Hey Hermanites!

So I have a problem and I dont know what to do. My current school and work schedule is killing me and after getting off from the hospital I just cant make it to the gym the three days I work. So I was wanting to go from my current 5 Day split (chest/abs, back, delts/abs, arms, legs/abs) to a three day split. What would be the best split in my current situation? I am still trying to gain muscle mass. I was thinking of a push, pull, and legs day but I actually dont know any other way to split? Any recomendations as to how I should split or which workouts I should do during the days (concentrated to a certain muscle group or more broad exercises) would be much appreciated! Plus I plan to do Cardio on one of the off days if that matters? Thank you guys!

Hey Hermanites!

So I have a problem and I dont know what to do. My current school and work schedule is killing me and after getting off from the hospital I just cant make it to the gym the three days I work. So I was wanting to go from my current 5 Day split (chest/abs, back, delts/abs, arms, legs/abs) to a three day split. What would be the best split in my current situation? I am still trying to gain muscle mass. I was thinking of a push, pull, and legs day but I actually dont know any other way to split? Any recomendations as to how I should split or which workouts I should do during the days (concentrated to a certain muscle group or more broad exercises) would be much appreciated! Plus I plan to do Cardio on one of the off days if that matters? Thank you guys!

Hey Hermanites!

So I have a problem and I dont know what to do. My current school and work schedule is killing me and after getting off from the hospital I just cant make it to the gym the three days I work. So I was wanting to go from my current 5 Day split (chest/abs, back, delts/abs, arms, legs/abs) to a three day split. What would be the best split in my current situation? I am still trying to gain muscle mass. I was thinking of a push, pull, and legs day but I actually dont know any other way to split? Any recomendations as to how I should split or which workouts I should do during the days (concentrated to a certain muscle group or more broad exercises) would be much appreciated! Plus I plan to do Cardio on one of the off days if that matters? Thank you guys!

3 days ? No problem ! First of all the big compound movements are going to be your best friend in this case and by that I mean: Bench press, squat, deadlift, military press, any type of row exercise (yates row, barbell row is perfereed) You can create a workout JUST by doing these and do it 3 times a week. Just create some sets and reps and you are ready to go. If you want you can include some tricep exercises such as dips and push downs, however you do get a alot of work if you would do the above exercises 3 times a week so it is not required. So lets say you go for this "program" if you do I would suggest you to start off with around 1.23 % of your max (deadlift, example). So lets say that the perfect form for your deadlift becomes a lift of 80 kg. 80kg / 1.23 = 65 kg. Then you can change the % every week to make it harder. For instance change it to to 1.18 %. 80 kg / 1.8 = 67.8 kg. Now you are making sure you are increasing the weight every week to make sure you gain ressistance ! Hope this helps, let me know if you need more help

Hey man,

You dont have to "split" your workouts. Full body workouts 3 times a week is very effective for muscle/strength building. As William said, stick to 7-8 compound movements and create a structured program with those. If you want, we can suggest you one. Starting strength for example is an amazing program for your needs. Push/pull/legs will not be very effective because you will only be training each muscle group once a week. Its far better to train everything 2 or even better 3 times a week.

#HTH!
Kostas

Chris,

 

I used to a do a 3 day split. Now I do 4-day Push/Pull full body training. When I did a 3 day split, I did:

 

Mon = Chest/Back

Wed = Legs

Fri = Shoulders/Arms

 

I would do abs 2 out of the 3 workouts - usually on Mon and Fri. Push/Pull/Legs is also a great 3 day split.

 

John

Awesome this is some great info i really appreciate it! A few questions I have is would you do bench press, squat, deadlift, military press, and a row everyday you go to the gym with abs every other day? Are compound movements, exercises that work several muscles during the exercise?

Awesome thanks for the feedback! If you dont mind me asking what does your 4-day push/pull full body training consist of? Is it with compound movements like how Kostas and William suggested? Also I was wondering since I was going from a 5 day to a 3 day a week workout schedule how should I decide which exercises from each muscle group to keep? Would it be the exercises that work multiple muscles rather than isolating just one muscle group?

So it is better to do full body workouts on a 3 day split, instead of isolating one or two body parts everytime? I currently do a 3 day split

Day 1: Chest and Triceps

Day 2: Legs and shoulders

Day 3: Back and Biceps

 

Abs 2 out of 3 days too, plus a little cardio on the other day

 

I should switch to a full body using the compound exercises instead?

No problem ! Happy to help you out !
You can split it out like this:
Monday: Squat, deadlift, maybe add in some calf raises if you want
Wednesday: Bench press, military press or standing overhead barbell press, row, barbell bicep curls, throw in some tricep exercises if you want
Friday: Same as wednesday

So essentially, what this means is that you will have 2 upper body days and 1 lower body days. I would suggest you to switch it up every 2nd week or so you do 2 lower body days and only 1 upper body.
You can do abs whenever you want, with ONE exception: Do NOT do it 1-2 days before your leg workout because you will need your abs and core to be fully rested if you want to perform on the lower body workouts as best as you can. I also did not mention anything about rest time. I would advice you to do 3-8 minutes in between the compund movement sets. However on the calf raises for instance you only need 1-2 minutes.
Lastly: Yes compund movements work multiple muscles at a time, hence the reason why it is so powerfull to do in a 3 or 4 day split.

Chris,

 

For Push days, I do quads, chest, tris, and calves and for Pull days I do back, bis, hams, and shoulders. Abs are 2-3 times per week. I stick to 2 compound exercises per muscle group. I do 2 Push/Pull days where I keep the weights heavy and in the 4-6 rep range with about 2-3 minutes rest between sets. I then do 2 Push/Pull days where I superset the 2 exercises and keep the weights moderate in the 8-12 rep range and 60-90 seconds rest between sets. I do 4 sets per exercise on heavy days and 8 (via super sets) on volume days. I get 30 minutes of brisk walking in on 4 days as I walk to and from the gym.

 

As the others have stated, it is best to stick with compound exercises and try to avoid machines. I mix up the exercises and super sets each workout to add variety and to keep the muscles guessing. So far it is working great for me - my strength, size , and weight are up but my body fat is low (11%) for my age (50). The key is eating good, keeping the protein high and the carbs moderate (150-175g) and plenty of essential fats. I make sure to get 8 hours sleep, drink plenty of water, and do a re-feed day every Sunday where I bump carbs up to around 250-270 grams.

 

John

Okay awesome I will start this new routine on monday. I was wondering what sets/reps you would suggest. On my old routine I was doing 4 sets to 12 reps. Would that be okay or?

So it is better to do full body workouts on a 3 day split, instead of isolating one or two body parts everytime? I currently do a 3 day split

Day 1: Chest and Triceps

Day 2: Legs and shoulders

Day 3: Back and Biceps

 

Abs 2 out of 3 days too, plus a little cardio on the other day

 

I should switch to a full body using the compound exercises instead?

You got some good info here but I just want to add, hands down most people will agree compound exercise are way better the isolation because they hit more muscles and allow you to lift heavier for those muscles than isolation lifts plus the amount of exercises you end up doing are less than targeting each muscle group individually. Don't get me wrong I did isolation exercises spending up to an 1 1/2 hrs in the gym and got great results but have overall been impressed with my results in size and strength sticking to compound lifts. With isolation exercises it can be hard to work your muscle groups more than once a week and with compound you could do them 2-3 times a week depending on how hard you workout for better growth. Like John said muscles need 24-48 hours to totally repair themselves. If you like what you are doing and you are seeing results do them for a while and switch up to compounds down the road but I am telling you you will be happy either way. A lot of lifters like to use isolation exercises years down the road to finish shaping their body or to really work on a part of their body they want to improve more on which you can do as well.