I am a huge advocate for weight lifting! (More blogs to come, as to why). Those who know me locally and on Facebook have been following my weight lifting rants for over a year, which is why (at the request of a friend) I' am blogging about splits before the benefits of lifting, so please bear with me.
Most people have a hard time structuring their weight lifting routine. Cardio is easy, right? Spin class, running, eliptical, or boxing. It's just one hour you don't have to really plan out. Weight lifting on the other hand, you have to plan out each day your doing and figure out what machines and weights your going to use and which muscle groups to work....ugh! That's a lot of thought every week, right? Wrong! Once you have one week planned, you should not have to do it again. There are a few ways to approach creating your own personalized workout. Here are some tips, and split options to get you started.
TIPS:
** After choosing a split schedule,take a day to scope out the exercise possibilities for your routine(s). Maybe even ask for a free training session(most gyms offer at least 1-2) to gather good ideas, technique, and proper form. Take notes.
** Don't leave the house without a plan. Unless you have the memory of an elephant, you will not remember your routine and weights used until it becomes habit. I carry a small notebook and plan my workout in advanced, then record weights and reps as bench marks and goal setters during my session.
** Steps 1-2 will take some time, so don't get discouraged and give up. Just set it up in your mind, that it will take some time and it may be another week or so before you are really feeling productive in your new workout. It's part of the process.
** No matter what split you choose, always factor in rest days. If I hit shoulders today, I won't touch upper body tomorrow, I'll hit lower instead. If I'm using the "Full Meal Deal" split, I'll space them out with a rest day in between each (Mon./Wed./Fri.).
SCHEDULING SPLIT OPTIONS:
#1. The 3 day Full Meal Deal!
This is the easiest to set up and takes the least amount of planning. A great place to start. Once you create your weight lifting habit and are consistent it becomes easier to create more complicated "splits".
To start, don't over think it. Plan 1 weight routine that gives 1-2 exercises on each muscle group to perform 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps (weight will depend on level, but you want your last few reps to be VERY difficult) I like to save time, circuiting through these quickly by resting upper while working lower). Keep this same workout to do 3 days a week, bumping up the weights lifted every 6 weeks or so. Yes, eventually you'll want to mix it up, but right now you are focusing on creating a habit. It won't last if you overwhelm yourself by too much planning. And you will progress, even using the same routine.
#2. 3 Day Split
Depending on your goals, there a few combinations to this wonderful technique!
~2 day upper body/1 day lower
~2 day lower /1 day upper
~1 upper/1 lower/ 1 full meal deal (above)
Keep it simple as above. Plan one workout per day of your split, and keep with that same workout routine every week until you become comfortable in your split. Once that happens, you can add or trade for new exercises. On a split, I create 3 circuits alternating the muscle groups of that day. I also always add a core group to my split. Abs on one day, obliques on another, and low back on the last.
Sample Split:
Monday:
Shoulders / Triceps / Abs
Wednesday:
Glutes / Hamstrings / Quads / Low Back
NOTE: Lower body is easy to set up because a lunge can hit all 3 areas at once!!)
Friday:
Chest / Back-Lats / Obliques
Sample WOD for shoulders/triceps/ abs day:
Circuit #1 = 3 Rounds of:
*Shoulder Press Machine
*Triceps Extension Machine
*Decline Sit-ups
Circuit #2 = 3 rounds of:
*Dumbbell Arnold Press
*Triceps bench dip (feet on ball)
*Bench ab rotation
Circuit #3 = 3 rounds of:
Dumbbell lateral raise
Dumbbell triceps kickback
Incline Ab Leg/Hip Raise
#3. 4 Day Split:
Same as a 3 day, but now you have the option of :
~2 lower/ 2 upper
~1 lower/ 2 upper / 1 core (ab-low back-oblique)
~2 lower/ 1 upper/ 1 core
Sample Split:
Monday:
Shoulders / Triceps / Abs
Wednesday:
Glutes / Hamstrings / Quads / Low Back
Friday:
Chest / Back-Lats / Obliques
Saturday:
Abductors / Adductors / Glutes / Abs
Of course life happens and I don't always meet my split perfectly, but I try to be as consistent as I can and that pays off. It's not about being perfect. Half the battle is finding the balance between being consistent enough to progress, yet forgiving enough on yourself when you were able to only hit 2 out of three days.
There are splits I have not touched on, like the push/pull. Today I am focusing on how I have tackled this journey without overwhelming you (or me) with all the other options out there.
All in all, whatever you decide, keep it simple to start. You can complicate it later, but for now, just creating the habit should be your primary focus.
Happy Lifting!
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