Blog · splits
Workout Splits Explained: PPL, Upper Lower, Full Body, Bro
· GymPilot Team
A workout split is simply the way you divide your weekly training across different days: which muscles get worked together, which days are rest days, and how often each muscle group gets trained. Pick the wrong workout split for your schedule and you end up either skipping sessions you cannot fit in or training the same muscles again before they have recovered. This guide walks through the four splits people actually use, full body, upper lower, push pull legs and bro, plus the Arnold split as a bro split variant, and compares them side by side so you can see which one fits how many days you actually have.
Key takeaways
- A workout split is a schedule, not a magic formula: full body, upper lower, push pull legs and bro splits all build muscle and strength when the sets, reps and rest are sound.
- Full body splits suit three training days a week and are the simplest to learn from.
- Upper lower splits use four days a week and train each muscle group about twice weekly.
- Push pull legs works as a three day rotation or a six day rotation that repeats the cycle twice.
- Bro splits and the Arnold split fit five to six days a week and put more volume into each single-muscle session.
What a workout split actually means
Every workout split answers the same two questions: which muscles train together, and how many times a week does each muscle group get worked. A full body split answers "everything, every session." A push pull legs split answers "pushing muscles one day, pulling muscles another, legs a third." Neither answer is more correct than the other. What changes between splits is how the same total weekly work gets grouped and spread out.
Most hypertrophy-focused training works well somewhere between 10 and 20 total sets per muscle group each week, spread however the split organizes it. A full body split spreads that volume across three shorter full body sessions. A bro split concentrates a similar weekly total into one longer session per muscle. Both numbers can land in the same range; they just get there on different schedules.
Full body split: 3 days a week
A full body split trains every major muscle group in the same session, repeated three times a week with a rest day between sessions. The three days differ slightly in emphasis so the same lifts are not run in identical order every time, which keeps the week from feeling repetitive and spreads fatigue more evenly.
Day 1: Squat focus
Barbell Squat for 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps, 90 to 120 seconds rest. Dumbbell Bench Press for 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, 90 seconds rest. Bent Over Barbell Row for 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, 90 seconds rest. Standing Dumbbell Calf Raise for 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps, 45 to 60 seconds rest.
Day 2: Deadlift focus
Romanian Deadlift for 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps, 90 to 120 seconds rest. Standing Dumbbell Press for 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps, 90 seconds rest. Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown for 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, 60 to 90 seconds rest. Cross-Body Crunch for 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps, 45 seconds rest.
Day 3: Press focus
Incline Dumbbell Press for 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, 90 seconds rest. One-Arm Dumbbell Row for 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per side, 60 to 90 seconds rest. Goblet Squat for 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, 90 seconds rest. Medicine Ball Full Twist for 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps, 45 seconds rest.
This layout works well for beginners because it only asks you to learn a rotating handful of movements, and for anyone who cannot commit to more than three days a week without missing sessions.
Upper lower split: 4 days a week
An upper lower split separates the week into upper body days and lower body days, run twice each across four total training days: Upper A, Lower A, Upper B, Lower B, with rest days worked in around them. Each muscle group gets trained roughly twice a week, which suits people who want more frequency than a full body split gives without jumping to five or six sessions.
Upper A
Dumbbell Bench Press for 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps, 90 seconds rest. Bent Over Barbell Row for 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps, 90 seconds rest. Standing Dumbbell Press for 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps, 60 to 90 seconds rest. Cross Body Hammer Curl for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, 45 to 60 seconds rest. Finish with an Upper Back Stretch to close the session.
Lower A
Barbell Squat for 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps, 90 to 120 seconds rest. Romanian Deadlift for 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps, 90 to 120 seconds rest. Standing Calf Raises for 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps, 45 to 60 seconds rest. Knee Across The Body as a cooldown stretch, 2 sets of 30 to 45 seconds per side.
Upper B
Incline Dumbbell Press for 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, 90 seconds rest. Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown for 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, 60 to 90 seconds rest. Standing Dumbbell Upright Row for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, 60 seconds rest. Close with a Chair Upper Body Stretch rather than adding more working sets.
Lower B
Goblet Squat for 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, 90 seconds rest. Smith Single-Leg Split Squat for 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per leg, 60 to 90 seconds rest. Lower Back Curl for 2 sets of 12 to 15 reps, 45 seconds rest, then Lower Back-SMR to finish.
Push pull legs split: 3 and 6 days a week
A push pull legs split, usually shortened to PPL, groups pushing muscles, pulling muscles and legs into three separate days. Run once through, it fits a three day week: push, pull, legs, rest, repeat. Run twice through in the same week, it becomes a six day split that trains every muscle group twice instead of once, which is where most of the extra volume in a six day PPL routine actually comes from.
Push day
Dumbbell Bench Press for 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps, 90 seconds rest. Incline Dumbbell Press for 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, 90 seconds rest. Standing Dumbbell Press for 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps, 60 to 90 seconds rest. Bench Dips for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, 60 seconds rest.
Pull day
Bent Over Barbell Row for 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps, 90 seconds rest. Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown for 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, 60 to 90 seconds rest. One-Arm Dumbbell Row for 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per side, 60 to 90 seconds rest. Cross Body Hammer Curl for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, 45 to 60 seconds rest.
Legs day
Barbell Squat for 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps, 90 to 120 seconds rest. Romanian Deadlift for 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps, 90 to 120 seconds rest. Split Squat with Dumbbells for 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per leg, 60 to 90 seconds rest. Standing Dumbbell Calf Raise for 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps, 45 to 60 seconds rest.
For the six day version, repeat push, pull, legs a second time later in the same week, keeping the sets and reps the same or adjusting them slightly based on how recovered you feel. The full breakdown, including how to fit both versions into a real calendar, is in Push Pull Legs Routine: 3 and 6 Day Plans.
Bro split and the Arnold split: 5 and 6 days a week
A bro split assigns one muscle group per training day, typically chest, back, shoulders, arms and legs across five days with two rest days worked in. Because each session only targets one or two muscle groups, it can fit more total sets into that single session than a full body or PPL day would give the same muscles.
A chest day might pair Incline Dumbbell Press with a few more chest-focused sets and finish with Medicine Ball Full Twist for core volume that does not compete with the day's main lifts. A dedicated arm day might lean on Cross Body Hammer Curl for biceps alongside a triceps movement. A leg day on this split can afford more unilateral work than a busier PPL leg day, such as Smith Single-Leg Split Squat paired with a power movement like Split Jump, closing with Upper Back-Leg Grab as a stretch.
The Arnold split compresses those same five muscle groups into three combined training days, chest and back together, shoulders and arms together, legs on their own, then repeats the three days a second time across the week for six sessions total. It suits lifters who want bro split levels of volume per muscle group without stretching the rotation across a full five separate days. The complete day-by-day layout is in Arnold Split Workout: 6 Day Plan Explained.
Comparing splits by days per week and goal
| Split | Days per week | Rest days | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full body | 3 | 4 | beginners and anyone with limited weekly training time |
| Upper lower | 4 | 3 | lifters who want more frequency than full body without a big time jump |
| Push pull legs (3 day) | 3 | 4 | a simple rotation that still separates push, pull and legs |
| Push pull legs (6 day) | 6 | 1 | lifters who can train nearly every day and recover well |
| Bro split | 5 | 2 | lifters who want a lot of volume concentrated into each muscle's one session |
| Arnold split | 6 | 1 | advanced lifters chasing high weekly volume across fewer combined days |
How to choose the right split for you
Start with how many days you can actually, realistically train, not how many days sound ideal on paper. A workout split you run three days a week every week beats one that asks for six and gets four. If three or four days a week is your honest number, full body or upper lower will serve you better than trying to squeeze a six day push pull legs rotation into a schedule that cannot support it.
Recovery matters as much as ambition. Bro splits and six day Arnold splits ask a lot of your ability to bounce back between sessions, since each muscle group gets one dense hit rather than two smaller ones spread across the week. If sleep, stress and overall recovery are inconsistent, a split that trains each muscle group more frequently at lower volume per session, like upper lower or a three day PPL, tends to be more forgiving.
Goal changes the split less than most people expect. General strength, muscle gain and staying in shape all respond to any of these splits, provided the weekly volume per muscle group lands in a reasonable range and you progress the sets, reps or load over time rather than repeating the exact same numbers indefinitely. The split is the container; consistent training inside it is what actually does the work.
Whichever split you land on, save it in GymPilot once and build the rest of your week from there: try GymPilot.
Where to go next
Two of the splits above have their own dedicated, day-by-day breakdowns worth reading once you know which direction you are leaning:
Push Pull Legs Routine: 3 and 6 Day Plans covers both PPL variants in full, including how to structure the rest days around each version.
Upper Lower Split: 4 Day Plan With Sets and Reps lays out a complete four day week with the exercises, sets and reps for Upper A, Lower A, Upper B and Lower B.
Arnold Split Workout: 6 Day Plan Explained walks through the combined-muscle-group version of a bro split day by day, for lifters ready for six sessions a week.
Fitness content on this page is general information, not medical advice: consult a professional if you have a condition or injury.
Questions
What is the best workout split for a beginner?
A full body split trained three days a week is usually the simplest starting point. It hits every muscle group often enough to learn the movements without needing five or six separate sessions to keep track of.
How many days a week should a workout split cover?
Anywhere from three to six, depending on how much time you have and how quickly you recover. Three or four days a week fits most schedules; five or six suits people who can train nearly every day and recover well between sessions.
Is push pull legs better than upper lower?
Neither is better in general. Push pull legs trains each muscle group with more volume per session but less often per week at three days; upper lower trains everything more frequently at four days with less volume each time. Both work when the sets, reps and rest are sound.
Can I switch workout splits without losing progress?
Yes, as long as the new split still trains each muscle group with enough weekly sets. A switch from upper lower to push pull legs, for example, changes how the volume is grouped across the week, not whether the volume happens at all.
Do I need a different split for fat loss versus muscle gain?
The split itself matters less than showing up consistently and progressing your sets and reps over time. A full body or upper lower split works for either goal; what changes between goals is diet and overall activity, not the split's exercise layout.