Favorite Training Split/Style?

You have more years of training experience than me so it feels weird to reply. But… I think a useful analogy might be putting gasoline into a diesel car. Let’s say you are doing a bro-split that has you doing 4x8 in the bench press. How you execute those reps are going to have a significant impact on injury potential IMHO.

But, I don’t really know anyone doing any sport at an age beyond youth where not something is perpetually creaky and demands repeat visits to a physio. Martial artists, climbers, gymnasts, weightlifters. Everyone I know that trains to improve at something has the scars to show for it as it were.

2 Likes

This is why the actual layout of the Bro Split (no negative connotation) and the exercise selection are important. On the common 4 way, work everything once a week scheme I was getting better up and having joint issues.

Then I went to a 6 way split like James Brawn layed out above. Having the body split up in to more separate days allowed me to go longer between individual workouts without having to stay out of the gym completely. Like “chest days” or “quad day” comes up every week and a half instead of every week.

Doing other stuff like having “Bicep workout A” where you do 3 bicep moves and “Bicep Workout B” where you do 3 different moves also really helps prevent overuse and keeps the joints balanced too.

That’s not to say your style is bad, or talk you out of it or anything.

2 Likes

In action, I fall right in line with your style of exercise (now). I beat myself up the most with a conjugate plan, and bro split was probably when I made my best gains with virtually no injury to speak of.

All that being said, the above is kind of a timeline starting from most to least recent, and my attitude, activity level, recovery abilities-everything really- has changed.

It kinda is, but then some of these things and worse happen anyways too. Two of my brothers at 51 & 52 have all of the back, knee, shoulder stuff to a much greater extent but have never really exercised regularly through their adult lives.

1 Like

I honestly think it’s a case of using different language to say the same thing.

Here’s my bench workout

Incline DB bench for 3 sets

Flat bench for 3 sets

Incline swiss bar bench for 3 sets

Dips for 3-5 sets

Powerlifters and strongman see it and go “Oh: bench day”. Bodybuilders and bros see it and go “Oh: chest day”. My deadlift day is someone else’s back day. Squat day is leg day, etc.

I’ll differ in terms of exercise selection and programming a bit. I use giant sets, the reverse hyper and atlas stones make appearances, but ultimately I focus on one or 2 muscle groups in a workout and hammer it, then come back a week later and repeat.

2 Likes

How conjugate is not everyone’s answer is beyond me. The only problem is making it work haha but in terms of having a good time training, it’s hard to go past

I never got the dynamic effort work to mean anything for me. That’s what drew me away.

It’s hard to give an answer unless you describe what you were doing. The terms “bro splits” and “bodybuilding training” have different meanings depending on where you get your info from.

When I read about someone doing “typical bodybuilding style” training online(not talking about you, of course), I usually see excessive volume while training to failure and overuse of intensity methods without the appropriate exercise selection and/or sequencing.

My “typical bodybuilding style” training can be something like this(I don’t normally do the same thing every week):

A. Incline Bench
Pyramid/ ramp up to one or 2 heavy set(s) 6-10 reps. (Technical failure. Will do assisted reps if I have a good spotter). Either 2 top sets or 1 top set plus 1 back off set.

B. Decline Dumbbell Bench
Pyramid up to 2 heavy set(s) of 6-10 reps. Failure is when I can’t get the dumbbells past 3/4 of the way up, i.e, not forcing the lockout. May do a dropset if I get less than 6 on the last set.

C. Low Incline Smith Machine Bench Press (lower to near the clavicle area, mid 2/3 range of motion)

Either: Work up to something that’s hard for 12 reps, then add 5kg per set until i fail to get at least 6 reps. Dropset after that.

Or: Multiple sets of 6-8 reps with the same weight focusing on max acceleration and the contraction at the top until enough fatigue is accumulated. Could be around 6 sets.

D. Side Raises
3-5 sets of 8-12 reps
Depends on how well I’m feeling my delts being activated. If it’s a good day, I just ramp up to something heavy in small weight increments and do a dropset.

E. Smith Machine Behind-the-neck Press
Pyramind/ ramp up to 1 or 2 topsets of 8-10 reps

F. Seated Rear Delt Raises
Same as Side Raises

It’s hard to write all these out and it’s looks kinda complicated but really it’s not. The above is just kind of a record of ONE session I just FELT like doing, and a brief description of my thought process, when I hit the gym.

3 Likes

I was going to write something, less cleverly, with similar intent.

Look how similar your bench day is to @dt79’s “bodybuilding” day he independently posted just two posts later.

At some point, there’s just an amount of work most of us will settle on. Let’s just go Pareto principle and say we’ll see 80% overlap in our “discovery” of what works.

I’m currently into the concept of “the illusion of choice” and “it takes what it takes” (coined by Trevor Moawad and popularized by Russell Wilson and Nick Saban). I think that applies here - we think there’s a billion ways to do this, but, when we boil it down, we’re pretty much doing the same thing.

1 Like

3 day a week… 4 lift rotation

Squat with dedicated assistance work
Bench same as above more volume on triceps lower intensity

Pull day… with a dedicated upper back day

Ohp day… heavier tricep work and some odds and end thrown in.

5 Likes

Day 1 - Squat, bench, overhead press movement

Day 2 - Deadlift, supplemental bench movement, supplemental squat movement

Day 3 - Supplemental squat movement, supplemental bench movement, supplemental deadlift movement

Day 4 - Accessory work (mostly back)

1 Like