Full-Body + Split HYBRID Training Programs

 Utilize the Best of Both Full-Body and Split Workouts for Awesome Results

Old-school bodybuilders such as Freddy Ortiz used a combination of both split workouts and full-body sessions.

One of the decisions that lifters have to make when designing a program is whether to use a “split” workout program or to stick with a full-body workout program.  I say “stick” with a program because the very first thing ALL lifters should do—and I don’t care whether your goals are geared more toward bodybuilding or power and strength training—is follow a full-body program.  But there will come a time when you have to make a decision.  Should you stick with a full-body program or should you switch over to a split regimen?

Once you reach a more advanced stage of training beyond the beginner level then there are times when one form of lifting is more advantageous compared to the other, even though you should periodically use both.  And depending on what those exact goals are at this point will mean that typically one form of training is a little better than the other for those specific goals.  For instance, if you have already built a significant amount of muscle, and you want to enter a bodybuilding contest, then a split program is very advantageous for you, as it allows you to really focus on “shaping” muscles that are well-built but not “aesthetic” enough to ensure a bodybuilding victory.  On the flip side, you may be a martial artist—although you are very well-developed—who is training for an upcoming fight, and so you need to switch to more full-body programs in order to make sure your body is performing as a whole.  Because when you are competing in any form of martial arts, you are going to use all of your muscles—or a very significant portion of them—when sparring, training forms, or just working on basic techniques.

This may be a little simplified, but on the whole, if you’re trying to gain muscle—whether you’re just trying to gain a few pounds or whether you’re trying to really “bulk up”—then full-body workouts are best.  They are also best for most athletes.  However, if you’re a bodybuilder, or someone who has already gained a lot of muscle mass, that is looking to be more “aesthetic”, then split workouts are best.  The same goes for “strength specialists.”  Even Bradley J. Steiner, who generally loathed split workouts, recommended that powerlifters train 3-days-per-week, specializing on each powerlift in each session.  He generally recommended that powerlifters squat on Monday, bench press on Wednesday, and deadlift on Friday.  The reason he suggested this—even though he generally loved full-body workouts for the general public—is because he knew that training each lift for really low reps, and fairly infrequently, made lifters incredibly strong while it also prevented them from gaining weight.

With that in mind, here’s a simple formula that (on the whole) is sound:

Full-body workouts: Best used if your goal is to gain weight or if you’re a competitive athlete.

Split workouts: Best used for competitive bodybuilders and competitive powerlifters.

However, there is also a third option that you can utilize.  The 3rd option is to combine the two into a hybrid program.

Several years back, I wrote a program for IronMan magazine that was based on this premise.  It was called “High Frequency Focus Training”.  Here is the “beginning program” I wrote for that article, along with some of the tips I recommended to make it work:

Beginning HFFT Program

This one is a three-days-a-week regimen. The most popular days to train would be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Day One

High Frequency Portion

• Squats – 5 sets of 3 reps. Perform two warm-up sets of 5 reps, followed by 3 work sets of 3 reps, using approximately 70-75% of your one-rep maximum.

• Deadlifts– 5 sets of 3 reps. Use the same set/rep format as the squats.

• Barbell Bench Presses or Incline Bench Presses – 5 sets of 3 reps. Same set/rep format as the squats and deadlifts.

Focus Portion: Chest and Arms

• Flat Dumbbell Bench Presses – 4 sets of 10 reps

• Incline Dumbbell Flyes – 3 sets of 10 reps

• Cable Crossovers – 3 sets of 10 reps

• Dumbbell Curls supersetted with Dips – 8 sets of 10 reps on each exercise.

Day Two

High Frequency Portion

• Squats – 5 sets of 3 reps. Perform two warm-up sets of 5 reps, followed by 3 work sets of 3 reps, using approximately 70-75% of your one-rep maximum.

• Power Cleans – 5 sets of 3 reps. Use the same set/rep format as the squats.

• Overhead Presses– 5 sets of 3 reps. Same set/rep format as the squats and power cleans.

Focus Portion: Legs

• Leg Presses – 3 sets of 20 reps

• Leg Extensions – 3 sets of 20 reps

• Lying Leg Curls – 3 sets of 20 reps

• Standing Calf Raises (machine or barbell) – 2 sets of 30-50 reps

Day Three

High Frequency Portion

• Squats – 5 sets of 3 reps. Perform two warm-up sets of 5 reps, followed by 3 work sets of 3 reps, using approximately 60-65% of your one-rep maximum. Less weight is used on this day because of the heavy leg training on Day Two.

• Deadlifts– 5 sets of 3 reps. Use the same set/rep format as the squats.

• Barbell Bench Presses or Incline Bench Presses – 5 sets of 3 reps. Same set/rep format as the squats and deadlifts.

Focus Portion: Back and Shoulders

• Lat Pulldowns – 4 sets of 10 reps

• Bent-Over Rows – 3 sets of 10 reps

• Dumbbell Pullovers – 2 sets of 20 reps

• Lateral Raises – 3 sets of 10 reps

• Front Raises – 3 sets of 10 reps

Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of this program:

1. Train hard and consistently on this program for 4 weeks. On the 5th week, take a “down” training week: perform the high frequency portion of all of the workouts but omit all of the “focus” portions. On the 6th week, resume training hard for another 4 weeks, before taking another down week on the 11th week of training. On the 12thweek of training, it would be a good idea to switch to another program.

2. Increase the weight being used whenever possible on all of the “focus” exercises.

3. Remember, you should always feel refreshed and invigorated after the high frequency sets. At this point of the workout you should be “fired up” for the focus sets.

4. Train hard on the “focus” sets but still stop one or two reps shy of muscular failure.

5. Eat big; this program is designed for mass building, not for getting in contest shape.

Additional Tips and Suggestions

I still think that program is pretty good, especially for someone who has been doing full-body workouts, and wants to use a split program, but doesn’t want to go “full split,” so to speak.  But keep in mind that it's still best for a bodybuilder, and preferably one that is at the “intermediate” level of training.  What follows are some more tips—that don’t necessarily follow the “template” of the workout above—for those of you who may want to give this hybrid training a “go”.

If you’re a strength athlete—or are just more interested in being strong and powerful than just big—who has been doing full-body workouts, and wants to focus a little more on each bodypart (or lift), then at first just allow each day to be more of an emphasis on a particular bodypart, while maintaining the “structure” of the full-body workout.  Here’s an example:

Monday: Squat Emphasis

• Squats: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

• Walking Lunges: 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps (each leg)

• Barbell Hack Squats: 1 to 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps

• Overhead Presses: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

• Chins: 3 to 5 sets of max reps

Wednesday: Upper Body Emphasis

• Squats: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps (light)

• Bench Presses: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

• One-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Presses: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps (each arm)

• Parallel Bar Dips: 3 to 5 sets of max reps

• Chins: 3 to 5 sets of max reps

Friday: Deadlift (or “Pull”) Emphasis

• Deadlifts: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

• Squats: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps (These should either be “light” or “medium”; using a weight in between what was used on Monday and Wednesday.)

• Romanian Deadlifts: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

• Flat Dumbbell Bench Presses: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

• Chins: 3 to 5 sets of max reps

This program is a good “gateway” program between a “typical” full-body workout and a conventional split routine.

Another method that you can employ is to keep the “emphasis” on a particular bodypart, but to not train all of the lifts for that bodypart back-to-back.  If we take the Monday workout above, then the workout would end up looking like this, for instance:

• Squats: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

• Barbell Overhead Presses: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

• Walking Lunges: 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps (each leg)

• Chins: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps

• Barbell Hack Squats: 1 to 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps

This is good if you want to save your energy for your leg exercises, and will also help to not make you quite as sore as you would be from the more conventional method, at least as far as soreness caused by lactic acid buildup.

If you’re mainly interested in building muscle mass on a hybrid FB/split program, then it’s perfectly fine to train with higher repetitions, as well.  The main thing with higher repetition training—and this really goes for full-body, split workouts, or hybrid training—is that a lot of lifters simply do too much because they are using lighter weights.  They mistakenly believe that more work is needed to make up for the lack of “poundage.”  Total workload—weights x sets x reps—is more important for determining the amount of work to do in a session.  This means that it can become very easy to do too much when it comes to high-rep training.

I hope this short post has helped give you a slightly different perspective, especially when it comes to what can be done with “full-body” workouts.  If there is interest, I will publish some more hybrid training routines.