Split Routines vs Full Body Workout

In article <[email hidden]>,

max123 said:

What is more effective - a 6-day split routine, where a different
muscle group is worked out each day, or a 2 or 3-day a week full body
workout?

It depends.

For strength training you are better training the body as a unit. For
hypertrophy - isolation and therefore splits work better.

--
Keith

max123 said:

What is more effective - a 6-day split routine, where a different
muscle group is worked out each day, or a 2 or 3-day a week
full body workout?

As with life, variety is the spice of workouts.

Do both.

Train using a full body workout program for six to eight weeks and
then switch over to six to eight weeks of a split routine.

Best of luck. And, yeah, please post a follow-up.

--
Curt
http://curtjames.com/

Curt James said:

max123 said:

What is more effective - a 6-day split routine, where a different
muscle group is worked out each day, or a 2 or 3-day a week
full body workout?

As with life, variety is the spice of workouts.

Do both.

Train using a full body workout program for six to eight weeks and
then switch over to six to eight weeks of a split routine.

Best of luck. And, yeah, please post a follow-up.

And don't forget to take good notes. I am convinced that the real
"secret" to this whole fitness thing is to learn as much as you can,
and then to turn your training into an experiment.

The "learning" is important, because if you just pick random fitness
advice off of the Internet next thing you know you'll believe that
wheat flour is toxic and that you yoghurt enemas are the key to rapid
weight loss. You'll also find that some training protocols with
plenty of research behind them, and lots of happy customers won't work
for you. That's where the note taking comes in. Sometimes it is
possible to believe that something is working when the data says
otherwise.

Jason

Jason Earl <[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

And don't forget to take good notes. I am convinced that the real
"secret" to this whole fitness thing is to learn as much as you can,
and then to turn your training into an experiment.

[...]

I'm not sure if you refer to a training journal, but that's something
I've always kept. I have a small Mead notebook where I write down the
weight, sets, reps, times, etc.

Each workout sees me flipping back and forth in my journal, noting how
many reps I did the previous workout and seeing where I can improve or
attempt to improve.

Your body is the best laboratory, imo.

--
Curt

"Hobbes" <[email hidden]> schreef:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What is more effective - a 6-day split routine, where a different
muscle group is worked out each day, or a 2 or 3-day a week full body
workout?

Quoted message said:

For strength training you are better training the body as a unit. For
hypertrophy - isolation and therefore splits work better.

I would still suggests compounds for hypertrophy, with the addition of
isolation movements, with a 2:1 ratio for aprox. the entire body.

----
Pete

"Jason Earl" <[email hidden]> schreef:

Quoted message said:

And don't forget to take good notes. I am convinced that the real
"secret" to this whole fitness thing is to learn as much as you can,
and then to turn your training into an experiment.

Another "secret" is to portray yourself as an expert, and tell a newbie to
do a particular progranm you just constructed. Tell a few other newbies a
few other programs, and after several months of observing them, you get a
little more insight.

Keep in mind that i am Dutch, and we dont have "morals" or "values" (they
just get in the way...;-O

Quoted message said:

The "learning" is important, because if you just pick random fitness
advice off of the Internet next thing you know you'll believe that
wheat flour is toxic and that you yoghurt enemas are the key to rapid
weight loss. You'll also find that some training protocols with
plenty of research behind them, and lots of happy customers won't work
for you. That's where the note taking comes in. Sometimes it is
possible to believe that something is working when the data says
otherwise.

True.
But my standard advice for shoulders, a front press and a lateral, works for
almost everyone.

----
Pete

Pete said:

"Jason Earl" <[email hidden]> schreef:

Quoted message said:

And don't forget to take good notes. I am convinced that the real
"secret" to this whole fitness thing is to learn as much as you
can, and then to turn your training into an experiment.

Another "secret" is to portray yourself as an expert, and tell a
newbie to do a particular progranm you just constructed. Tell a few
other newbies a few other programs, and after several months of
observing them, you get a little more insight.

Keep in mind that i am Dutch, and we dont have "morals" or "values"
(they just get in the way...;-O

That's beautiful. The problem, of course, with that sort of research
is that newbies respond to just about any crazy program. In fact,
when someone that doesn't lift weights asks me about lifting weights I
just give them a basic HIT program. Compound movements, one set to
failure, between 8-10 reps, three times a week, push/pull split.

That sort of routine is easy, and the research shows superior results
for beginners (untrained college freshman). When they stop getting
results with that sort of a program then I give them something
fancier.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The "learning" is important, because if you just pick random fitness
advice off of the Internet next thing you know you'll believe that
wheat flour is toxic and that you yoghurt enemas are the key to rapid
weight loss. You'll also find that some training protocols with
plenty of research behind them, and lots of happy customers won't work
for you. That's where the note taking comes in. Sometimes it is
possible to believe that something is working when the data says
otherwise.

True. But my standard advice for shoulders, a front press and a
lateral, works for almost everyone.

When I get done with my current workout (beginning of July), I'm going
to try one of your bodybuilder workouts. Some bicep curls would
probably be good for me after a year of deads and cleans where my arms
don't bend.

Jason

Jason Earl said:

Curt James said:

max123 said:

What is more effective - a 6-day split routine, where a different
muscle group is worked out each day, or a 2 or 3-day a week
full body workout?

As with life, variety is the spice of workouts.

Do both.

Train using a full body workout program for six to eight weeks and
then switch over to six to eight weeks of a split routine.

Best of luck. And, yeah, please post a follow-up.

And don't forget to take good notes. I am convinced that the real
"secret" to this whole fitness thing is to learn as much as you can,
and then to turn your training into an experiment.

The "learning" is important, because if you just pick random fitness
advice off of the Internet next thing you know you'll believe that
wheat flour is toxic and that you yoghurt enemas are the key to rapid
weight loss.

You might convince Curt that wheat flour isn't poisonous, but he's not
giving up his yogurt enemas!

Curt James said:

Jason Earl <[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

And don't forget to take good notes. I am convinced that the real
"secret" to this whole fitness thing is to learn as much as you can,
and then to turn your training into an experiment.

[...]

I'm not sure if you refer to a training journal, but that's something
I've always kept. I have a small Mead notebook where I write down the
weight, sets, reps, times, etc.

Each workout sees me flipping back and forth in my journal, noting how
many reps I did the previous workout and seeing where I can improve or
attempt to improve.

See, i do this too, but i've never seen anyone else in the gym with a
notebook. Maybe they just have better memories than me.

tom

--
:-( bad :-) bad :-| good

Tom Anderson <[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]
re training journal

I scribbled:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Each workout sees me flipping back and forth in my journal, noting
how many reps I did the previous workout and seeing where I can
improve or attempt to improve.

See, i do this too, but i've never seen anyone else in the gym with a
notebook. Maybe they just have better memories than me.

heh

I was just thinking that during my last workout. Something like, "How
do they remember what to do next workout???"

Otoh, I do recall seeing a single half-sheet of notebook paper on the
floor by a bench recently. I didn't pick it up to see what the trainer
may have written, but I suspect it was a record. Still, I've never
seen anyone else actually write anything down.

--
Curt