Consumer Reports: Functional Training Vs Split Body Training

The stare down

Consumer Reports is a magazine that reviews products, and compares the top products in the same category on the market. This is what we are attempting to do today, although to shock you my initial thought was to rail against split body part training. I thought the better of it as that would be sticking my foot in my mouth, I previously trained using a double split training routine with much success. The truth of the matter is I like both systems and they both have their place. Some people envision it like a boxing or an MMA match. In the blue corner we have the old school lifters wearing spandex and doo rags with a deep V neck and in the red corner we have the new school lifters in white rimmed sunglasses board shorts with a Tough Mudder headband and Vibrams five fingers on! The inspiration for this article came from the fact that we as a fitness community need to move away from exclusionary practices, and need to educate each other on the merits of all the different training systems as they all have a place at the table. They are a way of reaching your goals, a training system does not define you so there is no need to tie yourself to the mast. I always ask friends and clients for things that interest them as far as blog topics go, this one came up and it peaked my interest as noted above. We are looking functional training and split body, we will define them look at the pros and cons of each on their own, then map out when or who would benefit to use either one. 

First up is functional training, to say this has become a hot button topic for fitness magazines and blogs alike is an understatement. I have read posts from Trainers and Coaches at the top of the game rail against functional training. One of them even went so far as to write a piece questioning what exactly is functional training. Lets look at the words in the phrase “functional” means of or serving a function, affecting physiology or psychological functions, used to contribute to the development or maintenance of a larger whole. If we look at the definition it would bear out that functional training is training that is function based, contributing to the development or maintenance of a larger whole. The general idea on what functional training is that its against single joint movements, using bands, plyometrics, balls and free weights. The pro’s of functional training is that it is adaptable to the untrained initiate or the person on the comeback, it allows us to work from a stable environment to progress to an unstable environment. A mainstay of functional training is the use of proprioception, which is the body’s ability to sense movement within joints and joint position. The unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself.  This is used in rehab settings to get the receptor nerves in muscle, bones and ligaments to sense tension and pass information onto the brain. This combined with physical therapy can be used to prevent re-injury. The cons are if you are looking to build size or raw strength this is not the system for you, if you have muscular imbalances compound exercises can reinforce compensatory patterns. Just remember you do not build strength on disfunction. 

Onto the split body training this is an old standby and can be broken out into many different versions. You can do a body part split, push pull split, upper/lower body split, the double split (train twice a day hitting body parts multiple times a week), or triple splits (something adopted by the Crossfit elite, training three times a day). This training style was used by the bodybuilders in the volume era like Arnold, Lou Ferrigno, and Frank Zane. It is still used in many gyms today, for most weightlifters its often the introduction into training. At one point I was doing a double split routine hitting body parts multiple times a week, I gained size and strength and had fun with that program. The pros of using a split routine are optimal for bodybuilding, easier to vary workouts, less fatigue allowing you to move greater loads, less chance of overtraining. The cons are muscle and strength imbalances, you can’t miss a training session, and calorie burned can be less than a full body workout.  The pros and cons listed for both can depend upon your experience, programming amongst other variables 

Michelangelo is quoted as saying ”I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” . This is applicable here in the fact that we need to see the angel in the marble before we pick up the chisel and the hammer. I am a believer in goal driven programming as much as I am a believer in periodization of training, we need variation to remain sane and to not only remain in the game but to continue progressing. It does not matter how great the diet or program is unless we know the goal or destination. That  being said if you are a fitness model, bodybuilder, an advanced lifter or someone who hates full body training then split routines are for you. If your an endurance athlete, a beginner, train three to four times per week or if you like to do intense fat burning workouts then a full body workout would be for you. Although if you want to get the best of both worlds the solution would be to either periodize to do 8-12 weeks full body and then 8-12 weeks split training, or split it day 1 functional upper body, day 2 functional lower body, day 3 off. Then on day 4 bodybuilding style upper body day 5 bodybuilding style lower body, day 6 cardio day 7 off.  The truth of the matter is that there is no functional versus split thats is what people have made up in their minds, don’t be weak minded find a place both can exist within in your program. On the 18th of August we will be looking at GMO’s, Wednesday we will look at anti-inflammatory diets, and on Friday it will be the 6 benefits of eating local farm produce and meats. Thank you for reading and please share this blog.