Evaluate My Training Split

[GdaddyGains]

Like to hear your thoughts on my training split. Sets means hard working sets

Day A
Chest - 5 sets
Vertical pull for back - 5 sets
Quads - 5 sets
Calfs - 5 sets

Day B
Shoulders - 5 sets
Horizontal row - 5 to 8 sets
Hamstring - 8 sets
Biceps - 6 sets

Exercise selection
Chest - weighted dips, DB, or barbell press
Vertical pull - weighted chin ups and/or lat pulls

Quads - hack or squats then a few leg extensions

Calfs - seated or standing raises

Shoulders - standing barbell press or seated DB press* with some lateral swings if needed

Horizontal row - barbell row or one arm DB row with added cable rows if needed

Hamstrings - GHR or stiff leg Deads with lying leg curls as needed

Biceps - cable curls, DB curls, and bar curls

My goal is 2 days on 1 day off. I will sometimes have to take 2 days off because I am doing a lot of hard compound working sets. I’ll throw in some isolation work with extra volume when I feel I can handle it or need it.

I didn’t include triceps because they get a lot or work from pressing and are a strong point for me. I may throw in some extra isolation work for them if needed.

 

[Eman]

I like it. I would consider expanding the exercise selection a bit, but I think you definitely have the essentials already included. The more I move into full body workouts, the more I feel they're superior.

 

[Mdrock98]

Honestly, I personally don’t like it. This is the reason why. You have grouped the 3 largest muscle groups in DAY A. Chest, Back, Legs. Then DAY B you are hitting your shoulders, back, biceps, and legs again. When you work your chest, regardless of the exercise, you are hitting your shoulders. Period. Same with back/bis. When you are hitting your back, your hitting hour bis, regardless. A recipe for overtraining, injuries and not enough time for recovery. A general rule of thumb, imho is try to separate muscle groups that collide. For instance. Hit Chest/Back (Arnold’s classic) Legs/abbs/cardio Then shoulders/arms at the end of the week. You see the separation?

Cheers.

 

[Mdrock98]

If you are going to do full body, keep it simple. Two, or three times a week compound lifts and throw some arms in whenever. Chest press/pull/leg/shoulder press.

Been a classic for so long. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

 

[Eman]

Hit Chest/Back (Arnold’s classic) Legs/abbs/cardio Then shoulders/arms at the end of the week. You see the separation?

That makes it no longer a full body workout, you just turned it back into a split. Full body workouts will always have overlap, that's a primary advantage and the point of them.

A two day a week full body split is meant for novices or just for time management and general fitness while you focus on another sport.

 

[Demondosage]

Only changes I would personally make is grouping all back into one day rather than pullups day 1 and rows day 2 and I would do a different exercise every other workout such as side laterals in place of shoulder presses the second time around and then repeat the original sequence. This will give the larger movements more recovery time but sort of an active recovery between

 

[GdaddyGains]

Only changes I would personally make is grouping all back into one day rather than pullups day 1 and rows day 2 and I would do a different exercise every other workout such as side laterals in place of shoulder presses the second time around and then repeat the original sequence. This will give the larger movements more recovery time but sort of an active recovery between

This is what will probably happen. It a body part is sore I will replace the compound with isolation.

 

[GdaddyGains]

Honestly, I personally don’t like it. This is the reason why. You have grouped the 3 largest muscle groups in DAY A. Chest, Back, Legs. Then DAY B you are hitting your shoulders, back, biceps, and legs again. When you work your chest, regardless of the exercise, you are hitting your shoulders. Period. Same with back/bis. When you are hitting your back, your hitting hour bis, regardless. A recipe for overtraining, injuries and not enough time for recovery. A general rule of thumb, imho is try to separate muscle groups that collide. For instance. Hit Chest/Back (Arnold’s classic) Legs/abbs/cardio Then shoulders/arms at the end of the week. You see the separation?

Cheers.

I have switched to training some type of leg every workout and it has put a lot of size on my quads. My hamstring rarely get taxed and I find can take a lot of punishment. Same with biceps they recover very fast and I only hit them directly on Day B.

I get 4 workouts in 7-8 days. Sometimes 8-9 of recovery calls for it. I love training this way because I get to do the big lifts often and really focus on progression.

There is some overlapping but supporting muscles don’t get taxed.

I appreciate your insight and recommendations. Just wanted to clarify a few things.

 

[Demondosage]

I have switched to training some type of leg every workout and it has put a lot of size on my quads. My hamstring rarely get taxed and I find can take a lot of punishment. Same with biceps they recover very fast and I only hit them directly on Day B.

I get 4 workouts in 7-8 days. Sometimes 8-9 of recovery calls for it. I love training this way because I get to do the big lifts often and really focus on progression.

There is some overlapping but supporting muscles don’t get taxed.

I appreciate your insight and recommendations. Just wanted to clarify a few things.

I agree with overlapping muscles in workouts. The body wasn't made to work in a perfect little systemized split without other muscles getting stimulated on the regular. This is why I have no issues with training biceps the day before of after back, or chest and shoulders a day apart. Actually, when I quit worrying abt shit like that I got more results

 

[GdaddyGains]

I like it. I would consider expanding the exercise selection a bit, but I think you definitely have the essentials already included. The more I move into full body workouts, the more I feel they're superior.

Me too. It takes a little while to get into the groove. Once you get into it your hooked. I feel like i have wasted so much time training one-two body part for an hour. What an idiot. You really learn to maximize each exercise since you are only doing 1-2 for a body part in a session. Greatly increased my mind muscle connection.

I feel like I get the same growth out of 5 hard sets for a body part than most can doing 20 sets in one session.

 

[Mdrock98]

That makes it no longer a full body workout, you just turned it back into a split. Full body workouts will always have overlap, that's a primary advantage and the point of them.

A two day a week full body split is meant for novices or just for time management and general fitness while you focus on another sport.

My apologies. You are correct. This is a split. However, I have to make an argument towards a two day a week full body split. Read Mike Mentzers stuff, as well as Dorian Yates. You can make tremendous gains on this. To say it’s for novices, I would have disagree.

Cheers.

 

[Demondosage]

My apologies. You are correct. This is a split. However, I have to make an argument towards a two day a week full body split. Read Mike Mentzers stuff, as well as Dorian Yates. You can make tremendous gains on this. To say it’s for novices, I would have disagree.

Cheers.

I would have to say more Mentzers earlier stuff. He sort of got carried away in the end. Working out once every 9 days, it's like hell why even train at that point? But earlier heavy duty was great!

 

[Mac11wildcat]

If you enjoy it, go for it.

I could never, for instance, fully warm up and engage my legs on anything but their own day.

my happy medium is a PPL.

 

[Mdrock98]

Just a little snips from my training book library. If I told ya the books, I’d have to kill ya. Lol. Jk. Good reads none the less. Enjoy. To each their own I guess. Cheers.

 

[Eman]

My apologies. You are correct. This is a split. However, I have to make an argument towards a two day a week full body split. Read Mike Mentzers stuff, as well as Dorian Yates. You can make tremendous gains on this. To say it’s for novices, I would have disagree.

Cheers.

I will qualify that statement by adding that, in some cases, it can be helpful for the highly advanced athlete too but that's typically from a powerlifting viewpoint. The weight an elite athlete is working at causes the frequency and volume to have to plummet out of necessity for the intensity. I suppose it might have some carry over to bodybuilding too, thus the Mentzers and the Yates... Who were also big believers in lifting heavy, so that's probably where the overlap was in their application. I do know Mentzer recommended every other day workouts too, once you got stronger he felt it best to spread that out further to prevent overtraining... I never felt their was a ton of merit in that approach for bodybuilders personally.

With that said, although I take your point, the opportunity for athletes to make significant gains on this type training philosophy would be suboptimal at best.

 

[Mdrock98]

I will qualify that statement by adding that, in some cases, it can be helpful for the highly advanced athlete too but that's typically from a powerlifting viewpoint. The weight an elite athlete is working at causes the frequency and volume to have to plummet out of necessity for the intensity. I suppose it might have some carry over to bodybuilding too, thus the Mentzers and the Yates... Who were also big believers in lifting heavy, so that's probably where the overlap was in their application. I do know Mentzer recommended every other day workouts too, once you got stronger he felt it best to spread that out further to prevent overtraining... I never felt their was a ton of merit in that approach for bodybuilders personally.

With that said, although I take your point, the opportunity for athletes to make significant gains on this type training philosophy would be suboptimal at best.

Can you explain why suboptimal? I digress, I believe only the genetic elites could train full body back to back. Although, tendons, joints and tears are always subject. I believe if you really work out hard on a two a day full body split is ideal. I don’t understand how someone could train chest hard as fuck on Monday and train shoulders the next day hard. Unless your a genetic mule like Arnold and the like, this seems like a recipe for injury’s, overtraining, and not to mention the nervous system will get taxed beyond belief. Just my two cents.


Cheers.

 

[Eman]

Can you explain why suboptimal?

Either there's not enough total volume or you're cramming way too much volume into a shorter time period when it could have been spread out.

I digress, I believe only the genetic elites could train full body back to back. Although, tendons, joints and tears are always subject. I believe if you really work out hard on a two a day full body split is ideal. I don’t understand how someone could train chest hard as fuck on Monday and train shoulders the next day hard. Unless your a genetic mule like Arnold and the like, this seems like a recipe for injury’s, overtraining, and not to mention the nervous system will get taxed beyond belief. Just my two cents.

I think you'd be surprised if you tried it. It does need to be planned out but it's really not as difficult as it looks.

Actually, it will often work out the same to a split option as far as volume goes. If you calculate what you might do in a week for total volume, then create a full body plan that mimics your current plan... The volume will probably be very similar.

One key thing with the planning part is incorporating deloads. If you don't have that, then I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments.

 

[Mdrock98]

Either there's not enough total volume or you're cramming way too much volume into a shorter time period when it could have been spread out.



I think you'd be surprised if you tried it. It does need to be planned out but it's really not as difficult as it looks.

Actually, it will often work out the same to a split option as far as volume goes. If you calculate what you might do in a week for total volume, then create a full body plan that mimics your current plan... The volume will probably be very similar.

One key thing with the planning part is incorporating deloads. If you don't have that, then I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments.

Ahhhhh. Yes. Ok. I agree with you. I was under the impression it didn’t include deloading. In that case, sure, as long as rest and nutrition are in place, I see nothing wrong.

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Cheers.

 

[Necessary Evil]

Full body training is all the rage lately.

I decided to give it a try when gyms open. I created my own version based on Jeff Nippard's book.

@Eman can you share your FB routine?

 

[Eman]

Full body training is all the rage lately.

I decided to give it a try when gyms open. I created my own version based on Jeff Nippard's book.

@Eman can you share your FB routine?

Honestly, that would be a lot to type out... I am not doing a full body A/B type workout, it's a powerlifting split.

To give you an idea, it's a 5 day plan... Squats and deadlifts OR a variation are done 3 times a week, bench is done 4 times. That will eventually transition to a day less frequency for each as I move into a strength block. Accessories are usually a hodge podge of upper and lower based.