Share some ideas on how to structure your weekly schedule and break up your training days to optimize performance and recovery!
Hello friends! How’s your week going? I hope you’ve had a great morning so far! I’m putting together the Fit Team workouts for this month and next. If you would like to partner with us as we focus on training, nutrition and self-care strategies, join us here! Anyone who signs up today will also receive a custom nutrition guide and a thank you from me to you 🙂
For today’s post, I discuss breaking up your training days and how to do this strategically. I’m a big fan of the training program segments throughout the week. It can help you strengthen different areas of the body (especially during leg day!), giving you plenty of time to recover and also gives you the freedom to control how you train. Today, I’m sharing practical tips to help my fellow readers break up their workout days and get the most out of their workouts.
(Please note that while I am a certified personal trainer, I am providing general information for educational purposes. This is not medical advice. Always seek the help of your doctor before starting or changing your exercise routine.)
How to break up your workout days
Full Body Split
This type of full body split routine includes a total body workout every time you work out. The advantages of this type of training are that you can use more impressive and *fun compound movements, working multiple major muscle groups at the same time, and because of the peripheral action training, your heart rate can be higher, which indicates a higher calorie burn during the workout. duration of training. I like to work the total body for my beginner clients (focusing on bodyweight only exercises first), as well as my clients who have significant weight loss goals.
The downside to this type of training is that it can be harder to hit muscle fatigue, which encourages muscle growth, and that you shouldn’t ideally be working your entire body two training days in a row. I would recommend alternating full body workouts with a rest day and cardio.
Upper / Lower Split
This is when you work your upper body on one day (back, shoulders, chest, triceps, biceps) and your lower body on a different day (arms, glutes, core, calves). The advantages of this type of training are that you can strength train on consecutive days (upper body one day, lower body the next) and you can more easily add volume and load to a specific muscle group. This can encourage muscle growth, which is the *toned and lean* look many of us are after.
My personal favorite way to create a split is upper body one day, lower body the next day, and a full body circuit on a different day. This is how I set up most of the Fit Team workouts as well.
4 day split
For your four day break, there are a few different ways you can go about it:
upper body, lower body and two total body days
and competitive or synergistic muscle training.
Competitive muscle groups
This type of workout involves working opposing muscle groups four days a week, such as chest and back one day, biceps and triceps the next, hamstrings and calves, and shoulders and calves (they’re kind of on their own). This is especially effective for superset workouts because you can move directly from one set to the next, allowing the opposing muscle group to rest. (When one of the antagonist muscles contracts, the opposite muscle is stretched.)
The main benefit of this type of training is the serious muscle building ability. If you’re looking for gains, maybe try this style of training.
Synergistic muscle groups
This happens when you use agonist muscles (those that work together to perform a movement). An example of this would be:
shoulders, chest, triceps, legs and core back and biceps.
This is another one of my favorite ways to train and another great way to build muscle. I would recommend this type of workout for friends who want to see serious muscle definition, improve their metabolism, and have three days of strength training each week.
Training split samples
Splitting up your training will depend on different variables, including the equipment you have access to use, your current training level, what you enjoy (!) and your fitness goals. The key here is to figure out how many days per week you want to strength train. I like to hit each muscle group at least twice a week (on non-advisory days or within the same workout) and make sure I get at least 1-2 complete rest days each week. We all have different needs, interests, and end goals, so I highly recommend looking into what these look like for you so you can determine what your perfect week looks like.
If you need help planning your workouts for the week, join us on the Fit Team! I also have a free PDF here on how to create your training program and set up your plan. If you are looking for personalized training plans, my The 1:1 training app is here.
For more information on fitness and creating the perfect workout regimen, check out my post on should you do strength or cardio first!
Have a great morning and see you soon!
xoxo
Gina
