💥 BUILD MUSCLE - BURN FAT... 💥
... more efficiently (IMHO)
So here's my take on strength training and splits, as it relates to a woman in midlife/perimenopause/menopause.
✔ We need more recovery.
✔ We need muscle fatigue (not more more more of things that add to overall stress).
✔ We need to factor in ALL the other things we are doing with the need to get effective/efficient workouts in.
That all said, my answer for "Splits vs. Total Body Days" is...
Total Body Strength workouts 2-3 times a week!!!
WHY? A full body workout is a workout which exercises all of your muscles in one session. It’s a great way to build strength and burn calories, particularly for those who only have time to workout 2-3 times per week OR for women busy juggling so many things, already on the edge of some degree of adrenal fatigue who will basically ADD more to hormone imbalance by trying to workout most days of the week.
FULL BODY OR SPLIT WORKOUT?
A split workout plan involves targeting separate muscle groups on different days, for example an upper body and a lower body workout, or you can also split your routine up by different movement patterns, such as push and pull.
The best way to build muscle and strength is to work out each muscle group 2-3x a week. (Another win for my answer).
While split workouts are a great way to really target individual muscle groups, depending on the split, it can require a person to workout 4-6 times per week. This isn’t feasible for everyone, and for beginners particularly working out this often can be very tiring! Not to mention for women in midlife we need to DUMP STRESS not add to it!
More is NOT more at this point!
Full body workouts typically burn more calories per session than split workouts, so if you’re overall goal is fat loss or simply maintaining your current weight, these can be a better solution.
SO WHEN A SPLIT WORKS?
If you're a more advanced weight lifter (not light weights and high rep bootcamp type workouts) OR a bodybuilder or physique competitor looking to hone in and fine tune various muscle groups for symmetry split workouts 4-5x a week may be beneficial.
Here's a great dumbbell total body workout idea:
10-20 reps of each. Keep rest minimal (unless you are going reps less than 10 and very heavy). 3 rounds.
Single arm snatch to reverse lunges
Pulsing dumbbell goblet squats
Single leg romanian deadlifts
Dumbbell skier swings
Dumbbell push press
NOTE: The heavier you lift, the less reps. The more beginner, the lower the weight the higher the reps I'd start with.
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