Ever wonder what the best workout split is to build the most muscle, lose the most fat, or both? In a recent appearance on the Huberman Lab Podcast with Dr. Andrew Huberman, Jeff Cavaliere answered this complex answer. Find out which workout split is best for you and learn how things you may have heard or thought about other splits may not be as accurate as you once thought.
When we talk about a training split or workout split we are referring to the way in which we split up the muscle groups we train in a given workout over a period of time. Most of us look at a week as the time frame within which we want to either hit a single muscle group once, twice or even more often. In order to achieve this goal we often times group certain muscles together into the same workout to condense the work over fewer numbers of days.
There are so many options for how we do this however. You can do something called a PPL or push, pull legs workout split, a total body workout split or even an upper body / lower body split. In a PPL you are going to reserve one day to train all the muscles that are responsible for upper body pushing movements. This means that you are going to be training the triceps, shoulders and chest predominantly. On pull day, you’ll be training all the muscles in the upper body that are responsible for pulling. This means that the lats, upper back, traps and biceps get trained together with the exercises you choose.
Finally, on leg day, as you might guess you will be training your legs.
In a total body workout however you would be aiming to workout all of your major muscle groups in the same workout, usually with a series of compound exercises like bench press, squats, overhead press and rows.
Even with either of these workout splits however, the frequency with which you perform them in a given week is also a variable that needs to be considered. Some will do the PPL workouts just once each per week and others will pair them up back to back (with either a rest day in between each round of PPL or after you have completed the circuit twice).
Different considerations have to be made however to determine whether this is a workload that your body can handle and more importantly, recover from.
Then there are the “bro splits”. This is a term referring to the style of working out favored by bodybuilders who prefer to train one single muscle group in a day or maybe pair up antagonistic muscle groups like chest and back for example. Science has moved us away from these workouts in favor of push, pull legs workouts and total body workouts since the restimulation of muscle every 48 hours seems to point to more muscle protein synthesis.
That said, that does not mean that you cannot get benefits from a “bro-split” if handled more intelligently. For example, if you train your biceps on a Monday, you can schedule a back workout for Wednesday which will give the biceps some additional stimulation due to their role as accessory muscles to the major back exercises. Here you would get enough of a stimulus to result in continued adaptation and growth without nullifying the benefits of the one a day muscle group frequency.
Regardless of which workout split you choose, there is one key determining factor that overrides all. That is, choose the one that you can stick to. If you find that a total body split either leaves you too tired to get a good effort out of the muscles that are trained in the latter half of your workout or you just aren’t interested enough in the workouts that are structured this way – you likely will not be able to stick to this long term.
Vice versa, if you really like Push Pull Legs workout routines and find that it is the perfect way to group your exercises to take advantage of a shared function or purpose for one training day, then you are likely to put in more effort and keep up the consistency needed to see great results over the long haul.
If you’re looking for help in finding the plan that best suits your body’s natural desires to train and therefore get better results from your workouts, head to athleanx.com via the link below and take the program selector quiz shown.
If you are looking for more videos on how to design the right workout program and the best workout split for building maximum muscle, be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube via the link below and remember to turn on your notifications so you never miss a new video when it’s published.
For the complete interview of Jeff Cavaliere on the Huberman Lab Podcast be sure to check it out here:
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jeff-cavaliere-optimize-your-exercise-program-with/id1545953110?i=1000568713836
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“FAST ACTION” Q&A* – Leave your most burning question about this video or any other training, PT or nutrition question within the first 2 hours of this video’s release (AS A SEPARATE COMMENT!!) and I will pick 8 to get a detailed reply from me right here in the comments. Answers will be posted within the first 24-48 hours of you leaving the question. Good luck!
Male over 40. Best workout schedule for getting more cut. I know diet is major issues. But just looking for good training right now. I pretty much do bro split. Chest, Tri, Bi. Back, shoulders, legs. But i lately have changed up to more body parts per workout. My question is how many sets. and should reps be in 10-15 range. Sometimes i go over that because i love the pump and mind muscle thing. Anyway, even if no comment. You are huge inspiration.
Hi Coach Jeff. Thanks for deeper insight on finding a split that allows me stick to with consistency. I just turned 60 in March and decided to uplevel my fitness equipment from home which now includes three of your programs.
Since we both agree on recovery of 48 hrs for a worked muscle group, should I factor in the manual labor I’m currently doing digging up over 700 cubic feet on clay and sand topsoil in my front yard and call that a TB replacement workout since in biomechanical terms, I believe it’s one hour of PPL?
Google Fit says I earn over 60 heart points in one hour, and only require 150 per week minimum, I typically train 6 days a week a get about 700 heart points for the week. Metabolically, I burn over 1000 calories in that hour of full body yard work and rest for 48 hours. I follow your warm-up yt video that still takes me 20 minutes to complete the 10 dynamic stretches, then jump rope 30-minutes which is another 1000 calories burn in under an hour. I call that my cardio HIIT day. Does you split total body workout have a warm-up baked into the workouts? PS: Thanks for curing my tennis elbow injury forever!
Is it effective to do sets random throughout the day/week besides your regular training schedule? I do this with some of the smaller muscle groups throughout the week, like neck/forearms/calves etc.
What is a full body workout for 2 days that will build athletic muscle and increase vertical jump
What to do when you can easily complete your set at a certain weight but can’t complete it when you overload? Is it better to stick to the lighter weight for longer or keep the heavier weight and do less reps until you can eventually make it?
When I saw the podcast episode it was an amazing meeting of two worlds for me. It was great to hear the two of you together!
I just got so excited when I seen this pop up cause I never expected these two to meet
@Vandall Savage Same here, I nearly screamed like a 15 y.o. seeing their favorite boy band live, it was such a pleasurable surprise!
I love that Jeff always asks his audience to consider WHAT they can stay COMMITTED to! So true, whether eating or working out..!
I think people miss that a lot. What are “your” goals.
This was a great interview, you and Andrew both have been very helpful to me.
You’re welcome, Spencer. This is my other account.
DO. MORE. OF THIS.
this is an incredibly refreshing change of content from the very similar structure of all AthleanX videos..Which are great don’t get me wrong.. but I really found this less formal/structured approach great
Great content in this interview. Let’s see more discussions like this. Loved it!!
This is the combo I wanted! I love Hubberman’s empirical science based approach to all things!
I have to say, I am so thrilled for your success, Jeff and co. You guys are the best, and your content and programs just keep getting better. Just wanted to say thank you for all you do.
My heart melted when I saw the thumbnail in Huberman’s channel. I’m so glad of this Jeff. Amazing combo both of you.
Hey, Jeff.
Thanks again for all the hard work and motivation you provide. Lately I have been dealing with mild High Hamstring Tendinopathy. I feel it when I get into a deep lunge, or sumo deadlift stance. I love doing these exercises, but I was wondering if there were any rehab exercise I could do in the meantime to strengthen my posterior chain. I’ve seen videos recommending glute bridges, RDLs, etc. But, I wanted to know your thoughts.
Also, what do you believe could be some root causes for this type of injury?
Such a pleasure to host you on the Huberman Lab Podcast Jeff! As a longtime fan and consumer of your content and someone who has benefited tremendously from it for over a decade it was a real thrill and honor for me. You shared so much actionable knowledge— as you always do!
@Rosel Jeff has a dark side. He uses face-pulls for demented purposes.
Love to see this kind of Athlean-X Collab! Even more with Dr. Huberman at that
Prof, thank you for sharing your knowledge and for making it understandable and actionable. And you are so humble, I admire this as well. Jeff was a great guest.
I always dreamed of my two dads being on a podcast together
A crossover episode I didn’t dare to dream was possible
Personally, I’ve seen huge success for me when I trained chest/ triceps one day, back/ biceps the next day, follwed by a break, neck and shoulders the next day, next day legs and abs and then another day of break. And It was fantastic. At times, I wanted more and really went crazy and just skipped one break day and continued the cycle.
But that just goes for me, though.
@Lui literally what i thought
I train each body part anywhere from a low 1.33 times a week, to 1.66 times a week, and my high frequency per week is 3.32 times a week for any part I want to push forward for a few weeks.
Yes fractions do exist in a week. 😉
For some people, myself included, this type of split was used early on – in other words – when we were young. It’s not surprising that I saw my best gains in my 20’s. How much of that was attributable to my split is another question. I suspect the answer is little to none. Virtually any halfway decent split would have produced solid results when I was 22.
Hey Jeff, this is my question: if I’m feeling that something is off in the way I’m performing certain exercises (I’m using one of your programs at the moment, AX-1), should I continue on with the program and exercises or take a step back and put it on hold? If it’s the latter, what about missing those few sessions and how to get properly back on track?
The big take away is, the split you stick with is 100x better than the one you wont, no matter what you are doing.
I can’t seem to ever stick to 6 on 1 off so I just do the PPL split 3 on, 1 off and my off day rotates down. And I often will substitute one day with some other kind of training like a calisthenics skill or water resistance or a 5k. The point is do whatever you are going to stick with.
And avoid that new pepercorn ranch and bacon blue cheese burger from Whataburger even though its freaking amazing!
Just started AX. I like your motivational approach and efforts at helping with exercises. Good job! I am older now and have been up and down with weight and fitness over the years. My new latest effort is to join and use the AX program for me. I am looking for taking a little more rest between workouts when starting. Workout then two days off then work out then two days off etc. As I get back into a better mind body muscle connection and feel my body react with recovery I plan to increase as my body allows. Getting motivated with coming back into a workout program I find is the absolute hardest obstacle for me. Thank you for your positive outlook and efforts in helping me to create and get that positive you can do it outlook.
I’ve tried a lot of different splits but the “Bro split” has always worked the best for me. Great volume, huge pumps and fantastic overall results.
Could you elaborate your split mate?
@Last Ridetrain one muscle a day
What works best for me is:
Chest & Tri’s
Back & Shoulders(alternating every session which gets trained first)
Legs & biceps
5 days a week. Doesn’t matter what day of the week it is, just follow the cycle.
Occasionally I’ll just hit one muscle group for the session depending how the body feels. Sometimes can get caught doing a muscle group for an hour plus like legs or back so ill just extend my splits and adapt.
I currently do a split that I made on my own
Monday : push day
Tuesday : pull day
Wednesday: legs
Thursday: back
Friday : shoulders and abs
Saturday: arms (biceps, triceps and forearms)
Sunday : rest
Yes I know I’m not optimising my leg development by only training it one time a week. But that’s because I’m a nursing student and I have to stand and walk quite a lot during the day which I noticed to really affect my leg recovery. Before I only needed 3 days for my legs to fully recover but now I need like 4-5 days.
I would just put them with arms tbh, if you can train 6 days a week mate you can train legs twice a week lmao
I recently broke my arm and looks like I’ll be out of the gym for the next 4 months, Would love to see a series on injury recovery exercises!