We all know that one guy we see at the gym who shows up and trains his arms or chest every time we see him. He seems to be there really inconsistently but every session he does show up, he’s training arms or whatever he feels like that day.
If you feel a sense of guilt after reading that, chances are I was describing you, and it’s time to get a real training split going for yourself.
Prioritize Recovery
When formulating a training split it is crucial to always keep your recovery in mind. Ensure that you space days where you train the same muscle accordingly so that you don’t come in to the session feeling sore.
A 2016 sports medicine research study showed that training a muscle twice a week results in superior muscle hypertrophy. Knowing this, it is likely in your best interest to squeeze two days' worth of volume per muscle into your split.
Cluster your muscles into groups
There are various groupings of muscles that you will see and hear of advanced and intermediate lifters using
One of the most common you’ll hear of comes from the PPL (push, pull, legs) split.
This includes:
- Push: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
- Pull: Back and Biceps
- Legs: Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves
These muscles are typically clustered together since they all act as synergists during each correspondent workout.
For example, your triceps are being indirectly trained every time you do a chest-focused pressing exercise, your glutes are often indirectly trained during squats, and your biceps are activated during lat pulldowns.
How to sequence your training days throughout the week
This ultimately comes down to your schedule throughout the week and fitting workouts in where you can. As stated previously in the study, be sure to hit each muscle twice a week so long as you can fit into your schedule.
There are many ways to sort your workouts through the week. Finding a routine that fits your schedule is the first step to remaining consistent in the gym.
Here are a few ways to set up your training days. I’ll categorize them by however many days you would like to show up to the gym per week.
3 Day Split
Monday: Upper Body Day (Chest, Back, Shoulders, and Arms)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Lower Body Day (Glutes, Quads, Hamstrings, and Calves)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Full Body Day (To ensure you hit all muscle groups it may be best to do primarily compound movements that target multiple muscles instead of isolation movements)
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
4 Day Split
Monday: Upper Body A (Chest, Back, Shoulders, and Arms) with a focus on chest
Tuesday: Lower Body Day A (Quads and Calves)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Upper Body B (Chest, Back, Shoulders, and Arms) with a focus on back
Friday: Lower Body B (Hamstrings and Glutes)
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
*”focus on chest” and “focus on back” meaning to do more volume whether it be more sets or exercises for that specific muscle group
5 Day Split
Monday: Push (Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps)
Tuesday: Pull (Back and Biceps
Wednesday: Legs (Quads and Calves)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Upper Body (Chest, Back, Shoulders, and Arms)
Saturday: Legs (Hamstrings and Glutes)
Sunday: Rest
Each of these splits separates the training of each muscle by at least 2-3 days to ensure that your body is given time to recover. Trying to train a muscle while sore is never a great idea and can potentially lead to injury.
I will create a resource sheet for all readers to use and insert their splits as well as track all their reps and sets to gauge their progress.
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