Title: Which Muscle Groups Will You Train? A Practical Guide to Choosing and Organizing Your Workouts
Introduction
Choosing which muscle groups to train in each session is one of the most important decisions when building an effective workout routine. The right split determines recovery, training frequency, and progress. This article breaks down principles and gives practical templates so you can decide what to focus on based on your goals, time, and experience.
Principles to consider
- Goal first: Strength, hypertrophy (muscle size), fat loss, endurance, or athletic performance require different emphases. Strength often needs lower-volume, higher-intensity work on compound lifts; hypertrophy benefits from moderate-to-high volume and varied exercise selection.
- Frequency: Most muscles respond well to being trained 2–3 times per week. Single weekly sessions per muscle are often suboptimal for growth.
- Recovery: Larger muscle groups (legs, back, chest) need more recovery time and energy than smaller ones (biceps, triceps, calves).
- Exercise hierarchy: Prioritize multi-joint compound movements (squats, deadlifts, presses, rows) early in a session, then use isolation exercises to finish.
- Total weekly volume: Track sets per muscle per week. Beginners often benefit from 8–12 sets per muscle/week, intermediates 12–20+ sets, adjusted by intensity and recovery.
Common training splits and when to use them
- Full-body (3×/week): Great for beginners, limited time, or those wanting maximum frequency. Each session includes 3–6 exercises covering major muscle groups.
- Upper/Lower (4×/week): Balances frequency and volume. Use two upper and two lower sessions per week; ideal for intermediates.
- Push/Pull/Legs (3–6×/week): Flexible—can be done 3 days (once each) or 6 days (twice each). Good for focused training and balanced recovery.
- Bodypart split (bro split) (5×/week): Each session focuses on one or two muscle groups (e.g., chest, back, legs). Often used by bodybuilders; requires careful volume control to ensure adequate frequency.
- Hybrid splits: Combine elements—e.g., heavy compound days and lighter accessory days. Useful for combining strength and hypertrophy goals.
Choosing which muscle groups to pair
- Anatomical and functional pairings: Push days = chest, shoulders, triceps. Pull days = back, biceps. Legs = quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves.
- Avoid pairing two large, high-demand muscle groups on the same day unless you have sufficient recovery time (e.g., chest and back in a single session can be done but may limit max performance).
- Pair a large muscle with a smaller one for efficiency (e.g., legs + calves, back + biceps, chest + triceps).
Sample templates
- Beginner (3×/week full-body)
- Session A: Squat, bench press, bent-over row, plank, lunges
- Session B: Deadlift (light), overhead press, pull-ups, leg curls, core work
- Rotate A/B so each muscle is trained ~2–3×/week
- Intermediate (4×/week upper/lower)
- Upper 1: Bench press, incline DB press, rows, face pulls, biceps curls
- Lower 1: Squat, Romanian deadlift, leg press, calves
- Upper 2: Overhead press, chin-ups, chest flyes, triceps extensions
- Lower 2: Deadlift, lunges, hamstring curls, core
- Advanced (5–6×/week push/pull/legs twice)
- Push: Heavy bench/press + accessory triceps/shoulder work
- Pull: Heavy deadlift/rows + accessory biceps/rear delts
- Legs: Heavy squats/hip hinge + quad/hamstring accessories
Exercise selection per muscle group (examples)
- Chest: bench press, incline dumbbell press, chest flyes
- Back: deadlifts, pull-ups, rows, lat pulldowns
- Shoulders: overhead press, lateral raises, rear-delt flyes
- Legs: squats, Romanian deadlifts, leg press, lunges, hamstring curl
- Arms: barbell curls, hammer curls, triceps pushdowns, dips
- Core: planks, hanging leg raises, anti-rotation presses
Managing volume, intensity, and progression
- Progressive overload: increase weight, reps, sets, or reduce rest over time.
- Deload periodically: reduce volume or intensity for a week every 4–8 weeks depending on fatigue.
- Track sets that are near failure (7–12 rep ranges for hypertrophy) and adjust if recovery suffers.
Practical tips
- Start conservative with volume and increase gradually.
- If pressed for time, prioritize compound movements that train multiple muscle groups at once.
- Use accessory work to target lagging areas or improve weak points that limit big lifts.
- Listen to your body—soreness is normal, sharp pain is not. Adjust accordingly.
Conclusion
If you want a clear, step-by-step breakdown on how to divide muscle groups into training sessions, check this practical guide: how to split muscle groups across workouts.
