We’ve all been there: you arrive at the gym completely unprepared, with no plan in mind. You wander around, hopping on random machines and doing whatever feels right. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you’re likely not getting the most out of your time—or your gym membership—without a more structured approach. Among the many ways to plan your workouts, two popular training styles stand out: split training and full-body training. In this post, I’ll break down the differences between them and help you decide which might best suit your goals and lifestyle.
Split training involves dividing your gym sessions to focus on specific body parts or movement patterns. For example, you might dedicate separate days to push exercises (e.g., chest and triceps), pull exercises (e.g., back and biceps), and legs. A more detailed split could even target individual muscle groups—like legs, chest/triceps, back/biceps, shoulders, and abs—each on its own day.
From my experience, split routines make it easier to target every muscle group thoroughly, hitting them through various ranges of motion and under different types of stress. Take leg day, for instance: you could plan exercises that systematically work your quads, hamstrings, glutes, hips, and calves, leaving the gym confident that no muscle was overlooked. Plus, split days often deliver a bigger “pump”—that satisfying swell in your muscles from increased blood flow. If you love that feeling, a split routine might be your thing, especially since focusing on one area (like hitting six chest exercises instead of two) amplifies it. Split training also keeps things fun by letting you mix up exercises and challenge your muscles in diverse ways.
That said, split routines come with challenges. For one, they can be time-intensive. Targeting each muscle with multiple exercises means longer gym sessions—sometimes more than you’d like or have time for. You might also need access to more equipment, which can mean waiting around for others to finish their sets. Another drawback? As your muscles fatigue, later exercises in your workout tend to be less demanding, meaning you’re expending energy on moves that might not yield the best results. (I’ll touch on how to maximize gains later.) Perhaps the biggest pitfall, though, is the temptation to skip less-favorite muscle groups. We’ve all heard the “skipping leg day” jokes—and split routines are where they come from. Imagine your week looks like this: Monday (chest/triceps), Tuesday (back/biceps), Wednesday (legs), Thursday (shoulders), Friday (abs/cardio). If you love Monday and Tuesday but dread leg day, it’s all too easy to blow off Wednesday. It’s human nature to avoid what we don’t enjoy, and split routines make skipping specific muscles a real risk.
I won’t dictate how you should train your body (unless you ask me to!), but when someone asks me to design a workout plan, I almost always recommend a full-body program. Here’s why.
Unlike split routines, full-body workouts deliver great results in less time. You can hit the gym fewer days per week—say, three—and still see impressive (or even better) progress. This is largely because full-body programs emphasize compound movements, which recruit multiple muscle groups at once (think squats or deadlifts). You might do fewer sets overall, but each set works harder for you by engaging more muscles. I also love compound lifts because they allow you to handle heavier weights, boosting strength, muscle growth, and fat loss.
Another perk? With rest days between sessions, you’re fresher for each workout, so you can tackle more challenging, high-reward exercises. Over a week, you might hit the same volume as a split routine but get more “bang for your buck” since your muscles aren’t already fatigued from earlier sets. Finally, I enjoy the unique fatigue of a full-body workout. It’s less about isolated soreness (like aching biceps) and more about an overall, satisfying tiredness. For me, this has boosted my resting metabolic rate, improved my sleep, and increased my strength.
Full-body training isn’t for everyone, though. If you’re a bodybuilder with ample time and a goal of sculpting specific muscles with precision, a split routine might suit you better. Full-body programs lean heavily on compound movements, which—while highly effective—can be tough to master and carry a higher injury risk if your form isn’t spot-on. Plus, the all-over fatigue might leave you less energized for post-gym tasks. If you’re hoping to crush your workout and then tackle house chores, you might find yourself Netflix-bingeing instead.
Here’s the truth: what I’ve shared comes from my own fitness journey and experience. What works for me might not work for you—and that’s okay! The best approach is to find a personal trainer you trust who can craft a plan tailored to your goals, schedule, and preferences. That’s the surest way to see results. If you’re looking for a starting point, check out PILLR Fitness for trainers who can guide you on your path.
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