There's hundreds of different styles of workout regimes in existence, it comes to me as no surprise that the majority of newcomers give up before they even do their first workout - with magazines, websites, books and trainers all preaching and recommending completely different workout styles for the same end goal.
To build muscle mass and increase their strength.
The 4 day split is one workout style among the hundreds out there, however unlike many the 4 day split workout regime is ideal for the beginner to intermediate gym-goer, with many different styles and schedules of the 4 day split in existence (based on your short and long term goals there can be a lot of variance in the 4 day schedule).
4 Reasons Why The 4 Day Split Workout Is Ideal For Both Beginners& Intermediate Gym-Goers
You're probably thinking "SJ, isn't the 5 or 6 day split better as you're able to dedicate more time and effort to individual muscle groups... the 4 day split is basic!"
You'd be right, the 4 day split is basic.
There's no need to complicate it - we don't need to dedicate an entire day to training biceps like the typical gym rat on a 5, 6 or 7 day split.
1 - It's Manageable
The 4 day split workout is extremely manageable, the 5, 6 and 7 day split workout regimes often complicate things, require too much in terms of time commitment and just generally overwhelm newcomers.
A 6 day split may seem exciting & enjoyable for the first day or week, but it won't take long until you're beat down, de-motivated and ready to throw in the towel - not the attitude we want to cultivate in our first few weeks with the iron.
The 4 day split only requires 4 workouts per week on non consecutive days totaling around 1 hour per workout.
Regardless of whether you're a parent, student, full time employee or entrepreneur anyone can find or make that time.
The occasional missed workout can easily be re-scheduled as there's plenty of time in the week to make a day change here or there (any good routine should be flexible enough to accommodate your life).
2 - It Allows Sufficient Recovery
More workouts, more sets and more exercises are not necessarily beneficial for the beginner...
It's quite the opposite actually.
Newcomers take longer to recover between workouts, their bodies haven't quite adapted yet - the seasoned gym-goer can train five or six days a week and hit the same muscle group 48 hours after initially training it, the newcomer cannot.
This is the #1 reason why a 6 day split workout isn't best suited for beginners.
It's a great workout style, I'm personally following one right now - but if I had less than a year of time spent in the gym under my belt I would steer clear of that volume.
The typical 4 day split looks something like this:
- Monday - Chest
- Wednesday - Back
- Friday - Shoulders
- Saturday - Arms & Legs
3 - It Provides Fantastic Progression
Eat well, train hard (apply progressive overload each workout) and the 4 day split will serve you well for many years.
As I mentioned, one of the biggest gym misconceptions is volume and frequency of training - you can absolutely build a physique that resembles a Greek god with 4 intense workout days per week, there's not a shroud of doubt in my mind.
The 4 day split workout regime you follow should be based around the major compound movement for the particular body part you're training, continue to add weight and reps each and every workout and size and strength will never be a concern of yours again.
4 - It's Highly Customizable
Training specificity is key.
If your goal is to build massive legs you're not going to be reaching success in your eyes if you're only squatting once per week.
The 4 day split gives us more than enough wiggle room to fit in additional volume for certain body parts or exercises based on your goals.
Want to throw in some gymnastics work to increase your bodyweight strength? No problems.
Want to squat twice per week? No problems.
Once you've defined your end-state goal the 4 day split can easily be shaped around it.
4 Mistakes Most Guys Make With Their 4 Day Split Workout
1 - Focusing On High Volume Instead Of High Intensity
If you’re able to hit 50 sets per body part per workout you’re not lifting heavy enough and you’re not pushing yourself hard enough.
Each workout should consist of roughly 20 sets, with the majority of your lifts being performed in the single digit rep range.
4 – 6 reps.
3 – 4 sets.
3 – 4 exercises per body part.
The 4 day split should not be a high volume ‘pump up’ style workout regime.
If you want size and strength focus on your compound movements and focus on applying progressive overload with heavy weight.
Each workout should start with the corresponding mass mover exercise for that body part:
- Chest – Barbell Bench Press
- Back – Weighted Pull-Ups
- Shoulders – Military Press
- Arms – Barbell Curls/Triceps Dips
- Legs – Barbell Squats
2 - Poor Scheduling Of Workouts
The typical training schedule of my 4 day split workout regime looks something like this:
- Chest
- Back
- Shoulders
- Arms & Legs
This isn’t because chest is my favorite muscle group and legs is my least favorite (actually far from it!) this schedule is optimized to ensure the muscle group we’re training on any given day has the most recovery time possible. Many guys overthink their workout regime and re-arrange days for no particular reason, resulting in poor recovery between workouts.
A prime example of this is training arms the day before your chest workout – when your triceps are still extremely fatigued from the arm workout you performed the previous day your chest workout isn’t going to be particularly great, as triceps are the secondary muscle group when we’re performing our heavy chest pressing movements.
Performing a shoulder workout the day after training chest is the second most common scheduling mistake I see being made, with excessive stress and tension being placed on the shoulders two days in a row (you’ll find that chest dips and incline dumbbell/barbell presses stress the shoulders) this can result in rotator cuff inpingement and niggling injuries over time following this schedule.
3 - Inconsistency & Shiny Object Syndrome
As discussed above I highly recommend customizing your rest days and workout days to suit your schedule to ensure you’re consistent.
If you train hard but you’re inconsistent you won’t see the progress you’re after.
If you train inconsistently you won’t see anything.
Set your 4 day split workout and follow it for at least 12 weeks before making any adjustments.
Follow the regime, gauge your results and make the necessary pivots, if you’re chopping and changing exercises, scheduling and workouts all the time you’re not going to be able to gauge what is actually working and what isn’t.
Don’t fall victim to shiny object syndrome.
4 - Not Measuring Results
If it matters you'll measure it.
In order to progress you must track the sets you're performing, the weight you're lifting and the number of repping you're hitting.
If you're not measuring it you cannot progress - you won't have record of what you did last time!
Use an old school notepad or use the app of your choice on your phone, whatever method you find easier to consistently record your results to ensure the 4 day split you're performing is taking you closer to your goals.
4 Day Split Workout Examples
Below are three 4 day split workout routines that WILL have you stacking on both size and strength regardless of whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned gym-goer.
<image>
4 Day Split Workout Example 1
Chest
- Barbell Bench Press - 3 x 6 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Press - 3 x 6 reps
- Chest Dips - 3 x failure
- Incline Dumbbell Fly - 3 x 6 reps
Back
- Deadlifts - 3 x 6 reps
- Pull-Ups - 3 x 6 reps
- Pendlay Row - 3 x 6 reps
- One Arm Dumbbell Row - 3 x 6 reps
Shoulders
- Barbell Military Press - 3 x 6 reps
- Dumbbell Side Laterals - 3 x 6 reps
- Barbell Squats - 3 x 6 reps
- Leg Press - 3 x 6 reps
Arms/Legs
- Barbell Biceps Curl - 3 x 6 reps
- Dumbbell Hammer Curl
- Triceps Dips - 3 x failure
- Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extension - 3 x 6 reps
- Barbell Squats - 3 x 6 reps
- Leg Press - 3 x 6 reps
- Walking Lunges - 3 x 12 reps
4 Day Split Workout Example 2
Chest/Legs
- Barbell Bench Press - 3 x 6 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Press - 3 x 6 reps
- Chest Dips - 3 x failure
- Incline Dumbbell Fly - 3 x 6 reps
- Barbell Squats - 3 x 6 reps
- Leg Press - 3 x 6 reps
- Walking Lunges - 3 x 12 reps
Back
- Deadlifts - 3 x 6 reps
- Pull-Ups - 3 x 6 reps
- Pendlay Row - 3 x 6 reps
- One Arm Dumbbell Row - 3 x 6 reps
Shoulders
- Barbell Military Press - 3 x 6 reps
- Dumbbell Side Laterals - 3 x 6 reps
- Barbell Squats - 3 x 6 reps
- Leg Press - 3 x 6 reps
Arms
- Barbell Biceps Curl - 3 x 6 reps
- Dumbbell Hammer Curl
- Triceps Dips - 3 x failure
- Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extension - 3 x 6 reps
4 Day Split Workout Example 3
Push
- Barbell Bench Press - 3 x 6 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Press - 3 x 6 reps
- Barbell Military Press - 3 x 6 reps
- Dumbbell Side Laterals - 3 x 6 reps
- Dumbbell Skull Crushers - 3 x 6 reps
- Overhead Triceps Extension - 3 x 6 reps
Pull
- Deadlifts - 3 x 6 reps
- Pull-Ups - 3 x 6 reps
- Pendlay Row - 3 x 6 reps
- Barbell Curl - 3 x 6 reps
- Dumbbell Hammer Curl - 3 x 6 reps
Legs
- Barbell Squats - 3 x 6 reps
- Leg Press - 3 x 6 reps
- Walking Lunges - 3 x 10 reps
Bodyweight Conditioning
- Hanging Leg Raises - 3 x 10 reps
- Dragon Flags - 3 x 10 reps
- V-Sit Hold - 3 x 20 seconds
- Burpees - 100 reps as fast as possible
- Med Ball Slams - 100 reps as fast as possible