Old-School Split Training

 

     I may give the impression at times that I’m not a fan of split workouts.  That’s not true, of course.  I have a lot of split programs here on the blog—in fact, I’ve probably written considerably more split workout programs than full-body ones over the course of my writing career.  But it’s also true that I do have a certain disdain, and don’t try to hide it, for “modern” workout splits.  Programs where you train only one bodypart at each session, and take off a week between training sessions for individual bodyparts, pretty much drives me crazy.  And, of course, yes, I’m obviously a fan of full-body workouts.  Not only are they highly effective, but they’re probably the  best form of training for the “average” gym-goer, allowing you to train your muscles frequently (always a plus in my book), while also minimizing the amount of time that you have to go to the gym each week.  You just can’t beat workouts like the one I outlined in my last essay for the vast majority of lifters.

     But I do like certain split programs.  I am, for instance, a big fan of old-school split training.

     Unlike modern split programs that are focused on ensuring the muscles have “recovered properly” or only focus on one-bodypart-per-workout to make sure “maximum rest between workouts” takes place, old-school bodybuilders trained with split workouts so that they could do more, not less.  They were also keen on ensuring that, even though (or maybe because) they were splitting up their bodyparts at different workouts, they were training as many muscles as possible at each workout.  Although you would see some “upper/lower” splits among classic bodybuilders, you, more often than not, saw splits where you trained quads, chest, and shoulders one day, followed by back, bis, tris, abs, and calves the next, or something very similar.  This allowed you, essentially, to do, what I often refer to as, “full-body split workouts,” meaning, even though you’re splitting your bodypart training into different sessions, you’re still training a lot of the muscles in your body at each session.

     You can’t do the kind of split workouts old-time lifters used until you build up the work capacity to do so.  The first thing you need to do is utilize a full-body program for an extended period of time, one in which you slowly add sets to your exercises, and exercises to your workout until you reach a point where you almost have to switch to a split program.  That is exactly what old-school bodybuilders from the ‘70s and earlier did.  Once they started following split workouts, they, by and large, used ones similar to what I’m going to write about below.  If you want to use these programs, don’t just jump right into them without building up all that aforementioned work capacity.  These are for lifters who have, at the very least, been training for 6 months straight using full-body workouts of progressively more work.  Even better, I wouldn’t do any of the following workouts, personally, until you’ve trained for a year or more on full-body workouts!  If you choose to forego my advice, and do some of these programs anyway, you probably won’t see the results you are wishing for, so you’ve been warned.

George Turner’s Upper/Lower Split Program

     Our first program that I’m going to outline is one the great George Turner recommended in the pages of IronMan magazine.  If you don’t know Turner, then, first and foremost, make sure you read about the dude.  He was one of the greatest bodybuilding writers of all time, but he got the knowledge that he so eloquently espoused—he wasn’t afraid to call guys “idiots” who trained at his gym and kick them out for doing “stupid” workouts, for instance—from decades and decades of real bodybuilding training.  His monthly column in IronMan was called exactly that: “George Turner’s REAL Bodybuilding.”  Here’s the program:

Day One - Lower Body

Steep incline sit ups: 5x15 reps

Squats: 6x20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6 (add weight on each set)

Sissy squats: 5x20

Stiff-legged deficit deadlifts: 5x15, 12, 10, 8, 6 (add weight on each set)

Leg curls: 6x12, 12, 10, 10, 8, 6 (add weight on each set)

Standing calf raises: 8x10-12

Day Two - Upper Body

Incline bench presses: 6x8-10

Flat dumbbell bench presses: 5x12, 12, 10, 10, 8 (add weight on each set)

Wide-grip chins: 6x failure (using bodyweight)

One-arm dumbbell rows: 5x10 (each arm)

Bent-over laterals: 5x12, 12, 10, 10, 8 (add weight on each set)

Seated dumbbell presses: 6x12, 12, 10, 10, 8, 8 (add weight on each set)

Standing lateral raises: 5x12, 12, 10, 10, 8 (add weight on each set)

Biceps movement: 6x8

  supersetted w/

Triceps movement: 6x12

     Here is what Turner said about the above program, so I’ll kick this commentary off with his words before giving my own two-cents worth: “One thing I love about this schedule is its versatility.  You can easily train a steady two days of workouts and one day of rest right through the week, or if you really want a program that not only builds muscle but keeps you in superb condition, alternate the workouts with no break and take a rest day only when you know you need it.  Don’t try this right away, however, but save it for after you’ve been training on the basic split for a while, perhaps six months.”

     By the way, Turner liked to run a couple of miles each day before his leg training, so feel free to get some cardio in a few days a week if you want to follow in his footsteps.  To be honest, the only advice I’d change with that is to do your cardio after your lifting session.  For more on why cardio after lifting is (most likely) preferable, then be sure to read my recent essay “High-Frequency Fat Loss.”

      One of the keys to making this kind of training work—especially if you train, say, 6-days-per-week, 3 for upper and 3 for lower body—is to not go all-out.  Old-school lifters and bodybuilders liked to train frequently, sure, but they didn’t go to complete failure—or even close to it—at most of their sessions.  Always leave at least a couple reps “in the tank” at the end of your sets.  The only time I might go against this sagely advice is on the last set of an exercise.  As you advance and adapt to these workouts, you will learn when to push it, and when not to.  Some weeks, you might do 2 or even 3 hard workouts for each muscle, and sometimes you might go a couple of weeks and do nothing but light, active-recovery type sessions.

     If you’re at all familiar with my writing, then you probably know that, in general, this is not absolute, I prefer workout programs with lower rep ranges—even for building muscle mass and not just strength.  So after a couple of months on the above program, you could switch over to something such as this one:

Day One - Lower Body

Steep incline sit ups: 5x15 reps

Squats: 8x5 (use a weight where you would reach failure at about the 10th rep if it was for one all-out set)

Front squats: 5x5

Sumo deficit deadlifts: 8x5 (use a weight where you would reach failure at about the 10th rep if it was for one all-out set)

Romanian deadlifts; 5x5

Standing calf raises: 8x10-12

Day Two - Upper Body

Barbell bench presses: 8x5 (use a weight where you would reach failure at about the 10th rep if it was for one all-out set)

Incline dumbbell bench presses: 5x5

Weighted chins: 5x5

Barbell rows: 8x5 (use a weight where you would reach failure at about the 10th rep if it was for one all-out set)

Barbell overhead presses: 8x5 (use a weight where you would reach failure at about the 10th rep if it was for one all-out set)

Barbell curls: 5x5

  supersetted w/

Weighted close-grip dips: 5x5

Full-Body Split Program

     Although my body could probably stick with the above programs for months on end, my mind just gets too bored and needs something a little different.  Another option is to organize your split in a manner I discussed earlier, by doing some “full-body splits.”  I think, overall, this is actually the best way to design a split program.  It’s often not done by modern bodybuilders because there is too much “overlap” on the different training days.  If you train your chest and shoulders on one day, and your triceps on another, then your tris will get multiple-days-of-training in a row, and that’s seen as a “bad” thing.  But I think it’s actually good.  Remember: the more you can train, the better.  Or in the immortal words of Zatsiorsky (oft-quoted by yours truly): You want to train as often as possible, while being as fresh as possible.

Day One - Legs, Chest, Shoulders, Abs

Squats: 8x8 (use a weight where you would reach failure somewhere between the 16th to 20th rep for one all-out set)

Walking lunges: 8x8 (each leg)

Bench presses: 8x5 (utilize a weight where you would reach failure on about the 10th rep)

Wide-grip dips: 5x8

Behind-the-neck presses: 8x5 (same technique as the benches)

Steep incline sit ups: 5x15 reps

Day Two - Back, Biceps, Triceps, Calves

Weighted chins: 8x5 (Add weight with each set until you get to a hard, but not all-out, set.  Stick with that weight for however many sets are remaining until you get 8 sets. If you can’t do any additional weight, but CAN do 8 sets of 5—or close—with just your bodyweight, then that’s fine, too.)

Deadlifts: 5x5 (Progressively heavier sets.  Only the last set or two should be all-out or close.)

Barbell curls: 8x8 (same methodology as the squats from Day One)

Lying barbell extensions: 8x8

Alternate dumbbell curls: 5x8 (each arm)

Overhead dumbbell extensions (hold one dumbbell with both hands): 5x8

Standing calf raises: 8x8 (same methodology as the squats and barbell curls)

     As with Turner's advice in our preceding programs, you can also add some cardio to your leg training days.  Another option would be to add in some loaded carries.  In fact, you could do some running at the end of Day One, and some farmer walks or something similar at the end of Day Two.

Summing it Up

     To reiterate, the keys to making these programs work is to, first, make sure that you’ve built up the work capacity to handle them through months of full-body workouts beforehand and, second, to make sure you don’t do too many hard sets at each session.  If you follow this advice, then you should see great results.  No, these aren’t the kind of programs you see in today’s gym by guys yelling, “it’s all you, bruh” at their workout partner, but that’s because they’re as old-school as it gets.  And old-school still is—and always will be—the best as far as I’m concerned.