If you’ve ever researched exercise programs, you’ve probably come across different training splits (which body parts you do on a given day over the course of a week). The most common styles of exercise programming include the full-body split, upper and lower split, push/pull/legs split, and the individual muscle group split. When deciding what split is best for you, you should consider the following:
1. Your Training Experience
2. Your Goals
3. Your Availability
4. Your Rest and Recovery needs
As a beginner, you’re going to need to master basic exercise movements before moving onto more advanced ones. You’ll want to aim for a little bit of everything in each workout. You’ll also require a decent amount of rest and recovery after each workout. As you learn more and gain experience, you’ll be able to handle more exercise volume, allowing you to handle more similar exercises during the same workout. Once you’re proficient at lifting, your muscles may require more time and attention to continue growing, which will lead you to spending an entire workout on one muscle group.
Here are examples of each workout split, starting with beginner and ending with advanced.
Full Body Split
- Each workout contains 1-2 exercises that target each body part
- Typically done 3x per week with 1-2 days of rest in between
- Most effective for beginners and those with less time to commit
Monday: Full Body Workout
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Full Body Workout
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Full Body Workout
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
Upper and Lower Split
- Each workout is either targetted towards the upper or lower body
- Typically done 3-4x per week with 0-2 days of rest in between
- Most effective for intermediate lifters or beginners with more time to commit
Monday: Upper Body Workout
Tuesday: Lower Body Workout
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Upper Body Workout
Friday: Lower Body Workout
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
Push/Pull/Legs Split
- Each workout targets a movement pattern
- Typically done 4-6 times per week with 0-2 days of rest in between
- Most effective for intermediate or advanced lifters.
- Alternating movement patterns allows for muscle groups to rest between workouts
Monday: Push
Tuesday: Pull
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Push
Saturday: Pull
Sunday: Legs
Individual Muscle Group Split
- Each workout targets a specific muscle group (chest, back, legs, shoulders, arms, etc.
- Typically done 5-6 times per week with 0-2 days of rest in between
- Most effective for intermediate or advanced lifters who are trying to build specific muscles
- Alternating muscle groups allows for others to rest between workouts
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Back
Wednesday: Quads + Calves
Thursday: Shoulders
Friday: Abs + Arms
Saturday: Glutes + Hamstrings
Sunday: Rest
