Total body versus Splits

Vegeta

Hey all looking for your helpful advice

Started lifting weights at xmas and made some great gains in weight, strength and appearance. Bench, squat and deadlift all improved (nowhere near where i'd like to be but I am going in the right direction)

Anyway got food poisoning at work which destroyed me. Dehydrated, sick for a few days and out of gym for a while. Lost a bit of motivation, strength and weight.

Have been lifting again for a month now and I am about to start a serious program. So as a relative newbie which do you think I would benefit more from a total body workout ala

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=C05AE32CA581D30D02E4873218A6A737.titan?id=508031&pageNo=0

or a split.

Now i realise its different for different people but I as a newcomer which would suit me best do you think (assuming diet is spot on and resting enough)

Veg

agentgreen

I was doing a TBT and seeing good return, but this BB guy in the gym put me on a spilt routine and I'm in bits, more so than with the TBT, which I think is good... But read a TBT is better for a beginner...

The FitnessDock

"Started lifting weights at xmas and made some great gains in weight, strength and appearance. Bench, squat and deadlift all improved (nowhere near where i'd like to be but I am going in the right direction)"

You were doing exactly what you need to be doing - keep it up!! Concentrate on getting stronger in big lifts like the benchpress, deadlift and squat.

I highly recommend you check out this site:- http://www.hardgainer.com/

Stuart McRobert is the Editor of "Brawn" - he recommends whole body routines, even for advanced trainees. Until you're as big as you want to be, I'd recommend you stay away from split programs.

Vegeta

well that looks like 2 for the TB program

Vinnie K

I do a total body and find it great, i a newbie too but ive seen great gain over the past couple months. Out of curiosity when your doing a total body workout, how long do you be in the gym for?

Sangre

As long as you eat well and push yourself in the gym it probably doesn't matter which route you go.

Edit - as a weights noob I recently started off on a split.

BossArky

I find it awkard to do a split session. My gym is so packed that whenever a bench or machine becomes free I have to grab it and cannot be choosey.

Therefore, I usually do a TB. I also find it handy to do arms, chest, etc, then superset with legs or another body part.

Vegeta

I bought a rack and weights off Mickk here so I have no issues like that but I know what you're saying, was a member of a gym and waiting around for equipment drove me nuts

I think I am going to give the total body program a go anyway. Its 8 weeks and I'll see what happens.

I can only imagine doing squats deads and bench all in one night. my god i'll be wrecked

agentgreen

burntCornlake wrote:

I do a total body and find it great, i a newbie too but ive seen great gain over the past couple months. Out of curiosity when your doing a total body workout, how long do you be in the gym for?

When I was doing the TBT I was in the gym for an hour and a half to 2 hours.

Spilts a good bit shorter, but I tend to work faster and more intense on the split, don't ask me why.

BrianD3

Seeing as you have your own equipment including a cage, I'd be inclined to do a split. But not a bodypart split, more a lifts split with a small number of compound lifts done most/all days in the week. I find that lifting everyday keeps the endorphins and enthusiasm up. Also if you miss a session due to Real Life it's no big deal whereas if you miss one of 3 full body sessions in a week that's 1/3 of your week gone.

Above all do a programme that you enjoy and that doesn't wreck you, do compound lifts, eat and sleep well and you're flying.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Hanley

Sangre wrote:

As long as you eat well and push yourself in the gym it probably doesn't matter which route you go.

Edit - as a weights noob I recently started off on a split.

Agree with both statements.

Hanley

I think T-nation is responsible for this recent TBT craze.

The worlds biggest and strongest guys have trained using splits for the last forever and it hasn't done them any harm. I don't see why people now think TBT is the way to go (and yes before anyone says it I'm very much aware sheiko falls into the latter category)

Sangre

I find with body splits you're more aware of missing sessions. I can't just skip my legs session one week because of real life or they won't have been worked for 2 weeks.

I think T-nation is responsible for this recent TBT craze.

Could them being different for the sake being different. Wow, look at me! I'm so retro its NEW.

Hanley

Sangre wrote:

Could them being different for the sake being different. Wow, look at me! I'm so retro its NEW.

T-nation?? Of course they wouldn't...




YEAH RIGHT!!

That's the whole basis of the website. They write complicated sounding programs and dress them up before acting like it's the ONLY way to build muscle. And if you don't have biotest supps to then you're completely screwed.

/sarcasm

Leon11

personally I find TBT better when I'm playing rugby, 2-3 sessions depending on rugby schedule.

I was doing a 2 day split (2 upper and 2 lower) up until 2 weeks ago and made some great gains on it. I get doms a lot worse through split training. Maybe because your zoning in doing compounds followed by isolations etc.

Started off a new phase of TBT but lasted 2 sessions because of groin prob. I've done s.f.a since last wed because I wouldn't be able to complete a decent session so that's definitely the downside to doing them*

To the OP I would say go with TBT for a while just to up the poundage on your big lifts.

*I could have done all upper body work but I decided to just be a lazy ****e!

nesf

Hanley wrote:

The worlds biggest and strongest guys have trained using splits for the last forever and it hasn't done them any harm. I don't see why people now think TBT is the way to go (and yes before anyone says it I'm very much aware sheiko falls into the latter category)

Do you mean splits as a progression from the basic deadlift/squat/bench after a few months of training or to start with splits?

Hanley

Well I sincerly doubt the first 6 months of training for any powerlifter or bodybuilder is indicative to what they might achieve in later years, thus it really doesn't matter. I would imagine tho that the majority start with a squat (aka legs) day, bench (aka chest and arms) day and deadlift (aka back) day.

Hell, some of the strongest guys I know STILL train that way. We're talking 300+kg squatters and 220+ benchers, so for people to kick back and say TBT is the way to go when they've never really been around world class strength and seen how it is developed is just a little bit ridic imo!

I guess I have an unique insight tho training with who I do. It probably comes accross as arrogance tho at times since things must people question just seem so self evident now.

Degsy

Hanley wrote:

T-nation?? Of course they wouldn't...




YEAH RIGHT!!

That's the whole basis of the website. They write complicated sounding programs and dress them up before acting like it's the ONLY way to build muscle. And if you don't have biotest supps to then you're completely screwed.

/sarcasm

http://www.t-nation.com/onlineStore.jsp
Look at these feckin supplements..i mean c'mon,whatever happened tp steak and eggs??

Beelzebub

Vegeta wrote:

Hey all looking for your helpful advice

Started lifting weights at xmas and made some great gains in weight, strength and appearance. Bench, squat and deadlift all improved (nowhere near where i'd like to be but I am going in the right direction)

Anyway got food poisoning at work which destroyed me. Dehydrated, sick for a few days and out of gym for a while. Lost a bit of motivation, strength and weight.

Have been lifting again for a month now and I am about to start a serious program. So as a relative newbie which do you think I would benefit more from a total body workout ala

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=C05AE32CA581D30D02E4873218A6A737.titan?id=508031&pageNo=0

or a split.

Now i realise its different for different people but I as a newcomer which would suit me best do you think (assuming diet is spot on and resting enough)

Veg

What are your goals in this regard?