GLEN TITHER HEALTH & FITNESS ARTICLES
Website: www.gtpersonaltrainer.co.uk
Email: glen@gtpersonaltrainer.co.uk
OPTIMUM BODY PART SPLIT FOR SUPERIOR TRAINING RESULTS
Split your body parts the smart way for optimum effectiveness.
For years people in gyms, all over the world, have been splitting their training workouts into the following:
Workout 1: Back & Biceps
Workout 2: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
Workout 3: Legs
However,
if you study the muscle groups more carefully, there is a much better
split to be had that will isolate each muscle group in turn and promote
better muscle development.
You will be working the assisting muscles,
and many of the fixator muscles, twice; once in isolation (agonist /
prime mover) and a second time when assisting other muscle groups
(synergist).
For example, if you split the Back and Biceps and work
them on separate days you will exercise the biceps the first time as
assisting muscles when working the large back muscle, then a second time
when being worked in isolation.
There are four different roles that a muscle fulfil; a good example to explain these roles is the bicep curl:
1. Agonist:
The
agonist in a movement is the muscle(s) that provides the major force to
complete the movement. Because of this agonists are known as the
‘prime movers’. In the bicep curl, which produces flexion at the elbow,
the biceps muscle is the agonist.
The agonist is not always the
muscle that is shortening (contracting concentrically). In a bicep curl
the bicep is the agonist on the way up when it contracts
concentrically, and on the way down when it contracts eccentrically.
This is because it is still the prime mover in both cases.
2. Antagonist:
The
antagonist in a movement refers to the muscles that oppose the
agonist. During elbow flexion where the bicep is the agonist, the
tricep muscle is the antagonist.
While the agonist contracts enabling the movement to occur, the antagonist typically relaxes so as not to impede the agonist.
The
antagonist doesn’t always relax though, another function of antagonist
muscles can be to slow down or stop a movement. We would see this if
the weight involved in the bicep curl was very heavy; when the weight
was being lowered from the top position the antagonist, tricep muscle,
would produce a sufficient amount of tension to help control the
movement as the weight lowers. This helps to ensure that gravity doesn’t
accelerate the movement causing damage to the elbow joint at the bottom
of the movement.
The tricep becomes the agonist, and the bicep
the antagonist, when the elbow extends against gravity such as in a
press-up, a bench press, a tricep pushdown, a tricep extension etc.
3. Synergist:
The
synergist in a movement is the muscle(s) that stabilises a joint around
which movement is occurring, which in turn helps the agonist function
effectively. Synergist muscles also help to create the movement. In
the bicep curl the synergist muscles are the brachioradialis and
brachialis which assist the biceps to create the movement and stabilise
the elbow joint.
4. Fixator:
The fixator in a movement is the
muscle(s) that stabilises the origin of the agonist and the joint that
the origin spans (moves over) in order to help the agonist function most
effectively.
In the bicep curl this would be the rotator cuff
muscles within the deltoids (shoulders). The majority of fixator muscles
are found working around ball and socket joints e.g the hip and
shoulder joints.
Using the information above, an example of a more effective workout split would be:
Workout 1: Trapezius & Shoulders
Workout 2: Chest & Biceps
Workout 3: Back & Triceps
Workout 4: Legs (Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes & Calves)
Taking
Workout 1 for example, whilst working the large muscles of the
shoulders you are also working the synergist muscles of the triceps and
the antagonist muscles of the biceps, together with the fixator muscles
of the rotator cuff.
Therefore, to get the most out of your muscles,
rather than group the shoulders and triceps together, by splitting them
up you get to isolate them on different workout days. What follows
should be better muscle development.
This 4 workout split is just an
example, if you have more time, or exercise on 5 or more days, you can
obviously split it down even further e.g. split the legs into their
muscle groups (Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Gluteals, Calves).
