Workout Split Guides
Practical guides to choosing and running a training split. Each one links to the tool that lets you put it into practice.
Latest guides
How Many Days a Week Should You Train?
How many days a week should you lift? Learn why 3–4 days suits most people, when 2 days is enough, and when 5–6 days makes sense — with signs you are doing too much.
Which Muscles Should You Train Together?
Which muscles should you train together? Learn the standard groupings (push/pull/legs, upper/lower, antagonist pairs), why overlap matters, and how to arrange them.
Dumbbell vs Barbell Bench Press
Dumbbell vs barbell bench press: compare loading, range of motion, shoulder comfort and safety, and learn how to use both in your chest training.
Incline vs Flat Bench Press
Incline vs flat bench press: how the angle changes muscle emphasis, which to do first, how steep to set the bench, and how to include both in a chest workout.
How to Choose a Workout Split — Complete Guide
A step-by-step guide to choosing a split by schedule, goal, experience and equipment.
How our guides work
Every guide is written to answer one question well and to end with a concrete next step. We avoid padding, we do not invent studies or experts, and where the evidence is mixed we say so. Guides link to the exact page or tool you need — a split guide, an exercise page, the planner or a calculator — so you can go from reading to doing in one click.
More guides are on the way, including head-to-head comparisons of the most popular splits and exercise how-tos. In the meantime, the split pages below cover the same ground with sample weeks and exercise lists.
What makes a good split guide
A useful guide tells you who a plan is for, who should avoid it, what a sample week looks like, how much recovery it needs and what to do when life gets in the way. That is the standard we hold every split page to, and it is why each one includes honest trade-offs rather than only a list of benefits.
Start here
New to workout splits? Begin with the workout splits hub, which compares every major split side by side, then see which one suits you with the Split Finder. If you already know how many days you can train, jump to the 3-day, 4-day or 5-day split pages.
Ready to build? The workout planner lets you load a split, edit exercises and export your plan, and the exercise library explains every movement. For nutrition, try the TDEE calculator.