Split or Full?Is full body strength training or split muscle group strength training better?  This is a question as old as time, or at least as old as body building.  If strength training is a new concept for you than these 2 different training methodologies are probably pretty foreign, however, if you have been strength training for a while then you have likely heard this debated.  This would be especially true if you are interested in body building or physique sculpting.  In the most basic terms a full body strength workout is exactly what it sounds like – doing strength exercises that train the entire body such as squat-presses, power cleans, pull-ups, deadlifts, rows, push-ups, etc.  A split muscle group program, on the other hand, actually has the exerciser focusing on just 1 or 2 muscle groups per workout.  Depending on the number of days per week the individual will be able to train would help define the split program.  For example a 4 day per week split might have the individual train opposing muscle groups in super sets (no rest) where their chest and back could be on day 1, their legs on day 2, their biceps and triceps on day 3, and their shoulders and abs on day 4.  This is just 1 example of many different combinations of splits that could be used. Advantages of Full BodyEfficiency is one advantage of a full body workout.  If you struggle to get more than 3 workouts in per week it really is a good way to go.  Also if you miss a day in a split routine then the muscle groups that were to be targeted in that particular workout would get missed that week. With a full body workout you hit all your muscle groups each session so even if you miss a workout you will have recently just targeted those muscles and will be hitting them again in the next session.You likely will burn more calories with a full body workout.  Since the full body workouts tend to include large compound movements like squat-presses and pull-ups, the average heart rate will be higher and more calories will be burned than a typical split group program.Another advantage of full body workouts is the possibility of improved hormone regulation.  Research shows that full body workouts can boost testosterone levels higher and lower cortisol levels as compared to a split group routine. More muscular size.  Yes I was surprised when I learned this too!  A research study that was looking at muscular adaptations in well trained men found that that muscular size actually increased more with a full body program than a split program.  This makes us consider whether more total volume on a muscle group may be easier to achieve in a full body program.  This particular study looked at forearm size which you could argue is not representative of whether adding muscular size to all the muscle groups is more likely with full body programming.  It would be interesting to see similar research that looked at measurements on the lower leg, upper leg, chest, upper arm, etc. My TakeThe split methodology is popular with body builders and physique scultpers because this type of program allows for a high concentration of muscle breakdown and a large recovery period because only a few areas are being trained and usually only once per week, thus allowing for a good environment for hypertrophy or muscle growth.