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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48 comments
“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!
5 weekdays a week, this works for me.
Monday – Back and biceps day, including deadlifts.
Tuesday – jump rope and abs.
Wednesday – chest and triceps.
Thursday – legs.
Friday – shoulders and arms.
Just like you, Andrew, I prefer 4 days a week a d rest in between so that I come up fresh and motivated. I used to be in awe of people who workout 6 days a week but after listening to u, I am super happy
This is so true. If you find a split you look forward to and will give 100% to, it's infinitely more valuable that one that will lead to inconsistency.
5×5 is 5 sets of 10 for 5 excercises
Monday – 5×5 chest, 5×5 triceps, 3×5 legs.
Tuesday – 5×5 back, 5×5 biceps, 3×5 abs,
Wednesday – 5×5 shoulders, 5×5 legs, 3×5 my choice,
Thursday – 5×5 chest, 5×5 triceps, 3×5 legs.
Friday – 5×5 back, 5×5 biceps, 3×5 abs,
Sat – off
Sunday – 5×5 shoulders, 5×5 legs, 3×5 my choice.
been doing it for years, love it works for me
For my age I do a six day split. Monday; Chest, Tuesday; Quads, Wednesday; Shoulders and tramps, Thursday; Back, Friday; Arms, Saturday; glutes and hamstring.
My current split
Monday Push
Tuesday. Pull
Wednesday Legs
Thursday push
Friday pull
Saturday legs
Sunday off
But I want to do this please reply and tell should I stick to the push pull or change it too this
Monday. PUSH
TUESDAY PULL
WEDNESDAY. LEGS
THURSDAY CHEST AND BACK
FRIDAY. LEGS AND SHOULDER
SATURDAY ARMS
SUNDAY OFF,
Please weight in and tell me what you think of the split
When the science teacher and the coach are just kickin it
The only mistake in working out you can make is not to work out
Hi jeff when i do inclined biceps curls my shoulder hurt what is the alternative exercise for the bicep long head
Bro split 4L
Frank Zane split
A chest shoulder triceps
B back biceps traps
C legs
The end
full body takes me two hours. great for weekends.
Andrew Huberman and Jeff, what a great combination! Really enjoyed seeing the two of you together.
It's so weird to see Jeff both wearing a shirt and speaking in an inside voice…
That’s crazy my two hero’s in one podcast
What do your think about jump rope routine permanently?
I m skinny fat, I'm 52kg for 160 cm practically no muscles, too much loose skin and adipose tissue. I m thinking about jump rope will it help me tone and burn that fat ?
I have been doing the full body workout 3x a week + two 6km running workouts a week for a couple years now and been having great gains. Definately recommend!
Lot of people used to reach out to Mike mentzer. One of my best friends was in regular contact with him and Mike answered the phone in a bad mood one day and didn't want to be bothered, it escalated to the point of where my friend told Mike mentor to f*** off
OMG this guy just said what I personally experienced. A lot of reputable YouTube fitness channel pushes the idea that twice a week per muscle training is best. But it never worked for me due to recovery issues. He also mentioned that our bodies don't work on a weekly basis, that is also I personally found out thanks to experience. That's why I think Jeff's Push Pull Leg Rest split is better. My split is:
1. Abs, Shoulders
2. Chest, Triceps
3. Back, Biceps, Forearms
4. Legs
5. Rest
Repeat, Sunday is off day. It means 5 days a week workout, with changing days every week.
Algorithm booster pack. You guys are amazing, really glad to see this collab.
I do a PPL, repeated for a total of 6 days of workouts a week with Sunday off. I find that I easily recover after a good nights sleep, and so I'm able to train with high intensity almost all the time.
My workout split
push
pull
legs
push
pull
cardio
rest
I like the bro split the best personally and have gotten the best strength gains and have gained the most muscle from it
I workout 7 days a week. Cardio every day, sometimes just 5-7 minutes of x-trainer, sometimes added 1-2 rounds of kettle bell, and this is every morning. Then comes the evening, when I do like 45-90 minutes of workout, and I do it until I am f-ed. The first part is always done with resting the muscle I train, but no rest for the body. Like just jumping, or some abs, some full body exercise, and I do it until I gas out. Then instead of series, I do 2 exercises 1 series of each until I am done, then the next 2 exercise comes. Stupid? Probably. Works? Yes! The fact is though, that it is a necessity. If I do not train hard, long-covid takes the wheel, and I can't breathe well, brainfog comes, and life gets hard as hell. I choose suffering for 1-2 hours a day, in exchange for 8 hours of being able to use my mind.
Don't take my example, I would not suggest even trying it. I have just resistance bands and a kettle bell, and a stand I can do pullups and dips. I very rarely go to a fitness room at the company I work for, and just to have an objective measure of strength changes. Most of my training is Athlean-X youtube videos, sofabarfitness stretching, and a few more for the sake of variety.
So split? I don't keep a schedule. I train what I can move 😀
Sparkling combo!
Completely distracted by Jeff's sleeves
You have a pleasant voice when not screaming in the gym
At what point during the interview does the shirt come off?
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
… Oh jeff, I'm old for this shit, but I don't care, my body on the ground, my spirit in the air, pound after pound, I find my peace of mind. Oh yeah. This bond is unbreakable, I call it the tale from hell, where only the "will" is able….
I only do 2-3 days. One high intensity, high volume and a full body circuit if I can. I have 2 babies and work a lot. Sometimes I just don’t have energy. But I go hard when I workout and still get decent results with little sleep and energy.
Enjoyed this video/collab. I must say I prefer the 1 day on 1 day off method to working out/strength training. The full day of rest from strength training is perfect. For me it feels like I'm not going hard enough the day before, if I can workout the next day.
First day: chests, shoulders, trapezius, neck
Second day: biceps, triceps, legs, calves
Third day: back, rear delts, pelvis, forearms
(And abdominal crunches when you feel yourself energetic one of these three days)
2-3 days some cardio
One day off after every 3-4 workout days
Healthy foods&night sleep
Stay away from stress
Be a good person 👍
Huberman is killing your gains!!
I've done both full body workout routines and workout splits emphasizing two body parts per day (back/biceps, chest/triceps, shoulders/legs). Both were effective at building muscle and strength. There's plenty of flexibility here.
3 days fullwork out men over 50. A good balance . Enjoy it and still have a few beers . Just make sure your weight doesn't get out of hand . 🍺
Great discussion!
ATHLEAN X I have a ab diastasis can you please make a video for men how to fix diastasis I'm 15 yo and I love working out because I'm a boxer and I watch your videos for help and at night can you please help me please I'm in need for help
Hi, can you do a video on how to fix lateral pelvic tilt? I've been dealing with this problem for some time now 😔. Thanks
I think everyone forgets you have to start off with a full body always to build up some muscle then transfer to a push/ pull aka 2 days on 1 off then move into a push pull legs workout 6 days on 1 off .
Then bro split if that works for you
Love it when 2 of my favorite YouTube channels collide.
Hi, can you do a video on how to fix lateral pelvic tilt? My pelvis is shifted where my left side is higher and more forward than the right. I've been dealing with this problem for some time now 😔. Thanks
I need to hear more!
The goat of princess not have on repeat because muscle stuck in bones benefit structure potencial dont change big or down to the corner muscle breack. Not sleeping our training be The Princess of Train long and taste new balance, moderate, Elite beginning.
I've enjoyed every minute of that podcast. Thank You both!
@ATHLEAN-X™
Can you please make a video about how to hit every muscle of the body using 20L or 5 Gallon water cans? Please include the routine along with the exercises if you make a video on it.
I love the “patient centred focus” you bring to this discussion. When I’m enjoying what we are doing and it’s fun, I way more likely to show up. Thanks Man.