The BEST Workout Split to MAXIMIZE Muscle Gains
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the creator breaks down how to choose the best workout split based on how many days you can commit to the gym. He discusses various options from one to six days per week, emphasizing the importance of balancing rest and compound movements. Whether you opt for full-body or more specific splits like upper/lower or push/pull/legs, he highlights the need for proper programming to avoid overtraining. The video also touches on optimizing volume, intensity, and variation in exercises, with a pitch for his one-on-one fitness coaching program to tailor personal routines.
Takeaways
- 💪 For muscle building, train at least three days per week.
- 🏋️♂️ One-day splits should be full-body with compound movements and an omni grip.
- 📈 Two-day splits can be full-body with a focus on upper or lower body on different days.
- 🛑 Ensure at least 48 hours of rest between workouts for the same muscle group.
- 🔄 Three-day splits offer flexibility with full-body, upper/lower, or upper/lower/full-body routines.
- 🏆 Four-day splits are ideal for upper/lower splits with the ability to focus on specific muscle groups.
- 🚫 Avoid redundancy in exercises to prevent 'junk volume' that doesn't contribute to muscle growth.
- 🔄 Six-day splits provide a blank canvas for workout design but be cautious of overtraining.
- 📅 Plan specific cycles for different rep ranges and exercises to keep your workouts novel.
- 🍽️ Post-workout nutrition is crucial; consider lean protein and vegetables for recovery.
Q & A
What is the most important factor when choosing a workout split?
-The most important factor when choosing a workout split is how many days you're going to be going to the gym.
What is the recommendation for someone who can only train one day per week?
-For one day per week, it's recommended to do a full body split focusing on compound movements and possibly using an omni grip to vary the workout.
What is an omni grip and how does it benefit workouts?
-An omni grip is a technique where you change your grip between each set of an exercise, which can help bias different muscle groups and prevent muscle imbalances.
What should be the focus for someone training two days per week?
-For two days per week, it's suggested to do a full body split but with an upward or lower focus on different days, ensuring at least a one-day rest between workouts.
Why is three days per week considered the minimum for optimal muscle building?
-Three days per week is considered the minimum for optimal muscle building because it allows for a balanced full body split with enough rest between workouts.
What is the advantage of training four days per week compared to fewer days?
-Training four days per week allows for a favorite split, upper/lower, providing a good balance of variety and specificity, and flexibility in scheduling without worrying about rest.
What is the recommended split for someone training five days per week?
-For five days per week, options include straight upper/lower, Push/Pull/Leg, or upper/lower with an accessory day for lagging body parts or preventative work.
What is 'junk volume' in the context of workout splits?
-'Junk volume' refers to volume in a workout that serves no purpose and may lead to overtraining or wasted effort, especially when there is redundancy in exercises targeting the same muscle group.
Why is six days per week considered the 'Holy Grail' of workout splits?
-Six days per week is considered the 'Holy Grail' because it offers the most flexibility and allows for almost daily training with various split options like PPL or UL, and additional accessory days.
What are universal tips for workout splits regardless of the number of training days?
-Universal tips include alternating between different variations of exercises, planning specific training cycles, and adjusting volume and intensity based on personal training style and goals.
Why wouldn't the speaker recommend training seven days a week?
-The speaker wouldn't recommend training seven days a week because it's important to have at least one active rest day for recovery and to avoid overtraining.
Outlines
💪 Choosing the Right Workout Split Based on Gym Days
In this section, the speaker addresses the fundamental question of which workout split to follow, emphasizing the importance of determining how many days per week you can dedicate to gym sessions. He begins by discussing a one-day-per-week workout, recommending a full-body workout focused on compound movements with some isolation exercises like rear delts. He introduces the concept of 'omni-grip,' which involves changing grips during exercises like rows to target different muscle groups and prevent imbalances. He wraps up this segment by stressing the importance of compound movements for limited gym days.
🏋️♂️ Structuring a Two-Day Workout Routine
The speaker explores two-day-per-week workout routines, again recommending a full-body split for maximum efficiency. He explains how two days provide more flexibility to focus on different areas each day, such as an upper-body-focused full-body day followed by a lower-body-focused full-body day. Key tips include ensuring at least one rest day between workouts for optimal recovery. He reiterates that the focus should still be on compound movements and experimenting with omni-grip techniques to engage multiple muscle groups within a short time frame.
🗓️ Optimizing Muscle Growth with a Three-Day Split
The discussion turns to a three-day workout split, which the speaker believes is the minimum number of days required to efficiently build muscle. He suggests using full-body workouts but with varying focuses each day, such as upper-body-focused or lower-body-focused sessions. Alternatively, the speaker proposes an upper-lower-full-body split, noting that this frequency provides more flexibility and prevents the need to pack too many exercises into one session. He emphasizes the importance of rest between sessions and suggests three days as an ideal starting point for most people.
🔥 The Sweet Spot: Four Days Per Week for Most People
For four-day workout routines, the speaker recommends his favorite split: upper-lower. This approach divides training into focused sessions that allow for variety and specificity, such as dedicating one upper-body day to chest and back and another to shoulders or arms. He explains that four days is ideal for avoiding overtraining while still allowing for flexibility in targeting different muscle groups. He mentions alternative splits like push-pull-leg (PPL) but insists upper-lower is the most effective and versatile option for the majority of gym-goers.
⚖️ Five-Day Workout Splits: Maximizing Flexibility with Caution
The speaker delves into five-day workout routines, where there's even more flexibility to mix and match training styles. He suggests options like three upper-body days and two lower-body days or experimenting with a push-pull-leg-upper-lower split for more variety. However, he cautions against overloading on volume, advising against redundant exercises like doing both incline bench press and incline pec fly in the same session. He introduces the concept of 'junk volume,' where excess exercises don't contribute to muscle growth and may even lead to overtraining.
🎨 Six-Day Splits: The 'Blank Canvas' of Workout Plans
Six-day workout plans are popular because they allow for daily gym sessions, but the speaker warns that such frequency increases the risk of overtraining. He provides several split options, such as PPL (push-pull-legs) or upper-lower with two accessory days to focus on lagging body parts or preventative exercises. While the six-day split offers tremendous flexibility, the speaker emphasizes the importance of avoiding excessive volume and managing fatigue. He recommends keeping exercises per muscle group limited and prioritizing smart programming to prevent burnout.
🛌 Seven-Day Splits: Why Rest Is Essential
Addressing the idea of working out every day, the speaker advises against seven-day workout splits, recommending at least one rest or active rest day. He explains that active rest can involve lighter activities like walking, playing sports, or listening to a podcast while staying active. The key message is that training every single day isn't necessary, and allowing time for recovery will ultimately lead to better muscle growth and performance. He suggests that 3-6 days per week is the optimal range for most people.
📅 Universal Training Tips: Customizing Your Routine for Success
The speaker wraps up the video with universal workout tips applicable to all splits. He suggests varying exercises week by week, such as alternating between different pressing movements, and incorporating mesocycles where each cycle focuses on different rep ranges, like strength or hypertrophy. He also discusses volume and intensity, noting that higher-intensity training might require lower overall volume, while lower-intensity training may benefit from more sets. The speaker emphasizes the importance of finding an individualized approach and highlights his personalized fitness coaching program for those needing specific guidance.
🍽️ Post-Workout Meal: Reaping the Benefits of Teriyaki Chicken
In the final segment, the speaker transitions to his post-workout meal at a local teriyaki restaurant, sharing his choice of lean protein (chicken breast) and vegetables. Although the chicken initially appears dry, he praises its flavor and juiciness, mentioning the addition of salad dressing for extra taste. He wraps up the video by encouraging viewers to like and subscribe and teases future content. The speaker leaves his audience with a reminder to apply the workout strategies discussed and to stay consistent in their fitness journey.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Workout Splits
💡Omni Grip
💡Compound Movements
💡Active Rest
💡Hypertrophy
💡Volume
💡Intensity
💡Full Body Split
💡Upper/Lower Split
💡Push/Pull/Leg Split
💡Arnold Split
Highlights
Optimal workout split depends on the number of gym days per week.
For one gym day per week, a full body split with compound movements is recommended.
Experiment with an omni grip to avoid muscle imbalances.
For two gym days, consider a full body split with an upper or lower focus on different days.
Ensure at least 48 hours of rest between workouts for muscle recovery.
Three days per week is the minimum for muscle building with a full body split.
Upper/lower split is recommended for four days per week for a balance of variety and specificity.
With five days per week, you can experiment with different splits like Push Pull Leg.
Avoid 'junk volume' where exercises do not contribute to muscle growth.
Six days per week allows for a blank canvas in workout splits but risks overtraining.
Seven days per week in the gym is not recommended due to the need for active rest.
Universal tip: Alternate between different variations of compound exercises.
Plan specific cycles for strength or hypertrophy to introduce novelty into your program.
Adjust volume and intensity based on your training goals and personal capacity.
For personalized workout plans, consider one-on-one fitness coaching.
Post-workout meal suggestions include lean protein and vegetables for optimal recovery.
Transcripts
what's up guys today I'm answering the
age-old question what workout splits
should I follow let's jump right into it
so we're here at LA Fitness in Hanover
Park by an upper body day now first off
when it comes to choosing a workout
split the most important factor is how
many days you're gonna be going to the
gym so we're going to be going down the
line one day all the way throughout
seven days starting with one day so if
you're trying to optimize building
muscle I wouldn't recommend training
anything under three days per week
however if you are working with one day
pretty much full body split it's
literally all you can do you're probably
gonna be wanting to stick to pretty much
all compound movements maybe like one or
two isolation exercises for something
like rear delts where it's hard to hit
and when you're dealing with the
compound movements you want to
experiment with something called an omni
grip which is essentially changing your
grip in between each side so if you're
thinking about row set one you start out
with a pronating grip row set to you
move on to something more neutral grip
and set three you do something underhand
where you're gonna be buying some more
of your bicep there and the idea with
this is changing grips will kind of bias
different muscle groups especially for
something like row you're trying to make
sure that you're like avoiding muscle
imbalances and you're trying to get as
many muscle groups into one workout as
possible but okay enough talking instead
of first set
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thank you
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I need a longer rest moving on to the
next exercise
now we're moving on to a lap pull down
focusing on the lower lash so we're
going to focus on the bottom range
motion first and as we fatigue we're
going to increase the range of motion
and basically let our arms extend more
get back to the topic at hand if we're
talking about two days per week I still
would pretty much only recommend a full
body split I guess you could do upper
lower as well but there's certain weekly
metrics you want to hit such as hitting
every muscle group types for a week or
roughly every five days which you
wouldn't be able to get if you're not
doing full body now you're going to find
that with two days you can definitely
divide the volume up a little bit right
so you can kind of do a full body split
but still have a focus on that day so
the first day might be an upward Focus
full body split where you mainly focus
on your upper body but you might add
some accessory leg exercises and then
second day would be more of a lower
focus a full body split wear vice versa
you're gonna be predominantly focusing
on your big leg movements such as like
Squad deadlift that sort of thing but
one thing you need to keep in mind if
you're going to do the full body two
times per week is have at least a one
day rest between each workout you want
roughly around 48 Hours of rest between
a muscle group so in the ideal sense you
know you want to just divide it up by a
day I think that makes the most sense
and same tips with the one day split
still applies which are the movements
you should use are compound movements
and you should focus on using an omni
grip when you can but yeah that's pretty
much it with two days so let's hit our
side
against
us
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you're in Chicago I'm like it's only
Fitness one yeah do I go to a bunch of
different ones there used to be a
Naperville one that closed down it was
like the old style Elite Fitness it had
a lot of really nice old equipment but
um that one closed down so then I never
used it before I think it's good yeah
there's like I think none of this brand
just in general they have a lot of like
um like higher quality stuff yeah and
you don't find it in like the newer gyms
because I think it's more expensive it's
probably like it's cheaper for them to
buy like something else you know I mean
but yeah and it's crazy
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foreign
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[Applause]
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swing
into the Flop right and this by putting
on the for the setting you get the best
range of motion possible when you're
doing the movement so that's just a
quick tip but getting back to the top
and get a hand if we're dealing with
three days in the gym this is where it
gets pretty pretty interesting I
personally recommend if you want to try
to optimize building muscle three days
is like the minimum for me okay with
three days you can be looking at same
full body split albeit you can make them
shorter and a little bit more focused
again right like a full body upper Focus
day full body lower Focus day and then
maybe that third day would be full body
but focus more on like your uh lagging
body parts but on top of that you can do
something like upper lower full body
right so getting more even more hyper
specialized big thing with this is if
you're doing a full body no matter what
you want again one day of rest in
between so you can be looking at let's
say if we're doing three full bodies you
do Monday Wednesdays Friday I want to
watch you to do Monday Tuesday Wednesday
because you again you want to have
around like 48 Hours of rest between
each muscle group now with full body I
think you use using an omni grip becomes
less important because you know you have
more days to work with overall and this
is why I recommend going at least three
days because you have the flexibility
you have to try to like jam pack
everything in every single workout so
three days I think for most people no
matter if you're working a job if you're
going to school this is like a pretty
good amount to start at so that's three
days time to hit our set
foreign
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for me I don't know about you guys but
every time I do an adduction Focus like
and these kind of like PEC fly moves and
my chest always gets so gassed dude it's
like my kryptonite good thing we're
getting a breather because we move on to
the next exercise it's gonna be a back
exercise all right so now we're moving
on to a prune grip machine row now when
we bring it up to four days per week
this is in my opinion The Sweet Spot you
know how three days was what I recommend
is the minimum four days is like what I
recommend for the vast majority of
people because you can do my favorite
split in the world and that is the upper
low or upper lower you have the
flexibility to do it back to back Monday
through Thursday or split it up one day
rest in between no matter what you're
never going to run to the issue of oh
did I get enough rest for a particular
muscle group because you can split it up
into literally the upper half your body
and lower half now the reason why I like
upper lower so much is I think it has
the best balance of giving you a variety
of different muscle groups within a day
so it's efficient as well as still being
specific enough for you to really
pinpoint and focus on certain muscle
groups so I can take an upper body day
but focus it more on my chest and back
and then maybe two days later when I do
my next upper day I can make it a
shoulder Focus upper body day or maybe
it's a farm folks upper body right you
can get a little more finite risk of
programming which I really like and then
I guess you could do like Push Pull leg
whole body for the sake of trying to be
different but I not just if you're doing
for a day stick to up for a lower that's
fine my big recommendation all right
we're gonna move on to this mid back
folks row let's get it
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wondering
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good side move on next exercise all
right so we're using this nice machine
overhead try something I've literally
never seen this before it's like super
super novelty type of equipment so I
figured why not try it out but anyways
getting back to the top of your hand and
we're moving to five days this is where
we get a lot of flexibility what we can
do now you could technically do just
straight up or lower depending on
whether you want to make it upper Focus
or lower Focus you can do three upper
body days two lower by days or three
lower body days and two upper by days
whatever floats your boat but what else
you can experiment with now that I'd
actually recommend would be Push Pull
leg upper lower so if you you guys are
big fans of PPL whatever maybe you if
you're a power lifter or something like
that PPL upper lower is a great workout
split you can also do let's say upper
lower upper lower and then on that fifth
day you can make it an accessory day for
a lagging body part or you can do like
preventative stuff on that last day such
as like rotator cuff work that sort of
thing now the one thing I need to warn
you guys when you get to five days is
you can kind of run into issues where
maybe you're incorporating too much
volume in a workout or you're just using
too much volume in your overall weekly
split so this is where I I would be more
anal about like redundancies in your
training for example let's say if you're
doing like incline bench press and then
after that you're gonna do like an
incline pec file I think there's a
little redundancy there like you know
you can a better option at that point
would be pairing let's say incline press
and then more like a flat Tech Deck so I
think this is the first day where it's
like you can actually kind of do too
much and basically kind of just waste
your time and accumulate junk volume
right which if you don't know what junk
volume is it's essentially like volume
in a workout that really serves no
purpose because if you think about the
relationship between volume and like
results such as like building muscle
it's kind of like a bell shape curve
where initially you're gonna be
benefiting from increasing volume at
some point there's a diminishing return
it might not be as beneficial in fact it
might actually be potentially harmful if
you're going to that over training
territory let me try using out this nice
overhead tricep machine I'll let you all
know how it goes foreign
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to be honest let's just go back to
cables
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all right we're gonna be moving on some
meantime jumbo curls but first let's
talk about six days this is like the
Holy Grail any Fitness person's workout
split not because it's the best for
anything but it's just the most common I
feel like and 60 is great you get to go
to the gym almost every single day right
so get the endorphins going and pump
pretty much up most days of the week and
with six days you're basically playing
with a blank canvas here right you can
do upper lower literally three upper
body Dave's three lower body days you
can go more specific and do PPL rest PPL
which is probably the most common six
day split I've seen people might be
asking like what about the Arnold split
bro split I think it can work if you
figure out a way to plant it so that
you're hitting every muscle group
roughly every five days but personally
because of the junk volume factor I
don't really recommend it I would stick
either PPL or UL what you can also do is
like let's say upper lower upper lower
like a four day upper lower split and
then have two accessory days where you
focus on either a lagging body part
Maybe one day's lagging body part the
other day is like a rotator cuff more
like preventative type of work or you
can make those two accessory days
literally just like your favorite
exercises or something right and
depending on whether you were trying to
focus on more of an upper Focus workout
split or a lower Focus workout split you
can do three upper days
two lower body days and on that sixth
day that's when you can tack on the
excessive 38 accessory day focusing on
your lagging body parts big thing with
six days is the risk of like over
training or just including too much
volume that that doesn't really like
contribute to anything it's Amplified
because you're working with another day
so this is where proper programming
really is important right because if
you're straight out doing like 20 sets
per muscle group and you're training
hard and stuff you probably can run into
some issues with accumulating too much
fatigue over time and at that point you
should really focus on like lowering the
body in fact I think with six days I
don't think you need to do more than two
exercises for a muscle group in any
workout even if you're doing like push a
push workout or a pull workout you're
just working with so many days that it's
more about controlling the volume making
sure you're not like overdoing it well
that's pretty much it when it comes to
six days now it's time to hit our set
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thank you
thank you
my hands are static again so shaky
okay that was a workout now it's time to
reap the fruits of our labor
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yourself
okay so real quick you might be thinking
what about seven days
if you're going seven days a week in the
gym
it's a little bit too much
to touch grass no kidding but yeah I
wouldn't recommend going seven days just
because
I think you should I think it's good in
general just to have some sort of active
rest day even if you're not specifically
weight training on that active rest day
you can definitely do something active
still it's active arrest today either
play sports go on a treadmill walk
listen to a podcast or better yet walk
and listen to some Tyler path YouTube
videos but I want to recommend seven
days I think the sweet spot if you're
trying to maximize building muscle so
you know hypertrophy
three to three to six days is that sweet
spot I would recommend if you're going
less than three days definitely I think
sticking to a more full body split makes
more sense but to quickly talk about
some Universal tips regardless of how
many days you're going what you could do
is alternate between different
variations of you know calm exercise
such as a press between each week so
let's say one week you're doing incline
demo bench press next week you're doing
the Hammer Strength machine press that
we did today and building on that idea
you can even plan out specific metal
Cycles where maybe you're sticking to
Incline demo bench for a whole month or
you can focus on like a specific rep
range so like maybe you're going you're
doing a mesocycle the last four weeks
long where you're really focusing on
strength so under six reps follow that
up with a deload week and after that do
another muscle cycle for another four or
six weeks where you're going to be doing
more like hypertrophy based stuff so so
you lighten up the load but increase the
Reps a little bit to kind of give
yourself some like novelty into your
actual program and the last thing I want
to talk about is related to your volume
and intensity so in general you need to
be truthful to yourself the lower
intensity you generally train the higher
volume you probably will want to program
to your split but if you're the type of
person that like actually goes to
failure and I'm not I'm not talking
about like what you think is failure but
it's like you hit failure and then you
try to get like three reps after that
then it might be more optimal for you to
do lower volume style stuff where you're
sticking to like less than 10 sets per
week for a muscle group so ultimately
there's a lot of individuality with it
and if you're listening to this and
you're like dude yeah there's honestly a
lot to think about personally I just
want I want to know what exact split I
should do in my specific situation I
want to know exactly what exercises to
do I want to be able to get all my
questions answered in like a very
streamlined approach and just basically
make my path to knowing about Fitness
more efficient and I highly recommend
you apply to my exclusive one-on-one
Fitness coaching program where I pretty
much will do just that so I want to copy
out this by saying that spots are
limited so apply soon I know we go into
back to school week everyone's going to
college and stuff like that but let's
make some gains so
check the link in the description for
that and now it is time to eat all right
y'all we're back at the usual spot enjoy
teriyaki gonna get some lean protein and
veggies
I think I'm gonna try something else
today perhaps I'll get either spicy pork
or chicken breast lunch
look at that grab and go lunch chicken
broth chicken chicken breast beef spicy
pork all right I think we're gonna go
with chicken breast
it's busy hello
I'll just have the uh go press lunch
I'll get the spicy teriyaki breast
all right so I ended up getting a
chicken breast Teriyaki but they forgot
the spicy sauce so I have the spicy
sauce right here
on first glance this chicken breast
might seem oh nothing nothing
spectacular but surprisingly it is
really really good
to be completely honest it looks dry but
it's not dry at all that's why everyone
love it here
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also
the salad dressing sauce it's actually
really good on the chicken in fact the
owner said you should put it on the
chicken
a little strip
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that was so good okay literally
everything's good dude that's why I
always come back here
with that said hope you guys enjoyed
this video
this video will help you kind of get an
understanding what kind of workouts that
you want to do how many days you want to
train in the first place so and all you
gotta do to thank me back is like the
video subscribe if you want to see more
videos like this and really [ __ ]
I'll see you all in the next video peace
thank you
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