Relative is a common term used in health and fitness. In a logical sense, everyone’s body functions the same, but in a fitness sense, people’s bodies respond differently. So, to say that a certain method or exercise is “best” would be a stretch, but there are some general principles that can be used for mostly everyone that will show promising results.
When it comes to training splits, there are some general rules and principles that can help a person come up with an effective split for the results they seek. Maybe you find yourself messing with different approaches and exercises and you are not seeing the results you want. There are a lot of things that play into this of course other than training (nutrition, supplementation, rest, etc.), but training is the focus here. You might be approaching your weekly split all wrong for what you want to accomplish.
When thinking about a split for size, rest and recovery has to be the epicenter in which everything you do is based around (nutrition and training). The body only builds when it is resting and allowed time to recover. So, how many days are good to take off? There are 7 days in a week. Many people workout Monday through Friday and take the weekend off. This is known as a 5-day split. Maybe the second most popular split is working out every other day for 3 days. This is known as a 3-day split. With both approaches in mind, the first thing you need to do is do away with the names of the days of the week, because your training regimen is based around your schedule, which might not consist of working out certain days of the week that most people do. Days of the week for you are now known as day 1, day 2, day 3, and so on.
When looking at rest and recovery, having two days off in a row is good, but is it enough. If you find yourself training hard enough you will find yourself maybe needing a little more rest, or maybe not. Rest and recovery cannot be emphasized enough when it comes to growing new muscle. Studies have shown that muscles that are given around 72 hours for rest and recovery respond better when training begins once again. So, the muscles are recovered and rested, but also put in a state where they are continuously stimulated when training starts back up for the week. So, a 4-day split where you work out for 4 straight days and take 3 consecutive days off may be the winner for best training split for size. The biggest challenge for most with a split like this is being disciplined taking the time off. It is so east to attribute growth to the training, but in actuality all that is being done is you are breaking the muscles down.
Once again, nutrition and training method are very important as well, but making sure your split in on point is critical as well, which this one emphasizes rest just as much as the training.
