The Best Workout Split: 3, 4 or 5 Days a Week?

Is there a best workout split? What the research says

Most studies test training frequency, how many times a week each muscle is trained, rather than named splits. Here is what the main reviews found.

• The 2016 review favoured twice over once. A 2016 meta-analysis by Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger, in Sports Medicine, pooled 10 studies. Training a muscle more often produced more growth, and the authors concluded that major muscles should be trained at least twice a week. Whether three times beats twice was left open.
• With weekly sets equal, frequency stopped mattering. In 2019, Schoenfeld, Grgic and Krieger, in the Journal of Sports Sciences, looked again with 25 studies. When weekly volume was equated, higher and lower frequencies built similar muscle, including in trained lifters. Where training more often also meant doing more sets, it came out ahead, but the gap between once and three or more times a week was modest. The authors concluded that, for a given number of sets, you can choose how often to train each muscle by preference.
• Full body versus split was a draw. A 2024 meta-analysis by Ramos-Campo and colleagues, in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, pooled 14 studies and 392 adults. With volume equated, split and full-body routines produced similar gains in strength and muscle size.
• A newer, larger analysis agrees. A meta-analysis by Pelland and colleagues, published in Sports Medicine in December 2025, covered 67 studies and 2,058 people. More weekly sets meant more muscle and strength, with diminishing returns. With weekly sets accounted for, the results were consistent with training more often adding little or nothing to growth, though strength did rise with frequency.

An earlier review of strength (Grgic and colleagues, 2018, Sports Medicine, 22 studies) found frequency helped overall, but not when volume was equated. Practising a lift more often may help it a little; sets still do most of the work.

One small trial fits this picture: Colquhoun and colleagues (2018, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research) had 28 resistance-trained men lift either 3 or 6 times a week for 6 weeks, with the same weekly volume and intensity. There was no significant difference between the groups in strength or lean mass gains, and their squat rose by about 17 kg (37 lb) in both. Six weeks in 28 men cannot settle the question alone, but it matches the reviews.

The takeaway: a split is just a way to arrange your weekly sets. Choose it to fit your life.

Why twice a week is still a good default

If frequency barely matters for growth, why aim for twice a week? For practical reasons.

• Shorter sessions. Twelve sets for a muscle in a week is 6 per session twice a week, or 4 per session with three full-body days. On a bro split it is all 12 in one go, and the last few sets are done tired.
• More practice on the big lifts, which may help strength.
• A missed session costs less. Miss chest day on a bro split and your chest gets nothing that week. Miss one of three full-body sessions and every muscle has still been trained twice.

Choose by your schedule, not by what pros do

What competitive bodybuilders do is not proof of what works best. In a survey of 127 competitive male bodybuilders (Hackett and colleagues, 2013, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research), all used split routines, training 5 to 6 sessions a week. About 69% trained each muscle once a week on a 5-day split; the rest trained each muscle twice. About three-quarters of the amateur competitors outside drug-tested natural shows reported using anabolic steroids. A survey shows what is popular among competitors, not which split builds more muscle, and many of these lifters were not natural.

The American College of Sports Medicine's 2009 position stand (Ratamess and colleagues, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise) gives a more useful guide for muscle growth:

• Beginners: full body, 2 to 3 days a week.
• Intermediate lifters: full body about 3 days a week, or an upper/lower split 4 days a week, so each major muscle is trained twice.
• Advanced lifters: 4 to 6 days a week, where body-part splits are common because they allow more sets per muscle.

To choose your own split, answer these honestly:

1. How many days can you train in a bad week, not a good one? Build around that number.
2. How long can each session be? Fewer days means longer sessions for the same weekly sets.
3. Are your free days fixed or unpredictable? If they move around, full body or a rolling split (below) copes best.
4. How is your recovery? If a physical job, poor sleep or high stress leave you drained, start with fewer days and sets and build up.
5. What will you enjoy? The split you stick to beats the "perfect" one you abandon.

Example weeks: 3, 4 and 5 days

Use 3 to 4 hard sets per exercise. That gives chest, back, quads and hamstrings roughly 9 to 16 hard sets a week, close to or within the range above, with arms and shoulders also working in the big presses and pulls. Swap any exercise for one that suits your body and gym.

3 days: full body

Day	Session
Monday	Squat, bench press, seated row, Romanian deadlift, lateral raise, curl
Wednesday	Leg press, overhead press, lat pull-down, leg curl, incline dumbbell press, triceps extension
Friday	Hack squat or lunge, machine chest press, chest-supported row, hip thrust, leg curl, calf raise

4 days: upper/lower

Day	Session
Monday: Upper 1	Bench press, row, overhead press, lat pull-down, curl, triceps extension
Tuesday: Lower 1	Squat, Romanian deadlift, leg extension, leg curl, calf raise
Thursday: Upper 2	Incline press, pull-up or pull-down, dumbbell row, chest fly, lateral raise, curl
Friday: Lower 2	Leg press or hack squat, hip thrust, lunge, leg curl, calf raise

5 days: upper/lower plus push/pull/legs

Day	Session
Monday: Upper	Bench press, row, overhead press, lat pull-down
Tuesday: Lower	Squat, Romanian deadlift, leg curl, calf raise
Wednesday	Rest
Thursday: Push	Incline press, machine chest press, lateral raise, triceps extension
Friday: Pull	Pull-up or pull-down, row, rear delt fly, curl
Saturday: Legs	Leg press, hip thrust, leg extension, leg curl, calf raise

Each major muscle is still trained twice, and no session runs long.

Only 2 days? Two full-body sessions still work. A 2021 review of time-efficient training (Iversen and colleagues, Sports Medicine) suggested a minimum of 4 weekly sets per muscle group, and concluded that weekly volume matters more than frequency. Treat 4 sets as a floor, not a target: more sets tend to bring more growth.

Making a busy week work

• Use supersets. Pair exercises for different muscles, such as a chest press with a row, and rest after both. The Iversen review reported that supersets, drop sets and rest-pause training roughly halve training time while keeping the same volume, though they probably suit muscle growth better than maximal strength.
• Prioritise compound lifts. The same review suggested building sessions around multi-joint exercises, including at least one squat or leg press, one upper-body pull and one upper-body push.
• Run a rolling split. Instead of tying sessions to weekdays, do the next session in order whenever you train. A missed Tuesday becomes a Wednesday, not a lost week.
• Do not cram. After a missed session, carry on with the next one rather than doubling up.

How to know your split is working

Progress shows up in your training log: more reps or weight on the same exercises over weeks and months (see progressive overload explained). Changing split every few weeks makes that hard to see, so give one a fair run. If lifts stall, check your weekly sets, how close to failure you train, and your sleep and food before blaming the split.

Where coaching helps

With one-to-one coaching from CoachAk, the questionnaire you fill in at the start asks how many days a week you can train, your work hours, when you can train, whether at a gym or at home, and about injuries. Your program is written around those answers, listing sets and reps for each exercise, with effort targets and rest times.

You log each session in the app, which shows what you lifted last time, flags personal bests and suggests the next day of your program, so a missed day does not derail the week. Your coach can comment on logged workouts, and your weekly check-in covers training adherence, sleep, energy and stress, so your split can change when your week does.

If you want a program that fits the week you actually have, apply for coaching, or read more about muscle gain coaching.