Weightlifting is a very precise hobby, and any woman will want to make sure that she’s getting the proper workouts to get the physical results she wants.
This is where workout splits come in, because they help to strategically organize your workouts into specific parts of the body, so that each muscle group can get increased intensity and recovery time.
However, there are so many different workout splits for women to try that it can be difficult narrowing them down and finding what will work best for you.
Which is why we’ve done the work for you! In our handy guide below, we’ve got advice on a range of workout splits for women to try, whether they’re a beginner or more advanced.
What Is A Workout Split?
As we touched on in the intro, a workout split is when you divide your training sessions into different regions of the body, focusing only on a specific part or muscle group each time.
You’ll make these divisions across your workout week, only focusing on one muscle group on a certain day, before doing another one the next.
Naturally, there is loads of room for variation and personalization here, and there are lots of different ways that you can do a workout split program.
What Is The Benefit Of A Workout Split?
There are a handful of different reasons why it’s a good idea for a weightlifter to do a workout split.
For starters, following a workout split gives your muscle groups the time they need to recover between workouts.
Since you’ll only focus on one each day, and then not again that week, it’ll give each group time to recover and heal.
Recovery time is absolutely essential to the science of weightlifting and building muscle. In order to make your muscles grow, you’re actually tearing them in tiny ways every time you workout.
When you’re recovering after that, the tears are healing and growing back together, which is what makes your muscle fractionally bigger with every workout.
It’s when weightlifters don’t account for this and continue to work those same muscles without sufficient recovery time that injuries happen.
These injuries can be big or small, and those tiny muscle tears could even become bigger, which both hurts and sets you back on your weightlifting.
As a result, you need to make sure that your muscle groups are getting enough time to heal and recover, and that’s exactly what a workout split does for them.
On top of that, another benefit of a workout split is that it allows for a more intense workout on each muscle group, because they’re getting an increased amount of recovery time after.
This means that the muscle mass can be built quicker, but you need to ensure that you’re never overworking any specific muscle group.
Beginners – What’s A Good Workout Split?
If you’re a beginner with weight training, then you actually have a choice, because you can choose to either do a workout split or a full body workout.
The reason that a beginner can do a full body workout at this stage is because their muscles won’t be as exercised as experienced lifters, so the muscles need to be woken up and kicked into action for a bit.
Once you’re used to weight training, then you’ll be able to take on some workout splits.
An Upper And Lower Body Workout Split
The ideal workout split for a beginner is one that focuses on the upper and lower body areas. It helps to keep the workout simple and works on some key areas, and you can do it whatever order you want.
For example, you might spend the first day working out your lower body, then the second day on your upper body.
Then the third day sees a focus on cardio instead, before returning to the lower body on the fourth day, because it’s had a few days to recover.
Intermediate – What’s A Good Workout Split?
If you’ve got a bit more experience with weightlifting, and you’re at an intermediate level or nearing an advanced level, then there are different ways to do a workout split.
These involve a little more understanding of your body’s various muscle groups, rather than just grouping them as upper and lower body.
For example, you can focus on legs, your chest and biceps, or even the split of your back, shoulders, and triceps.
You can also throw abs, cardio, and calves into the mix. All the muscle groups are important, and you can split them how you want.
Another good workout split is push, pull, and legs. The push muscles are the upper body pushing muscles, such as the shoulders, chest, and triceps.
Meanwhile, the pull muscles are the upper body pulling muscles, like the back and the biceps.
Advanced – What’s A Good Workout Split?
If you’re at an advanced level of weightlifting, then you also have a range of workout splits you can choose from.
For example, a popular split for advanced lifters has legs and glutes as the focus of day one, the chest for day two, the back as day three, arms for day four, and shoulders on day five.
Each of these is an important group, and you’ll get a well-rounded workout by the end of the week, along with lots of recovery time since there are no repeats within the week.
On the other hand, you might like this workout split:
- Day One: Upper Body (Power)
- Day Two: Lower Body (Power)
- Day Three: Pause
- Day Four: Upper Body Hypertrophy
- Day Five: Lower Body Hypertrophy
The first two days focus on power, with lots of low rep working out, while the final two days focus on muscle growth, with lower volumes but higher reps.
Final Thoughts
Workout splits are a great idea for women weightlifters, because it allows lots of important muscle groups to get an intense workout, but also leaves lots of time for muscle recovery in between.