When someone starts working out, one of the first questions that pops into their mind is how many days they should work out. We have a detailed article that provides the answer to this question.
After any beginner figures out how many days they should train, they face another difficulty: finding the right workout split.
There are many workout splits available on the internet. Some are generalized, and some are custom. The person who follows a split may portray it as the superior workout regime, which may create more confusion. The question still remains: Which is the best Split?
There is no correct answer to this question. Every split can be best and worst, depending on the individual following it. Before choosing a split, there are some factors you should be clear about:
- Fitness Goal
You need to be clear about your end goal. Are you training to lose weight, build more muscle, or for any other reason?
If you have a clear answer, it will help you choose the best or create a custom workout split.
- Time Availability
How many hours can you spend on training?
If you are busy and can only put 30 – 60 minutes per day on training, then you should plan accordingly, and if you can spend more time behind training, then your workout plan can be customized to your convenience.
- Recovery
Some people recover fast, and some people take some time to recover.
Your workout split should be designed based on your current condition. If you do not recover from the previous session and continue to push yourself, you will likely face burnout.
Contents
Popular Training Splits
Now that you have clear answers to the factors mentioned above, let’s discuss the famous training splits. We will explain each Split so that you can check if it is convenient for you. Do not worry if the splits mentioned do not meet your criteria; we will have a solution for you at the end of the article.
Push Pull Leg (PPL)
Push-pull leg, or PPL, is one of the most popular training splits. In this training split, you train all the push muscles (Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps) in one day. In the next session, you train all the pull muscles (Back, Biceps, and Forearms); the next day, you train your leg, and then take a rest day and follow the same for the next three days.
It is a 6-day training split. However, you can customize it and split the 6-day period into 5 days. We have provided the full exercise breakdown for making PPL for 5 days in this article.
Training Split (PPL) | ||||||
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
Push day | Pull day | Leg day | Rest day | Push day | Pull day | Leg day |
Advantages:
- It trains each muscle group twice a week, which is optimal for muscle growth.
- You will get enough time for muscle recovery between workouts, as there will be a two-day gap before you train the same muscle again.
- It is pretty versatile, as you can put more focus on the lagging muscle groups in this split.
Disadvantages:
- People with time constraints may find this split challenging to follow as it requires 5–6 days a week.
- It can be a bit difficult for beginners as this Split usually contains compound movements, which can be a bit hard for a beginner to start with.
Upper and Lower Body Split
The upper and lower body training split is divided based on the upper and lower body muscles. Usually, this split is performed four days a week, which is enough for building a well-developed physique. On upper body training days, the upper body muscles are divided into two sections. On one day, the push muscles are focused, and on the other, the pull muscles are focused.
In the lower body parts, the quads and calves are trained in one day, and the hamstring, glutes, and sometimes abs are included in the other lower body training session. The training split kind of looks like this:
Training Split (Upper and Lower) | ||||||
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
Upper Body (Push Focused) | Lower Body (Quads & Calves) | Rest day | Upper Body (Pull Focused) | Lower Body (Glutes, Hamstring, and Abs) | Rest day | Rest day |
Advantages:
- This training split has time flexibility; if you miss out on one day, you can compensate for that on a rest day.
- You will get enough time for muscle recovery. So, in each session, you can push hard.
- By mixing exercises in this routine, you can make the workout enjoyable.
Disadvantages:
- As the muscle groups only get trained once a week, some growth opportunity gets missed.
- Targeting the lacking muscle groups becomes challenging in this Split as you get only one day to train them.
- Choosing the right exercises is crucial in this Split, which might be somewhat tricky for a beginner.
Full Body Workout
As the name suggests, in this Split, you train your whole body at once in each training session.
Rather than training different muscle groups on other days, you perform at least one or two exercises for each muscle group. In this training split, you can train as little as three days a week. In between each training session, you can take a rest day to recover your muscles.
It is one of the simplest training splits, so beginners can easily follow it. Also, it introduces beginners to different exercises in a short amount of time, which helps their nervous system.
However, the workout intensity on this Split is low as you need to train multiple muscles in the same session.
The split looks like this:
Training Split (Full Body Workout) | ||||||
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
Full Body Workout | Rest Day | Full Body Workout | Rest Day | Full Body Workout | Rest Day | Rest day |
Advantages:
- It is a very beginner-friendly split.
- As there is a rest day in between, the muscles will get enough rest before the next session.
- All muscle group get trained.
Disadvantages:
- Putting more emphasis on the lagging muscle groups becomes more arduous in this Split.
- Each session requires a reasonable amount of time, as every muscle needs to be trained.
Bro Split
Bro split is another popular split training approach. In bro split, each muscle group gets trained once a week.
If you follow this Split, you will train only one muscle group in each training session. Though this Split is famous, it is one of the most controversial split training approaches. Usually, you need to train six days a week if you follow this Split.
Many people love this Split, and many people think it is one of the worst splits as some muscle groups are small and do not need a whole separate training session to grow, like the biceps. Also, research states that muscle protein synthesis takes 36 to 48 hours, which means that after training a group of muscles, there will be another growth opportunity in the next 36 to 48 hours.
Bro split looks like this:
Training Split (Bro Split) | ||||||
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
Chest | Biceps | Shoulder | Back | Triceps | Legs | Rest day |
Advantages:
- You can increase the volume of the training in this Split.
- Can put complete focus on the lagging muscle groups.
- As you will train one single group of muscles, the workout session will be short.
Disadvantages:
- Some muscle groups do not need a separate session to be optimally trained, so it will not be optimal for time utilization.
- To get optimum muscle protein synthesis benefits, each muscle needs to be trained at least twice, which this training split lacks.
- The chances of overtraining significantly increase in this Split.
Double Muscle Split
In this Split, you train two muscle groups in one training session. It is a great split to follow as you can emphasize the muscle groups and provide adequate rest before training them again.
Usually, in this type of Split, the opposing muscle groups are trained together, like Chest and biceps, back and Triceps, etc. However, this is not the thumb rule; if you want, you can also train the supporting muscle groups in this Split.
The opposing muscle groups are trained because you can push much harder, as the muscles will be much fresher when you train opposing muscle groups. Also, you can reduce the workout time by performing supersets.
A double-muscle split looks like:
Training Split (Double Muscle Split) | ||||||
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
Chest + Biceps | Back + Triceps | Legs + Shoulder | Chest + Biceps | Back + Triceps | Legs + Shoulder | Rest day |
Advantages:
- Each muscle group can be trained with full intensity.
- Time Convenient. Each session will last roughly 45 – 60 minutes.
- You will get the most benefit of muscle protein synthesis as you train each muscle group twice a week
- This Split is very beginner-friendly, as you will have ample time to learn different exercises.
Disadvantages:
- Working out 6 days a week can be challenging for many people.
- If you are not careful, you can overstrain one muscle, which can generate a lot of fatigue, which can hamper the other muscle you are going to train that day.
Which Split Would be best for you?
Based on your current goal and time availability, see which Split will be convenient for you. Try that Split for some time, at least for 4 to 5 weeks. By that time, you will have a good idea of whether this Split is working for you or not.
The best kind of Split is a customized split based on your convenience. When you have a good idea of how you can design your workout routine, you can make your customized split plan.
If you still struggle, you can email us. We will provide you with a customized split plan with the exercises you need.
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