Warm Up For Life

Why Weight Train with a Split Routine?

By Neil Perkins

Weight training has received lots of positive media and we are finally educating women that a size 6 skinny fat chick is not attractive, where as a size 10 lean women with curves is. This body is not attained through running on a treadmill, a juice diet or grown out of a yoga mat, it is done through lifting weights! This also applies to men, if you want to ramp up your fat loss and achieve a more aesthetically pleasing physique, forget fat burners, occasional five-a-side football and ten press ups every morning  – Lift weights!

What is a Split Routine?

The split routine is the most common way to break down your training cycle, what does this term mean. In simple terms it splits your body down into training set muscle groups on set days.

Day 1 – Chest and Biceps

Day 2 – Rest

Day 3 – Back and Triceps

Day 4 – Rest

Day 5 – Legs and Shoulders

Day 6&7 – Rest

This above split would probably be geared around the classic hypertrophy (muscle growth) range of anywhere between 6-15 (more typically 8-12) reps and like with most split routines with the aim been hypertrophy keep rest sub 1 minute. This high intensity workout would probably follow the 20 set rule (never exceed 20 sets per workout) and for maximal hypertrophy push the user up to 20 sets and contain a mixture of compound and isolation exercises. It would probably look something like this

Rest: Sub 1 Minute

Day 1

Bench Press 4 x 8-12

DB Flies 3 x 10-12

Barbell Incline Bench Press 4 x 8-12

Pec Dec 3 x 10-12

Barbell Curls 3 x 10-12

DB Hammer Curls 3 x 10-12

Day 3

Lat Pull Down 4 x 8-12

Face Pulls 3 x 10-12

Barbell Bent Over Rows 4 x 8-12

Day 5

Squats 4 x 10-12

Leg Extensions 3 x 10 – 12

Stiff Leg Dead Lift 3 x 10-12

Calf Raises 3 x10-12

Barbell Military Press 4 x 10-12

DB Seated Shoulder 3 x 10-12

More common splits used by bodybuilders will split into 5 or 6 day splits and for example may train shoulders on one day and chest on the other as a single muscle group. Now in this instance, the chest would be getting hit with 20 sets and then (maybe the next day) the shoulder would be getting hit with 20 sets. This continual pushing motion will over use the front deltoid as it will be used on both shoulder and chest days would wear it out unless the athlete was conditioned and or properly nourished.

Now we get the message we need to lift weights, so we look to the forefathers of weight training for how to move forward, now the man who many would say has had the most influence in weight training is Arnold Swarzenegger, the man who brought body building to the modern era. Now let me tell you something about Arnold that you may not already know.

• Arnold has an extensive training background so is very conditioned
• Even by body builder standard he was known as a ‘freak’ for the volume and intensity that he trained with
• Arnold ate large amounts of calories

Even though many modern bodybuilders have put their own spin on training, most operate using a split routine. Now you many not believe me unless you have ever been around a body builder – these boys are serious athletes! Bodybuilding is described as 70% diet: 30% gym (some would say 90:10) and traditionally (although less shifts recently) bodybuilders would bulk up in the ‘off-season’ and them strip down for stage. Now go back your split routine and the lifter who hits 20 sets of shoulders one day and 20 sets on chest the next day and consider the use his front deltoid gets. Now a bulking bodybuilder would be