How To Pick a Training Program

What is a Training Split?

Part of starting a healthier life style is having some sort of foundation or structure. What I mean by this is once you step into that gym you need to have a plan set so you're not wandering around without the proper mentality you need. You don't see a construction crew trying to build a house without a blue print do you?  So why are you trying to build a new physique without a plan? That is where a training program or also know as a training split comes in. 

A training split is where you train certain body parts or muscle(s) on a given day.

Alright so we have established the fact that you need a plan but how do we know which is the right one to do? Flipping through any given fitness magazine you may stumble upon the next big upcoming workout style or what some actor did to achieve the physique needed for their superhero role, sound familiar? Everyone starts to think that if it worked for them it should work for you to but more times then not it won't work for you. Training programs are not a "one size fits all" style. For some they may be able to go to the gym 6 days a week but for someone else that would be way to much especially to start out with or they simply have a different goal set. To start out you need to ask yourself what your goal is. Do you want to loose weight, get more toned, get "shredded", get jacked, or maybe all of that together? Depending on the goal it will impact the foundation of your workouts. Next thing you need to ask yourself is how many days a week do you realistically see yourself going to the gym? Be honest, there is no shame in going 2 or 3 days a week. Its better to be honest rather then starting with 5 days a week and become totally overwhelmed. Personally I find it works best to have a beginner start with 2-3 days a week and take it from there. If you are new to this you want it to be a smooth transition so it doesn't seem like a chore. Another question you should take into consideration is how long do you want/ can spend at the gym? Some may have plenty of time but others may feel crunched for time no matter what day it is. No worries there is a solution. 

What to Consider

So lets back it up to the first step which is the goal. Your goal will influence your workouts because for someone who is looking to burn fat isn't going to want to follow a bodybuilder routine yet someone hoping to build some mass isn't going to want to follow the same program a marathon runner would use. It may sound silly but it happens more times than what you would think. Also, if there is an area you want to focus on then perhaps you may want to include a day in the week where you want to primarily focus on that area. For instance if you want to build up your legs more then toss in an extra leg day or some ladies may want a glutes day set up in addition to their leg day.

Next up is the amount of days you want to spend at the gym. Your training split could change dramatically depending on the amount of days you have available. If you do a training split with fewer days at the gym then chances are you will be working on more muscles in a workout (ie. Upper Body: chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps. Lower Body: quads, hamstrings, calves). What that means is in ored to make your time at the gym short yet effective you will only be doing one exercise per muscle. However, if you chose a training split where there are more days then chances are you will be focusing on one or two muscles in a given workout which allows you to preform more exercises per muscle.  

Common Training Splits:

The following are 6 of the most common training splits I have come across since I started working out. 

1. Whole Body Training Split
2. Upper/ Lower Body Training Split
3. Push/ Pull/ Legs Training Split
4. Three Day Split
5. Four Day Split
6. Five Day Split
7. Six Day Split

Training Split Breakdown:

• Whole body: (3 Day Split)

Day	Body Parts	Exercises
1	All Muscle Groups	1 each
2	Rest
3	All Muscle Groups	1 each
4	Rest
5	All Muscle Groups	1 each
6	Rest
7	Rest

Since there are so many muscles to train all in one workout you will only be able to do one exercise per muscle. It is important to take a day off between training days that way you give your body enough time to recovery and rebuild for the next workout. As you see this is a three day training split. 

• Upper/ Lower Body: (4 Day Split)

Day	Body Parts	Exercises
1	Upper Body	2 each
2	Lower Body	2 each
3	Rest
4	Upper Body	2 each
5	Lower Body	2 each
6	Rest
7	Rest

For the upper body and lower body training split since there isn't as many muscles to train in one workout compared to a full body workout you can start to look at doing two exercises per muscle. The muscles you would be looking at training on the upper body days are chest, back, shoulders, and arms. For lower body workouts you will focus on your quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. Since you aren't training the same muscles back to back you now have the option to workout more days in a row.

• Push/ Pull/ Legs: (3 or 6 Day Split) 

Day	Body Parts	Number of Exercises
1	Chest/ Shoulders/ Triceps	3 each
2	Back/ Biceps	3 each
3	Legs	4
4	Chest/ Shoulders/ Triceps	3 each
5	Back/ Biceps	3 each
6	Legs	4
7	Rest

Push days are focused on the muscles that do most of your pushing so chest, shoulders, and triceps. Legs do push yes but they also pull so its just easier to focus on legs on a separate day. Pull days will focus on back and biceps which are the main muscles in charge of any pulling movement. Since we are breaking down the muscle groups we are targeting we now have the option to perform more exercises per muscle thats why you see three exercises for the push and pull days. Now that legs are on their own day we can have the option of doing more exercises opposed to only doing two leg exercises and then being done the whole workout. The benefit of this training split is having the ability to train each muscle twice in one week, but if thats too much try switching it to a three day training split.

• Three Day Split:

Day	Body Parts	Exercises
1	Chest/ Back	3-4 each
2	Rest
3	Shoulders/ Arms	3-4 each
4	Rest
5	Legs	3-4
6	Rest
7	Rest

As you can see this training split only calls for working out three days a week. Once again since there isn't as many muscles being targeted per workout we have the option of doing more exercises for the muscles we are training. 

• Four Day Split: 

Day	Body Parts	Number of Exercises
1	Chest/ Triceps	3-4 each
2	Back/ Biceps	3-4 each
3	Rest
4	Legs	5
5	Shoulders	4
6	Rest
7	Rest

• Five Day Split:

Day	Body Parts	Number of Exercises
1	Chest	4-5
2	Back	4-5
3	Shoulders	4-5
4	Legs	5-6
5	Biceps/ Triceps	3-4 each
6	Rest
7	Rest

• Six Day Split:

A six day training split can be made up by taking the three day training split and just repeating the three days within one week. This is a more advanced training split and for someone who has experience at the gym. 

Some Tips

Now that we know some of the common training splits there are something you need to keep in mind like... 

• Giving your body enough rest between workouts - don't train the same muscle multiple days in a row. Allow it to rest up.
• Listen to your body - say your shoulders are sore and you're about to train them for the second time in a week, consider taking that day off. Theres no point in forcing yourself into a workout and getting injured. 
• Train as a whole - Don't skip days. Sure if you are doing a split that calls for hitting that muscle group twice a week that is acceptable but if not don't skip out. Im calling anyone out who skips leg day! DONT DO IT! You can't only train a certain area and neglect another because thats going to lead into some issues down the road which you do not want. 
• Customize it for you - Depending on your goal change up the split if you need to. Say your goal is to lose weight then maybe a two or three day training split is what works for you, then consider doing some cardio outside of the gym. Doing some sort of cardio outside of the gym on a rest day is called an "active rest day". Go out and do a hike or a bike ride this will help a lot and it sure as hell beats sitting on your couch falling into bad habits. 
• Fat Loss - Try and incorporate more cardio into your workouts or a day in the week just for cardio. Aim for at least 30min of cardio a day. 
• Always do a warm up- warm ups a critical to prevent any injuries and prepare the body of your workout.

Learn from my mistakes

You will be much better off taking time in looking into a training split opposed to walking in the gym and doing a bit of everything each time. When I started out my mistake was doing full body workouts or a upper/ lower body training split and doing too many exercises per workout. At first you may think oh that can't really be that bad but at that rate I was having 3+ hour workouts! When you walk into the gym you want to aim for one to two hours at the gym, don't exceed this limit because you may end up working against yourself. In my case my goal was to put on weight but with those crazy long workouts I didn't put any weight on because I was totally working against my body so check out the charts above to give yourself an idea on how many exercise you should do per training split. 

Don't be that gym goer that walks in and spends some time on the treadmill, does some curls then calls it a day. Your time at the gym will be more effective if you have some foundation to follow. 

Ronnie Vercruyssen,
"Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up"- Rocky Balboa