Let's start by addressing the most important question, why the hell should I listen to this random guy on the internet, well I don't really know I mean you don’t have to. I’m only doing this because my boss is forcing me to.
So back to the point, the perfect split. It’s very simple actually, it’s chest and biceps- Everyday. Yeah, I wish we could do that.
But the perfect split depends on your goal. If it’s as simple as putting on muscle, then in my opinion you should follow a simple push pull legs or a bro split or even mix the two up.
So there’s a few things to keep in mind here.
Point 1, You should be hitting the important body parts at least twice a week. So what this means is for example i’ve been blessed with great leg genetics since i played a lot of football growing up (i promise this is not an excuse to skip leg day). So I only hit legs once a week but I make sure to hit other parts of the body like my chest, back and arms at least twice a week. Secondly make sure there’s adequate time for rest. Now you’ll have to figure out what the recovery time for your body is but it’s usually two days for a specific muscle group. And lastly remember that we’re talking about the ideal situation here, hitting the gym 6 times a week might be tough but push yourself every week.
Now what exactly is push pull legs or a bro split. Push pull legs is pretty self explanatory, it means all the push movements in one day that means chest, triceps and shoulders (for some people) in one day. Pull movements which means back and biceps on another day and legs on day three.
A bro split on the other hand means doing back and chest on the same day and then doing arms and shoulders on another and then finally legs. This is completely fine too as long as your intensity is good and you're taking every set till failure, As now you’re hitting less sets per week for that body part.
How to plan your week?
So I tend to mix the two, my split is basically chest and triceps on monday, back and biceps on tuesday, legs on wednesday and then shoulders and arms on thursday. On friday i do chest and back again. Then Saturday for me becomes like a free day, i can either deadlift or do abs and traps, maybe forearms if I'm feeling too frisky.
Now, I also like playing a sport, that is how I get my cardio in for all of you that are wondering if this dude moves a little or no. Yes, I play basketball in the evenings every alternate day. So gym in the morning and then cardio in the evening. Obviously this is only sustainable if your diet is great and planned in a way which helps you hit this goal. Again we’re talking about ideal situations, all my weeks don’t look like this. I’m not Kobe as much as i'd like to think so.
I also love the idea of trying to increase my strength in the gym so I make sure to hit the compound lifts. For example, I'll never skip the bench or squat on my push and leg days. But up to you, if your goal is to put on muscle then a dumbbell press and a quad extension will be more beneficial to you.
Now if your goal is to lose weight, i don't think there’s a perfect way to do that, you have to make sure your calories consumed are less than your maintenance calories. Otherwise no matter how hard you train you won’t lose any weight.
When I was cutting weight I was training exactly how I'm training now, just payed attention to my diet and counted my calories and macros. You can obviously bump up the cardio a little, which will help in burning more calories hence allowing you to eat more and still being in a calorie deficit but at the end of the day, the diet is the most important.
So yeah there it is, the perfect split, I hope this has helped you little, don’t overcomplicate it, according to me the basic way is the best and conventional is conventional for a reason. Pay attention to your diet and don’t drink too much, you’ll be fine. See you soon in the next episode of random snack page gives advice.
Maniks Workout Split:
MONDAY - Chest and Triceps
TUESDAY - Back and Biceps
WEDNESDAY - Legs
THURSDAY - Shoulders and Arms
FRIDAY - Chest and Back
SATURDAY - Deadlifts Abs, Traps and Forearms
SUNDAY - Rest