Split Training

It is common that when a training programme is progressed there shall be an increase in the amount of exercises you do per muscle group. Generally when an individual starts a training programme they will do 8-10 exercises which covers the whole body. As the individual grows stronger it may be appropriate to add more moves per muscle group in order to progress the muscles and work them harder. In this event if you were to be doing a whole body approach and do say two exercises per muscle then you would be doing at least 16 different exercises, i dont know about you but i would find that to be a lot of time in the gym in one go.

So how can you include more exercises per muscle but keep the training session around the same time? The answer is SPLIT TRAINING.

Basically with this type of training you only work certain muscle groups on a couple of days in the week. By splitting up the muscles you work as opposed to working all in one day you are increasing the recovery time whilst minimising your time in the gym.

Heres an example of a split week:

Monday:Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
Tuesday:Back/Legs/Biceps/Abs and core
Wednesday:Rest Day
Thursday:Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
Friday:Back/Legs/Biceps/Abs and core
Saturday:Rest
Sunday:Rest

Another example could be:

Monday: Chest/Back/Arms
Tuesday:Legs/Shoulders/Abs
Wednesday:Rest
Thursday:Chest/Back/Arms
Friday:Legs/Shoulders/Abs
Saturday:Rest
Sunday:Rest

I have put in rest days although you may wish to use these days to do cardio activities, just because it says rest doesnt mean you have to do nothing.

My examples above show a two day split and give a  basic idea of how you may wish to split your week up.  In them days you would normally do 2-3 different exercises per muscle group. You could further progress from this to a three day split meaning that you are are targeting fewer muscle groups on any given day but are doing more exercises per group. The three day split is more accostomed to the more experienced weight lifter as the muscles are put under much more strain do to the increase in exercises, also a three day split you would be training at least 6 days a week, too much for a beginner.

If you want an actual working example of a day two split then check out my posts from the last 30 days, i have been using a two day split and using various training techniques and moves to really work the muscles hard.