Which split is best for bulking?
The push/pull/legs split is probably the most efficient workout split there is because all related muscle groups are trained together in the same workout. This means that you get the maximum overlap of movements within the same workout, and the muscle groups being trained get an overall benefit from this overlap.
For those looking to mix up their workout regimen, the 5x5 training program is one of the most respected and most efficient regimens for gaining lean muscle mass. It's important to note, however, that whenever you're looking to gain muscle mass, or bulk, to be in a caloric surplus, to help with protein synthesis.
This theory is also backed up by research (4) done by Gomes et al. in 2019, so you don't need to keep your muscle protein synthesis high. Therefore, rest assured, the bro split does an amazing job at building muscle and needless to say it is very effective.
While full-body workouts have a wide range of benefits, a split workout regimen may be the best choice if your goal is to increase mass. Because a split workout allows for increased intensity, volume, and recovery time for each muscle group, it is more conducive to building muscle mass.
In the Arnold split, forearms are hit on the same day as biceps and triceps. He would work his forearms through supersets until the flexors and extensors were torched. The forearms were done towards the end of the workout, working them through a wide range of reps to stimulate the most growth.
The best way to build muscle is to perform compound exercises which recruit multiple muscle groups. According to Zack George, personal trainer, gym owner, and the UK's fittest man, there are five main movements to focus on. These are deadlifts, squats, pull-ups, bench press, and shoulder press.
Reps for muscle growth
In order to get bigger and stronger, you must ensure your muscles work harder than they are used to. Generally, between 6-12 reps for 3-6 sets will help to build overall muscle size.
You don't have to do a lot – just aim for about 2 20-30-minute sessions a week.
A 5×5 workout comprises compound barbell movements — like squats and deadlifts — using heavy weights and lower repetitions per set. As the name implies, a 5×5 workout usually involves 5 sets of 5 repetitions. The goal is to build strength in compound movements by adding weight every time you do the workout.
The Arnold split is an effective hypertrophy program. Because you train each muscle group twice per week, you can gain muscle mass and increase muscle size within a relatively short amount of time.
Why do pros use bro splits?
The pros are that following a Bro Split can allow you to easily focus on one major muscle group at a time and ensure that you hit each muscle group with adequate volume in each week. Oftentimes people will overlook some muscle groups like shoulders which can require a significant amount of volume to grow.
- Upper/Lower/Upper/Lower.
- Whole body/Upper/Lower.
- Push + quads/Pull + hams/Push + quads/Pull + hams.
- Chest + biceps/Legs/Back + triceps/Delts + rear delts and traps.
A “bro split” refers to any workout routine (or “split”) that trains different body parts (or muscle groups) on different days. For instance, training arms one day, chest another, shoulders another, and so on.
Using a split routine under such circumstances only trains each muscle once a week. By using a full-body workout routine, you can keep muscle protein synthesis elevated all week long, even with a limited number of sessions per week. This leads to increased muscle growth – also known as hypertrophy.
Absolutely. In fact, for beginners and intermediate lifters, 4 workout days per week is actually the most ideal for building muscle and strength. It allows you to keep the intensity of your workouts high and get adequate recovery in-between sessions, which is the perfect recipe for building muscle and strength.
- Day 1: Chest.
- Day 2: Shoulders.
- Day 3: Back.
- Day 4: Arms (Biceps & Triceps)
- Day 5: Legs (Quads, Hamstrings & Calves)
The Push/Pull/Legs Split
The most popular way to combine your muscle groups into a three-day split is probably the Push/Pull/Legs (PPL) split. That entails training your pushing muscles (chest, shoulders, and triceps) on day one, pulling muscles (back and biceps) on day two, and legs on day three.
Even though Schwarzenegger is still very active by most people's standards, his current regime isn't a patch on how the former Mr. Olympia used to train — as a competitive bodybuilder, he would lift weights for five hours a day, he said.
- Eat More Than You Think. According to Ryan, the first step to building muscle and strength is being in a caloric surplus. ...
- Load up on Protein. ...
- Increase Your Meal Frequency. ...
- Carb Up After Your Workouts. ...
- Drink Your Calories if Necessary.
Training for Muscle Size (Hypertrophy)
If you're training for muscle size, choose a weight at which you reach muscle failure in the 8-12-rep range. In other words, after your warm-up sets—which are never taken to failure—you should select a load with which you can complete at least 8 reps but not more than 12.
Should you lift heavy when bulking?
As the point of bulking is to pack on muscle, it's important to lift heavy in a moderate rep range of about 8-12 reps per set. Base your workouts around compound lifts like the squat and bench press, and add in assistance exercises to focus on particular muscle groups.
Reasoning: A moderate range of 4 sets of 8 reps allows the lifter to handle loads that stress the muscle quickly while facilitating sufficient time under tension.
Bulking is a phase of bodybuilding
Bulking is the muscle-gaining phase. You're meant to intentionally consume more calories than your body needs for a set period — often 4–6 months.
You should aim for 90 seconds of rest between sets and three minutes of rest between exercises. Your workouts should not last longer than an hour when using the right amount of time devoted to rest.
A bulking phase can last anywhere from 1 month to over 6 months or longer, depending on your goals. To start bulking, add a given number of calories to your typical daily calorie intake.
The biceps curl works less overall muscle mass than the chin-up, but it's still a valuable exercise, and it's the best exercise for building biceps size and strength. And because StrongLifts 5×5 doesn't have chin-ups, biceps curls are even more essential. The same is true with your triceps.
StrongLifts 5x5 already works your arms. Pressing the bar on the Bench and Overhead Press works your triceps. Pulling the bar on the Barbell Row works your biceps. Gripping the bar hard on Deadlifts and Squats works your arms.
At this point, you may be wondering about the best “percentages of your percentages” when doing your 5×5 workouts. The most common figure I see is that a 5×5 workout is best done with about 81% of your 1RM. That works out to about 90% of your desired 90% intensity.
Arnold's training schedule is considered high volume by today's standards. He did as many as 26 working sets on large muscle groups such as back, chest, and shoulders. And since he broke down the legs into the quads, hamstrings and calves, he frequently did as many as 61 sets on leg day.
Parting Notes. As you can see, the Arnold split is clearly better for developing muscle mass in the “show muscles” of the upper body, whereas push/pull/legs is better for achieving a more well-rounded training stimulus.
Why was Arnold's physique so good?
Arnold trained hard, and there were no secrets to his gains other than pounding out the sets and reps with good heavy weights. Of course we all eventually had injuries to deal with that changed the game, but in the early days, there was nothing more fun than intense, heavy training with classic movements.
A push/pull/legs can be beneficial for powerlifting, the bro split can be better for bodybuilders, but the upper/lower body split can be good for maximizing strength and hypertrophy.
Muscles, hamstrings, and joints are all involved, and could be at risk for injury. “An athlete can tear the soft tissues or injure joints, making it difficult to recuperate and continue training,” says Aoki.
Yes, chest and biceps can be trained together in a single workout safely and effectively. While many will train their full upper body or have days dedicated to just chest or biceps, combining chest and biceps on the same day can help you maximize training efficiency. It also allows you to follow many push-pull splits.
I suggest most lifters choose a 4-5 day workout split when cutting. My go-to splits are either a 4-day (upper, lower, upper, lower) split or a 5-day split that has a lifter training most muscle groups at least twice per week.
- 2 sets: Incline dumbbell press.
- 2 sets: Deadlifts.
- 2 sets: Incline Hammer Strength press.
- 2 sets: Lat pulldowns.
- 2 sets: Dips.
- 2 sets: Barbell rows.
- 2 sets: Dumbbell pullovers.
- 2 sets: Machine rows.
The PPL split is great for making your whole body grow, but if you specifically need to improve shoulder caps or biceps or triceps, you may well be better off incorporating the bro split for those areas.
Other reasons for choosing full-body workouts instead of split workouts include: Full-body workouts generally yield a higher total energy expenditure per session (i.e., you burn more calories). It's no big deal if you miss a workout.
This study provides evidence that longer rest periods promote greater increases in muscle strength and hypertrophy in young resistance-trained men.
- Monday: Upper Body (Push Focus)
- Tuesday: Lower Body (Squat Focus)
- Wednesday: Off /Active Recovery.
- Thursday: Upper Body (Pull Focus)
- Friday: Lower Body (Hamstring and Glute Focus)
- Saturday/Sunday: Off.
Is working out 4 days a week enough to bulk?
Strength training 3-4 days a week is usually sufficient to build muscle. You can also work out 4-5 days a week and do muscle splits (chest/arms, back/abs, lower body, for example) on different days. If you want to build muscle, the intensity of your workouts is more important than the frequency of your workouts.
If you really want to see results reflected on the scale and continue to make progress over time, you need to commit to working out at least four to five days per week.
Chris Bumstead trains 6 days per week using a traditional bodybuilding bro split. He trains one major muscle group each workout, such as his chest, back, or quads.
An Upper/Lower split can effectively target each major muscle group and can provide enough stimulus to elicit muscle growth. A recent study found that an appropriately designed Upper/Lower can lead to muscle growth in as little as 8 weeks.
3-day splits are better for bulking because it can quickly add mass with a strict workout and a proper diet. One reason why it would not be good for cutting is because in cutting you are shedding fat, normally by doing cardiovascular exercises.
Parting Notes. As you can see, the Arnold split is clearly better for developing muscle mass in the “show muscles” of the upper body, whereas push/pull/legs is better for achieving a more well-rounded training stimulus.
Additionally, if you program properly, you can also allow adequate time to recover between sessions so you can continue to train effectively. So, the answer is yes, Bro Splits can be effective. However, there is not anything specifically magical about splitting workouts this way that makes them vastly superior.
I train back, chest, hamstrings/glutes, shoulders, and quads all on separate days. People often ask what days I train certain body parts and my answer is I don't. I have a 5 day rotation and rarely take days off unless I feel I need to.
Summing It Up. It's pretty simple. If you're lean enough to bulk (10-15% body fat or less for a man, or 18-23% or less for a woman), you should probably bulk first. If you're above these ranges, you should cut first.
Should you bulk or cut first? Generally, it's better to bulk first and then cut if your goal is to build muscle. But, again, it all depends on your goals. Bulking first and then cutting allows you to increase muscle mass and then cut down excess fat or weight you gained during the bulk.
How many times a week should I train for mass?
A training frequency of once a week will get you bigger muscles, but research as highlighted below shows that a training frequency of 2-3 times per week is more effective in reaching this goal.
You don't have to follow a professional bodybuilders 5-days a week workout routine to build a solid, strong and muscular physique. In fact, if you are a novice, beginner, or just weight training for general fitness, you'd most likely benefit best by training only 3 days per week.
Training 3 days per week. Three workouts a week is a common go-to for beginners and those looking to get lean, but works great for muscle gains as well as it provides more exposure to a training stimulus than most are used to.
The best 3 day splits for building muscle are the Push Pull Leg and Classic Bodybuilder splits because they offer greater volume on your muscle groups per workout session.