Expert: Ken Alan - 5/25/2007

Question
I know I have asked about the whole split vs. full-body routine before, but there was something interesting I ran across the other day on this website (www.alwyncosgrove.com) in which Alwyn Cosgrove (C.S.C.S.) states in one of his articles that after years and years of keeping track and looking back at thousands of workout logs of people that he's trained and not trained, he came to the conclusion that  “Probably around 80-90% of the population, 80-90% of the time, will respond best to total body workouts, and that maybe 90-95% of the population, 90-95% of the time, will respond best to either total body or an upper and lower split.” What are your thoughts on this statement he made?  Is this true?  That's a pretty bold statement.  The other question I have, is can you do an upper/lower split 3 days a week, and if so how?  I know that an upper/lower split is usually 4 days a week, but can you do it 3 days a week?  It seems to me too that you have more upper body exercises than lower body.  Lastly, can a person follow the same routine forever, whether it be a split routine or full-body?  I mean, if you change sets and reps and weight from workout to workout, and also feel sore after, won't you always progress and naturally gain more muscle as time goes on?  It seems to me that one only needs to do the big 5 (deadlift, overhead press, bent-over row, bench press, and squat) and that's it.  It hits all the muscles.  Thanks very much.

Answer
Alwyn Cosgrove's statements are probably true. It isn't the first time that has been said. It's pretty well established that full body workouts are effective. Other program designs though, have also been shown to be effective.  So to say the public will respond BETTER to one kind of training program is not plausible.  It's a matter of how effectively one performs whatever training protocol they are on.

Yes you can perform the big 5 and it will take care of most everything.  If you are satisfied with your level of strength, you can keep on doing the same routine forever, though you may need some change to prevent overuse syndrome.
Soreness in general, means that you will gain more muscle strength, as long as that soreness is within a regular weight training program and not from starting up again if you've laid off for a while. If you are wanting to increase some aspect of your physical fitness, you will benefit greater by building in more variation.  If you really want to get down to it, you don't even need the Big 5; you can do the Big 3 and be very fit and strong> pull-ups/chin-up, push-ups, and squats/lunges.