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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It really depends on your goals, what kind of strength training you like, how much time you have - there is no single best strength routine.

Generally, you want to work your large muscle groups (legs, chest, back) before smaller (biceps, triceps), but most classes are structured that way.  People go on about “leg day” or whatever, but it’s fine to train your whole body two or three times/week (more than three wouldn’t allow for adequate recovery).  But hey, if you love leg day, have at it![/quote]

Most people start out with full body workouts. The reason people move to workouts targeting specific muscle groups on specific days is that it’s pretty common to progress to a point where you can’t continue to advance with full body workouts.  When I was lifting seriously, my twice a week leg day as

3x5 squats @275-300
3x5 deadlift @350-400
4x12 leg press @450-550
Leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises

This was as a middle aged, not very strong dude with bad knees.  Lots of guys at my gym lifted much more.  It’s hard and takes too long to do other exercises after a workout like this, at least for me.

Now that I’m even older and even weaker, I’m back to full body workouts.  [/quote]

Your point?  I’ve done all kinds of strength training from Olympic lifting to powerlifting to solidcore to Peloton strength to yoga to my own random workouts at the gym.  Neither I nor the OP need mansplaining about full body vs. accessory work.  Your first sentence is somewhat helpful; the rest, not so much.[/quote]

I’m the poster you’re responding to.

It sounds like you have a lot of experience.  Why not tell OP your experience with how/whether you do/did full body workouts or splits?  That perspective would likely be really useful.

Cheers. [/quote]

I do have a lot of experience.  That’s why I responded to the OP as I did - the post you quoted.

There is no single best strength training regimen for everyone, or even necessarily for one person over a lifetime.  What matters in determining what’s best for a given individual are the following:

What kind of workouts do you like to do?
What are your goals?
What are your resources (time, money, gym membership, home gym, etc.)?

Someone inexperienced asking about full body vs. splits needs to be clear on the answers to those questions first, because they determine what’s most likely to be effective (and what they’re likely to stick with).  It’s not about me sharing my experience, it’s about me asking questions and listening to the answers.[/quote]

Great.  And my response was intended to point out that for most people, the answer to full body vs splits changes over time.  Specifically, many people build up to weights and rep numbers that would have been unbelievable to them when they started, but become necessary to continue improving.  Often, that drives them to splits because the volume is just too tiring or time consuming to hit the whole body in a day.

Sorry you found my response so upsetting.  It was meant to be helpful by providing some detail of my experience.   I find that kid of detail in others’ posts really interesting.  YMMV.  [/quote]

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