I used everything in the course of 40 plus years of training. So many ways to skin a cat. In spite of what some say about full body routines being a beginner method it's actually the hardest way to train. Include an exercise or two for each body part and it's a killer. I find splits to be an easier way to train. Having said that I made the fastest gains on whole body routines. I just can't stay on it more than a couple of weeks before workouts become complete hell.
Now my main split is basically Monday: Back and chest; Wednesday: legs and Friday: Delts and arms. Off days are for running and heavy bag work. I use 3 to 4 exercises a body part and after warm up do 2 sets to failure. I don't compete and have never competed. Complete life time natural. In terms of athletics I was a sprinter in my college years and boxed for a short time. After 4 wins and 1 loss I decided I didn't like getting punched in the face.
My one loss was my first fight in the ring. The guy beat me like I was a dog that pissed on the carpet. I learned a lot after that fight.
Starting tomorrow I'm going to do a Yates inspired 4 way split with 1 set to failure after warm up. Doing these short workouts so I can devote more time to cardio for awhile. Hopefully the one set to failure will retain muscle as I lose weight.
