there is actually also a technical reason as well.
namely over the years i have tried to think of pros and cons of various splits such as Push-Pull split or Upper-Lower split and reality is there is simply no way to do a clean split.
the best exercises ( such as deadlifts ) tend to hit both upper and lower body for example, so Upper-Lower split can’t be made clean.
and if we try Push-Pull and say that squat is push and deadlift is pull … well glutes are used on both equally. or vice versa for example chest and back are used equally on dips. so you can’t do a clean split Push-Pull either.
or for example should deadlifts be done on leg days or back days ? the primary movers on deadlifts are erectors, glutes and hamstrings - a perfectly even split between back and legs. the other muscles involved are also fairly evenly split between back and legs.
reality is splits always come with a compromise. pro bodybuilders accept these compromises because if they need to train 20 hours a week while hitting every muscle twice a week their only other option would be 2 X 10 hour workouts but that is sketchy.
also the overlap is actually beneficial because what it means is that while theoretically you’re training each muscle once or twice a week in reality you’re hitting it multiple times a week, just not directly. and sciences says that the optimum number of times to hit a muscle is more than twice a week while most muscles are designed only once a week on a split, so the overlap works in your favor.
so really the split is just a way for stupid people like bodybuilders to stay accountable that they did all the work and their coach after consulting with the judges can add an extra back day or whatever as needed.
an ideal way to train would actually be a full body workout every day but with with some advanced measures taken to avoid over-training. i have just started a thread to go in detail on how exactly that would work:
this would be not very different from what real splits already look like once dialed in properly - so for example many pros throw in chin ups between sets of other muscles because they understand more back work is better. and this could potentially be in addition to already having two back days.
so really a split is just a starting point for accountability from where a pro would have their coach adjust it until they were getting proper results and a fuckboi will “adjust” it until all he’s doing is biceps and abs.
whereas my “adjustment” is where i simply skip most days as rest days ( mainly because i sleep during the day and awake at night ) and if i’m lucky to be awake during the day twice in a week then my system allows me to take full advantage of that.
you may be thinking - Dissident - why don’t you just join a 24/7 gym ?
the answer is no 24/7 gym also offers a pool that is open 24/7 because lifeguards need to sleep. i have trained at gyms like 24 Hour Fitness that are 24/7 and have a pool - but the pool is not 24/7 …
and of course 24 Hour Fitness went bankrupt during Covid … though they may have reopened …
the other issue is car odometer mileage. if some gym had a 24/7 pool but was 20 miles away from me i would have to put on 15,000 miles a year on the odometer for just working out, which is not acceptable and another reason why i used to take amphetamines and do 10+ hour workouts. because i would put close to 100 miles on the odometer for a workout i had to make do with fewer workouts and make the most out of each one.
the main issue with the system i describe in the linked thread is that it requires thinking which is why the pros can’t use this system. they must be given ( by their coach ) an approach where they just go balls to the walls. you can’t tell somebody with a 80 IQ to be smart about things.
coaches of pro bodybuilders make BIG money by the way, because without them all the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs the pros take will just kill them without notching them the wins. the job of the coach is to understand their athlete and then give them instructions that are simple to follow but will steer them in the right direction.
i tried talking to young guys in the gym about this kind of advanced stuff and they just get scared. you can’t tell normies things like this. you have to speak to them in a language they can understand which is splits, sets, reps, failure etc. i don’t use ANY of those concepts myself because i am above them, but that is also why i can’t explain what i do and why to anybody.
a great coach, and a great leader in general, understands things that regular people can’t and doesn’t try to explain what he understands. instead he motivates people to do what ultimately needs to be done.
unfortunately for you i am not a leader. i am a philosopher. i explain things as they are, whether you have a snowball’s chance in h3ll of understanding them or not.