Upper and Lower Splits
Did you know that about 44% of people in North America are trying to lose weight? An overwhelming majority say they want to lose weight for their family members, to help their professional or social life, and to improve their health.
Most people jump straight on crash diets to lose the weight quick, but that rarely works for multiple reasons. Others jump into the gym and quickly get burned out churning their wheels and not seeing the results they want.
Chances are overall nutrition and a lack of a good gym plan are to blame more than motivation or willpower.
While nutrition is a huge variable here, we are going to focus on the workout in this article and hope you learn a bit about adding gym splits to your routine. They allow your body to recover between exercise sessions and maximize your results.
What Are Workout Splits?
Workout splits (or split system training) are when you break your weight training workout into different sessions by body region.
There are three commonly used splits:
- Push/Pull/Legs sessions,
- Training by body part (chest and triceps, legs and shoulders, etc.), and
- Upper and lower body workouts
Upper/lower split divides are best for:
- Beginners
- People short on time
- Those who want to get stronger
All splits have a focus and Upper/lower body splits work on the basics while allowing you to train more muscles per workout.
Instead of doing four or five bicep exercises in one session for example, you can do one or two exercises per body part and work chest, triceps, and shoulders all together.
This helps to reduce fatigue and injury. In addition, it allows you to have flexibility in your exercises on any given day.
For instance, on your first lower body day of the week, you may do goblet squats, leg presses, and lunges. Then, you may do deadlifts and hamstring curls on the second lower body day of the week.
Your workouts can be more varied when you train more muscles per session.
Further, you should focus all your workouts on compound movements (exercises that engage more than one muscle), regardless of split. This helps recruit more muscles and get far better results than just throwing a bunch of accessory movements (exercises that target a single muscle, like bicep curls or lateral raises) in to a rotation.
Split Workout Schedule Example
So, how does an upper/lower split look in practice?
If you weight train four times a week, twice a week you can do an upper body split, and the other two times a week, you can do a lower body split. The remaining three days are rest, recovery, or low-intensity days.
Here is an example:
- Monday – Upper
- Tuesday – Lower
- Wednesday – Rest
- Thursday – Upper
- Friday – Lower
- Saturday – Rest
- Sunday – Rest
There are several ways you can structure the split throughout the week. You may also choose to do a two-day or six-day split, depending on your:
- Training preferences
- Recovery capacity
- Schedule
If you’re a true beginner, you may start with two training sessions per week and gradually increase to four sessions. On the other hand, if you’re an experienced lifer, you may choose six sessions a week with heavier weights and more repetitions.
The best part about upper/lower body splits is that you can customize your sessions to fit your fitness goals while maintaining proper recovery time. This regimen works for almost anyone looking to shed some weight and get stronger.
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Ready to Give Workout Splits a Try?
Whether you’re new to the gym or are looking to enhance your current routine, workout splits are an excellent way to meet your fitness goal. They provide ample time to strengthen muscles while allowing for recovery.
To explore other training methods or learn more about fitness, check out our 1-on-1 coaching programs at Conditionerd. Everything is 100% online so you can access your personal training materials anytime, anywhere.
Let Us help You Out
At CONDITIONerd we are here to help you achieve better physical and mental health through exercise. Check out the plans we offer to our customers and see if you could benefit from working with our team. And if you have questions, you can always contact a CONDITIONerd team member.
Personal trainers, like those found here, can help guide you on your pathway towards reaching your fitness goals, whether that is getting bigger, stronger, faster, more lean, or just generally feeling better.
We can get you setup with a periodized workout plan, supplement information, and advice on nutrition to help you reach your goals.
The only thing you need is some motivation and a willingness to change some old habits.
Get into contact with us to find out what membership is right for you. In a CONDITIONerd program, you’ll be surrounded by others who can help you to get where you want to be.
Generally, our clients start to see some pretty awesome changes in 2-3 months time, some sooner.
