Train Smarter: Crafting Your Perfect Training Split
Train Smarter: Crafting Your Perfect Training Split
Achieving your dream physique requires years of dedication, hard work, and a willingness to experiment with various approaches. While experts can offer recommendations on exercises, sets-and-reps schemes, and training techniques, the ultimate judge of their effectiveness is you.
This reality becomes especially evident when structuring your program, particularly the crucial element of your training "split" — how you organise which body parts to train on specific days throughout the week. The factors influencing this decision are highly individualised and should align with your unique characteristics.
1. Individuality: Tailoring Programs for You
Every individual is unique and will respond differently to the same training stimulus. Some of these differences can be influenced by many characteristics; biological age, training age, gender, body size and shape, past injuries and many more, so lifestyle history etc determines a lot of what I write into an individual program.
2. Specificity: Precision in Training
Training adaptations for an individual will occur specifically to the muscle groups trained, the intensity of the exercise, the metabolic demands of the exercise, and/or specific movements and activities. In attempt to perfect a specific skill or activity, you must perform that skill or activity with proper body mechanics to have correct technique. We can accomplish this through progressive overload and having structured training.
3. Diminishing Returns: Recognising Training Age
Performance gains are closely linked to an individual's training age. Beginners may experience significant initial gains, while seasoned athletes witness smaller increments over time. As you approach your genetic potential, progress becomes challenging. The key is addressing weaknesses and incorporating periodisation into your routine.
4. Periodisation: The Blueprint for Success
Program design often follows a triphasic structure, incorporating three phases or periods. Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) guides many program designs, emphasising long-term cyclic structuring to maximize performance. Avoiding overtraining and ensuring systematic variations in specificity, intensity, and volume are the hallmarks of effective periodisation.
Simply, it is the program design strategy that governs planned, systematic variations in training specificity, intensity and volume.
The goal with periodisation is to maximize your gains while also reducing your risk of injury and the staleness of the protocol over the long term.
An intelligently designed training year will encompass smaller blocks of time that each has its own goals or priorities.
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I have pre-built training programs that you can use via my coaching app already designed with these principles in mind.
Strength sessions is based on a neurological training phase, built to maximise your strength and recovery.
Some characteristics of this phase are:
Heavy loads and fewer reps
Low work-to-rest ratios (shorter sets, longer rest)
Lower time under significant tension per set
Sculpt Sessions is built as a hypertrophy program designed to foster muscle growth and sculpt the body.
Some characteristics of this phase are:
High degree of tension on a per-muscle-fiber basis
Moderate work-to-rest ratios (less dense than metabolic usually)
Higher number of sets to failure compared to the other two phases (in most cases)
It is also possible to use certain of the hypertrophy stimuli for fat loss IF the volume and nutrition are managed appropriately.
Ultimate Body Recomp is a metabolic phase program, the stimuli within the metabolic phase can work very well for quickly changing body composition and increasing conditioning both at a muscular and systemic level.
Some characteristics of this phase are:
Longer duration of time under significant tension per set
Higher work-to-rest ratios (denser workouts with longer work periods and relatively shorter rest periods)
Increased lactic acid and metabolic waste production
5. Workout Structures: Adapting to Your Goals
Tailoring your workout frequency to your goals and lifestyle is crucial. Whether opting for a three-day, four-day, five-day, or six-day split, the structure should ensure balanced muscle development and adequate recovery. As you gain experience, incorporating more exercises, intensity, or volume for each body part becomes essential.
6. Rules for Exercise Selection: Safeguarding Progress
When selecting exercises, certain rules ensure safety, muscle activation, and sustained progress.
A. Exercises for problem muscle groups should be performed at the beginning of the workout to prevent their omission from the workout.
This organisation also allows the weight trainer to address these exercises with the greatest amount of energy available. This should help to maximise one’s efforts and, ultimately, one’s progress.
B. Exercises for large muscle groups should ideally be addressed before those for small muscle groups.
Ex.: pectorals, and depending upon the specific exercise selected, shoulders before triceps; latissimus dorsi and trapezius before biceps, quadriceps before calves.
C. Multiple-joint exercises should generally be performed before isolation exercises.
Multiple-joint exercises involve the large muscle groups of the body, i.e. the pectorals, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, quadriceps (when assisted by the gluteal and/or hip flexor groups), hamstrings and the deltoids. These exercises typically have a “last name” of: press, pull, row, squat or lunge.
Training Splits: A Closer Look
Let's explore five common training splits, ranging from beginner-friendly to advanced, while considering the principles discussed above.
1. Whole-Body Split: Ideal for beginners, this split targets all major muscle groups in a single workout, emphasising low volume and high frequency. It provides a foundation for nervous system adaptation, requiring repetition three times per week.
2. Upper- And Lower-Body Split: This split increases volume with two exercises per muscle group, dividing the body into upper and lower parts. The focus on strength and hypertrophy alternates, requiring more rest days between workouts.
3. Push/Pull/Legs: An intermediate split that organises training based on pushing muscles, pulling muscles, and leg exercises. This split allows for greater volume, emphasising multiple rep targets for various muscle groups.
4. Four-Day Split: A more advanced split pairing large and small muscle groups, allowing increased volume and intensity. This split provides ample recovery time, promoting continued progress. For example this could look like:
Day 1: Quads & core
Day 2: Chest, tris, & shoulders
Day 3: Glutes & hamstrings
Day 4: Back & biceps
Dispersed through the week with rest or active rest days in between.
5. Five-Day Split: An advanced split with individual training days for each muscle group, maximising volume and intensity. Rest days are strategically placed, ensuring optimal recovery.
For example this could look like:
Day 1: Chest & shoulders
Day 2: Legs (quad focus)
Day 3: Back
Day 4: Legs (hamstring/glute focus)
Day 5: Arms & core
Dispersed through the week with rest or active rest days in between.
Customising Your Path to Success
In the realm of fitness, the notion that more is always better can be a misleading trap. While pushing one's limits is essential for growth, it's equally crucial to recognise the fine balance between intensity and recovery. Training must be a harmonious collaboration with your individual circumstances, considering both your schedule and your body's ability to tolerate stress. What works for someone else may not necessarily work for you, and understanding this individuality is key. The amount of environmental stress, both physical and mental, further adds to the complexity of the equation. A holistic approach to fitness involves acknowledging the interplay between workouts, daily stressors, and the body's capacity to recover. Achieving optimal results requires not only challenging your limits but also respecting the need for adequate rest and recovery. It's about working smarter, not necessarily harder, and finding a sustainable routine that aligns with your unique circumstances for long-term success.
Hey there, I’m Rachel!
NUTRITIONIST, PERSONAL TRAINER, WELLNESS COACH
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