The Different Types of Workout Splits and What They are Effective for
by Thomas Day
When people start going to the gym, they usually don’t have any idea what kind of routine they are going to do. Most people buy a membership and show up, expecting that just being at the gym will make them healthier. Much to their surprise, this isn’t the case. (Crazy Right!) Upon realizing that they have to set a routine for themselves, they then go into a panic, thinking they have to come up with on-the-spot exercises. They search online and realize there are SO many options to choose from, and some of them seem exactly the same! Workout splits organize what muscle group you will train on what days of the week. This way, you can preserve your energy while maintaining the most amount of gains.
Setting a workout split will also help you spend your time in the gym effectively, and will keep your gym time down to around 1-1.5 hours depending on how long you plan on staying. When you choose the correct split for yourself, it can speed up your progress tremendously. When choosing a workout split, you have to keep in mind the time you have to commit to the gym, as well as what you do outside the gym that might also tire out your body. This article will help you break down several different types of workout splits, and help you decide which one is best for you.
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Full Body Workouts
Full Body workouts work your entire body in one workout, just like the name implies. This split is really good for people with very little time or no access to a gym. Full body workouts target every muscle group in the body all in one workout. A person doing a full body workout split might do a bench, back squat, and power clean in one day. The benefit to this is you’re working every muscle group in your workouts; therefore, you can space out the days you workout to have more rest days and more time to do other things. You can also use the full body split doing calisthenics* exercises. These are exercises you can do just with your body weight. The downside to full body workouts is that you will not be able to target one specific area of the body. This means that you won’t quickly gain as much muscle in a particular area as someone focusing on specific muscle groups every workout. It is also really easy to fatigue in the middle of the week doing a full body split. This is why when using the full body split, you only want to be in the gym 2-4 times a week. Working all your muscle groups at once and doing several compound lifts* in one day can be very taxing on the body. These workouts are good for staying in general shape while still looking lean. A full body workout split would be good for those of you who cannot spend much time in the gym, maybe because you have children or a really time-consuming job, and want to keep your body looking fresh and fit, without having to focus too hard on specific training exercises that get more into the bodybuilding realm. If you really want to bulk up and build a lot of muscle, or maybe you compete in a sport, then you might be better off selecting one of the other splits. Using the full body split, you really have to focus on recovery on days after your workout. Get a good night’s rest while staying hydrated and fueled with natural and nutritious food.
Push-Pull-Legs
The Push-Pull-Legs split is a great introduction to training separate muscle groups on different days. The name refers to the 3-day rotation of push days, pull days, and leg days. Push days use workouts that train muscles that push with your upper body. Generally these muscle groups are your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Pull days would be the exact opposite. On pull days you generally train your back and biceps. Then leg days are a completely isolated day for training your lower body. This split can be done in either a 3 or 6-day cycle. It is good for building both strength and muscle mass. This split has been notoriously debated in the fitness culture. Old-school bodybuilders swear by full body routines, and training each muscle group multiple times a week. A study done here shows that full body workouts significantly outplay push-pull-legs split. However, that is only one study, and for the average gym-goer, the push-pull-legs split is more than proficient to train with. The push-pull-legs split is a good place to start for someone looking to be committed to the gym and who knows they can spend at least 3 days a week every week. Personally, this is the split I started with as a beginner. When I started, I was going into my freshman year of highschool in 2019.Because it was summer, I did not have to attend school, and many of my baseball tournaments got cancelled because of COVID-19. Using the Push Pull Legs split allowed me to build muscle really quickly, but only because I was able to consistently go to the gym while also staying really keen on my diet. This split is not recommended if you can’t put a lot of effort and time into the gym. This split is really good if you are looking to focus on specific areas of the body to build muscle and sculpt your body. This split is also really effective for teenagers, since the body can be completely exhausted but recover quickly because of the hormones and proteins that the body supplies during youth.
Upper/Lower
The upper and lower body split is one of the most commonly known splits. Its simplicity makes it easy for beginners to follow. The upper body split is the tried and true method for many old school bodybuilders due to its simplicity. One day, train everything upper body, the next day, focus on the lower body. It is also a very flexible split, since it is only a two-day cycle. Even a really busy person can just go to the gym twice a week. Although that isn’t optimal, it’s better than nothing. On the other hand, someone who really wants to improve can be in the gym 6 days a week. It allows someone to have a good balance of compound and isolation movements*. More than likely, someone doing this split is spending at least 4 days in the gym. This means the person can train each muscle group twice a week. This simplifies the workout, because when someone starts going to the gym, they don’t know how to specifically use their body to completely exhaust a muscle after only one day of workout. This workout split will suite those who have an even amount of days in their week to be able to go to the gym. It is also really good for someone looking for a weight loss program. With added cardio and a diet that puts you in a caloric deficit, this lifting program will burn calories as well due to the high amount of muscle groups trained in one day.
5 Day Split “Bro Split”
The five day split is split up by separate muscle groups and hits them once every week. The split has days for chest, back, arms, shoulders, then legs. This split is commonly called the “bro split.” This is because it is thought to be commonly used by “gym bros” who don’t know the science behind their workout. These are the people you imagine to be your traditional meatheads whose whole personality is based on the gym. They tend to gravitate to this split because it is easy to get done quickly and also makes it really easy to skip one day and not feel too bad about it (looking at you leg day skippers). However the “bro split” can actually really promote muscle growth. This is because it allows you to separate days for each small muscle group, allowing you to completely work the muscles and tire them out. This split is NOT recommended for beginner lifters, as it requires the knowledge and self-awareness on how to isolate one muscle group and work it completely. This is because to use the bro split effectively, you have to COMPLETELY tire out the muscle group that you are working out that day. The 5 day split is more suited to more advanced lifters for this reason. It is also very important to keep up with a strict diet while using this split, since you’ll be overworking your muscles. With this all said, the 5-day split promotes focused strength* gains and bulking up without tiring out your entire body in one day.
Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower (PHUL) split
The Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower split is designed to be a 4-day workout split. It is designed to blend hypertrophy* with power. This workout split is great for athletes who really want to focus on getting stronger, but also gain muscle. The workout is split like a normal Upper-Lower split; however, the first set of upper and lower exercises focuses on purely power and heavy weight. For example, on Upper Power day will include exercises like bench press, bent-over row, and skull crushers. On the other hand, Upper Hypertrophy will include exercises like Cable Flys, Dumbbell Lat Raises, and Cable Tricep Extensions. The Power exercises are generally done with high intensity and low repetitions to build strength. The hypertrophy exercises are vice versa, with higher reps and a larger focus on slow contractions to build muscle. This split is not as common as the previous three, and some of your gym friends may look at you like you have two heads when they ask you what you are hitting and you respond with “Upper Power.” That being said, the PHUL split is extremely effective at balancing strength and muscle building exercises. This is the split I am currently using. It allows me to incorporate fast, athletic movements that I need for baseball on my power days while still being able to gain muscle and focus on body sculpting*. It also cuts down my time, since I am only in the gym 4 days a week for about 1-1.5 hours.
The PHAT (Power Hypertrophy Adaptive Training) Split
The Power Hypertrophy Adaptive Training split is similar to the PHUL split, but instead of being organized into an upper/lower fashion, it is more unique. Firstly, the PHAT split is organized to be a 5-day split. The power days are still in an upper/lower split. But the hypertrophy exercises are where things get interesting. The 3 hypertrophy days go as follows: Back and Shoulder Hypertrophy, Legs Hypertrophy, and Chest and Arms Hypertrophy. Organizing the hypertrophy exercises in this way allows for a more body-sculpting focused split. It allows the body to focus on more specific muscle groups while still maintaining adequate work to the muscles to do the Power days that encompass the entire half. The downside of this workout is that it is a five-day split, so it takes up quite a lot of time. Another modification to this workout split is that some people lengthen it out into 6 days, and do a glute focused leg hypertrophy and a quad focused hypertrophy. Contrary to the pronunciation of the acronym “PHAT”, this workout split is one of the most effective ways to equally distribute muscle stress.
Regardless of whichever workout split is being used, the most important things in building muscle and losing fat happen outside of the gym. Maintaining a healthy diet that fits your needs while also sleeping and hydrating adequately contributes way more than any time spent working out.
Compound Lifts/Movements- Exercises that work out several of the muscles in your body. Usually heavier weight exercises. EX: Bench Press, Back Squat, Deadlift
Isolation Lifts/Movements- Exercises that focus on one muscle, usually lighter weight. EX: Hamstring Curls, Tricep Extensions, Bicep Curls, Calf Raises
Focused Strength- Gaining strength and muscle in a focused area of the body.
Hypertrophy- The Science of Muscle growing. Muscle fibers break down and get stronger and larger when they grow back. Hypertrophy workouts include moderate to many reps and light to moderate weight.
Body Sculpting- Focusing on the aesthetic of your body.
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