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You’ve probably heard the expressions “keep your body guessing” and “hit a plateau.” These expressions both refer to the fact that our bodies adapt incredibly quic…
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This is one of my favorite articles of muscledog.  I am definitely going to try these splits to spice things up!!
 
Thanks Pete!!
 
Please share your favorite split?
 
I like the upper/lower body split and the push/pull split
 

thanks llulko! i’ve had great success with all of these different split styles at various points in my lifting progression, but gotta say that my favorite is the upper/lower split. i transitioned to those from my first full body workouts and they really kicked my ass. i saw some of my best gains on that program.

I’ve done a lot of specialization work focusing on one body part at a time. Workouts are really intense and you can shorten your workouts by a good chunk of time.
I’ve never thought of splitting the workouts into pushing exercises and pulling exercises, that’s an interesting idea. I might have to try that one.

i’m a big fan of the opposites split. you can get really jacked up supersetting exercises and going back and forth really quickly between exercises working opposing muscle groups.i’ve also tried the front-back split but i didn’t like that one as much as some of the others.

i saw one cooky workout routine where the guy split his body in half between his left and right sides. he split bulgarian style squats, pushups, even pull-ups. it looked pretty intense but i think that would be really advanced and only for the most hard-core lifters.

can anyone think of a split that could utilize olympic lifts?

jon, olympic lifts are a bit tricky to fit into splits since they are such full body lifts and splits by nature are more part specific focused.

you could probably throw cleans or snatches into the push-pull split as part of the pulling workout, and maybe throw jerks/thrusters or overhead presses in with the pull workout.

You could even break it up to be power variations (meaning you catch the weight without really squatting under it) of the Olypmic lifts as a pulling day and full squat lifts as a pushing day.
Or
You could make the lifts more complicated and add in additional components like a clean pull + power clean as a pulling day to give you a more pulling dominant workout, and say a clean + front squat + push press for a pushing dominant type workout.
Endless possibilties really….

Hitting a plateau is synonomous with becoming complacent. To maximize your strength learn to push through comfort zones as painful as they may be. Never guess at anything or think variety is your answer to becoming more proficient at your discipline or goal. Consistency in your performance “meaning train more than the next guy” and the diligence to continue challenging yourself are vital in finding out how strong you can be. These periods of comfort can last for a long time if you let them and sometimes it just takes longer than you think to achieve uncommon gains. Thats the most important trait “change your mental strength,” and the physical will follow.
In regards to becoming bigger and increasing your muscular size experience has taught me its not that your not training enough but your more than likely not eating enough. If you are trying to pack on more muscle you must change your diet from eating like a boy to having the appetite of a lion. Eat meat , drink water , lift heavy , and sleep well. The tried and true are most often your best answers. If you think you are eating enough I’ll tell you without even knowing you, your not.