Best Workout Split

What is the best workout split?

This is a GREAT question, and the answer is highly dependent on the individual, their goals, and numerous other factors.

So the best way I can go about answering this question, I think, is to go through the potential options for workout splits…

And discuss the benefits/disadvantages, and pros/cons of each.

Because I will say that personally in my own training, I have used MULTIPLE over the years.

And, with my clients in my online coaching program I continue to use different splits depending on the client.

Because in my online coaching program, I provide training programs (along with nutrition programs and constant guidance/communication) that are tailored to the individual client.

And in order to do that effectively, not everyone is going to have the same split.

So, as is often the case in health and fitness, the answer to the question…

“What is the best workout split?”

Is it depends.

But let’s get into it.

The first workout split I want to talk about is…

Upper/Lower

An upper/lower split is very simple. 

You split your days between…

Upper Days - where you focus mainly on the muscles above the waist (chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, etc.)

And…

Lower Days - where you focus mainly on the muscles below the waist (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, etc.)

NOTE - you can do core on either or both days

This is one of my personal favorite workout splits to use, and it fits extremely well for most people.

One of the reasons for this is that you can use this split for almost any frequency in terms of days/week.

You can use an upper/lower split if you want to lift 2 days/week all the way up to 6 days/week.

And, it’s very easy to modify based on the goal.

If you’re more focused on growing/developing your lower body, or your upper body, you can construct your week to be more focused on either upper or lower.

Let me show you what I mean…

2 days/week - upper/lower

3 days/week - upper/lower/upper, lower/upper/lower, upper/lower/full

4 days/week - upper/lower/upper/lower

5 days/week - upper/lower/upper/lower/upper, lower/upper/lower/upper/lower

6 days/week - upper/lower/upper/lower/upper/lower

So as you can see, there are a ton of different ways that you can set it up and tailor it to your own goals.

Another benefit to an upper/lower split is the overall soreness/stress on your body.

A workout in an upper/lower split will still be challenging (or at least it should be).

But your overall level of soreness typically won't be too crazy. ESPECIALLY if you’re training 2-4/days per week.

And this is because, by training the entire upper OR lower body together, you aren’t killing any individual muscles.

But, in terms of overall volume at the end of the week, each individual muscle is getting trained enough for you to still make awesome progress!

Now, onto the potential disadvantages or “cons” of this split. 

If you are someone who prefers a split where you hit specific muscles on specific days (aka more of a “bro split”) then this split probably isn’t for you.

Some people like (and actually prefer) the fact that you’re training your entire upper or lower body at once, and some don't.

Really comes down to personal preference here.

The only other real disadvantage with this split is if you want to train more than 4 days/week.

A frequency of 4+ days/week is going to cater itself much better to a split that is a little bit more similar to a body part split.

And this leads me into the next split that I want to talk about…

Push/Pull/Legs

This is another workout split that I'm a huge fan of.

I use this split with multiple online coaching clients, and this is the split that I’m running for myself currently as well.

You split your days between…

Push Days - where you focus mainly on the PUSHING muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps, etc.)

Pull Days - where you focus mainly on the PULLING muscles (chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, etc.)

And…

Leg Days - where you focus on all of the LEG muscles (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, etc.)

As I alluded to in the last section, this split is the ideal option for higher training volumes, aka training for more days/week.

You need to be training at least 3x/week to use push/pull/legs, and it works really well up to 6x/week.

Here’s a few examples of how that could look…

3 days/week - push/pull/legs

4 days/week - push/pull/legs/upper, legs/push/pull/legs (if you LOVE training legs)

5 days/week - push/pull/legs/upper/lower, push/pull/legs/push/pull (if you LOVE training upper body)

6 days/week - push/pull/legs/push/pull/legs

So as you can see, there are a ton of different ways to set up this split depending on overall workout frequency, training volume, and overall goal or emphasis.

The main disadvantages to this split are that it can’t be used all that effectively at a lower training frequency (less than 3 days)…

As well as the fact that this split will probably put some more stress on the body and cause some more soreness.

You are training individual muscles at a higher volume per workout, so this may make you a little more sore 1 or 2 days post-workout. 

So, as I mentioned before, it really comes down to the individual, their goals, and a few other factors.

Thank you for reading this far!

Here is the last split I’m going to talk about…

Full Body

Now this is a split that I’ve seen cause some controversy over the years.

Some love it, and some hate it.

I have used it for multiple clients over the years, and I’ve seen it work REALLY well.

I’ve also had clients who this split isn’t ideal for.

Let’s get into why…

A full body is exactly what it sounds like, you train your full body.

So there really is no “split.”

Because of this, a full body split really only works at a lower training frequency.

The main reason for this is, due to the fact that you’re training your entire body, ideally you should be taking a day between each training session.

So, due to the fact that a week is 7 days, the maximum number of days that you can train a full body split is 3 days/week.

Here’s how this could look…

1 day/week - full 

2 days/week - full/full (with an off day in between)

3 days/week - full/full/full (with off days in between)

This allows you to take a day off between each session.

This split works VERY well for busy professionals, and for people who either hate being sore, or can’t afford to be sore due to what they do for a living.

Because you only need to train 3 days a week at the most, and you aren’t likely to experience much soreness at all (since you’re really only 1 exercise per body part per workout).

But, if you’re someone who likes to train more than 3 times per week, or someone who enjoys training specific muscles per workout, then this split probably isn’t for you.

So, as you can see, the “best workout split,” is very dependent on the individual.

One quick note though, you may have noticed that I combined different workout splits in some of my examples.

Like, for example…

5 days/week - push/pull/legs/upper/lower

In this example I combined push/pull/legs and upper/lower.

There’s nothing wrong with doing this!

I do this in my clients programs all the time - sometimes a combination of splits is the best recipe for you!

Thank you so much for reading this far, I really appreciate it!

And, as a reward for your attention span, I will give away 1 free month in my online coaching program to 1 random person who leaves a comment under this article

(I’ll pool the names of everyone who comments and put them in a random number generator) 

So drop a comment below if you’re interested in having a coach who will take ALL of the guesswork out of your training and nutrition for you, and stop at nothing to CRUSH your goals!

If you have any questions, or are struggling and need some words of encouragement, please feel free to reach out!

I hope this article helps you and if you have any follow up questions (or any other questions) please don’t hesitate to reach out! 

Check out more articles on my website : kevinfinnfitness.com/articles 

And check out more helpful content on my Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook:

@kevinfinnfitness
Email me anytime with questions or anything! : kevinfinnfitness@gmail.com