First off let’s define a lifting split? I define a lifting split simply as dividing up your muscle groups into your training sessions for a given week.
As I have been training over 20+ years (Since I was 14 years old) I have seen, heard, and tried damn near everything out there. With that being said it is very important that you all should know that there is not a “ONE SIZE FITS ALL” to this. It all depends on your goals, age, schedule, limitations, ability, and how much time you want to spend in the gym daily/weekly.
Some popular lifting splits out there are as follows:
– Full Body Split
- Hitting all major muscle groups in a single session (usually for those hitting the gym 3 x per week)
– Upper and Lower Body Split
- Self explanatory hitting all upper body one session then next session is the lower trunk (usually for those who can hit the gym only 2-4 x per week)
– The typical Bodybuilding “Bro” split
- This split is what you will see mostly in the gyms done around the world. Hitting each targeted muscle groups individually per session. Example- Chest / Back / Legs / Shoulders / Arms) you can choose to have a rest day mid week and or two rest days on the weekend
– Push / Pull / Legs Split
- This has gained attraction in the recent years because of the fact that you can workout each muscle group 2 x per week therefore giving you double the amount of time attained in a given year as a whole. Example- Chest, shoulders, tris / back, delts, bi’s / legs (usually those hitting the gym 3-6 x per week)
I will say the majority of my lifting split has been in the realm of bodybuilding. The typical 6 day per week schedule. I found in my younger years it packed on alot of muscle fast and I liked the way I looked aesthetically. Hell, I loved being big and I loved being strong. I wrote 6-8 week programs for myself and continued to build the symmetry I wanted to see in the mirror. It worked well with my athletics in rugby and I felt like I bullet-proofed my shoulders and legs for abuse of the sport. Never had a significant injury during those years and I took pride in that! I have always tried to be the hardest working person in the gym, head down, eyes on the goal and went to fucking work for that session. It was meditation for me.
As I came into the military I was a high performing private. High PT scores and the ability to outshine my peers. I lost quite a bit of muscle mass with the malnutrition and limited access to weights. Out of bootcamp I went into the prep course for special forces (SOPC) where I was humbled. I always thought I was in phenomenal shape but once you get to the world of special forces you literally have the thoroughbreds of the world. D1 athletes, professional athletes, big country farm boys and absolute specimen. The only reason I was even average in SOPC was because of my pushups and pull ups scores. I was below average when it came to running. These guys were literally running laps around me, fucking minutes and minutes ahead of me. I battled demons everyday in my head trying to maintain this pace and stress of running. It was hard on the body and mind but I will say I was in the best cardiovascular shape of my life.
As where I’m at today being 35 years old the best split I found for myself now is as follows:
PUSH / PULL / LEGS / OFF / PUSH / PULL / LEGS / OFF
This pattern of 3 days on and 1 day off does not follow a specific day of the week. As you see guys always hitting chest on Mondays or legs on Wednesday I no longer follow that like I used to. Simply 3 days on 1 day off!!!! I feel after 3 hard days I need that day of recovery so I can go another hard 3 days! It’s what works for my body now and it’s important to listen to that. As I might have a day off that doesn’t mean I’m not doing anything. I always have my cardio and mobility to do. You have to recovery properly and that means getting blood in the body. This does not include my summer cardio split so keep that in mind.
As all this can look and feel overwhelming… It really can be simplified and I’m here to help at WELLNESS CLUB SOLUTIONS. We will do all the hard work and guessing game out to make the best damn plan for your body and your goals.
Some things that I look and ask for during consultations are; What is your training ability, is there limitations or injuries we need to work around, your schedule, and mostly your goals?! What is it that you want to accomplish? Sports specific, gaining mass, losing fat, endurance training, faster rucking, powerlifting, to look good naked?! It’s endless on different methods, protocols, and techniques that I can show and let you in on.
With all this being said, I sincerely appreciate that you have even read this far and again don’t hesitate to message me about anything health related. I’m always go to steer you in the right directions!
Cheers my friends
– Cyle
P.S. where does core fall in? When do you do your abs and crunches? Every other day people… can’t go wrong with sit-ups every other day! Get them in, so important!
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