Full Body Workout vs Split Routine: Which is Better for Your Goals?

Split or Full?

Is full body strength training or split muscle group strength training better?  This is a question as old as time, or at least as old as body building.  If strength training is a new concept for you than these 2 different training methodologies are probably pretty foreign, however, if you have been strength training for a while then you have likely heard this debated.  This would be especially true if you are interested in body building or physique sculpting.  In the most basic terms a full body strength workout is exactly what it sounds like – doing strength exercises that train the entire body such as squat-presses, power cleans, pull-ups, deadlifts, rows, push-ups, etc.  A split muscle group program, on the other hand, actually has the exerciser focusing on just 1 or 2 muscle groups per workout.  Depending on the number of days per week the individual will be able to train would help define the split program.  For example a 4 day per week split might have the individual train opposing muscle groups in super sets (no rest) where their chest and back could be on day 1, their legs on day 2, their biceps and triceps on day 3, and their shoulders and abs on day 4.  This is just 1 example of many different combinations of splits that could be used. 

Advantages of Full Body

Efficiency is one advantage of a full body workout.  If you struggle to get more than 3 workouts in per week it really is a good way to go.  Also if you miss a day in a split routine then the muscle groups that were to be targeted in that particular workout would get missed that week. With a full body workout you hit all your muscle groups each session so even if you miss a workout you will have recently just targeted those muscles and will be hitting them again in the next session.

You likely will burn more calories with a full body workout.  Since the full body workouts tend to include large compound movements like squat-presses and pull-ups, the average heart rate will be higher and more calories will be burned than a typical split group program.

Another advantage of full body workouts is the possibility of improved hormone regulation.  Research shows that full body workouts can boost testosterone levels higher and lower cortisol levels as compared to a split group routine. 

More muscular size.  Yes I was surprised when I learned this too!  A research study that was looking at muscular adaptations in well trained men found that that muscular size actually increased more with a full body program than a split program.  This makes us consider whether more total volume on a muscle group may be easier to achieve in a full body program.  This particular study looked at forearm size which you could argue is not representative of whether adding muscular size to all the muscle groups is more likely with full body programming.  It would be interesting to see similar research that looked at measurements on the lower leg, upper leg, chest, upper arm, etc. 

My Take

The split methodology is popular with body builders and physique scultpers because this type of program allows for a high concentration of muscle breakdown and a large recovery period because only a few areas are being trained and usually only once per week, thus allowing for a good environment for hypertrophy or muscle growth. It also allows the exerciser to do strength training on consecutive days and train more than 3 days per week.  I can see how some folks may prefer this.  Heck, I used to prefer this! 

I switched to full body strength training several years ago after being on a split program since my teens.  I can tell you that I was able to maintain muscular size and strength when switching from split to full.  Also I will add that my overall body composition, percentage of muscle and percentage of fat, both improved when I switched to full body training.  In addition, as I discussed in my plant perceptions blog, I personally saw even more body composition improvements when I paired a plant-based nutrition plan with the full body training.  I really like being able to hit all the muscles 3 times per week.  Even if I have a sub-par workout on Monday, I know I will be back on Wednesday smashing the full body again.  I enjoy how easy it is to incorporate compound moves like a squat-press that have great application to sport performance without having to worry about over training a muscle group.  Also if I have some rehab that is needed or want to prehab an area that needs to be brought up a bit, then it is easy to add these since the whole body is being worked anyway.  This is not as easily done on a split program where you are trying to just hit a few areas.

If you are someone who has been doing the split style of strength training for years and years, as I was, then I would urge you to give full body training a try.  Now I mean a real try, not just 1 or 2 weeks, and then go back to the split.  Give full body a good 8 weeks of consistent, 3 times per week, effort.  Maybe you will find that you will make body composition improvements like I did.  Maybe you will find you have more time to engage in other wellness activities like sport or meditation to help you be more well-rounded and balanced. Maybe you will like it better!  Maybe the full body movements will start to translate into sport performance and you will notice a little more spring in your step or power in your pedal. At the least, your body will be forced to adapt to a new environment and positive changes will likely occur.  Please consider this before you do 12 sets on your biceps next week…