Full body vs split training

kazane1
kazane1 Posts: 264 Member
edited November 24 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hi all you have all probably all heard this question a lot or are maybe asking the same question yourself but is there really a difinative winner when it comes to full body vs split training or is it a case of both can work equally as well for different people?
Or is one really superior to the other? I’m looking forward to hearing all your views on this. Thanks in advanced all!

Replies

  • jumpsquats
    jumpsquats Posts: 19 Member
    Agreed to the above post. I usually write full body programmes for beginners to resistance. Splits are for when you're working muscle groups hard enough to warrant it.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited February 2018
    Depends on your goals.

    I do a full body work out and I'm no beginner. I've achieved all of my weight, strength and BF goals and am just interested in maintaining them at current levels. Doing relatively light (65-85% of max) full body workouts achieves this for me.

    I also row daily (which is also a full body exercise) to burn cals which allows me to eat more - particularly more protein, which also contributes to the growth of LBM and loss of BF via recomp while eating at maintenance.

    When I think of split routines, I think of someone who is interested in maixmizing their strength and/or size beyond ordinary levels by isolating certain body parts, which would tend to be more appropriate for more advanced lifters.

    FWIW, most of the men that I see doing split
    routines at the gym would be better off just doing a full body compound lifting routine.
  • Davidsdottir
    Davidsdottir Posts: 1,285 Member
    Essentially, more information about yourself, including goals and lifting experience, would help to answer this question.
  • StevefromMichigan
    StevefromMichigan Posts: 462 Member
    edited February 2018
    sardelsa wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Depends on multiple things. Full body programs are almost universally recommended for beginners as they help the beginner to build a base of strength and fitness and learn proper technique and form. The Sport of Power Lifting also involves mostly full body/ compound lifts. They are also time efficient.

    At some point the benefits of this kind of program will be exhausted and it will be difficult to progress and that is where a split program can be utilized. Spits often have more volume per muscle group with longer recovery time between a muscle group workout. This can help progression. Split programs can be used for strength, hypertrophy or metabolic work. Or some combination of those. Spits tend to be more time consuming.

    So, it is not really an either/or and one is not superior to the other. Different programs for different stages

    Or you can run a full body program for years and years, like moi ;)

    Seems to be working wonders for you :smiley:

    I tend to like the full body as well. It's just easier for me to alternate between strength and cardio that way.
  • Lean59man
    Lean59man Posts: 714 Member
    You can do full-body forever. It was the preferred training method in the 30s, 40s and 50s.

    Splits came into favor after steroids became popular in bodybuilding as they allow you to train much harder and recover quickly.

    I prefer full-body training.

    A typical workout might be...

    Planks for time
    Squats
    Calf raises
    Bench press
    Pullups
    Upright rows
    Barbell curls
    Grip exercise

    All 3 sets of 8-12 reps.
  • MarquezJA86
    MarquezJA86 Posts: 20 Member
    You will definitely see a difference keeping up with full body
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    sardelsa wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Depends on multiple things. Full body programs are almost universally recommended for beginners as they help the beginner to build a base of strength and fitness and learn proper technique and form. The Sport of Power Lifting also involves mostly full body/ compound lifts. They are also time efficient.

    At some point the benefits of this kind of program will be exhausted and it will be difficult to progress and that is where a split program can be utilized. Spits often have more volume per muscle group with longer recovery time between a muscle group workout. This can help progression. Split programs can be used for strength, hypertrophy or metabolic work. Or some combination of those. Spits tend to be more time consuming.

    So, it is not really an either/or and one is not superior to the other. Different programs for different stages

    Or you can run a full body program for years and years, like moi ;)

    You are lucky you can recover from them. I always struggled with recovery on a 3-day program.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Depends on multiple things. Full body programs are almost universally recommended for beginners as they help the beginner to build a base of strength and fitness and learn proper technique and form. The Sport of Power Lifting also involves mostly full body/ compound lifts. They are also time efficient.

    At some point the benefits of this kind of program will be exhausted and it will be difficult to progress and that is where a split program can be utilized. Spits often have more volume per muscle group with longer recovery time between a muscle group workout. This can help progression. Split programs can be used for strength, hypertrophy or metabolic work. Or some combination of those. Spits tend to be more time consuming.

    So, it is not really an either/or and one is not superior to the other. Different programs for different stages

    Or you can run a full body program for years and years, like moi ;)

    Actually it's very common for many powerlifters to run full body their entire career. The difference is it's more advanced or complicated programming not a cookie cutter three day novice program. You're not alone Stef.
  • kazane1
    kazane1 Posts: 264 Member
    Davidsdottir wrote: »
    Essentially, more information about yourself, including goals and lifting experience, would help to answer this question.

    So I’ve been lifting for about a year and a half now and my goals are to just keep getting bigger and stronger as much as I can really.
  • kazane1
    kazane1 Posts: 264 Member
    Thanks for all the input so far people!
  • pbryd
    pbryd Posts: 364 Member
    The science backed community point to twice per week training as the sweet spot for hypertrophy.

    With this in mind an upper/lower split 2x per week or a push /pull split 2x per week is a good choice.

    If you want to train 6 days, a PPL twice per week also has you training each muscle group twice per week.
  • Davidsdottir
    Davidsdottir Posts: 1,285 Member
    kazane1 wrote: »
    Davidsdottir wrote: »
    Essentially, more information about yourself, including goals and lifting experience, would help to answer this question.

    So I’ve been lifting for about a year and a half now and my goals are to just keep getting bigger and stronger as much as I can really.

    At that point, I'd move to an upper/lower split. That way you'll have move time to recover between lifts but still hit each muscle group more than once a week.
  • Lean59man
    Lean59man Posts: 714 Member
    There are no secrets.

    Train with basic exercises.
    Add weight whenever you get your reps.
    Eat well.
    Be consistent.
    Keep a notebook.
    Avoid constantly changing routines in search of something better.
    Be realistic about your goals.
  • RichNY73
    RichNY73 Posts: 16 Member
    I like to do every muscle twice a week right now,I don’t think you can hit each muscle enough doing a full body .
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Depends on multiple things. Full body programs are almost universally recommended for beginners as they help the beginner to build a base of strength and fitness and learn proper technique and form. The Sport of Power Lifting also involves mostly full body/ compound lifts. They are also time efficient.

    At some point the benefits of this kind of program will be exhausted and it will be difficult to progress and that is where a split program can be utilized. Spits often have more volume per muscle group with longer recovery time between a muscle group workout. This can help progression. Split programs can be used for strength, hypertrophy or metabolic work. Or some combination of those. Spits tend to be more time consuming.

    So, it is not really an either/or and one is not superior to the other. Different programs for different stages

    Or you can run a full body program for years and years, like moi ;)

    You are lucky you can recover from them. I always struggled with recovery on a 3-day program.

    Same here. I mainly went to a split program to help with that but it also helped with progression and body shape. It takes a little longer. I used to be able to do a full body program in about 35 minutes to an hour. The split program is roughly 1/2 hour longer. At least the one I'm doing is. But, I've been very happy with the results.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Depends on multiple things. Full body programs are almost universally recommended for beginners as they help the beginner to build a base of strength and fitness and learn proper technique and form. The Sport of Power Lifting also involves mostly full body/ compound lifts. They are also time efficient.

    At some point the benefits of this kind of program will be exhausted and it will be difficult to progress and that is where a split program can be utilized. Spits often have more volume per muscle group with longer recovery time between a muscle group workout. This can help progression. Split programs can be used for strength, hypertrophy or metabolic work. Or some combination of those. Spits tend to be more time consuming.

    So, it is not really an either/or and one is not superior to the other. Different programs for different stages

    Or you can run a full body program for years and years, like moi ;)

    You are lucky you can recover from them. I always struggled with recovery on a 3-day program.

    My programming isn't really a traditional 3 day a week full body though, I would say it is more tailored and specialized for specific goals. I am in the gym 4-5x per week.
    So 3x per week it looks something like:
    -Glute dominant, quad dominant, hip/hamstring dominant, pull, press, glute accessories, sometimes a core exercise
    Then once a week it is all lower body (glute dominant), then some weeks I add on some upper work for more volume.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Depends on multiple things. Full body programs are almost universally recommended for beginners as they help the beginner to build a base of strength and fitness and learn proper technique and form. The Sport of Power Lifting also involves mostly full body/ compound lifts. They are also time efficient.

    At some point the benefits of this kind of program will be exhausted and it will be difficult to progress and that is where a split program can be utilized. Spits often have more volume per muscle group with longer recovery time between a muscle group workout. This can help progression. Split programs can be used for strength, hypertrophy or metabolic work. Or some combination of those. Spits tend to be more time consuming.

    So, it is not really an either/or and one is not superior to the other. Different programs for different stages

    Or you can run a full body program for years and years, like moi ;)

    You are lucky you can recover from them. I always struggled with recovery on a 3-day program.

    My programming isn't really a traditional 3 day a week full body though, I would say it is more tailored and specialized for specific goals. I am in the gym 4-5x per week.
    So 3x per week it looks something like:
    -Glute dominant, quad dominant, hip/hamstring dominant, pull, press, glute accessories, sometimes a core exercise
    Then once a week it is all lower body (glute dominant), then some weeks I add on some upper work for more volume.

    Yup, I had thought that when I saw your first post above. Not the traditional full body centered around the big 4 lifts. Also, you are lot younger than me for recovery! Lol :D
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
    I do an upper/lower split. M/W/F upper, T/Th lower. It's not optimal for a beginner like me, however my primary consideration is that I don't want to be sore or tired on my weekend hikes, so it is what it is.
  • kazane1
    kazane1 Posts: 264 Member
    Davidsdottir wrote: »
    kazane1 wrote: »
    Davidsdottir wrote: »
    Essentially, more information about yourself, including goals and lifting experience, would help to answer this question.

    So I’ve been lifting for about a year and a half now and my goals are to just keep getting bigger and stronger as much as I can really.

    At that point, I'd move to an upper/lower split. That way you'll have move time to recover between lifts but still hit each muscle group more than once a week.

    Okay thank you for your input
  • kazane1
    kazane1 Posts: 264 Member
    RichNY73 wrote: »
    I like to do every muscle twice a week right now,I don’t think you can hit each muscle enough doing a full body .

    Yeahh see iv'e been doing split training for over a year now and I think I'm starting to think the same, I feel that I could be doing more effective training then my current split. that's why I wondered weather I should switch to full body 3 times a week or something.
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