Stronglifts or split routine [Article]

Stronglifts or split routine

Stronglifts and split routines are very popular to get stronger and bigger. I recommend full body routines like Stronglifts for beginners until they have the discipline to hit the gym four times a week. Based on personal goals these four days can be formed into an impactful split routine.

What are your goals

Why do you compare Stronglifts and a split routine? What do you want to achieve? Did you already ask your peers and personal trainer about the differences? Maybe you want to get bigger? Maybe you want to be stronger? Whatever it is that brought you here, make sure it is focused. Clear goals get you clear results. Fussy goals get you fussy results. When I meet someone new to fitness this is where I spent the most time. Know your why as everything else springs from that. Usually, I find these three main interests:

Looks
Performance
Health

If you are all about looks you have a hard time ahead of you. Looking like the rock or Thor is no easy task. Be prepared to be hungry, tired and annoyed to achieve the perfect physique. Diet will be the main success factor to achieve your goals. Your choices might not be always healthy or gain the best performance on the pitch. But that is not important as long as you look the part.

If performance is your main goal you are all about personal records. You want to get on the podium and beat the competition. The exercises you choose will be picked based on the carry over to your sport. Intensity will be the main driver of success. You will push yourself to breaking point on a regular basis. Diet merely becomes a fuel for your ambition, but not the deciding factor. Your choices will not always be healthy or make you look pretty. But hey you can put another marker down on the white board.

The last group is all about health. Your main interest is the balance. You want to feel good and not stress about your physique or results. He extremes are avoided and you coast in the middle ground. This might not make you the prettiest or most competitive. The good thing is you also don’t care.

As you are comparing Stronglifts with a split routine you must likely lean towards looks or performance. Most likely looks. If you have not done so yet I would encourage you to spent a weekend to decide to which group you belong and why you think that is. Saying that all three are equally important gets you nowhere based on my experience.

Stronglifts

Stronglifts is one of the most popular programs to develop strength and muscle at the same time. You will train three times a week performing the following exercises:

Barbell squat
Barbell deadlift
Barbell bench press
Barbell overhead press
Barbell row

All exercises will be performed at 5 repetitions for five sets except the deadlift. The deadlift will be done once a week for 1x5 repetitions. You will squat every workout and rotate all other exercises. When you complete 5x5 you will increase the weight the next workout. If you don’t complete the repetitions more than three workouts you deload.

The main advantages of Stronglifts 5x5 are its low entry point and clear progression. Beginners will start with an empty bar and quickly progress to considerable weights within a clear structure. I have found no better program for beginners with interest in developing strength and muscle.

The biggest disadvantages of Stronglifts are its lack of specificity and focus. Stronglifts prescribes the same approach for everyone. If you are very small and weak or very big strong you will be training suboptimally. The smaller group should start with less than 20kg resistance. The big guns should consider to go after it harder than Stornglifts prescribes. As Stronglifts takes the middle road between strength and muscle growth you can expect impressive results in either direction. You will get better results if you concentrate fully on strength or muscle.

Split routine

There are more split routines out there than I can in a lifetime. The basic principle of a split routine is that you focus on one body area per day. This where the gym jargon comes from like:

Leg day
chest day
Back day
Arms day

And whatever you can come up with. Split routines are common for bodybuilders. It has the advantage that you can overwork the targeted muscle groups in one session.

The advantages of split routines are the high focus and obvious results. When you hone in on one specific muscle group you will know that you have done work in that area. You will feel the pump. This makes it easier for you to identify whether you are progressing or not. If you measure the inches of your biceps before and after a session you will always see results.

The biggest disadvantages of split routines are the time they take and isolation. If you go for a split routine you usually need the entire week to train your body. If you miss a session the particular has not been trained for the week. While isolating exercises is good for muscle growth it can have a negative impact on how your body functions in a unit. If you are all about sports performance you might want to reconsider splits.

Should you do Stronglifts or a split routine

I would lean towards Stronglifts for beginners. However, I have a heavy bias towards strength training vs packing on muscle. That might not be in your interest del ding on your goals. Even if you are more about bodybuilding I would recommend to start with something a bit more balanced and less complex. Start with cardio if you want to lose weight. Focus on your diet if you want to gain muscle. Once you have these bits down establish a routine of training your entire body four times a week. When you hit that consistently go into changing he days to dedicated days in a split routine. There is no use having a four day split routine if you do not have the discipline to go to the gym four times a week.