THE SPLIT IS THE DIFFERENCE

Monday to us is the start of the week where new possibilities and opportunities await to get in AMRAP as many reps as possible in all areas of our lives.

In the life of a traditional gym goer you may hear monday is international chest day. What they're referring to is a training split where monday starts with them training chest.

A training split is a framework used to determine what we train, when we train, where we train, and how we train.

A training split is designed to aid in an optimal approach that improves adherence, and stress regulation to keep progress going towards our goals.

As a coach my job is to provide tools and systems that help tailor programs that best suite my clients needs to reach their goals. My process for progress is 3 questions I use to put the split all together.

The first question I ask is worst case scenario how many times a week are you committed to training?

I ask about the worst case scenario because usually when chaos ensues the gym gets pushed to the back of the priority list. This question paints the most honest and authentic picture of my clients week. We want to write out an accurate training splits that match our clients lifestyle.

This leads to our second question when it comes to training splits.

What are your training goals?

Too many times a training split doesn't match up with the clients lifestyle. We want to use the proper implementation and modalities that bias our clients goals. This question helps gather information about if our client trains at a gym or at home.

We can find out about the equipment limitations they have, and what our client is already currently doing.

Our third question we ask is about pin points or anchors in our clients lives.

What do you do for a living/ what is your busiest days?

We can get a better understanding of the stressors our clients are exposed to. We can find out the time of day they're up or going to bed. Which days they're under the most time constraints.

After we find out these important answers we can develop a program that puts lower stress training sessions on higher stress days to help manage their nervous system.

At the end of the day we create training splits to help optimize training, while addressing stress management. Below is a sample split of what my wife and I are doing to prepare for a marathon in April-27-2024

Monday-

-max effort lower strength

-high c.n.s/ high force

Tuesday -

-recovery run

-Aerobic capacity work

-low c.n.s/force

Wednesday-

-upper body pump/hypertrophy

-low c.n.s

-moderate force

-high volume

Thursday-

-max effort run

-Aerobic power

-high/stimulation

-low c.n.s

Friday-

-Max effort upper/strength

High c.n.s/force

Saturday-

-recovery run

-mobility

Sunday-

-off

This is a great balance between our strength and our conditioning work, while meeting the demands of our busy schedules.

Another example could look like this for a client training only 2x a week.

Monday -

-total body with an upper emphasis

Tuesday -

-off

Wednesday -

-off

Thursday-

-total body with a lower body emphasis

Friday/ Saturday/ Sunday-

-off

This split is simple an effective for someone who can only commit to training 2x a week. This split still provides them with a good stimulus without pressing the client beyond their means.

Whatever the training split is, it needs to be forged with your best interest in mind. The 3 questions I provided create a clear and concise skeleton that builds an optimal training split for the long haul.

The only way to see progress is continuing to get our reps in with minimal set backs. Your goal is a gift, and our goal at structured strength systems is to provide systems and structures that guide you on your journey.

Training with a split keeps you going with a sense of purpose and direction. Keep getting your reps in amrap as many reps as possible.

-coach Austin Structured strength Systems -