The Real Reason You Should Focus On A Different Area Each Workout

You are probably aware of the benefits of strength training. Along with building stronger muscles and bones, strength training lowers your risk of falls and injury, and regularly training your muscles means you become more mobile and flexible (via Healthline). When it comes to programs, there are many to choose from, including total body routines, which work several muscles groups at one time and split routines, which focus on individual muscle groups per workout session, per ACE Fitness. Both will get you fit, but there are advantages to focusing on different body parts with each workout.

For starters, split routines give you more time to focus on building specific muscle group regions, such as your back, arms, chest, buttocks, and legs. Often, these exercises are grouped into upper and lower body workouts performed on different days of the week. According to Verywell Fit, if you target one or two sets of muscle groups on certain days of the week, you'll eventually build muscle.

The American Heart Association recommends giving muscles at least 48 hours between working out. Rest is naturally built into a split routine since the focus is typically one or two muscle groups on different days of the week. For example, Mondays might focus on the chest and back, while Tuesdays work the shoulders and arms, and Wednesdays are reserved for the dreaded leg day. Recovery is an important aspect of any workout routine because without it, you could over-train.

Overtraining can lead to fatigue, poor sleep, and depression, per WebMD. You might even be more prone to develop colds, digestive problems, high blood pressure, and irregular or absent menstrual cycles if you over-train. That said, it can be harder to recover from full-body workouts than split workouts. This is especially the case if you are performing full-body workouts more than a couple of times a week, according to MedicineNet.