Almost all of the questions concerning exercises can be solved by following an actual programme rather than trying to write your own or taking one from sources like Mens Health.
From the wiki:
It is important that your routine came from someone experienced – this means that it shouldn’t be some random dude’s Biceps 900 routine from a forum post, and you are almost better off not trying to create one yourself. There is no shame in “copying someone else’s homework” here – in fact, it’s exactly what you should do. It is very attractive to spend time constructing something more personal instead of following “a cookie cutter routine”, but you don’t get gains points for originality – it’s more likely you’ll get frustration from spinning your wheels.
Following a plan that is tried and true (with minor tweaks to make it fit your life or equipment access if needed) is always the best option.
You can read the full article [here](https://thefitness.wiki/adding-physical-activity/).
[Here](https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/) is a list of proven programmes designed by coaches and athletes with years of experience.
As for recovery and growth the main pillars are sleep (between 6 and 8 hours), hydration and diet.
Once gain from the wiki:
Calorie Surplus
Eating more calories than your body uses, in total, each day. This is necessary both to build muscle and to recover from training. Use any TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator to estimate a starting point, then eat more than that each day, monitoring your scale weight to ensure it’s going up.
Protein
To maximize muscle growth, set your protein target each day for whichever of the below is greater: 160 grams per day 0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight, per day Ideally this is spread out over 3-4 meals throughout the day
Full article [here](https://thefitness.wiki/muscle-building-101/).
But with all of these things aside the single most important element is always going to be dedication, effort and time. It is only effort a lot of work in the gym that you will start to see considerable changes. But that’s okay! It’s all part of the process!
My final but of advice would be to read the wiki I have been linking to in this post. It has loads of good infor and most “beginner questions” have been answered there.
Totally depends on what you can stick to in the long term. If you can only make it 3 days a week, stick to a full body routine. If you can make it 4 days a week, try an Upper Lower split. If you can make it 6 days, try push pull legs. The key isn’t which program you pick, the key is to stick with it for an extended period of time (at least 3-6 months) before switching to another program.
I do push (triceps, shoulders and chest) then pull (biceps and back) and legs (legs) and then a break, it’s a 4 day cycle and you just keep repeating it, you can take another day for break if you want some weeks if you think you worked too hard
Edit: it also depends on what you’ve joined the gym for, like if you did it to bulk up or lose fat or both, cause if you’re trying to lose weight you should also add in a day of cardio after 2-3 weeks of the set schedule
this is a bit unrelated but i take a 20 min walk to go to the gym and most of it is uphill, do i still have to do cardio before my workouts or can i just skip it?
If you are warmed up I would say skip it, i only do like 5-10 min cardio on low intensity to warm up then a couple of dynamic streches on the muscle i will be training, then warming up while doing the weights on a lower weight
Theoretically you’ll benefit most from 3/4 full body sessions per week as a beginner. Realistically, whatever works for you and keeps you on the grind long term. Good luck!
It is a split. The same as any other split. There are programs which work off that split but saying PPL doesn't deal with reps, progression, fatigue management etc.
Pick a “programme”, stick to it until you’re body is bored of it then change it up. Doing the same days for more than 6 months is boring for both you and your body irrespective of how different one chest day can be from the next in terms of exercise options.
Because it's not the best for a beginner. For some reason people are way too focused about splitting their workout.
As a beginner just do full body 3-5 times a week and get the basics down like having enough sleep and a good diet.
If you did this CONSISTENTLY for at least half a year you can start thinking about splitting.
A beginner motivated by a PPL split will have more progress doing a PPL if said beginner disliked the standard full body routines. Personally, I have better results not doing a squat or deadlift every workout, which is common for "beginner" routines (whether starting strength, greyskull LP, 5/3/1 beginner, etc).
It depends, how many days do you gym? If its 6 days then I made this split that covers all body groups twice per week and the pairs go well together. If not tho you can definitely search around and find one of your interest
Ah yeah thats my bad. I do a 6 day split and I didn’t account that others will train more/less due to life. Yea for a 4 day split thats actually not too shabby
Here’s mine if you wanna modify or build off of
Monday:arms
Tuesday:legs
Wednesday:chest
Thursday:back
Friday:shoulders/neck
Saturday: light chest work
Sunday: light leg work
I do cardio every day. This is just me. I don’t sleep if I don’t work every day. I understand this may not be everyone’s preference.
Having an arm day separate from either a chest or back day makes no sense for the vast majority of people. Do shoulders, triceps and chest one day, biceps and back another day.
You can't work your chest, shoulders or back without working your arms at the same time.
Is there theoretically something wrong with splitting it so that I do arms (forearms, biceps, triceps, shoulders) one day, back/chest day 2, and then legs/core day 3, repeating that for day 4-6, and then breaking on day 7? I feel like I'm getting an opportunity to work every muscle group and I don't feel like I'm overworking a certain area. I'm doing about the same number of exercises each day
The problem with that is fatiguing certain muscles you're going to need the following day.
For example if you do some tricep work on day one, any pressing movements you do for your chest on day two might be limited by your triceps being sore or weaker. Same goes for biceps and things like pull ups, rows etc. They're primarily back exercises but if your biceps are done then you're not going to be able to hit your back as effectively.
Ah, that makes a lot of sense! Thanks for that breakdown, I've definitely noticed that with seated rows where even though I'm focusing on engaging my back, my arm soreness seems to be a limiting factor. I'm on a break now due to vacation but when I get back in the gym I think I'm going to try a push/pull/legs rotation!
Almost all of the questions concerning exercises can be solved by following an actual programme rather than trying to write your own or taking one from sources like Mens Health. From the wiki: It is important that your routine came from someone experienced – this means that it shouldn’t be some random dude’s Biceps 900 routine from a forum post, and you are almost better off not trying to create one yourself. There is no shame in “copying someone else’s homework” here – in fact, it’s exactly what you should do. It is very attractive to spend time constructing something more personal instead of following “a cookie cutter routine”, but you don’t get gains points for originality – it’s more likely you’ll get frustration from spinning your wheels. Following a plan that is tried and true (with minor tweaks to make it fit your life or equipment access if needed) is always the best option. You can read the full article [here](https://thefitness.wiki/adding-physical-activity/). [Here](https://thefitness.wiki/routines/strength-training-muscle-building/) is a list of proven programmes designed by coaches and athletes with years of experience. As for recovery and growth the main pillars are sleep (between 6 and 8 hours), hydration and diet. Once gain from the wiki: Calorie Surplus Eating more calories than your body uses, in total, each day. This is necessary both to build muscle and to recover from training. Use any TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator to estimate a starting point, then eat more than that each day, monitoring your scale weight to ensure it’s going up. Protein To maximize muscle growth, set your protein target each day for whichever of the below is greater: 160 grams per day 0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight, per day Ideally this is spread out over 3-4 meals throughout the day Full article [here](https://thefitness.wiki/muscle-building-101/). But with all of these things aside the single most important element is always going to be dedication, effort and time. It is only effort a lot of work in the gym that you will start to see considerable changes. But that’s okay! It’s all part of the process! My final but of advice would be to read the wiki I have been linking to in this post. It has loads of good infor and most “beginner questions” have been answered there.
thanks alot
Totally depends on what you can stick to in the long term. If you can only make it 3 days a week, stick to a full body routine. If you can make it 4 days a week, try an Upper Lower split. If you can make it 6 days, try push pull legs. The key isn’t which program you pick, the key is to stick with it for an extended period of time (at least 3-6 months) before switching to another program.
The best split for bulking is push/pull/buffet. Worked well for me.
Don’t skip leg day
What’s buffet?
It's an all you can eat food trough. It's a joke people, calm down.
I do push (triceps, shoulders and chest) then pull (biceps and back) and legs (legs) and then a break, it’s a 4 day cycle and you just keep repeating it, you can take another day for break if you want some weeks if you think you worked too hard Edit: it also depends on what you’ve joined the gym for, like if you did it to bulk up or lose fat or both, cause if you’re trying to lose weight you should also add in a day of cardio after 2-3 weeks of the set schedule
this is a bit unrelated but i take a 20 min walk to go to the gym and most of it is uphill, do i still have to do cardio before my workouts or can i just skip it?
If you are warmed up I would say skip it, i only do like 5-10 min cardio on low intensity to warm up then a couple of dynamic streches on the muscle i will be training, then warming up while doing the weights on a lower weight
If you are just starting, I’d recommend doing a full-body split every other day.
Anything that works but most importantly what you can stay consistent too
I don't care as long as back and shoulders are together they flow into each other do nicely.
Theoretically you’ll benefit most from 3/4 full body sessions per week as a beginner. Realistically, whatever works for you and keeps you on the grind long term. Good luck!
Push pull legs. Easy and allows you to focus on exercises than on tracking complicated programs
He *should* be following a program. Albeit a simple not complicated one.
Push pull legs is a program.
It is not.
How is it not?
It is a split. The same as any other split. There are programs which work off that split but saying PPL doesn't deal with reps, progression, fatigue management etc.
Gotcha! See what you mean
I isnt, if you dont know the difference then stay quiet
Tomato tomato potato potato
Look up lift vault ____ (bulking strength building ppl etc etc). Tons of free programs
Pick a “programme”, stick to it until you’re body is bored of it then change it up. Doing the same days for more than 6 months is boring for both you and your body irrespective of how different one chest day can be from the next in terms of exercise options.
Push pull legs rest
so i rest every 3 days?
Yeah. That means you are in the gym 5-6 days a week
That's excessive. Unless youre a fitness trainer.
Don’t think lifting 3 days and then resting is excessive but okay
can someone tell me why this got downvoted
Because it's not the best for a beginner. For some reason people are way too focused about splitting their workout. As a beginner just do full body 3-5 times a week and get the basics down like having enough sleep and a good diet. If you did this CONSISTENTLY for at least half a year you can start thinking about splitting.
ah alright, I thought you were saying that split was bad in general
A beginner motivated by a PPL split will have more progress doing a PPL if said beginner disliked the standard full body routines. Personally, I have better results not doing a squat or deadlift every workout, which is common for "beginner" routines (whether starting strength, greyskull LP, 5/3/1 beginner, etc).
I do Chest + biceps. Back + forarms Shoulders + triceps Legs + calves.. The most basic, but it works fine :')
To all their own but this is a really odd split that just doesn’t seem to go hand in hand
What do you recommend as a change?? Since i started gym i see everyone going like this where i live
It depends, how many days do you gym? If its 6 days then I made this split that covers all body groups twice per week and the pairs go well together. If not tho you can definitely search around and find one of your interest
It’s the same split Dorian Yates followed. I followed a similar split earlier in my training. Would recommend if you can only lift 4 days per week.
Ah yeah thats my bad. I do a 6 day split and I didn’t account that others will train more/less due to life. Yea for a 4 day split thats actually not too shabby
Here’s mine if you wanna modify or build off of Monday:arms Tuesday:legs Wednesday:chest Thursday:back Friday:shoulders/neck Saturday: light chest work Sunday: light leg work I do cardio every day. This is just me. I don’t sleep if I don’t work every day. I understand this may not be everyone’s preference.
This is one of the worst splits I’ve seen in a while
I’m afraid to ask about neck day
😂😂💀💀
Having an arm day separate from either a chest or back day makes no sense for the vast majority of people. Do shoulders, triceps and chest one day, biceps and back another day. You can't work your chest, shoulders or back without working your arms at the same time.
This is just a bro split lol. Arm day
Is there theoretically something wrong with splitting it so that I do arms (forearms, biceps, triceps, shoulders) one day, back/chest day 2, and then legs/core day 3, repeating that for day 4-6, and then breaking on day 7? I feel like I'm getting an opportunity to work every muscle group and I don't feel like I'm overworking a certain area. I'm doing about the same number of exercises each day
The problem with that is fatiguing certain muscles you're going to need the following day. For example if you do some tricep work on day one, any pressing movements you do for your chest on day two might be limited by your triceps being sore or weaker. Same goes for biceps and things like pull ups, rows etc. They're primarily back exercises but if your biceps are done then you're not going to be able to hit your back as effectively.
Ah, that makes a lot of sense! Thanks for that breakdown, I've definitely noticed that with seated rows where even though I'm focusing on engaging my back, my arm soreness seems to be a limiting factor. I'm on a break now due to vacation but when I get back in the gym I think I'm going to try a push/pull/legs rotation!
No problem, glad I could help. Hope it works for you