Splitting a weights workout on one day

GeorgeG1972
GeorgeG1972 Posts: 5 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hi all

Currently doing an upper/lower body 4 day split.

The upper body comprises of

compounds (back, chest, shoulders) - total of 4 exercises, roughly 3-4 sets each of 6-8 or 8-10 reps depending on the exercise

followed by 4x isolation exercises - lat raises, bicep curls, tricep isolation and face pulls (rest times lower than compounds, and 12-15 reps, about 2-3 sets)

I am on a dreaded cut now for 3 months and want to maintain my same weights program

To try I minimise the prospect of losing energy while on a deficit - can I split my upper body workout and do the compounds in the AM and the isolation exercises in the PM?

I feel I’ll have more energy this way - and how I feel plays a part in how well I work out; just knowing I’m on a deficit makes me FEEL the weight is heavier so I’ll be able to get through the entire workout mentally if I split it.

But is this counterproductive?

Replies

  • PaintedPlay
    PaintedPlay Posts: 51 Member
    edited November 2020
    If I’m not mistaken the reason for doing the compound first is to fatigue the muscles and the isolation lifts are the icing on the cake to get that full burnout.

    If you are cutting and feeling like the full workout is too much the compound lifts should be enough to minimize muscle loss.
  • GeorgeG1972
    GeorgeG1972 Posts: 5 Member
    PaintedPlay wrote: »
    If I’m not mistaken the reason for doing the compound first is to fatigue the muscles and the isolation lifts are the icing on the cake to get that full burnout.

    If you are cutting and feeling like the full workout is too much the compound lifts should be enough to minimize muscle loss.

    Thank you.

    At this stage the workout volume is fine for one sitting - but I’m concerned that with time on a deficit I’ll need to reduce volume in the one session and wanted to keep up with all my pre-deficit exercises. But I’ll see how it goes.

  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
    GeorgeG1972 wrote: »
    Hi all

    Currently doing an upper/lower body 4 day split.

    The upper body comprises of

    compounds (back, chest, shoulders) - total of 4 exercises, roughly 3-4 sets each of 6-8 or 8-10 reps depending on the exercise

    followed by 4x isolation exercises - lat raises, bicep curls, tricep isolation and face pulls (rest times lower than compounds, and 12-15 reps, about 2-3 sets)

    I am on a dreaded cut now for 3 months and want to maintain my same weights program

    To try I minimise the prospect of losing energy while on a deficit - can I split my upper body workout and do the compounds in the AM and the isolation exercises in the PM?

    I feel I’ll have more energy this way - and how I feel plays a part in how well I work out; just knowing I’m on a deficit makes me FEEL the weight is heavier so I’ll be able to get through the entire workout mentally if I split it.

    But is this counterproductive?

    IMO, I would not split. What I would do is drop the overall volume. Keep the intensity the same...
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    I agree with the others - reduce the volume with the main lifts if necessary if you aren't recovering well , Keep the weight up , just drop a set , or reduce the number of reps. On your assistance , isolation exercises, just get some reps in , or not, depending on your energy
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    If your eating in a deficit the smart move would to bump the volume and possibly slightly drop the intensity if needed. Hard to give you a best choice to try with the info you've given us.


    I would also suggest incorporating auto regulation into your training. This will alleviate the idea that bad days are coming and you still will be able to get the needed stimulus.

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