# Best option of a split for a 3 day routine?



## JoePro (Aug 26, 2009)

*What split would be best for a 3 day routine??*​
Chest&back/Legs/Shoulders&Arms 426.67%Chest&Biceps/Back&Triceps/Legs&Shoulders 960.00%Upper/Lower/Total213.33%


----------



## JoePro (Aug 26, 2009)

I'm just going to make a poll for a 3 day routine that I want to do, without any push/pull/legs just to see what the other options you guys would consider as the best option for a SPLIT on a 3 day routine.

I'm making a new routine for myself and want to just decide on a different type of split.

I'm done with strength and stuff for a while and want to go to bodybuilding style training for a change.


----------



## ashmo (Jul 1, 2011)

Chest & Triceps

Legs & Shoulders

Back & Biceps


----------



## ace man (Nov 2, 2010)

Chest / Biceps

Legs / Shoulders

Back / Triceps


----------



## gearchange (Mar 19, 2010)

ashmo said:


> Chest & Triceps
> 
> Legs & Shoulders
> 
> Back & Biceps


This is best IMO.Reason being you are working triceps when you bench and prime them for isolation,same with biceps on back day.

I can't vote as you do not have this combo listed?


----------



## Trev182 (Sep 24, 2013)

PPL


----------



## johnnya (Mar 28, 2013)

gearchange said:


> This is best IMO.Reason being you are working triceps when you bench and prime them for isolation,same with biceps on back day.
> 
> I can't vote as you do not have this combo listed?[/QUOT
> 
> I'm with gear change and ashmo this my favourite split


----------



## Dan94 (Dec 29, 2013)

Full body 3 times a week. 1 part of your body once a week seems a waste imo.


----------



## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

For me the first option - chest & back/legs/shoulders & arms.


----------



## Robbie_G (Mar 10, 2014)

Dan94 said:


> Full body 3 times a week. 1 part of your body once a week seems a waste imo.


Muscles in general need at least 72 hours to fully recover and anything up to 96 hours for some people. Yes you can still have some DOMS in areas every time your train but training each muscle group 3 times per week will actually regress you and not progress.

Your body/muscles NEED time to fuel back up, repair, grow and recover.

Even guys jacked on gear rarely workout each body part more than 2 times each per week.


----------



## Ginger Ben (Oct 5, 2010)

Robbie_G said:


> Muscles in general need at least 72 hours to fully recover and anything up to 96 hours for some people. Yes you can still have some DOMS in areas every time your train but training each muscle group 3 times per week will actually regress you and not progress.
> 
> Your body/muscles NEED time to fuel back up, repair, grow and recover.
> 
> Even guys jacked on gear rarely workout each body part more than 2 times each per week.


Programs like strong lifts where you squat 3 times a week work really well so whilst I see your point it's not quite as simple as that


----------



## Robbie_G (Mar 10, 2014)

Building for Strength is different than Hypertrophy mate.

Muscle need time to repair to grow. Recommended for BB is 72 hours per body part depending on genetics and personal recovery speeds.

Only going by my Fitness Qualifications and what I have learned over the years.

Everyone is individual but I still stress for size increase exercising 3 times per body part per week is not going to get good results. Overtraining comes to mind and its common in the Gym I work in with the younger members (I am 44).


----------



## Ginger Ben (Oct 5, 2010)

Robbie_G said:


> Building for Strength is different than Hypertrophy mate.
> 
> Muscle need time to repair to grow. Recommended for BB is 72 hours per body part depending on genetics and personal recovery speeds.
> 
> ...


I know but show me somebody who has done strong lifts (just an example) and not got bigger legs by squatting three times a week.

Don't get me started on over training lol


----------



## Dan94 (Dec 29, 2013)

Robbie_G said:


> Muscles in general need at least 72 hours to fully recover and anything up to 96 hours for some people. Yes you can still have some DOMS in areas every time your train but training each muscle group 3 times per week will actually regress you and not progress.
> 
> Your body/muscles NEED time to fuel back up, repair, grow and recover.
> 
> Even guys jacked on gear rarely workout each body part more than 2 times each per week.


Its not 72 hours, its 48 hours for some people 72.


----------



## Robbie_G (Mar 10, 2014)

Dan94 said:


> Its not 72 hours, its 48 hours for some people 72.


Ah well Dan I must have not got that question right when I sat my HNC in Sports Therapy or even when I passed my level 3 Gym instructors qualification. I will live and learn. Thank you for the wise update ill correct all my Knowledge and pass this onto my clients.

For you information mate IF you actually check it up it take over 7 days for a muscle to FULLY recover according to some Phd studies and you actually start to recover AFTER the Doms not during it. So in essence MOST people require at least 72 before working out the same muscle group as I have stated above some people may differ due to genes etc.

You also have to remember that even though you may not be targeting a specific muscle group, other muscles have been exercised already in you training prior to the target group ARE getting more exercise as supporting muscles.

You keep training each body part three times per week but champ. I see and train people like you in the Gym I work in with the mentality more is better.


----------



## Robbie_G (Mar 10, 2014)

Ginger Ben said:


> I know but show me somebody who has done strong lifts (just an example) and not got bigger legs by squatting three times a week.
> 
> Don't get me started on over training lol


I am not disagreeing Ben mate far from it. What I am saying is that with hypertrophy n general overall rest is what makes the body recover and grow with proper diet. Overtraining is the number one problem people see no progress in the gym with the mentality More is better.


----------



## Dan94 (Dec 29, 2013)

Robbie_G said:


> Ah well Dan I must have not got that question right when I sat my HNC in Sports Therapy or even when I passed my level 3 Gym instructors qualification. I will live and learn. Thank you for the wise update ill correct all my Knowledge and pass this onto my clients.
> 
> For you information mate IF you actually check it up it take over 7 days for a muscle to FULLY recover according to some Phd studies and you actually start to recover AFTER the Doms not during it. So in essence MOST people require at least 72 before working out the same muscle group as I have stated above some people may differ due to genes etc.
> 
> ...


Wow, I surprised you can type with your head so far up your own arsé


----------



## Sway12 (Oct 29, 2013)

Robbie_G said:


> I am not disagreeing Ben mate far from it. What I am saying is that with hypertrophy n general overall rest is what makes the body recover and grow with proper diet. Overtraining is the number one problem people see no progress in the gym with the mentality More is better.


So are you effectively saying that the body simply cannot grow if you stimulate the same muscle two/three times a week?


----------



## Robbie_G (Mar 10, 2014)

Wait a wee min here mate. you post in a public forum, tell people that 3 days of full body workouts is what is best and the rest is a waste of time, get corrected by someone whos actualy job (well one of my jobs) is to help people in a Fitness environment.

You actually say my heads up my **** why? Because I quoting what I use on a daily basis and what i've been qualified to do to help people.

No wonder I lost my old account on here and didn't bother to post with retarded comments coming from a wannabe BB.

If that's you in the profile pic I see your 3 days full body is working a treat.


----------



## Dan94 (Dec 29, 2013)

Its more your attitude rather than what you said. Fair enough its your job, but if you weren't saying it in such a dickhead tone then maybe you'd get nicer responses from people. I wasn't disregarding the rest, I was giving my opinion from what I've found out myself.

Yeah that is me, I've been lifting with proper nutrition for about a year and completely naturally, you must be an absolute beast with that profile pic of yours.


----------



## Robbie_G (Mar 10, 2014)

I am saying that your body need time to recover, needs time to repair, including rest food sleep etc. Without these unless you are well above the average with god like genes and can repair a lot faster than most people then no it will not grow at an optimal rate but it will grow slowly.

You will defo not be pumping out say 4 x 110kg bench presses 3 times per week at full reps and strength.

I have been training on and off since I was 15 im now 44. I have been a Gym instructor for well over 15 years now. Im not saying what I know is gospel but it is the foundation that science has proven not me.

Tell you what find me a Body builder with a 3 day full body workout system with all muscle groups covered 3 times each body part that makes you grow and recovers optimally and ill apologize for being incorrect.


----------



## Robbie_G (Mar 10, 2014)

No mate I am not a beast im 200lbs with 14% body fat I train 3 days per week once each body part. Im 5.7" but I cross train and lift heavy.

People come onto forums for advice and other knowledge. The amount of bad advice far out weighs the good but that the nature of the internet. If I came across arrogant then I apologize.


----------



## Sway12 (Oct 29, 2013)

Ginger Ben said:


> I know but show me somebody who has done strong lifts (just an example) and not got bigger legs by squatting three times a week.
> 
> Don't get me started on over training lol


just saw this, plenty of people who are still in crap shape after doing SL/SS, forums are littered with them, Mehdi is misleading people when he says its the best way to build muscle from what I can see.


----------



## Sway12 (Oct 29, 2013)

Robbie_G said:


> Tell you what find me a Body builder with a 3 day full body workout system with all muscle groups covered 3 times each body part that makes you grow and recovers optimally and ill apologize for being incorrect.


This is what I've been saying for ages, yet I get told that they all started by training full body style workouts, but when they got bigger they stopped and started working on speciific body parts. Tell you what it doesnt make any sense to me. If it aint broke dont fix it and im sure if full body was as great as they say they would stick with it, end of discussion.


----------



## Ginger Ben (Oct 5, 2010)

Sway12 said:


> just saw this, plenty of people who are still in crap shape after doing SL/SS, forums are littered with them, Mehdi is misleading people when he says its the best way to build muscle from what I can see.


True but the same can be said for any training 'system' as that's only part of the puzzle along with diet and training properly. People can balls up any one of these parts ime even if they are following a plan

Just for the record I'm not really disagreeing with anybody on here just think it's important that people know there is more than one way to do things.

If it was the case that there was a perfect programme that worked every time then every gym rat in the world would be doing exactly the same thing but they don't.


----------



## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

Meh, I see the whole 3x per week vs 1x per week argument everywhere, tried both, got similar results. Then I went inbetween with 2x per week and started getting better results than both of them 

At the end of the day though it comes down to this - EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT. Some people repond better to one approach than other people would. I long for the day when we all stop saying "science says this approach is better" and so on - I think we all know, in bodybuilding, what science says and what actually works, are two different things a lot of the time. The best possible thing you can do is stop being afraid of trying something different. If you try it for 6 weeks and notice lesser results... well, still doesn't mean it's not going to work for someone else, but at least you know that what you were doing before is the right approach for you at least. That's the only thing that matters.


----------



## Blinkey (May 14, 2012)

dtlv said:


> For me the first option - chest & back/legs/shoulders & arms.


I recall in my youth that was used as a six day split. very hard but massive results. Only took sunday off and then repeated. also complimented with a very low carb diet. It seems to be making bit of a comeback.


----------



## RolandasPT4U (Mar 14, 2014)

There are many good variations. Don't stick to only one. Normally you'd split it to pushing/pulling, upper body/lower body, isolation/compound etc.


----------



## FlunkyTurtle (Aug 5, 2013)

Dan94 said:


> Wow, I surprised you can type with your head so far up your own arsé


He's going to do well here i can tell.


----------



## FlunkyTurtle (Aug 5, 2013)

my 2p

I've done SS, PPL, 5 day split, 2 day split.

I've only changed when my circumstances have changed.

I'm doing the 5 day split now as i have less time in the gym.

I'm the strongest i've ever been but could i honestly tell you which one i grew the most on? no i couldnt.


----------



## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

> Meh, I see the whole 3x per week vs 1x per week argument everywhere, tried both, got similar results. Then I went inbetween with 2x per week and started getting better results than both of them
> 
> At the end of the day though it comes down to this - EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT. Some people repond better to one approach than other people would. I long for the day when we all stop saying "science says this approach is better" and so on - I think we all know, in bodybuilding, what science says and what actually works, are two different things a lot of the time. The best possible thing you can do is stop being afraid of trying something different. If you try it for 6 weeks and notice lesser results... well, still doesn't mean it's not going to work for someone else, but at least you know that what you were doing before is the right approach for you at least. That's the only thing that matters.


I don't think the science actually contradicts every day experience - I think simply that there are just so many different ways to train and currently there just aren't anything like as many clinical trials comparing them. The data is simply incomplete rather than contradictory to common experience.

I think that many factors can determine what works at one particular time for one particular person, and not only are some people more suited to one particular form of training generally, but as a person ages and/or their body changes throughout their training, the most effective mode of exercise for them might also change.

Certainly for strength training you won't find a single world class athlete who doesn't periodize their training using different modes of training over time - progressive overload alone never delivers optimal results unless other factors too are manipulated - volume, frequency, relative loading, perceived intensity (proximity to failure) etc all change. I think that some modes of exercise can, when followed for a period of time, prime the body for optimal results from a different mode of training if training is then changed appropriately to allow it.


----------



## supersonicphil (Apr 30, 2014)

Robbie_G said:


> I am saying that your body need time to recover, needs time to repair, including rest food sleep etc. Without these unless you are well above the average with god like genes and can repair a lot faster than most people then no it will not grow at an optimal rate but it will grow slowly.
> 
> You will defo not be pumping out say 4 x 110kg bench presses 3 times per week at full reps and strength.
> 
> ...


I would do a google search of "Reg Park" - who was the best bodybuilder of his time. He inspired a young Arnold to start working out. He did 5x5 full body 3x a week.

Also, it takes 48-72 hours for a muscle to heal. if you work out a muscle whilst it is still healing then why is this a problem? your just breaking down more fibres that will eventually heal anyway. its not over training. providing your eating right a full body would work best for people with 1-2 (maybe 3 years) experience. in fact a full body is all you need, but some may find a kind of split more beneficial after this time to shape the muscle more, as linear progression would of slowed down.

if a beginer starts on splits then they will bench once a week. if they did a fullbody then they would do it 2-3 times (depending on the program) a week. each time going heavier. therefore a beginer starting on a fullbody, lets say 5x5, will get much stronger FASTER than someone doing splits. This in turn will equal more muscle gains. Not saying splits dont work, im saying FB will be a better option. after 3 years of hard training you cant natually put on a whole lot of muscle per year, so splits would work better in this situation.

This is the problem i have with some PT's, they think they know it all but really they dont.

as i said, look up reg park, and look at what program Arny used to do for his first 5 years training (5x5 FB 3x a week)

rant over


----------



## Beats (Jun 9, 2011)

Chest + Back together that would be a monster of a workout!


----------



## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

Dizzee! said:


> Chest + Back together that would be a monster of a workout!


Sounds a lot worse than it is really. People manage something like a 7 exercise back workout on 4 day splits, and if you take out 3 back movements and replace them with 3 chest movements it actually makes things easier :thumb:


----------



## Beats (Jun 9, 2011)

I said:


> Sounds a lot worse than it is really. People manage something like a 7 exercise back workout on 4 day splits' date=' and if you take out 3 back movements and replace them with 3 chest movements it actually makes things easier :thumb: [/quote']
> 
> So for Example
> 
> ...


----------



## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

Dizzee! said:


> So for Example
> 
> Incline bench
> 
> ...


Yeah, either those or variations of each movement, but in that order


----------



## harryalmighty (Nov 13, 2011)

Dizzee! said:


> Chest + Back together that would be a monster of a workout!


yep exactly what i do 2x per week + shoulders.

today was:

incline DB bench 3x8

weighted chins 3x6

DB shoulder press 2x8

hammer strength lat pulldown 3x8

Close grip bench 2x6

done


----------



## tomo8 (May 29, 2010)

Robbie_G said:


> I am saying that your body need time to recover, needs time to repair, including rest food sleep etc. Without these unless you are well above the average with god like genes and can repair a lot faster than most people then no it will not grow at an optimal rate but it will grow slowly.
> 
> You will defo not be pumping out say 4 x 110kg bench presses 3 times per week at full reps and strength.
> 
> ...


Why when bodybuilders want to bring up a weak body part do they hit it 2 or 3 times a week? Surely this would overtrain the muscle and lead to muscle atrophy?

Or what about in nattys, there protein synthesis levels drop after 48-72hrs. So its more beneficial for them to hit the muscle again an start the process again.


----------



## Sway12 (Oct 29, 2013)

Workout A: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

Incline Bench Press: 3 sets (RPT - 5, 6, 8)

Standing Press: 3 sets (RPT - 5, 6, 8)

Lateral Raises: 3 sets x 8-12 reps

Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 6-10 reps

Workout B: Back, Biceps, Traps, Legs

Weighted Chin ups: 3 sets (RPT - 5, 6, 8)

Hang Cleans or Sumo Deads: 3 sets (RPT - 5, 6, 8)

Bent Over Flyes: 3 sets x 8-12 reps

Barbell Curls: 3 sets x 6-10 reps

Mon A

Wed B

Fri A

Progressively overload each session.


----------

