Tip How to Design Your Perfect Weekly Split Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip How to Design Your Perfect Weekly Split How many days per week should you train Should you do a bro split push-pull or whole-body Find out here by Charles Staley November 4, 2016November 11, 2021 Tags Tips, Training It All Depends on Strength How many days should you train per week? Should you train the whole body every workout or split things up? The answer to these questions comes down to how strong you are. If you haven't yet reached "3-4-5 status" – a 300 pound bench, 400 squat, and 500 deadlift – you'll be better served with whole body workouts. That means using exercises for both upper and lower body every workout. Train 3-4 times per week, using between 2-3 exercises for upper body, and 2-3 exercises for lower body each session. Here's an example of what that might look like: Monday Wednesday Friday High Bar Squat Flat Dumbbell Press RDL Barbell Military Press Weighted Back Extension Dip Forward/Reverse Lunge Chin-Up Hack Squat Low Cable Row Split Squat Inverted Row Hammer Curl Lying Triceps Extension Dumbbell Curl If, on the other hand, you have reached 3-4-5 status, it's time to step up to an upper/lower split, meaning 4 sessions per week, where you train upper body twice and lower body twice each week. Example: Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday High Bar Squat Bench Press Deadlift Incline Dumbbell Bench RDL Pull-Up Front Squat Low Cable Row Step Up Barbell Curl Reverse Hyper Low Cable Curl Leg Curl Pushdown Leg Extension French Press Finally, if you're really strong, meaning you weigh well over 250 pounds, squat over 700, bench over 400, etc., you might be better off using the "bro-split." There are actually a few different versions of this, but typically they all have you training each muscle group roughly once per week. Here's an example: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Chest Back Legs Shoulders Arms This works great if you're so big and strong that a back workout literally takes you 5-7 days to recover from because you're doing stuff like bent-over rows with 405 for sets of 8. But the weaker you are, the faster you recover (yes, even if you're working your nuts off), and therefore, the more frequently each muscle needs to be re-stimulated with a new training bout. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Why Your Knees Perform Like Aging Water Fowl Knee pain got you walking real funny-like? Here's what to do and what NOT to do. It Hurts Fix It, Legs, Training Lee Boyce May 26 Training Tip Fix This Tiny Muscle to Relieve Neck Pain Stiff neck and shoulders? Achy upper back? Release this unsuspecting muscle for immediate relief. Here's how. It Hurts Fix It, Training Michael Shaughnessy April 7 Training Question of Strength 51 What's the best way to preserve muscle while losing fat? How do you smash an overhead press plateau? Answers here. Powerlifting & Strength, Question of Strength, Training Christian Thibaudeau January 21 Training Lifter s Elbow The Cause & The Cure Three common things you probably do in the gym that will wreck your elbows, plus a few smart tricks that'll fix you right up. It Hurts Fix It, Soft-Tissue Techniques, Training Dr John Rusin February 25