About Workout Plans
Workout plans are designed to give structure and direction to your training. Instead of going into the gym without a plan, having a split helps organize what muscle groups you train each day and makes progress easier to track. Different workout plans work better for different people depending on experience, goals, and schedule. Workout plans are an essential part of working out and it helps you stay consistent when you're seeing personal progress. Below are the most popular Workout Splits and some exercises you can plan the day with. The exercises below are just examples and placeholder. As you go along and start to use these splits you will eventually find what exercises work for you and find out how many exercises feed the muscles to become their fullest potential. Remember to be patient and stay consistent.
Push, Pull, Legs (PPL)
The Push, Pull, Legs split is one of the most popular workout plans because it organizes training by movement patterns. Push days focus on chest, shoulders, and triceps. Pull days focus on back and biceps. Leg days focus on the lower body. This split is effective for both muscle growth and strength and is great for people who can train several times per week.
Push Day Exercises
- Bench Press
- Incline Dumbbell Press
- Shoulder Press
- Lateral Raise
- Tricep Pushdown
- Tricep Overhead Press
Pull Day Exercises
- Lat Pulldown
- Barbell Row
- Seated Cable Row
- Hammer Curl
- Barbell Curl
Leg Day Exercises
- Squat
- Leg Press
- RDL
- Leg Curl
- Calf Raises
Upper / Lower Split
The upper and lower split separates training into upper body days and lower body days. This split is great for beginners and intermediate lifters because it allows each part of the body to be trained multiple times a week while still giving enough recovery time.
Upper Day Exercises
- Bench Press
- Lat Pulldown
- Shoulder Press
- Seated Cable Row
- Barbell Curl
- Tricep Pushdown
Lower Day Exercises
- Squat
- Leg Press
- RDL
- Leg Extension
- Leg Curl
- Calf Raises
Arnold Split
The Arnold split is a classic bodybuilding split that usually trains chest and back together, shoulders and arms together, and legs on their own day. This split gives a lot of volume to each muscle group and is often used by more advanced lifters who want to focus on muscle growth.
Chest and Back Day Exercises
- Bench Press
- Incline Dumbbell Press
- Lat Pulldown
- Barbell Row
- Chest Fly
- Seated Cable Row
Shoulders and Arms Day Exercises
- Shoulder Press
- Lateral Raise
- Rear Delt Fly
- Barbell Curl
- Hammer Curl
- Tricep Pushdown
- Overhead Tricep Extension
Leg Day Exercises
- Squat
- Leg Press
- RDL
- Leg Extension
- Leg Curl
- Calf Raises
Bro Split
The bro split focuses on one major muscle group per day. This means each muscle gets its own workout day. It is simple to follow and allows a lot of attention to be placed on one body part at a time, but it is usually better for more experienced lifters who train many days per week.
Example Split
- Monday - Chest
- Tuesday - Back
- Wednesday - Shoulders
- Thursday - Arms
- Friday - Legs
Basic Exercises
- Chest - Bench Press, Incline Dumbbell Press, Chest Fly
- Back - Lat Pulldown, Barbell Row, Seated Cable Row
- Shoulders - Shoulder Press, Lateral Raise, Rear Delt Fly
- Arms - Barbell Curl, Hammer Curl, Tricep Pushdown, Skullcrushers
- Legs - Squat, Leg Press, Leg Curl, Leg Extension
Full Body Split
A full body split trains the entire body in each workout. This is one of the best plans for beginners because it teaches all the major movement patterns and allows frequent practice of the basic lifts. It also works well for people who only have a few days each week to train.
Basic Full Body Exercises
- Squat
- Bench Press
- Lat Pulldown
- Romanian Deadlift
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Barbell Curl
- Tricep Pushdown
Body Part Focus Split
A body part focus split is a flexible workout plan where certain muscle groups are emphasized more depending on your goals. This is useful for people who want to bring up weaker areas, such as shoulders, back, or legs.
Example Focus Areas
- Shoulder Focus - Shoulder Press, Lateral Raise, Arnold Press, Rear Delt Fly
- Back Focus - Pull-Ups, Barbell Row, Seated Cable Row, Deadlift
- Leg Focus - Squat, Leg Press, Bulgarian Split Squat, Romanian Deadlift
How to Choose the Right Plan
The best workout plan depends on your schedule, your experience level, and your goals. Beginners often do best with full body or upper/lower splits because they are simple and allow more practice with basic movements. Intermediate and advanced lifters may benefit more from Push, Pull, Legs, the Arnold split, or other more detailed plans depending on how often they train. Sometimes it's also good to switch splits overtime. An example would be to do PPL for like 8-12, then switch over to the Arnold split for a little. It helps to undertand what works for you and it helps change things up.
Final Reminder
No matter what split you choose, the most important part is staying consistent and using proper form. A good workout plan should help you train hard, recover properly, and continue making progress over time. Always remeber that progress takes time and that the results will eventually present themselves. Also don't rush through your workouts, take your time and focus on the proper stretch of the muscle.