Split decision?!

Look up a workout now and it's very likely to be focused on a certain area of the body. I mean who hasn't heard of the infamous 'chest day' or (in some cases much rarer) 'leg day'. So what's the idea behind these split routines? They've been designed to completely exhaust single muscle groups through sheer volume of exercises performed in one workout, using primarily only those muscles. This in turn causes muscle damage, which is then repaired during rest as well as promoting extra growth on top to adapt to this training load.
So does this mean split training is the only way to build muscle? What are the other options? While there are many different split variations (usually based on how many days a week you can workout) to choose from, the other main contender in workout design is the full body. As the name suggests, this means every muscle group is worked during a single session. Unless you're going to spend 6 hours in the gym. this obviously means that you won't be able to reach the same level of exhaustion in a muscle, however this means the damage won't be so bad and you'll be able to train each muscle group more than once a week. Swings and roundabouts.

So are there any benefits by choosing one over the other?

Split Pros:

• Allows you to focus on each area individually so you know it's definitely being worked.
• Great for aesthetics for this reason
• Easy to follow routines with basic movement patterns (low skill required)

Full Body Pros:

• Efficient - splits are great providing you can fit in a workout 4+ days a week. With a full body workout you know you are already training every muscle so if you can't sacrifice as much time to get into the gym, you know you're still getting bang for your buck. 
• You leave no man behind! Imagine you've gone for the split option: Monday - international chest day. Tuesday - Back etc all planned out. But all of a sudden you have to work late on Thursday and can't get to the gym at any other time that week . This means you've not trained Thursday's muscle group at all. Now that's not the end of the world but what if working late starts happening more often and you start missing more workouts? This can lead to imbalances between muscle groups which in turn can lead to reduced performance, bad posture and even injury. This won't happen with a full body workout. If you miss a workout you haven't trained any group over the other, so no biggie!
• Compound Lifts - because you are working your full body in a single session you need to be efficient to get it done in time. This means the majority of exercises in a workout will be compound lifts or multi-joint exercises. No more bicep curls for you! Instead focus on squatting, lifting, pulling and pushing movements, which require all of your muscles to work in unison. As well as being more efficient time wise, activating lots of muscles results in a much greater energy expenditure - great for burning excess calories and losing fat, while getting stronger. 
• Functional - so by using compound lifts your workouts will provide benefits that will transfer to everyday life. This is because full body movements more closely represent the activities we carry out in daily living as well as sports. 
• More Fun - by choosing a full body workout you aren't restricted in the types of movements you can include. You don't need to worry about not using a certain muscle group in fear it won't have recovered in time for it's specific training day. This opens up a wealth of new training methods you can try other than just dumbbells, barbells and machines. Body weight and kettle bell flows (or complexes) are a great way to link exercises together into a single movement that can hit almost every muscle in your body in one go (check out our Instagram - gripjoshpt for examples). Or why not try some new equipment entirely - our recent blog on steel mace training gives an introduction into this unique piece of equipment which is awesome for developing rotational strength, as well as joint stability and functional ranges. And how about battle ropes? They again can provide a full body workout and an awesome conditioning element too. And finally, there are certain exercises in themselves that cannot be categorised to a single muscle group, the first that immediately springs to mind being the turkish get up (TGU). This wealth of new exercises available to use means that workouts don't have to be as monotonous as completing set after set and just switching between weight/machines. Instead they can be varied, dynamic and include everything you enjoy. 

So while I understand split workouts and the purpose they serve (especially in bodybuilding/aesthetic muscle) they are by no means the only/best way to design a workout and can be extremely restrictive in terms of the exercises they include. 

So if you're looking for a new routine, you know what to try next.