Split workouts involve dividing your weekly workout sessions or volume of exercises into separate days to focus on each individual element of exercise.
You can also divide your training by focusing on different body movements on different days. These workouts vary on the level of strength and endurance, as well as commitment.
Here are the best-split workout routines to choose from.
1. Full-body Split
A full-body split is the simplest split you can do. You divide your time between going to the gym to train your whole body or resting. Since you work out all of your muscles at each session, you also need to take the time to recover your full body between each workout.
Who is it for?
This is the best-split workout for beginners to start. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it is not as powerful of an exercise. Hitting your whole body several times a week with compound movements works multiple muscles at a time.
This split routine is both taxing and strengthening. Doing the full body is a great split routine for those who don’t have a lot of time to work out each week to train, but still want a good training routine. These are the best exercises for full-body workouts.
Here is an example of this workout routine.
3-day split
Perform 1 movement per body part with 2–3 sets of 8–12 reps.
- Day 1: Full body routine
- Day 2: rest
- Day 3: Full body routine
- Day 4: rest
- Day 5: Full body routine
- Day 6: rest
- Day 7: rest
Once you get more advanced, you may need more than 48 hours in between workouts for certain muscles to recover after working out. Depending on the level you are at can determine how long your recovery should take. Never push yourself too far.
2. Upper/Lower Body Split
An upper/lower body split works on your upper body for one day, then on your lower body the next time you train. This can be done as a four-day split where you take a rest day in between cycles. Or you can make it a six-day split where you repeat the upper and lower workout sessions before taking a rest day. Here are the examples of doing a four- and six-day split.
4-day split
Perform 2 movements per body part for 3–4 sets of 6–12 reps.
- Day 1: upper body routine
- Day 2: Lower body routine
- Day 3: rest
- Day 4: upper body routine
- Day 5: Lower body routine
- Day 6: rest
- Day 7: rest
For your upper body workouts, make sure each of these muscles is targeted with at least one exercise each time. Targeting each muscle allows for a balanced muscle workout.
- Chest
- Back
- Shoulders
- Biceps
- Triceps
On your lower body days, these muscle groups need to be worked. Separating each type of workout can help you to focus on certain muscles without overexerting the other.
- Glutes
- Hamstrings
- Quads
- Calves
You can choose whatever days you want to exercise your abdominals. Some people prefer to work their upper body since there are fewer muscle groups on the lower body than the upper body. Here is an extended version of this routine for reference.
6-day split
Perform 2 movements per body part for 3 sets of 6–12 reps.
- Day 1: upper body routine
- Day 2: Lower body routine
- Day 3: upper body routine
- Day 4: Lower body routine
- Day 5: upper body routine
- Day 6: Lower body routine
- Day 7: rest
The upper/lower body split is the most flexible when it comes to how many days per week you decide to train. However, if you do the six-day split, you will find that it is more challenging to recover.
3. Push, Pull, and Legs Split
The push, pull, and leg split is a method of training where you train your upper body muscles such as your shoulders, chest, and triceps. You can follow this up with your upper body muscles that help with pulling from the back, biceps, and forearms.
Who is it for?
This split workout is an intermediate to more advanced option for the workout. It is great for those who want to train six days a week and have enough time to recover in between sessions. With this form of exercise, you can work on individual muscle groups at a time. This is also a great split for athletes who want to work on specific weaknesses and lifts. Here are the pros and cons of this split workout.
Pros
Compared to the upper body split, you can add more volume and exercise to your upper body workout days. You are able to receive more rest time in between every body part that is being worked. For example, if you were to train your push-dominant muscles such as your shoulders, chest, and triceps, you can have three additional days of rest the next week.
Cons
With this workout routine, you need to set aside six days of time to hit all body parts multiple days a week. This is not the best option for those who are known to miss some workouts during the week. It takes consistent time and effort to do this routine.
For example, if your schedule were to become hectic for one week, and you don’t always go to the gym six days a week, can actually lead to muscle imbalances. In addition to this, doing training six days a week can be hard on your body and mind.
If your muscles have recovered once you start training again, the fatigue of working out can make it difficult to properly recover from each workout. This is an example of a workout routine that uses push, pull, and legs.
Perform 3–4 exercises incorporating the muscles involved for 3–4 sets of 6–12 reps.
- Day 1: Push — chest, shoulders, triceps
- Day 2: Pull—back, biceps, forearms
- Day 3: legs — quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves
- Day 4: Push — chest, shoulders, triceps
- Day 5: Pull—back, biceps, forearms
- Day 6: legs — quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves
- Day 7: rest
You can also divide this workout routine into a four or eight-day split if you want to separate your lower-body workouts from your upper-body. Sometimes this method can be tricky when you have the same workouts on different days since your split will not be as predictable on a seven-day cycle. This means you need to be dedicated to finishing the full routine each week. Here is the push, pull, squat hinge.
Push, pull, squat hinge
The push, pull, and squat hinge divides your days by the type of movement being performed. Your squat and hinge days will focus on your legs while your push and pull days focus on your upper body muscles. Here is an example of a push, pull, and squat hinge routine.
Perform 3–4 exercises incorporating the muscles involved for 3–4 sets of 6–12 reps.
- Day 1: Push — chest, shoulders, triceps
- Day 2: squat — quads, calves
- Day 3: Pull—back, biceps, forearms
- Day 4: hinge — glutes, hamstrings, abs
- Day 5: rest
The push, pull, and squat hinge is the best for the intermediate to advanced options of split workouts. There are options for more recovery, and you can focus a lot of your time on individual lifts. However, you are required to train six days a week with this schedule. This leg stretch machine assists all leg split workouts.
4. Individual Body Part Split
The individual body part split focuses on one to two body parts per day of training. This can be done through six days a six-day-a-week training program if you plan to train your legs for one to two days a week.
Who is it for?
This split workout routine is good for those who want to focus on building their bodybuilding. This option is also perfect for someone looking for an exercise variety or to work on specific muscle group imbalances. If you are looking to maximize your bodybuilding, splitting your routine is going to be the right way to do this. Here are the pros and cons of doing this exercise routine.
Pros
This type of training enables you to focus on specific muscle groups. With this system, you can do as many exercises as possible or sets you need without having to take over an hour to do this workout session.
Cons
With this kind of split, you don’t have the ability to miss any of the workout days. Doing so puts you at risk of training your body out of balance. Since your muscles work together, it is difficult to isolate certain muscles from others. Regularly putting yourself out of balance can prevent you from fully recovering by the next workout.
The individual muscle split is the best for advanced lifters who want to work on their hypertrophy. It is not the easiest schedule to follow. Missing one day of training can be unforgiving on your body. Being committed to this schedule can lead to improvements. Depending on the type of training you choose, you may not have enough time to recover before starting the next workout.
5. Four-Day Split
The four-day split workout routine works with your family or work schedules. This workout plan provides a good balance of intensity and recovery time for athletes at all levels of training. With four-day splits, you can work on endurance, hypertrophy, and strength without ruining your body.
There are many reasons you need to set up a workout training split, but you need to focus on your training experience, personal goals, weekly schedule, age, abilities to rest and recover, injuries, and other health concerns.
Check out these split routines below to see how these may fit with your fitness goals. Remember you can shift your schedule forward or backward and double your options if you want to include Saturday or Sunday. You can also use two upper-body and lower-body workouts each week.
4-day Split Workout Routines
Monday: Chest/Triceps
Tuesday: Back/Biceps
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Shoulders/Arms/Abs
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Off
You can adjust your workout routine in whatever way you desire. Each person trains differently, therefore each type of training might work best for some people, and less for others. This workout routine is flexible enough for anyone to try.
6. Five-Day Split
The five-day workout split is the most effective strength training routine you can practice. It works on individual muscle groups on different days of the week giving your body enough time to recover before you reach the same gain in muscles.
Since this is a flexible approach to training, you can modify this workout easily to best fit your fitness goals and specific needs for training. This is an example of a five-day workout split.
- Monday: Chest and triceps
- Tuesday: Back and biceps
- Wednesday: Shoulders
- Thursday: Legs
- Friday: Core and cardio
- Saturday and Sunday: Rest
Are five-day workout splits effective?
The best workout split allows you to work on specific muscle groups on most workout days to work on your entire body. You can hit your maximum capacity of exercise on a daily basis while giving your muscles the necessary amount of time needed to recover.
Before and during training, it is important to do these things before and after training.
Have a warm-up routine. Some don’t realize the necessity of having a pre-workout routine. Spending five to ten minutes working on your muscles is the best way to start before your workout. When performing a few warmup exercises before your workout, you can lift heavier weights without the risk of injury.
Time Your Rest In Between Sets. Depending on your fitness goals, the amount of time you spend resting between your sets is the best way to meet these goals. Rest between 30 to 75 sets for two to five minutes. Rest is crucial to meet your goals.
The best five-day workout split focuses on the entire body in an effective way each week. You can work on major groups such as your chest, back, arms, legs, and core to the maximum level. Having this schedule with recovery and rest allows you to meet your goals.