There are lots of different ways to break down your training, and it seems like each reputable athlete uses a different split to the next! How on earth are you supposed to know which split to choose to achieve your goals? For the purpose of this post I'm going to assume the objective is some kind of muscle growth, whether that means strictly Muscular hypertrophy (Muscle Growth), strength increase or developing muscle tone. I'm going to assess each of the most common workout splits and their suitability to these results.
First of all let's look at what is popularly referred to as The “Bro Split”. This breaks down into 4-5 sessions as follows:
Option 1: Chest and Triceps, Back and Biceps, Shoulders, Legs.
Option 2: Chest, Back, Arms, Shoulders, Legs.
The “Bro Split” can be manipulated further by grouping arms with shoulders, or switching Biceps and Triceps with Back and Chest, though the structure remains consistent. The value of this split is the heavy concentration on specific body parts compared to other, far more vague, workout splits. Dedicating entire sessions to more specific areas of the body is certainly effective for muscle growth, as it allows for greater mind-muscle connection. This has its drawbacks though, as there are so many sessions to complete. If you are able to attend the gym 8 or more times weekly, this can be perfect for you, but few have that time or level of commitment. For others, this would mean that you are only training each body part once per week, perhaps leaving out potential room for further intensity and growth.
Taking this into consideration let's take a look at the very Popular “Push, Pull, Legs” Split.
Push, Pull, Legs is broken down as such: Push = Chest, Anterior and Lateral deltoids and Triceps. Pull = Back, Rear deltoids and Biceps. Legs = Quads, Glutes and Hamstrings. Push, Pull, Legs has a lot of similarities to the Bro split, as it is only 1 session shorter, and targets body parts in similar groupings. A benefit to Push, Pull, Legs is the focus on one specific motion.... Push or Pull. This means that Push Pull Legs workouts tend to focus more on compound movements which engage numerous muscle groups rather than isolation movements which are more specific. This can be fantastic for general Muscle growth, but is perhaps not ideal for Bodybuilders, who would need to work more specifically on individual muscles. Push Pull legs is a little easier to fit twice into a week than Bro Split, but it is still 6 weekly sessions, which is difficult for most.
Next let's consider Full Body Workouts. These are more common among Power-lifters, Crossfit Athletes and Likewise. Full Body workouts tend to focus solely on Large compound movements such as Bench Press, Squats, Deadlifts and others. The main focus behind Full body workouts tends to be on improving a particular movement, rather than on building specific muscle groups. Practising a movement such as the Bench press 3-4 times per week will undoubtedly improve your performance very quickly.
Overall it is clear that each Workout split has a clear benefit for developing Muscle growth and lifting ability, but there are slight differences within each which allow for different rates of progress in each area. Plenty of athletes choose to cycle this workout splits to ensure they receive the benefits from each, along with others who choose to combine elements of each to cover all bases through their training. Unfortunately there are far too many training splits to cover in a single article, but these three perhaps cover the most comprehensive styles. Hopefully one of these splits is right for you, and you're able to make progress.
