Starting a workout routine can be difficult. Everyone’s availability throughout the week can change and finding the time to go to the gym can be last on your list. Luckily, I’m here to help you find that workout routine that suits your schedule. People may think that going to the gym every day of the week is the best way to build muscle and lose weight. That’s not true at all. Rest days are essential for building muscle and recovering from your workouts. My workout split right now is 4 days, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I take Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday to rest and do stuff at home. This workout split is good for my life circumstances that allows me to be in the gym and have time for personal stuff. So, let’s dig into the workout routines that can best suit you for the week.
2-Day Split (Upper and Lower Body)
A two-day split offers simplicity during the week and allows you to work out every muscle group at least once a week. With a 2-day split, this split will allow you more time for recovery, but your time in the gym might be longer. Here’s a sample workout routine I normally do if I’m constrained to a 2-day split for the week. Depending on when you want to go, you can either do these 2 days straight or spread it out throughout the week to allow for full muscle recovery.
Day 1: Upper Body
- Chest Press with either barbell or Dumbbell
- Shoulder Lateral Raises
- Bicep Curls with either Dumbbell or Barbell
- Tricep Extensions with Cables
- Pull-ups or a form of rows with a dumbbell or Barbell
- End the workout with a bodyweight workout like Dips or pull-ups
- Abs or cardio
Day 2: Lower Body
- Barbell or Machine Squat
- Leg Curls on the machine
- Leg Extension on the machine
- Some forms of lunges
- Calf raises
- Abs
3 Day Split (Push, Pull, Legs)
A 3-day split is good because it allows for workouts to be spread out. This is a workout split that I did when I was doing my master classes and my classes were at night. This split allows you to focus on a particular muscle group in a day while allowing good recovery. Depending on what your schedule looks like you can spread this out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to allow a day in between for muscle recovery. Your pushing movements will be anything that’s in a pressing motion (Chest, Triceps, and Shoulders). Pull movements will be anything that you’re pulling from the ground into yourself (Back and Biceps). Legs are legs. I like to set these up as Legs, Push, and Pull because you’re utilizing the same body parts day after day.
Day 1: Legs
- Barbell Squat
- Machine Leg Extension
- Machine Leg Curl
- Form of lunges
- Hip Adductors
- Calf raises
- Abs
Day 2: Push
- Bench Press (Either barbell or dumbbell)
- Dumbbell Chest Flies
- Shoulder Lateral Raises
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Cable Tricep Extension
- Dumbbell Tricep Extension
- Bodyweight Tricep Dips
- Abs or Cardio
Day 3: Pull
- Lat Pulldown
- Barbell or Dumbbell Rows
- Machine Rows
- Another variation of Machine Rows
- Bicep Curls with Barbell or Dumbbell
- Cable Curls
- Abs/Cardio
4-Day split (Chest/Triceps, Legs, Back/Biceps, Shoulders
In my opinion, this is the best workout routine because it allows for optimal concentration for each muscle group, and allows for enough recovery time in between workouts. I try to plan this split so I’m not utilizing the same muscles two days in a row, and if I am it’s not in a strenuous way. Each day allows for more concentration on each muscle group allowing you to stretch and work the muscle harder. A trend you will see with this split is that your first movement will always be a heavy one, and then the following workouts should be more volume-based with moderate weight.
Day 1: Chest/Triceps
- Dumbbell or Barbell Chest Press (Heavy)
- Dumbbell Flies
- Cable Flies
- Push-Ups
- Machine Press (Lightweight and high reps)
- Cable Tricep Extension
- Dumbbell Tricep Extension
- Dumbbell or Barbell Skull-Crusher
- Dips
- Abs/Cardio
Day 2: Legs
- Barbell Squat (Heavy)
- Machine Leg Extension
- Machine Leg Curl
- Form of lunges
- Hip Adductors
- Calf raises
- Abs
Day 3: Shoulders
- Barbell or Dumbbell Press (Heavy)
- Lateral Raises (Dumbbell or Cable)
- Front raises (Dumbbell or Cable)
- Cable Face Pulls or Dumbbell Reverse Flies
- Abs/Cardio
Day 4: Back/Biceps
- Dumbbell or Barbell Rows (heavy)
- Lat Pull-Down
- Cable Rows
- Machine Pull-Down or Row
- Pull-Ups
- Bicep Curl (Barbell or Dumbbell)
- Cable Curls
- Machine Curls
- Abs/Cardio
5-Day Split and More
As you move toward a 5-day split it becomes a little easier to build a workout routine. You can work out each muscle each day in that split. Some refer to that as the “Bro-Split” but it’s a good one if you can make it into the gym more frequently than others. I hope this article helped you make a workout routine that works with your schedule and allows you to start getting into the gym. Stay tuned for more articles and a soon-to-come 30-day challenge where I’m leading the workouts each day via posts and have audio motivation.