Full Body vs Bro Split vs Push Pull Legs

In this video, I discuss the merits of the full body routine vs the bro split. Which is best for aesthetic muscle building? Which is best for functional strength and power?

The argument goes that a full body routine will build more muscle by increasing gene activation through frequency, testosterone and growth hormone. It lends itself better to more compound exercises/functional training and it increases the heart rate.

But a 'bro split' will allow more intensity on specific muscle groups, creating more muscle damage and metabolic stress, followed by long periods of recovery to encourage hypertrophy. There simply isn't time in the day to train this intensively any other way.

So which is best? How about a third option: PPL...

[lankymcgainsplease]

I use push pull legs twice per week. One push workout is slightly more chest focused and one is slightly more shoulder focused, one pull workout is slightly more upper back focused and one is slightly more lower back focused, and one leg workout is slightly more quad focused and one is slightly more ham focused. I really enjoy this because I get frequency and I get to focus on one muscle at a time

[daniell]

For me, PPL is goat. I train 6x week and feeling great!

[unknownseizure]

I like doing full body, it gives me a lot of time to work on other skills and types of training on the rest days

[pasajerodelabrujula]

Hopefully you can do a video on how important it is to have healthy thoughts. Thoughts create energy in us and we often tend to feel the things we think. How we feel can be a huge factor to how well we train.
I hope you can put together a video on the mindset to have strong channeled energy.
Thanks for your videos they are very helpful.

[darkwolf]

I favor push, pull, legs. I tried full body, but I feel the exercise selection with a ppl split is far greater

[heitorborges]

Greatings from Brazil! You're an absolute inspiration.

It's been 2 year with trial and error with calisthenics and after all this time i got to the routine that Works best for me (time and result wise).
I do PPL, but in 6 Sessions/week, and each session takes about 40 min (i do 3~4min rests).
The catch is that you have to understand How your body respond to the exercise, so, for example, for a group of muscles (the Sessions of the day) i do n sets of n diferent exercise. And since the Sessions arent Very long, i dont get so mentally fatigued ☺️

Something like:
Vertical Pulls
Sholder push Focus
Quads focus
Horizontal Pulls
Tríceps push Focus
Hamstring focus

[liamshandy]

Full body is great for busy dads. If you're only hitting a body part once per week, a busy dad is certain to regularly miss training sessions, possibly not working that part again for several days.

[TheLockon]

The knocks most people have against bro splits can be misleading if the lifter in question includes compounds lifts. If you do some of bench press on arms day, some sort of overhead press on shoulder days, deadlifts on back day and squats on legs day then you are working each major muscle group (legs, upper and lower back, chest, shoulders, bis and tris) twice a week.


So you really aren't training each muscle group just once a week, but are giving each group one day where you really work them hard.

[Suplex]

I feel like full body is the best for functional training

[elfxdragon]

Different types of workouts for different body types with different goals. Experiment and see what works. Good video, Adam!

[mofath]

i do PPL and Agonist/Antagonist..
Monday : Push (Chest & Shoulder & Triceps)
Tuesday : Pull (Back & Biceps)
Wednesday : Legs (Quadriceps & Hamstring & Glutes & Calves)
Thursday : Shoulder & Biceps & Triceps
Friday : Chest & Back

Abs exercise put on Tuesday & Thursday

[dwilliams]

Thank you! Finally an answer for the split or full question... BOTH! why didn't I think of that. Wasn't sure if doing both would hurt gains.

[setyajid]

Monday : fullbody
Tuesday : fullbody
Wednessay : rest
Thursday : fullbody
Friday : cardio
Saturday : fullbody
Got impressive in my strength

[AK_.]

I currently work out 3x a week. Day 1 (Upper), Day 2 (Lower) and Day 3 (Full Body).

[magnusemeritus]

I have lately focused on martial arts, full body strength training and practical cardio (I take the bike anywhere I go). I have been going too hard. I have been burned out for a few days. Now I watch videos about working out. The irony! I miss working out more than my actual body does!

[HighValueMan]

I like this dude. Just seems like a very pleasant brother

[bluesyace]

I tried full body and quit after a couple weeks, went to the gym and the trainer basically made me do a split routine because I had no idea what to do and I quit after a month, now I do push pull legs(by mostly calisthenics and for weights I use things like filling buckets with water) and now I actually look forward to the next day after finishing one day, and never thought I'd say this but I actually hate rest days because I feel incomplete if I don't do exercises of some sort daily which is why I go for a light jog/do hosuework/do yoga on rest days, and I think its all because the concept of a PPL split really made sense to me and I also started seeing results pretty quick(about 3 weeks) after adapting this type of training, its been over 1 and half month now and I really enjoy working out, its cathartic to me

[Escanor]

Have done Full Body for over a year with calisthenics now, I got bigger (more fatty), less endurable, I was fatiqued all the time even when I did a workout every other day and put a rest day in there between. Now I did a upper/lower and felt much much better, gonna try PPL+1 Day Fullbody now. Still only 4 days of training but with more focus and the fullbody workout for endurance and waking up :D

[InsideIngenuity]

I like bro split the best. I know it’s not necessarily optimal but I enjoy it the most

[anthonymesa]

If you're doing a sport and have only three days for strength and conditioning I like to do a anterior chain focusing on bench squats and military press and some core and stability and grip training then a posterior chain day focusing on deadlift weighed pull ups and barbell row and then some core stability and glute focused excesorry work then my last day is a full body dumbbell/kettle bell and calisthenics day focusing on functional movement and excessory lifts with jumps and sprints