I wanted to share some thoughts on training programs that came from a recent team training session I had with our college team. I hope the information below will answer some of your questions and give some additional conditioning options for the remainder of your off-season and for your in-season training.

Training Splits vs. Full Body Lifts

I find the majority of my athletes train in a split format, meaning they break the body up into parts and assign each part, or muscle group, a specific day to train. Some popular examples include pairing chest and back, legs and core, and biceps with triceps. Volume is typically higher for each day since you may only train that area once per week. The higher volume can include a combination of multiple exercises per muscle group and higher sets.

In contrast, Full Body Lifts entail training the entire body in one session. So following a proper warm-up, the athlete will perform one or two lower body exercises, followed by chest, then back, arms, core, etc. Depending on the time of year and your training goals, you may even include more intense cardio in the same session such as High Intensity Interval Training.

My thoughts

Personally, I prefer to training in a Full Body format. This style allows for greater frequency of training per week, no muscle groups are neglected, natural hormone levels are elevated to a greater extent with Full Body training and this style allows for scheduling flexibility. This is particularly valuable and is one of the reasons why we used this format with the Kansas City Royals. Inclement weather, long bus rides and make up games allow for easy changes to the training schedule and in a worst case scenario, you can still train the entire body at least once per week. If you use a traditional split format and you have to miss a training day, you may not “hit” that particular area until the following week.

A recent study* looked at the amount of training or frequency of full body training required to create positive muscle changes (strength and growth). The researchers compared a low volume session, performed 4 times per week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) to a high volume session, performed 2 times per week (Monday, Thursday). The researchers found that there was no statistically significant difference in improvements of muscle strength / size and changes in body composition between both groups. What does this mean??.... You can train hard, with higher volume (sets/reps/exercises) twice per week and still get the same results. This allows for more time to devote to speed / agility, skill training, etc.

Below is an example of a full body, reciprocal superset or tri-sets circuit that I enjoy doing. I switch up exercises each training session to keep things fresh but the basic format is the same. I keep my rest periods short to add an additional metabolic demand, requiring the body to recover quicker and push through higher levels of fatigue and lactic acid, slowing increasing my lactate threshold.

SAMPLE Full Body Workout

Foam Roll
Treadmill 5-7 minute warm up
Treadmill Interval sprints; 30 second sprint – 30 second recovery run (1:1) x 20 minutes

Dumbbell Chest Press
Pull Ups
Plank Builders
:40 second rest
(X 5 sets)

Walking Lunges
Standing Push Press
Hanging Leg Raises
:40 second rest
(X 5 sets)

Overhead Tricep Extension
Dumbbell Hammer Curls
Resisted Crunch
:40 second rest
(X 5 sets)

Static Stretch Cooldown

*http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/apnm-2017-0575

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