Hi folks, just wondered what type of program people thought was best when weight training, im currently doing a full body workout 3 times a week and have noticed some results but am considering changing it,

what are peoples views on full body, upper and lower body splits and 3 day splits targeting different muscle groups, im aiming to add a lil muscle and definition??
Are there any other types of workout i should maybe consider?

Cheers

Hello and welcome.

It depends on why you're training really. I've met all sorts of people in different gyms who weight train. They weight train for one of the following reasons in my experience:

1) Bodybuilding: They train to build muscle, size and to look good. Some people do it competitively, most people do it for their own satisfaction.

2) Competitive Strength Sports: These folks use weights for sporting reasons. Sports like Olympic Weightlifting, Powerlifting , Kettlebell competitions etc...

3) Sports Specific Training: Weight training is done as supplementary training to help a person perform better in their particular sport (e.g. soccer, rugby, basketball etc...)

4) Health Reasons: People use weights to help maintain their health and to prevent injuries or recover from injury.


There may be other reasons but those are the main 4 I've come across time and again. Of course a person may train for more than one of these reasons, but generally there is a single predominant reason they train. Someone may do Powerlifting as it allows them to gain muscle and size, but their main reason is to compete in a strength sport.

If you know what it is you are trying to accomplish with weight training, it may be easier to help you.

There are advantages and disadvantages to any kind of workout and any type of "split". Depends on how many days a week you can commit to working out, how long you are willing to put in each session, how many rest days you have between workouts and your goals.

In my perfect world I do weightlifting 4 days a week, on a two day split.

Day one = glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, bi-ceps, tri-ceps.
Day two = pecs, traps, lats, delts, core and abs.
Day three = rest
Day four = (same as day one)
Day five = (same as day two)
Day six = rest
Day seven = rest
lather, rinse, repeat.

This system gives me weekends off (yay!) as well as another day off during the week. Rest is good and necessary. It allows me to work opposing muscle groups and also to work with good intensity since I am not trying to do full body every workout. The big problem with this program is that my elbow joint doesn't get much of a rest as I am using it for both my day 1 and 4 bi-cep\tri-cep work and my day 2 and 5 chest\back push\pull work on consecutive days. Fortunately, my elbows seem to be okay with it for now.

Workouts that are planned but don't actually happen are the worst types of workouts so start with deciding how many days a week you can commit to the gym and work from there.

And the most important thing to know about weightliftiing is to just do it. Unless you are developing a highly specific sports performance requirement at an elite level, or trying to develop a particularly specific physical trait, there is very little "wrong" as long as its safe and consistent.

At the same time if someone is involved with a sport or injury recovery you don't want to be doing anything antagonistic to that goal. For example, in Olympic Lifting Cleans work the hip extensors pretty hard. In Judo you engage the hip flexors quite a bit in the sport. My understanding is that the hip flexors can resist the movement of the hip extensors (am open to correction on this). So if I'm strengthening my Hip Extensors by doing Cleans in the gym, is this going to hinder my Judo? Or would there be another exercise I could do that would be more complementary to my Judo?

That's a fair point Shusha makes regarding just gettting on with it though. A lot of people tend to spend a lot time planning their training instead of just getting on with it.

Thanks for the replies folks, that four day split you do Shuska sounds like its worth a try, how many exercises do you do for each muscle group?

I am able to commit to the gym everyday at the moment but wanted to avoid doing it on mondays and wednesdays as i have my JKD training. I mainly wanna improve my strength and get more muscle development without becoming too bulky.

JKD83, the best routine is the one that keeps your attention at that particular time. It doesn't matter if it is a full body, split routine, push/pull or what have you; just find something that you ENJOY and do it.

Over time if you continue to weight lift you probably will have tried most of the routines out there. You will see progress with some and not with others, in fact later you may find progress with ones that didn't work prior and no progress with others that you did. I once had AMAZING results with Robert E. Spector's H.I.T. (High Intensity Training) only to return to it twice and not get great results. Currently doing Dorian Yates’s “Blood & Guts” Routine and seeing good results.

Just remember to hit the lifting hard with intensity and determination, don't sacrifice technique and form, rest and ENJOY>

Prize,

Yes, we as martial artists walk a fine line between sports specific performance and general health. Often what is best for us in our sport (art) is not necessarily good for us in the long term. On the extreme side, athletes such as long-distance runners and gymnasts who end up in chronic pain as they age. In general, I like to train for balanced muscles and general health, even if that means sacrificing a bit of my performance in martial arts. But that's me. I'm no where near an elite athlete.

JKD,

The number of exercises for each muscle group depends on the muscle group. I rarely \ never do more than one exercise each for bi-ceps or tri-ceps, for example, in a given workout. This is due partially to the fact that I work these each session, as per my previous comment. And its partially due to the limited movement of these muscles. I work ball and socket joints (hips and shoulders) in a greater variety of ways than hinge joints (knees and elbows).

For example, I generally do around 8 exercises for my legs. I tend to do one heavy weight exercise for each of the four main muscle groups (glutes, quads, hams, calves) followed by a higher rep body weight exercise. A typical "leg and arm" day might look like this:

leg press (heavy weights ~5 reps)
single leg squat on BOSU (bodyweight only ~15 reps)

standing calf raise (heavy weights ~5 reps)
calf raise on BOSU (~15-20 reps)

repeat

leg extensions (heavy weights)
walking lunges or lunge pyramids

hamstring curls (heavy)
bridge kicks

other leg exercise specific to my sport, usually abductors.

bi-cep curls
skullcrushers



When you say you want to do "muscle development" do you mean you want muscle definition, as in you want to look muscular? Muscular definition depends on body fat percentage, so if that's what you are after you need to focus on reducing your body fat %. Muscular strength and muscular endurance are two different things. So when you say you want more muscular strength, I'd want to know what you want that strength for.

Also, rest is vital. I would recommend you give muscle groups rest between training days. (Part of the reasoning behind my split is that the muscle groups get two-three days rest between sessions. I'm also a fan of cycling -- taking a week or two off every six to twelve weeks.