matter, do any kind of working out at home or otherwise, you will no doubt have heard of a split workout. This is something that has been common sense ever since the method was used but, for many reasons, got left by the wayside in favour of phrases such as ‘feel the burn’ and ‘no pain, no gain’. Whilst these terms may sound inspirational, they do, in fact, advocate overworking parts of the body and causing potential physical damage. Hence, the split workout has risen in popularity again thanks to its sensibility and ease.
As the name suggests, a split workout is defined as a workout, generally over two to three days, whereby the person training is typically working towards some sort of clearly defined goal, whether that be muscle growth, increased stamina or strength building. For men, these goals are typically more based around strength and hypertrophy (the fancy name for muscle growth.) It’s really not a difficult concept to follow; break the workout over several days in order to reduce fatigue and the risk of some sort of fitness related injury. Here are some common sense ideas for any man wanting to put together a decent, rounded split workout.
Firstly, the idea of a split workout is to spend each day focusing on a specific area. This doesn’t mean altering the amount of time you spend in the gym or going a different amount of times per week, but it does mean each day involves discipline and focusing on that one area. As an example, one may want to build the chest, arms and legs. This would mean three distinct different workout sessions, each one focused on just one of these three.
But it doesn’t just end there. A ‘split workout’ can be drawn out over as much as a week if you really want to give the body a full workout. That’s the beauty of it; depending on how much of a workout you normally have, the split workout can be anything from a few days (for a few areas of the body such as legs, biceps and chest on a casual basis) to a full seven day split for a total, more intense workout. Because the idea of a split is to encourage rest between sessions, a full week long split workout is going to factor in the need for increased rest time.
Most men who are looking to hit some middle ground opt for around a five day workout. This is a little more than ‘coasting’ or light exercise and stops short of the intense work normally reserved for body builders or professional athletes. A simple repetition can consist of:
Day 1: Chest
Day 2: Back
Day 3: Arms
Day 4: Shoulders
Day 5: Legs
Day 6 & 7: Rest
With this, it’s also possible to ‘slide in’ some core training into two or three days; this will not throw out the rest of the split workout and ensures that there is balance. The above split workout also keeps parts of the body distinctly separate; the chest and shoulders are related, and not splitting those out will run the risk of burnout, fatigue or potential muscle damage. That said, apart from some common sense judgement, the rest of the split can be mixed around depending on personal preference.
However, it doesn’t just have to be about splitting down each part of the body. It’s also possible to tailor a split workout over the type of physical activity. A five day routine can run with upper body and lower body on days 1 and 2, followed by rest, push, pull, legs and a day of rest to let the body recharge. The key with a split workout, once again, is to ensure balance, recovery and novelty.
Try any combinations of splitting your workout down and find a rhythm; enjoyable exercise, as well as keeping similar exercises or muscle groups spread out as far as possible. You’ll swiftly find that your new split routine yields better results than before.