What's your split?

USERNAME

Professional
So how does everybody approach their lifting? I know guys who'll hit the whole body 3-4 times a week which I just can't do! I'm on a 4 day split now: 1)Heavy legs w/one other body part, 2)Back and bis, 3)Chest and tris w/light legs, 4)Shoulders. I change up the order depending on the other part I hit on day 1. So what do y'all do???
 

spacediver

Hall of Fame
I've had good results with the following schedule:

Tuesday:

Weighted dips,
Weighted chins,


Friday:

Flat dumbell presses
one arm dumbell rows
romanian deadlifts

gonna add squats back into my monday routine.

Not sure whether this is a split or not, or what the actual definition of a split is.

I also lift very heavy, and only 2 working sets per exercise.
 
Im doing the Doggcrap training... 3x a week.

It's pretty intense and soometimes insane ... but never ever i've had such good results.

People using it (not just me) say marvelous about it. best approach on gaining mass in my opinion.
 

Ramon

Legend
Lately, I've been playing more tennis, so I've only been able to hit the gym 2-3 times/wk. I've moved from a 3-day split to a 2-day split. It goes like this:

Day 1:
Legs
Shoulders
Calves
Abs
Cardio

Day 2:
Chest
Back
Arms
Calves
Abs
Cardio

On some weeks, I might move Arms to Day 1. I've had to cut down on the number of sets I do so I can fit this all in.
 

USERNAME

Professional
I've had good results with the following schedule:

Tuesday:

Weighted dips,
Weighted chins,


Friday:

Flat dumbell presses
one arm dumbell rows
romanian deadlifts

gonna add squats back into my monday routine.

Not sure whether this is a split or not, or what the actual definition of a split is.

I also lift very heavy, and only 2 working sets per exercise.

Splits are how you break up or SPLIT up your lifting routine by body part. 3 and 4 are what I see most people doing, I think I read somewhere that Cutler does a 5 day split but he's a pro bodybuilder. I find that 4 day split is great for me and I normally take the 5th day off and just do cardio and abs (do lighter cardio and hit abs every day pretty much). Major props Ramon for being able to do a 2 day split! I'd be all kinds of sore and I'm still a young buck lol!
 

T1000

Legend
Monday
5/3/1 Deadlifts
4 sets bb rows, change overhand and underhand grip every 4 weeks
4 sets weighted pullups/chins alternate every 4 weeks
4 sets tbar rows
4 sets bb shrugs

Tuesday
5/3/1 flat bb bench
4 sets reverse grip bench
4 sets incline flies
4 sets weighted dips
2-3 sets cg decline bench

Wednesday
5/3/1 Squats
4 sets leg press alternated wide/narrow foot every 4 weeks
4 sets single leg extensions alternate inner/outer 4 weeks
4 sets hamstring curls alternate standing/seated/lying 4 weeks
5 sets calf raises alternate donkey/standing/seated 4 weeks

Thursday
5/3/1 Standing Military Press
4 sets upright row
4 supersets lat/front raises
4 sets reverse flies
4 sets bb shrugs

Friday
5 supersets cg decline bench with standing bb curl
5 supersets cg straight bar pushdown with hammer curl
switch up the supersets every 6 weeks, also do db or bb preacher curls, weighted dips, weighted chins, standing preacher bar curls, cross hammer curls, skull crushers, overhead extensions for the longhead

Saturday
Weakness or off day, currently focusing on chest, shoulders, bis, tris, forearms, and calves

Sunday
Off
 

USERNAME

Professional
Monday
5/3/1 Deadlifts
4 sets bb rows, change overhand and underhand grip every 4 weeks
4 sets weighted pullups/chins alternate every 4 weeks
4 sets tbar rows
4 sets bb shrugs

Tuesday
5/3/1 flat bb bench
4 sets reverse grip bench
4 sets incline flies
4 sets weighted dips
2-3 sets cg decline bench

Wednesday
5/3/1 Squats
4 sets leg press alternated wide/narrow foot every 4 weeks
4 sets single leg extensions alternate inner/outer 4 weeks
4 sets hamstring curls alternate standing/seated/lying 4 weeks
5 sets calf raises alternate donkey/standing/seated 4 weeks

Thursday
5/3/1 Standing Military Press
4 sets upright row
4 supersets lat/front raises
4 sets reverse flies
4 sets bb shrugs

Friday
5 supersets cg decline bench with standing bb curl
5 supersets cg straight bar pushdown with hammer curl
switch up the supersets every 6 weeks, also do db or bb preacher curls, weighted dips, weighted chins, standing preacher bar curls, cross hammer curls, skull crushers, overhead extensions for the longhead

Saturday
Weakness or off day, currently focusing on chest, shoulders, bis, tris, forearms, and calves

Sunday
Off

That is a lot of work! 5-6 days straight, you gotta be in great shape man.
 

USERNAME

Professional
I've done splits like that several years ago. That's the way to do it when you're young, have time to do it, and taking lots of creatine!

Football was lifting like that, got stronger a lot faster which was awesome. Switched to 4 day splits to save my body and still making gains!
 

floridatennisdude

Hall of Fame
I do total body stuff 2-3 days per week.

Basically, a modified throwers 10 program, light dumbell work, and body weight lifts. Lots of stretching, but not quite to the extent where I would call it yoga. My goal is flexibility and stamina so I work out in circuits of 5 exercises, 3 sets of each. I try to get through three circuits like this in 30 minutes.

On days that I lift, my cardio is just the 3 mile bike ride to and from the gym. It more or less serves as a warm up and cool down than cardio, but I'm strapped for time in the morning.

Other days I do interval runs at the local track or ride my bike on some trails for stamina. I rarely have a full "off day" unless I am consciously in a rest week to recover. This type of working out allows me to play tennis 3-4 times per week and recover fairly quickly.
 

Minhdingo

New User
^^^ I'm agree with the total body approach since the time I can get to the gym is sporadic.

I always start of with legs doing different types of squats and lunges mixed with jump rope for the "rest" period.

After finishing legs (which could pretty much count of cardio) I move to upper body. I do the push/pull supersets working larger muscle groups to smaller groups. Usual routine goes: chest/back > shoulders/lats > bi/tris - 3 sets of 20 for each.

I only go to the gym when I'm not playing tennis so I try to work out everything.
 

The Wreck

Semi-Pro
Monday
5/3/1 Deadlifts
4 sets bb rows, change overhand and underhand grip every 4 weeks
4 sets weighted pullups/chins alternate every 4 weeks
4 sets tbar rows
4 sets bb shrugs

Tuesday
5/3/1 flat bb bench
4 sets reverse grip bench
4 sets incline flies
4 sets weighted dips
2-3 sets cg decline bench

Wednesday
5/3/1 Squats
4 sets leg press alternated wide/narrow foot every 4 weeks
4 sets single leg extensions alternate inner/outer 4 weeks
4 sets hamstring curls alternate standing/seated/lying 4 weeks
5 sets calf raises alternate donkey/standing/seated 4 weeks

Thursday
5/3/1 Standing Military Press
4 sets upright row
4 supersets lat/front raises
4 sets reverse flies
4 sets bb shrugs

Friday
5 supersets cg decline bench with standing bb curl
5 supersets cg straight bar pushdown with hammer curl
switch up the supersets every 6 weeks, also do db or bb preacher curls, weighted dips, weighted chins, standing preacher bar curls, cross hammer curls, skull crushers, overhead extensions for the longhead

Saturday
Weakness or off day, currently focusing on chest, shoulders, bis, tris, forearms, and calves

Sunday
Off


Personally, I think this is the perfect workout routine. Take one of the primary, strength building, full body type workouts (squats, bench, press, deadlift) and build a workout around them with more isolation exercises.

I wish I had the time and motivation to do a workout like this. Actually, it's more motivation than time. But still. Kudos.
 

limitup

Professional
There's no way I could play tennis 4-5 times a week with a workout routine like that. I do a 4 way split with mostly light weights and a lot of bodyweight stuff and stretching.
 

spacediver

Hall of Fame
Splits are how you break up or SPLIT up your lifting routine by body part. 3 and 4 are what I see most people doing, I think I read somewhere that Cutler does a 5 day split but he's a pro bodybuilder.

thing is, i don't split up my body parts by day. Weighted dips and chins work similar muscle groups to presses and rows. So it's not like i'm splitting chest/tri against back/biceps.

So if I work chest and back using one set of exercises on day 1, and chest and back using another set of exercises on day 2, is this a split?
 

Ramon

Legend
thing is, i don't split up my body parts by day. Weighted dips and chins work similar muscle groups to presses and rows. So it's not like i'm splitting chest/tri against back/biceps.

So if I work chest and back using one set of exercises on day 1, and chest and back using another set of exercises on day 2, is this a split?

That is not a split. The theory behind the split is that you can work each body part harder and give it more time to recover. So, for instance, if you worked chest/tri on day 1 you can work it twice as hard, then on day 2 you can work back/bi and rest your other muscles.

However, since you only work out 2 times/wk, your muscles have enough time to recover. For the frequency at which you train, you don't need to split.
 
Last edited:

Itagaki

Semi-Pro
Personally, I think this is the perfect workout routine. Take one of the primary, strength building, full body type workouts (squats, bench, press, deadlift) and build a workout around them with more isolation exercises.

I wish I had the time and motivation to do a workout like this. Actually, it's more motivation than time. But still. Kudos.

There are other 5/3/1 models that are much less time consuming.

The "I'm doing Jack ****" model is particularly short. Get in, hit your prescribed reps, and get out. Whole workout probably wouldnt take longer than 30 minutes
 

hollywood9826

Hall of Fame
Back when I lifted with my pops out splits were like this. we would get in at least 30min cardio afetr workout. Excpet after legs.

1 Chest/Tris

2 Back/Bis

3 Legs

4 Shoulders

5 Abs and 1 hr cardio

Never felt like the seaprate arm day was really necessary. But we were never concerned about gaining strenght super fast. It was more of getting the work in. I know some people will do Chest and Bis on the same day ona 4 day split as they feel they can gain strentgh faster by lifting bi-s after chest as they are not as fatiged as they are when doing a back day.
 

GuyClinch

Legend
The more you workout the more aggressive a split you can have of course.

I like a simple upper/lower split because then you can ratchet your workouts down to 2x week when the weather is good..and you are playing alot of tennis.

Depending on your dedication to tennis - I would consider dedicating a speed day instead of using a bodybuilding style 4 or 5 day split.

It all depends on your goals though.
 

T1000

Legend
There are other 5/3/1 models that are much less time consuming.

The "I'm doing Jack ****" model is particularly short. Get in, hit your prescribed reps, and get out. Whole workout probably wouldnt take longer than 30 minutes

Boring but big is also a good short one that only takes roughly 45 mins. I modified mine with an arm and weakness day since I'm not playing tennis as much and trying to bulk up. On the deload week I skip them though.
 

USERNAME

Professional
Gonna be on a trip and probably won't be in the gym much... Maybe 3 days a week. **** sucks! Thinking 1)back, bis, shoulders 2)chest, tris, legs 3)total annihilation lol.
 

OTMPut

Hall of Fame
I have switched to just body weight exercises.
I do about 50 pull ups, 50 dips, 100 push ups and 150 squats 5 days a week, Monday to Friday.

1 pull up + 2 push up + 3 squats makes one rep and i do 5 sets of 10 reps in about 13-14 minutes. Follow it up with 50 dips in 3 or 4 sets. Whole thing takes less than 20 minutes.
 

greg280

Rookie
regardless of the actual routine, my best results come when i dont give each muscle group more than 3 days to recover. if i hit chest on monday.... if i am not back to chest by say thursday, i feel like i am going a little flat. thats regardless on how intense i go. 3 sets or 9 sets more than 3 days recovery i start to lose.
 

nickskep

New User
I workout two times a week following a full body workout routine. I like to consistently play tennis 3 times a week so I cannot workout more than twice a week due to soreness affecting my tennis performance.

My Program
Monday:
Squats 3 sets 4-8 reps heavy weight
Flat Bench 3 sets 4-8 reps heavy weight
Lat Pulldowns 3 sets 4-8 reps heavy weight
Deadlifts 3 sets 4-8 reps heavy weight
Seated Shoulder Presses 4-8 reps heavy weight
Standing Calf Raises 4-8 reps heavy weight
Bicep Barbell Curls 4-8 heavy weight
Tricep extensions 4-8 heavy weight
Forearm Barbell Curls 4-8 heavy weight
Situps 3 sets till failure

Tuesday
OFF

Wednesday
Tennis

Thursday
OFF

Friday
Tennis

Saturday
Tennis early in the day, then later in the afternoon repeat Monday's weight regimen.

Sunday
OFF

This is what works for me. It does not give me a bodybuilder's physique but I do feel very strong. I would love to be able to do a 4 or 5 day split but I cannot see how someone can do a 4 day split while playing tennis more than once a week. I would like to hear if anyone manages to play tennis multiple times a week and do a 4 day split, and how they feel during tennis.
 

USERNAME

Professional
I workout two times a week following a full body workout routine. I like to consistently play tennis 3 times a week so I cannot workout more than twice a week due to soreness affecting my tennis performance.

My Program
Monday:
Squats 3 sets 4-8 reps heavy weight
Flat Bench 3 sets 4-8 reps heavy weight
Lat Pulldowns 3 sets 4-8 reps heavy weight
Deadlifts 3 sets 4-8 reps heavy weight
Seated Shoulder Presses 4-8 reps heavy weight
Standing Calf Raises 4-8 reps heavy weight
Bicep Barbell Curls 4-8 heavy weight
Tricep extensions 4-8 heavy weight
Forearm Barbell Curls 4-8 heavy weight
Situps 3 sets till failure

Tuesday
OFF

Wednesday
Tennis

Thursday
OFF

Friday
Tennis

Saturday
Tennis early in the day, then later in the afternoon repeat Monday's weight regimen.

Sunday
OFF

This is what works for me. It does not give me a bodybuilder's physique but I do feel very strong. I would love to be able to do a 4 or 5 day split but I cannot see how someone can do a 4 day split while playing tennis more than once a week. I would like to hear if anyone manages to play tennis multiple times a week and do a 4 day split, and how they feel during tennis.

I play 5-6 days a week now in the summer and am on a 4 day split. I lift 4-6 days straight before taking a day off from lifting while playing tennis 3-4 hours every time I hit the courts, personally I feel fine during my lifting and hitting sessions. It's all about finding what your body can handle, I'm a born and bred athlete so I've always done a lot of work on my body which is why I can handle the load I have.
 

nickskep

New User
^^
Wow that is encouraging, maybe I will try to give a 4 day split a shot. How many exercises are you doing for each workout and are lifting heavy?
 

USERNAME

Professional
^^
Wow that is encouraging, maybe I will try to give a 4 day split a shot. How many exercises are you doing for each workout and are lifting heavy?

I do around 8-10 different exercises and a TON of sets... I overtrain by many standards but I haven't sustained injuries and am not at threat according to my family doc! Just be careful and don't go overboard, start at like 12-15 sets and increase it as you feel comfortable. I do lift heavy most times but will decrease weight every 2 or 3 weeks to allow my body to rest more.
 

nickskep

New User
I do around 8-10 different exercises and a TON of sets... I overtrain by many standards but I haven't sustained injuries and am not at threat according to my family doc! Just be careful and don't go overboard, start at like 12-15 sets and increase it as you feel comfortable. I do lift heavy most times but will decrease weight every 2 or 3 weeks to allow my body to rest more.

Thanks for the info. I wanted you to check out this split routine I really wanted to do and tell me what you think about it.

http://cutandjacked.com/Workout-Routine-Lazar-Angelov
 

Power Player

Bionic Poster
I play a lot of tennis and my joints get mad if I lift too much.

So basically I do : deadlifts, leg extensions, 2 sets of curls, rows

then : pushups, inclines, flys, tri extensions, shoulder press a day or 2 later.
 

USERNAME

Professional
Thanks for the info. I wanted you to check out this split routine I really wanted to do and tell me what you think about it.

http://cutandjacked.com/Workout-Routine-Lazar-Angelov

That's very similar to what I did when I played football and can say, if you can handle it and lift the right weight, you will get strong as a bull. I do a 4 day split with pretty much the same exercises but bump the reps to 8-12 with slightly lighter weight.
That's a great routine if your an experienced lifter, if not I'd pick a few of those exercises and add on more as you can. IMO a 4-5 day split is perfect.
 

nickskep

New User
That's very similar to what I did when I played football and can say, if you can handle it and lift the right weight, you will get strong as a bull. I do a 4 day split with pretty much the same exercises but bump the reps to 8-12 with slightly lighter weight.
That's a great routine if your an experienced lifter, if not I'd pick a few of those exercises and add on more as you can. IMO a 4-5 day split is perfect.

I am going to try the routine I posted through the link with maybe 1 or exercises less than recommended. I will start on Monday and let everyone know how I feel after.
 

USERNAME

Professional
I am going to try the routine I posted through the link with maybe 1 or exercises less than recommended. I will start on Monday and let everyone know how I feel after.

Just remember bro don't snap ya **** up, we go into the gym to better ourselves lol! Get swole like a mofo!
 

T1000

Legend
Thanks for the info. I wanted you to check out this split routine I really wanted to do and tell me what you think about it.

http://cutandjacked.com/Workout-Routine-Lazar-Angelov

I see a ton of flaws in his program imo. If you're looking for pure hypertrophy then it's a decent routine but for strength it's terrible.

On chest I would pick only one barbell bench. Doing decline and flat is a waste of time imo. I'd rather do flat bb and incline db. Dips are good but he doesn't have any fly movements which is a major chest movement. I'd take out pullovers and hammer presses and add decline flies.

Deadlifts should be done before any back exercise. Pulldowns and pullups are the same thing so I'd pick weighted pullups. Take out the cable row and do one arm rows or t bar rows. Shrugs are good and if you do back correctly with heavy enough weight you shouldn't need to do forearm isos at the end.

Way too much volume on delt day. I'd do one or two presses, lat and front raises, and a rear delt movement. Add shrugs too if you take a day between delts and back.

Tricep movements are good except for kickbacks, they don't really do anything imo, so do overhead extensions to hit the long head. Sub drag curls for conc curls and superset each tri movement with a bi movement. Again if you do bis correctly you shouldnt have to do forearm isos.

Squats and front squats. Never was a fan of bulgarian or to the bench. I'd do one squat movement, then leg presses alt. feet positions, and extensions. Glute ham raise instead of glute kickbacks. donkey calf raises instead of leg press raises.

You don't even need to do ab work if you do heavy compounds. I've never done one ab exercise in my life and my core is strong from always doing heavy compounds. Squats, presses, and deads should never exceed 8 reps imo. They're power movements and should be done for strength.

that's how I would change his program. Free weights are much better for strength and building stability muscles. I'd change it up or do something else if you're looking mainly for strength and if you want size they're much better programs out there.

Some articles on hypertrophy if that's what you're going for
http://www.simplyshredded.com/muscl...biceps-back-and-legs-by-menno-henselmans.html
http://www.simplyshredded.com/muscl...riceps-and-shoulders-by-menno-henselmans.html

And if you eat enough and get enough sleep you can do a 4-5 day split and play tennis. I workout 4-6 days a week and play tennis everyday with no problems.
 

USERNAME

Professional
Major case of **** not being that serious! When you dead lift heavy what happens??? The bar goes *PING* between reps!!! No matter what! I didn't drop the weight once, not a single time. This big monkey comes up and starts runnin his mouth, guy threatens me, guy gets an earful from me and a nice bang when I drop the bar on my last rep. It ain't that serious! If he just talked to me I woulda grabbed 2 more pads but since he was a jerk I just ignored that crap.
 
I try to do full body lifting once every decade. They say the key to getting mass is to let the body rest. I found that every decade I have more mass so the saying is true.
 

nickskep

New User
I see a ton of flaws in his program imo. If you're looking for pure hypertrophy then it's a decent routine but for strength it's terrible.

On chest I would pick only one barbell bench. Doing decline and flat is a waste of time imo. I'd rather do flat bb and incline db. Dips are good but he doesn't have any fly movements which is a major chest movement. I'd take out pullovers and hammer presses and add decline flies.

Deadlifts should be done before any back exercise. Pulldowns and pullups are the same thing so I'd pick weighted pullups. Take out the cable row and do one arm rows or t bar rows. Shrugs are good and if you do back correctly with heavy enough weight you shouldn't need to do forearm isos at the end.

Way too much volume on delt day. I'd do one or two presses, lat and front raises, and a rear delt movement. Add shrugs too if you take a day between delts and back.

Tricep movements are good except for kickbacks, they don't really do anything imo, so do overhead extensions to hit the long head. Sub drag curls for conc curls and superset each tri movement with a bi movement. Again if you do bis correctly you shouldnt have to do forearm isos.

Squats and front squats. Never was a fan of bulgarian or to the bench. I'd do one squat movement, then leg presses alt. feet positions, and extensions. Glute ham raise instead of glute kickbacks. donkey calf raises instead of leg press raises.

You don't even need to do ab work if you do heavy compounds. I've never done one ab exercise in my life and my core is strong from always doing heavy compounds. Squats, presses, and deads should never exceed 8 reps imo. They're power movements and should be done for strength.

that's how I would change his program. Free weights are much better for strength and building stability muscles. I'd change it up or do something else if you're looking mainly for strength and if you want size they're much better programs out there.

Some articles on hypertrophy if that's what you're going for
http://www.simplyshredded.com/muscl...biceps-back-and-legs-by-menno-henselmans.html
http://www.simplyshredded.com/muscl...riceps-and-shoulders-by-menno-henselmans.html

And if you eat enough and get enough sleep you can do a 4-5 day split and play tennis. I workout 4-6 days a week and play tennis everyday with no problems.

Sorry for not checking in for a while. Thanks T1000 for the great input. After reading all the substitutes you proposed I totally agree with all of them. Having previously been on a 5 day split all the exercises you mentioned were always in my routines. Today is my first workout on the new routine, very excited, hope I am not to sore for tennis.
 
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