there's no secret to building a more muscular physique lift weights but it's not just how
you lift when you lift is also key how many times a week which body parts to train when
So today we're looking at how to plan your workout week over three days four days and five days
for the most effective use of your time in the gym
so let's start with a three-day split this is a great option if you're just starting out or if you
have a busy schedule with a three-day split you'll work the whole body over three different workouts
allowing a rest day in between each workout
the most popular formula for the three-day split is Push Pull legs
let's take a look at a typical three-day split with trainer Ross starting with push day working
the three main pushing muscle groups chest triceps and shoulders and first for shoulders
military press going on to lateral raises with dumbbells plate races hitting the front delts
and finally working on traps with shrugs moving on to chest Ross goes for incline dumbbell press
then machine press dumbbell flies transitioning to triceps with dips dips work both the chest and
triceps in one movement then into overhead extensions and finally tricep kickbacks
completing the major pushing movements for
shoulders chest and triceps in a single workout [Music]
pupils behind the way this workout is structured is always to start with a compound movement
compound movements are the big exercises that hit the major muscle you're targeting and at
the same time using other supporting muscles allowing you quickly to build up to heavy loads
progresses Ross moves to isolation exercises these work only one muscle reaching failure
with the lighter weight more reps so day two of this three-day split is pull day back and biceps
starting with body weight Pull-Ups that big compound movement adding extra weight each set
then bent over rows close grip pull Downs for both the lats and middle back and straight arm pull
Downs in this case using an underhand grip to help isolate the lats onto biceps and easy bar curls
again that pulling movement and finally cable curls coming across the body for a different angle
the three-day split formula gives you plenty of flexibility
maybe concentrating your training over a long weekend or spreading the workouts across the
week allowing a rest day between each session [Music] so now the third session of Ross's
three-day split the one that everybody loves leg day starting with squats the king of exercises
building up the weight going for fewer reps again that big compound movement to start
then onto the machine for leg press working each leg separately here
moving on to more isolation exercises its leg extensions leg curls on the machine hitting
those hamstrings and often neglected calves with calf raises finally to burn the legs out
completely walking lunges so that's an effective three-day split workout with trainer Ross using
the recommended Push Pull legs formula moving on now to a typical four-day split with trainer Mike
working out four days a week gives you more options to try different combinations of muscle
groups from one week to the next or to Target particular body parts that need more attention
Mike builds his four-day split by combining two main body parts or large muscle groups in each
workout day one is chest and shoulders starting with a great compound exercise flat bench press
chest and shoulders are a good combination because the upper chest and the front delts
often work together in compound movements like this in today's workout Mike's alternating
between chest and shoulders so next for shoulders it's a dumbbell lateral raise
and to keep the intensity Mike's using supersets so straight into plate front raise back to chest
supersetting two cable movements cable press and for more isolation cable fly shoulders again with
dumbbell press going for single arm keeping one side in tension while the other side's working
next chest close grip dumbbell press superset with classic push-ups finally some cable races
going for lots of reps to burn out at the end of the workout
so that's chest and shoulders worked using supersets to add real intensity to the workout
for day two mics allocated a whole day to back because he wants to add Mass
to his back to create a balance with the other upper body muscles
starting with body weight Pull-Ups compound movement again
next it's a barbell row on the incline bench
then supersetting t-bar row with lying dumbbell pullback both hitting that middle back
onto an alternating cable pull down again keeping tension on one side while working the other
next a rack pull this is like a deadlift but just doing the upper
part of the movement adding a shrug to make sure the traps are also included
finally seated cable row single arm for a full range of motion
completing Mike's back day day two of this four day split [Music] and for day three it's arms
in many workout splits biceps and triceps are trained on different days
doing a full arms day helps make sure the arms are balanced and in proportion [Music]
all supersets taking advantage of the added pump you get by training biceps and triceps together
so first underhand body weight pull up the grip throwing more work on the biceps
straight into a seated dumbbell curl second superset is for triceps overhead Easy Bar
extension on an incline bench combined with close grip lying barbell press
back to biceps for an easy bar reverse curl using an overhand grip
followed by spider curls on incline bench
triceps again with weighted dips keeping the body upright to hit triceps [Music]
plus tricep extension using the Rope so that's a full pump for biceps and triceps covered
in this four day split there's no separate day for abs so Mike's jumping in here with
some hanging knee crunches arm stay is a good day to add in some abs and core
exercises because arms aren't the biggest muscles so there's still plenty of energy
left in the tank adding a v-set crunch [Music] plus some hit cardio with battle ropes [Music]
so finally day four of this four day split it's legs
starting with front squats building up the weight fewer reps heavier weight
next into Bulgarian split squat again working quads hamstrings and glutes
on to more of an isolation exercise lying leg curl working directly on the hamstrings
next a superset stiff leg deadlift straight into step UPS keeping the body upright working on the
quads moving on to dumbbell squats heels elevated to help keep the spine upright
going to failure on the final set walking lunges complete the work on quads glutes and hamstrings
finally to finish standing calf raises making it harder by adding a hold every 10 reps
so that was Mike's typical four-day split workout
but the beauty of the four day format is you can mix it up from week to week using different
combinations of muscle groups [Music] and work more on lagging body parts [Music]
next a full five-day split program but first news that fit media's expert trainers
have created a range of 3 4 and 5 day split plans for you to follow in your own training
available in the fit media training app complete with a workout log to help you
track your gains no matter how many days a week you train hit the link for your free trial
so here we go with a full body five-day split with
trainer Justin going for maximum muscle growth across all body parts
starting with day one a familiar combination back and biceps first exercise weighted Pull-Ups
supersetting two rowing movements next bent over row with a chest supported dumbbell row
then wide grip pull-downs similar movement to the pull-ups but this time dropping the weight each
set increasing the Reps next rope pullover for the lats followed by seated row final superset
for back rack pull as we saw earlier combined with a trap raise usually done standing up but
this angle helps work the lower part of the traps which extend down to the middle back
after back it's biceps Justin's happy with the size of his biceps so just a couple of
exercises today a concentration curl using the cable and a zotman curl a movement that also
works the brachialis a muscle that sits under the bicep along with forearms [Music] in a five-day
split it's impossible to get a full rest day between every workout So Justin's alternating
upper and lower body to give each body part time to recover so day two is leg day starting with
squat a classic compound movement then onto the machine for leg press [Music]
two isolation exercises next superseted together leg extensions and lying leg curl
another superset good mornings working glutes and hamstrings combined with reverse lunges
next really hitting those hamstrings supersetting
stiff leg deadlift with a glute hamstring raise [Music]
Smith machine for a front squat this time lighter weight but keeping constant tension
across the movement that's a tough one to finish your leg workout day three in
Justin's five-day split is shoulders after warm-up first working set dumbbell shoulder press [Music]
next A variation on the lateral raise starting with heavy weights for partial reps
the lower half of the movement then change to lighter weight for the full lateral raise
a superset now hitting front and rear delts separately incline front raise then flip it
over for face down front raise working the back of the shoulder next superset seated face poles
on this version keeping the shoulder blades together to make the rear delts do the work
superset with a lying rear delt fly finally over to cables for single arm cable lateral raise
on day four Justin's chosen an added leg day the five-day split gives trainers a
chance to address any imbalances with an extra day working on lagging body parts
legs are a popular choice but other trainers create an extra
day for back chest or shoulders often adding some ABS as we saw with Mike
So Justin's added leg day goes front squats on elevated heels
A variation on leg press today with few set high and wide to work more on hamstrings and glutes
then a superset hack squats combined with body weight [ __ ] squats next superset is a leg
extension then a trap bar deadlift in this version Justin's standing on a plate so he can get the bar
Lower for more of a stretch on the hamstrings finally for added leg day lying leg curl
superset with Bulgarian split squat as you've seen
with our other trainers using supersets to add speed and intensity to the workout
So Justin's final day in his five-day split chest and triceps again combining two pushing movements
after warm-up straight into incline dumbbell press
a compound exercise focusing on bringing up the upper chest then it's a superset cable flies
and starting to get the triceps working with tricep push Downs [Music]
super sets again dumbbell pullovers paired with lying dumbbell extensions
although Justin's working different muscles he's using the same type
of equipment for each superset making the workout faster and more efficient
the next exercise combines both chest and triceps its dips using a weight for added resistance
then a superset pec deck fly moving over to overhead tricep extensions with the Rope finally
machine press this machine uses a close grip using both triceps and packs all in one movement
of course the five-day split allows you many more options for your workouts
for an even split you could simply hit chest back shoulders arms and legs on different days or you
could use the push pull legs format for three days then add an upper body day and a lower body day
arranging your weekly plan to allow each body part at least two days rest