Structure
Workout splits compared
A split is how you divide the week between muscles. Pick by days available and experience; every option below opens a ready routine.
Full Body
Whole body every session: squat, hinge, push, pull, core. Highest frequency per muscle, easiest to recover from and to stick to. Best for 2–3 days a week and for beginners.
Upper / Lower
Alternate upper and lower sessions. Every muscle twice a week with clear recovery days; the standard 4-day layout for intermediates.
Push / Pull / Legs
Chest/shoulders/triceps, then back/biceps, then legs. Three days hits everything once, six days twice. The most popular hypertrophy split.
PPL + Upper / Lower
PPL followed by an upper and a lower day: five sessions, every muscle twice, with one strength-biased and one volume-biased exposure.
Bro Split
One muscle group per day. Lots of volume per session, one hard hit per muscle per week. Works for advanced lifters who recover well and like the focus.
Which split should I use?
2–3 days: full body. 4 days: upper/lower. 5 days: PPL + upper/lower. 6 days: push/pull/legs twice. The bro split is for lifters who have run the others and want more per-session volume.
Frequency matters less than total weekly sets: 10–20 hard sets per muscle per week, spread over two or more sessions, is the range that research keeps landing on. All the routines here respect it.