Is Hitting Every Muscle the Trick?

What is a Full Body Split?

To put it simply, a full body split is when you work each major muscle group (chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, legs) during each training session. People that practise body weight exercises such as HIIT and circuit training, rather than weight lifters, usually turn to a full body training split. However, full body workout is still popular among beginners and those who enjoy high volume training. Because the nature of the split necessitates a lot of energy, the split may be divided in a variety of ways based on availability and overall time commitment to the gym.

Examples of a full body weekly split may look something like this:

2x/week:

Monday: Full Body Workout

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Full Body Workout

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Rest Day

OR

3x/week:

Monday: Full Body Workout

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: Full Body Workout

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Full Body Workout

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Rest Day

OR

4x/week:

Monday: Full Body Workout

Tuesday: Full Body Workout

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: Full Body Workout

Friday: Full Body Workout

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Rest Day

OR

5x/week:

Monday: Full Body Workout

Tuesday: Full Body Workout

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: Full Body Workout

Friday: Full Body Workout (Lighter Session)

Saturday: Full Body Workout

Sunday: Rest Day

Note: Although training 6x/week for a full body split is conceivable, I wouldn't advocate it unless you commit to lighter sessions because the high volume of the split necessitates adequate recovery time in order for progress to be made. In reality, 5 full-body exercises each week is really more than enough.

Pros & Cons of a Full Body Split

The first and most obvious advantage of a complete body split is that exercising all muscles on the same day compels you to do compound lifts (along with extra hypertrophy lifts) because compound lifts efficiently target many muscles in one single exercise. Compound lifts not only help you acquire a lot of strength, but they also help your muscles work better together. Essentially, when you use a Full Body Split, your body learns to engage your muscles as a unit rather than as isolated muscle groups which has many other benefits.

If you haven't read the previous post on the PPL (Push-Pull-Legs) split, muscle functionality, which is acquired through a full body programme, has been shown to improve athletic performance. Better functionality benefits motions, balance, muscular efficiency, and proprioception (your body's capacity to orient itself in space). These elements have direct links to improved athletic performance.

But, if you want to improve your athletic ability, is a full-body exercise the best way to go?

To say the very least, there isn't a single correct solution.

Yes, a full body split has advantages, but its disadvantages must also be considered. As previously said, exercising your entire body at once necessitates the use of compound lifts, which can have drawbacks. Don't get me wrong: compound lifts are a crucial element of weight lifting, if not the most important part. However, focusing entirely on compound lifts leads in a lack of precision training for smaller muscle groups. Neglecting minor exercises as a result of the large volume of full-body training can lead to bigger problems, such as muscle imbalances. It just depends on where you are in the training process; if you are behind or have muscle imbalances, full body exercising isn't the greatest solution.

Key Takeaways

At the end of the day, properly determining your split is one of the most critical aspects of working out. A complete body split includes both high volume training and improved athletic performance. Discipline is vital for any type of workout split, but it is more important when following a full body split, because many minor exercises are sometimes overlooked and neglected. But, people with irregular outside schedules will benefit from the added flexibility. A complete body split is one of the most efficient, and it's a great choice for a beginner!

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