The Advantage of Total-body Workouts

Do Bodybuilders Have It Wrong?

- Michael J. Rudolph

If you walk into most gyms on the planet, everyone there hitting the weights is probably using some type of split-training workout that systematically trains specific muscle groups on different days. One of the primary reasons for the preponderant use of split training is most top-level bodybuilders typically utilize split routines that train each muscle group twice a week 1 and since they’re so big and strong, most of us surmise that this training approach must be the best way to gain muscle. Well, despite the tremendous popularity of split-training approaches, there are some very good scientific reasons demonstrating that the use of total-body workouts, which train the entire body in one workout, are more effective than split routines at promoting muscle growth.

TOTAL-BODY WORKOUTS DELIVER MORE TRAINING INTENSITY AND VOLUME

The most apparent advantage of split-training routines over total-body workouts is the relatively greater training volume achieved with split-training protocols. For instance, when training chest, split-training routines incorporate several sets of many different bench press movements such as the flat bench, incline bench and decline bench followed up by some sort of non-pressing movement to finish off the pecs such as flyes. Of course, this is quite a bit more volume than the four or five sets of bench presses that are done during a full-body program. So, split routines are presumptively more effective at increasing muscle mass, since greater training volume is supposedly more effective at stimulating muscle growth.