Everyone knows about leg day. The day you only do leg exercises like deadlifts, lunges, and leg machines. Somehow, it has gotten into the minds of every single person to do one or two muscle groups per workout session. Guess what? You’re probably missing out on some gains if you’re the casual gym-goer.

Research suggest that a full body routine is more beneficial than a split routine. In one study, 20 college aged men with more than one year of resistance training experience either did a full or split routine. The volume of training was in the hypertrophy range, and their goal was to identify the impact of frequency. Overall, there was more improvement from the full body routine group than the split routine group. Measurement of improvement was defined by muscle thickness via ultrasound and 1-RM strength. (https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2015/07000/Influence_of_Resistance_Training_Frequency_on.8.aspx)

So why is it that if you go into a gym, the casual population is doing a split style program? It’s because the people who are jacked and aesthetically pleasing do that type of training. There are two ways to get to that level: steroids and years of consistency (and progression). Split style routines are best utilized by individuals who are on anabolic steroids because they can constantly be in a state of growth. They can pick up a pencil and be building muscle. People who are considered advanced can also utilize split routines to break out of a plateau, but normally cannot maintain it long term. Sadly it’s easier to take steroids than to do the little things everyday, and with the way social media works, people will fall trap to influencers who tout split routines. This is not the answer.

Full routines are beneficial to the casual population in many ways. For one, you’ll hit your muscles more frequently. The protein synthetic rate can be elevated for up to 48 hours after a bout of resistance exercise. So this leads to my next point, resistance training will frequently give your body more chances to grow by being in a state of anabolism. If you hit your muscle group one time per week, you’ll reap the benefits of protein synthesis one time per week instead of potentially 3 times per week. The worst part about splits is that if you have low motivation, you’ll probably skip the day that lines up with the body part you hate working out the most (I’m looking at you frat dudes and chicken leg hulks).

The casual population should use a full body routine instead of a split routine. The only time someone should use a split routine is if they only have 15-20 minutes to lift. In that case you should squat or deadlift, or do mobility work (assuming you’re healthy).