Squat, Lunge, Hinge, Push, Pull, and Core
A pattern based approach to functional training will help you maximize results, simplify your training, and guide you through a well balanced routine.
You may be wondering what goes into a TrainRx Performance Programming Program, better yet, you may be wondering why we do the things we do on the platform. It all starts with establishing a well balanced training protocol. And in order to do that we need to first focus on movement pattern selection.
As many of you know, the entire TrainRx Performance Programming Platform is organized on Full Body Training Splits. Simply put, this means each training day is focused on hitting each of the basic movement patterns, in one form or another.
Why Full Body Splits Over the Other More Popular Options?
If you've been in the game for some time now you're likely privy to the "Bro Split", Leg Day, Upper Body Day, Push/Pull Splits, and every other pattern based routine imaginable. I'm going to take a guess here and say that you don't follow a Full Body Split if you aren't on a TrainRx Performance Program. And I'm making this assumption because more often than not, as we progress through our fitness journey we start to shy away from Full Body Workouts in favor of other routines such as the "Bro Split" or Back and Biceps Days. This usually happens because we grow tired of the routine or we feel like we need to put more emphasis on a specific movement over others, or in some cases because we don't like to hit leg day!
What I'd like to do is show you why Full Body Splits are more productive, more effective, and better for results than any other training split out there. So stick around if you'd like to find out more about why we use Full Body Training Splits and learn more about the movement patterns we use to reach our goals.
And if you're wondering where I've gathered a lot of this information, you can check out this study/experiment for more information - Article Here
The 6 Functional Movement Patterns
All TrainRx Performance Programs focus on the use of the 6 Functional Movement Patterns - Squat, Lunge, Hinge, Push, Pull, and Core. We use these movement patterns to determine what goes into our daily training routines, to prevent overuse, and vary our training stimulus just enough to continue driving forward progression.
Squat: The Squat Pattern consists of movements where the hips and knees flex at the same time, allowing our center of gravity to lower.
Examples: Back Squat, Front Squat, Goblet Squat, Air Squat
Lunge: In the Lunge Pattern, one leg is positioned in front of the other and the external load (if used) is distributed differently from the front leg to the back leg.
Examples: Barbell Back Rack Reverse Lunge, Dumbbell RFE Split Squat, Walking Lunge, Step Up
Hinge: The Hinge Pattern is when our hips go from flexion to extension while keeping rigidity in our knees.
Examples: Deadlift, Hip Thrust, Dual KB Staggered Stance Straight Leg Deadlift
Push: In the Push Pattern an object or body weight is actively being pushed away from our center of gravity in either a vertical or horizontal movement.
Examples: Bench Press, Dual DB Overhead Press, Push Up, Dual DB Triceps Extension
Pull: The Pull Pattern demonstrates an object being pulled towards our center of gravity in either a horizontal or vertical manner.
Examples: Strict Pull Up, Single Arm DB Row, Feet Elevated Ring Row
Core: The Core Pattern is any movement that biases abdominal bracing to perform the movement.
Examples: Farmer's Carry, Side Plank, Ring Front Leaning Rest, Dual KB Front Rack Carry
Each of these movement patterns covers a broader spectrum of exercises to choose from. The patterns themselves grant us the ability to pick and choose from varying exercises to eliminate overuse, poor pairing, and redundancy. On the TrainRx Performance Programming Platform you'll see a high variety of movements for these exact reasons. Not to mention some of the other benefits of varied movement selection:
- Unilateral Work to balance strength discrepancies between sides of the body
- Reduce monotony of performing the same thing over and over again
- Prioritize alternative movements to help aid in the progress of major movement patterns
- Keep training sessions fresh and exciting
Now that we know what the 6 Functional Movement Patterns are, why do we prioritize the Full Body Training Split on the TrainRx Performance Programming Platform?
Full Body Training Split for Strength & Hypertrophy
According to the study provided in the article earlier in this blog post, training a muscle group, or movement pattern, 5x per week is significantly more productive than training it 1-2x per week. The study showed that the group who trained a movement pattern 5x per week saw significant increase in overall muscle size and top end strength. This is, in part, due to the requirements of frequency for developing top end strength, but also a result of greater total accumulation of volume. More total volume = increased muscle size. The benefits of spreading total volume out over the course of the week also aides in reducing overall fatigue. Think about your classic Leg Day, you do 5 sets of Back Squats, then 3 sets of Split Squats, then a few sets of Leg Press, maybe some Hamstring Curls as well. How productive are all of those sets of leg work after hitting Heavy Squats?! More often than not, the working sets after the first exercise you perform are not nearly as productive as they should be. By spreading the training out over multiple days we can avoid wasted work sets and constantly reap the benefits of feeling fresh.
So why do we use Full Body Splits for our Strength Training? The answer is simple.
- Increased Top End Strength Development
- Increased Muscular Development
- Spreading out the training over more days reduces overall fatigue
- Spreading out the training results in less Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
- Increased total accumulation of volume without experiencing dramatic muscular fatigue
The Full Body Training Split for Strength & Hypertrophy training is most noticeable on BuildRx. But we can also get a good glimpse of it on other programs such as HybridRx and StrengthRx as well! Although the Full Body strength work is not specifically targeted on HybridRx and StrengthRx you can see that your conditioning work NEVER includes repeated movement patterns.
Repeated movement patterns are a pretty common theme in some of the more popular programs out there. How often have you seen a Strength Piece of Back Squats followed by a hardcore conditioning piece that includes Walking Lunges or Thrusters on some of your favorite athlete's programs? News flash, that ain't the move for effective training strategies.
Full Body Training Split for Conditioning
High Intensity Training is extremely taxing on our central nervous system. Couple the fatigue from high intensity work with repeated movement patterns and it's a recipe for disaster. Not saying that you aren't going to get a good workout in if you repeat movement patterns don't get me wrong, but you won't benefit from the training as much as you'd like to due to fatigue.
Some of the benefits of Full Body Training Splits that were derived from Strength & Hypertrophy work also carry over to Conditioning Work. Most noticeably, the delay in overall fatigue and the benefits of total accumulation of volume over a greater period of time. And when we're training for conditioning, our main goal is to increase capacity, the only way to successfully do this is to be capable of recovering from past work sets and then demonstrate the ability to repeat the same levels of effort. More volume over a greater amount of time = Increased Capacity
Why we use Full Body Training Splits for Conditioning
- Increased opportunity to recover and then repeat consistent efforts across a full week of training
- Less overall fatigue to individual muscle groups
- Capacity for higher intensity work across all work sets (Muscle fatigue from previous movement patterns will not effect a different movement pattern)
We see the Full Body Training Split in programs such as MetConRx, WODRx, BaseRx, and DumbbellRx. All 4 of these programs are extremely conditioning biased training plans that can operate as well as they do solely based on the fact that they focus on Full Body Splits. Without this pattern based approach these programs do not work.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of your opinion towards movement pattern selection and Training Splits, the takeaways from recent studies are clear. If you want to maximize results, you should train in order to do so. The "Bro Split" is dead. High Frequency Training is the new ticket to Gainsville.
Check out how we use Full Body Training Splits and a HUGE variety of movement patterns on the TrainRx Performance Programming Platform today! Click here and get started with your 7-Day Free Trial!