You may be under the impression that hitting chest on Mondays, and legs on Wednesdays is the gold standard for gains, but when it comes to fat loss, a full-body approach might be the smarter play. A new study from Brazil, published in the European Journal of Sport Science, has thrown some serious shade on the traditional split-body routine.
By comparing the effects of split versus full-body resistance training on fat loss, researchers have shed light on findings that could benefit our training efforts. It might be time to rethink your weekly split.
The Study
The study, published in the European Journal of Sport Science, aimed to compare the effectiveness of a full-body routine (where all muscle groups are trained each session) with a split-body routine (where muscle groups are isolated on specific days) in promoting fat mass loss in experienced lifters.
A secondary aim was to measure the levels of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in each group, as increased DOMS could reduce daily movement and reduce non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), potentially limiting fat loss results.
The Methods
The study’s methods included:
- 23 experienced lifters.
- The participants were either assigned to a full-body plan or a split-body plan. The full-body group trained all major muscle groups each session, while the split-body group focused on one or two body parts per day.
- Both groups trained 5 days a week for 8 weeks, with training volume matched (75 sets per week, 8-12 reps at 70-80% of 1RM).
Fat mass was assessed using DXA scans before and after the intervention. Participants maintained consistent diets throughout and consumed a post-workout whey shake to standardise protein intake. DOMS levels were also recorded at weeks 1, 4 and 8.
The Results
The full-body group showed significantly greater reductions in whole-body fat mass, as well as in regional areas such as the arms, legs, and hip/thigh areas. There was also a near significant trend for reduced abdominal fat in the full-body group.
Additionally, the full-body group reported consistently lower DOMS across all muscle groups – by up to 7.5 times in the lower body – suggesting they were less sore and potentially more active outside the gym.
What Does This Mean for Us?
For those of us focused on getting lean without sacrificing strength and muscle gain, the study clearly indicates that full-body training might be our best bet. However, as usual with new studies, there are some limitations to be aware of:
- There was a small sample size, which limits the generalisability of the results.
- There was no direct measure of daily energy expenditure, which is important to assess since DOMS had an effect on daily movement.
- Technically, the full-body group had higher training volume due to more warm-up sets for each muscle group.
- The diet tracking was from self-reported dietary recall, which is known to be unreliable and subject to under and over reporting.
The underlying principle of fat loss is the presence of a calorie deficit, which can be created by a reduction in food intake, an increase in energy expenditure, or a combination of both, as supported by a wealth of evidence.
With that in mind, if you find split-body routines work for you, and you have success creating a calorie deficit alongside that routine, then the most important factor is adherence, so have at it.
The Bottom Line
The most interesting finding from the study is the effect on DOMS. If you’ve ever struggled getting up and down the stairs after a heavy leg day, you’ll know that you’ll much rather spend the day sat down than being active, which can negatively affect daily movement (NEAT) and therefore fat loss.
You see, NEAT is a larger part of our daily expenditure than our workouts. So with a full-body split, you may not experience as much muscle soreness due to a more evenly split programme, making it more suitable for staying active and achieving fat loss goals.