Full body workouts are the simpler option, often repeating the same workout each day.

As long as you stick to basic compound movements, full body workouts help to develop a more balanced physique.

Split Routine

Split workouts are when body parts are split up. The basic form of this could be upper body one day and lower body the next. Others split the body parts over several workouts, like chest, shoulders and triceps on one day.

Splitting up the body parts means more recovery time for each muscle group. For example the chest might only be worked directly once a week.

Full body vs split routine for strength gains

When strength gains are your main goal then full body workouts are the clear winner.

To get stronger you have to practise the movements as often as possible. Hitting each exercise once or twice a week like in the split setup just wouldn’t allow for fast progress.

Full body vs split routine for bigger muscles

When your main aim is muscular hypertrophy (bigger muscles) choosing between full body & split workouts depends what level you’re at. This is due to the increasing volume (total reps) needed as the lifter progresses through the years.

A beginner needs only a small amount of stress (lifting weights) to cause the body to adapt and grow bigger muscles. An advanced lifted however needs to give their body a very good reason for it to grow it’s muscles any larger. That means lifting very heavy weights for lots & lots of reps.

One possible drawback to split workouts is that they can create a bit of a “Frankenstein” body, where some muscle groups don’t really match up with others. This is more of an issue for beginners rather than advanced lifters.

Beginners

• Develops a more balanced physique
• Allows more practise of each movement

Intermediates

Once the intermediate level is reached, switching to an upper/lower setup will allow for a bit more time for each muscle group to recover from the higher volume of lifting needed for muscle growth.

Advanced

An advanced lifter may need to switch to a split based routine, spreading muscle groups over 3+ different days each week. This allows for much more volume to be directed to each muscle group, since advanced lifters need a lot of volume to force more muscle growth.