# 5 day split



## warlord94 (Apr 5, 2009)

Hi

i found this information and wondered if some of you could shed some information on the subject please, as where i stole it from there wasnt much information left about it.

thanks to all that reply.

oh and if some of you that do compete do you train 5 days a week or more as some of the big guys in my gym do.

I've been training now for around 6 years am have mostly trained using 3-4 day splits, but I've never really used a 5 day split. Having watched the way the Pros train, around 95% of them use a 5 day split training a single body part each day. Now obviously I'm not gonna go ahead & copy the Pros exactly, but there must be a reason why the vast majority of them do 5 day splits as opposed to 3-4 day splits, and I was just wondering why.

The only reason I could think of for using a 5 day split, would be if you wanted to train a particular muscle TWICE per week as opposed to just once, but having spent the past few hours reading up on people's 5 day splits & the 5 day splits the Pros use (again, not copying them, just observing) they tend to just train a single body part each day, once per week (as opposed to twice), which looks something like the following.

*Typical 5 Day Split*:

Mon - Chest

Tue - Back

Wed - Legs

Thu - Shoulders

Fri - Arms

As opposed to...

*Typical 3 Day Split*:

Mon - Chest/Triceps

Wed - Legs/Shoulders

Fri - Back/Biceps

Surely Arms & shoulders don't need their own days & can be coupled longside the bigger muscle groups as shown in the 3 day split, but these 5 day splits training a single muscle each day seem to be really popular and I'm just wondering WHY. WHY use a 5 day split as opposed to a 3 day split, if you can spend less time in the gym on a 3 day split? There's got to be a reason why all the Pros etc use them. I don't think I've EVER seen an IFBB Pro's workout which is based on a 3 day split. As I said above, they almost always train using a 5 day split, training one muscle per day. The thing is, having been training now for 6+ years, I've been reading that the advanced trainee benefits MORE from a 5 day split as opposed to a 3 day split (which is why the Pros use it I guess) but I can't see how. How would training 5x a week be any MORE beneficial to growth for an advanced trainee than training just 3x a week?

Also, I'm hearing a lot lately of muscles growing BETTER off training them twice per week as opposed to just once, because apparently they don't need a week to recover, but I really can't see how you can train a muscle twice per week using a typical Split Program.

Anyway, what do you think?


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## SK-XO (Aug 6, 2009)

Look at the size of the pro's. And ontop of that the amount of size they have to maintain and even build on, it's not easy, they need constant stimulation of the muscle for growth, coupled with the large doses of aas the recovery is faster which also allows them to train for longer and more frequent.

Why not train Shoulders seperatley?:S? posterior, medial, and anterior deltoid + traps. Thats 4 main muscles to work, Why not just say why train chest seperate?

And tbh this subject is always argued about but imo it just depends what works for you, if training 5 day split works, why not do it :S? Larger muscle groups need far longer to recover and if your working the muscle intense enough I'd be surprised if you could work every muscle twice a week. I personally do 5 day split or 2 on 1 off. Works for me so I do it, I don't follow the pro's workouts, I take tips from them, but not copy their workouts.


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## Squirrel (Jun 7, 2009)

SK-XO said:


> Larger muscle groups need far longer to recover and if your working the muscle intense enough I'd be surprised if you could work every muscle twice a week.


Probably a daft question with a simple answer, but why do you say that large muscle groups need far longer to recover? If I blitz legs they ache like hell for 3 to 4 days, but I can say the same about any muscle group! Just curious.


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## kaos_nw (Jul 9, 2008)

I always wondered about this and theres alot of arguments for more and less volume, Im currently on a 5 day split (mon-fri) and am seeing some good gains

im just reading through 'Beyond Brawn' and its a excellent read, it states that training more than 2 time per week can hold most people back, also the pros are genetically gifted so can recover faster and are more likely to be using AAS. So as im natural im going to try a 2 (possibly 1 on 2 off) routine after my current one so i can compare results and see what my body reacts best to (volume vs intensity)

If your interested in HIT training i highly recommend Beyond Brawn!


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## warlord94 (Apr 5, 2009)

thanks for the comments so far the only worry i have with the 5 day split is that i have read a long time ago about the nervous system recovery.

I think my problem is that i read too much then when something seems really good put a problem infront of it.

cheers

hope others can shed some information aswell


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## SALKev (Feb 28, 2009)

Squirrel said:


> Probably a daft question with a simple answer, but why do you say that large muscle groups need far longer to recover? If I blitz legs they ache like hell for 3 to 4 days, but I can say the same about any muscle group! Just curious.


Different muscle groups have different fibre types which effects the recovery time. DOMS isn't an indicator of when you're recovered, you must also take into account the effect it has on your CNS (Central Nervous System).

Also, DOMS is generally greater with isolation movements than compounds.


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