Spilt upper body days or put it all in one?

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MsMackk
MsMackk Posts: 10 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey y’all... I’m curious of everyone’s opinion on splitting upper body days into two with a back/biceps and then a chest/tricep and shoulders of course mixed in on the day I’m feeling(probably my least favorite to train)
OR doing just an upper body day with all the exercises??

What does everyone think?

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    If I'm doing an upper/lower split, I do all upper two days per week and all lower two days per week. That allows me to hit everything more than once per week. (I actually end up hitting my back 4x per week.)
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    MsMackk wrote: »
    Hey y’all... I’m curious of everyone’s opinion on splitting upper body days into two with a back/biceps and then a chest/tricep and shoulders of course mixed in on the day I’m feeling(probably my least favorite to train)
    OR doing just an upper body day with all the exercises??

    What does everyone think?

    I would suggest hitting each muscle group 2-3x per week, however you may need to break it up. The most efficient are by doing full body or upper/lower splits. I wouldn't recommend using old school bodybuilding "bro" splits.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    It will depend.. mainly on your lifting experience, your goals, personal preference and schedule. For the most part, full body 3x per week is recommended for a beginner. That being said it is not set in stone, since some people prefer an upper/lower or push/pull split. The one thing I would not recommend to a beginner is a bro-split style.. where you split up the upper body parts on separate days with one leg day a week.

    I personally prefer more full body (although I am not a beginner) it just works for me, my goals and my schedule.
  • colors_fade
    colors_fade Posts: 464 Member
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    MsMackk wrote: »
    Hey y’all... I’m curious of everyone’s opinion on splitting upper body days into two with a back/biceps and then a chest/tricep and shoulders of course mixed in on the day I’m feeling(probably my least favorite to train)
    OR doing just an upper body day with all the exercises??

    What does everyone think?

    Once you hit intermediate weightlifting levels (newbie gains gone, a year+ in a gym, etc.), I think doing an upper body day with "all the exercises" is just not possible. Too many lifts/too many individual parts that need attention. You'll end up short-changing something (probably lats).

    The upper body split that I've gravitated toward is back/lats & chest/tri/bi.

    Back and lats are a huge, big muscle group in the upper body that deserve attention on their own. They need at least one day for themselves. Combining those lifts with all the chest/tricep/bicep exercises requires too much time. I'd be in the gym for 2+ hours, if it were me.

    Chest/Tri/Bi makes for a good day of lifting on it's own, and makes it easy to superset the tricep and bicep lifts together. Supersets for bicep and tricep makes for a nice pump day once the big compound lift is out of the way.

    So if your goal is four days per week of lifting, I'd consider something like this:

    1 day of Legs (Squat + accessories)
    1 day of Back (Deadlift + lat accessories)
    2 days of Chest (Bench or OHP + bicep & tricep accessories)

    If you wanted to go five days per week, you could fit in another leg day, or another bench/chest day. I sometimes make my fifth day an "all body day" and just hit a bunch of compounds to finish off the week. Like, squat, sumo deadlift, hip thrust, OHP and rows. It's a nice way to end the week sometimes...

    Anyway, those are my thoughts. Take it for what it's worth.
  • IronSis2017
    IronSis2017 Posts: 11 Member
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    Varies depending on my goals/schedule.. so like a 3 or 5 day split..
    Day 1: legs/abs
    DAY 2: Chest
    DAY 3: Back/abs
    DAY 4: rest
    DAY 5: shoulder/abs
    DAY 6: Arms
    DAY 7: rest
    Or
    Day 1: chest/abs
    DAY 2: back
    DAY 3: rest
    DAY 4: shoulder/abs
    DAY 5: legs
    DAY 6: arms/abs
    DAY 7: rest
    It's your own personal preference!
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
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    Everyday is upper body day. Everyday is also leg day. Wouldn’t recommend my programs unless your goals match mine and you’ve built your volume tolerance up.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    rybo wrote: »
    MsMackk wrote: »
    Hey y’all... I’m curious of everyone’s opinion on splitting upper body days into two with a back/biceps and then a chest/tricep and shoulders of course mixed in on the day I’m feeling(probably my least favorite to train)
    OR doing just an upper body day with all the exercises??

    What does everyone think?

    I would suggest hitting each muscle group 2-3x per week, however you may need to break it up. The most efficient are by doing full body or upper/lower splits. I wouldn't recommend using old school bodybuilding "bro" splits.

    Agreed.

    If you plan on lifting 4+ times per week, then you could get away with an upper/lower or push/pull split. 3x or less per week and full body is probably a better option.
  • MsMackk
    MsMackk Posts: 10 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice!! It’s really awesome :smiley:

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