Have you ever wondered “how many days per week should I workout?” or “what’s the best training split for 2, 3, 4, etc days per week?” If you’re not sure how to answer those questions, this article is for you.
For most people who want to be functionally fit and participate in the activities they love, whether that’s hiking, riding bikes, or skiing and snowboarding, I recommend lifting weights two to four times a week.
This is a manageable amount of workouts for most people to consistently fit into even the busiest schedules, and consistency is more important than frequency (more days per week). If you want to add more workout days when you’ve got the time, go for it! But plan for the number of workouts you know you can consistently do each week.
As for the best training split, that comes down to a number of factors, including how many days per week you can commit to working out, how much time you can dedicate to each individual workout session, and your fitness history and goals.
That said, here are my general recommendations for the best training split, based on the number of days you work out each week.
2 days per week
Two full-body workouts
With lower-frequency workouts, you’re going to want to make each session full body in nature so that you train all your muscles and the six major movement patterns often enough to see progress.
For twice-a-week workouts, do two full body workouts, choosing one exercise from each of the movement patterns below.
- Squat exercise (front/back squat, goblet squat)
- Lunge/single-leg (split squat, step ups, lunges)
- Hinge exercise (deadlift, bridge, hip thrust)
- Upper push (bench press, incline press, shoulder press)
- Upper pull (pull up/down, any row variation)
- Core/carry (dead bug, leg raise, cable chops, farmer carries)
You can add “accessory” work, which include isolation exercises like bicep curls, tricep extensions, chest/back flys, calf raises, etc. if time allows, but focus on major movement patterns to get the most bang for your training buck.
Make sure to space out your workouts on non-consecutive days to allow for recovery between sessions. Taking about 48 hours off between workouts is ideal – think Monday/Thursday or Tuesday/Friday – but any non-consecutive days that fit your schedule are fine.
3 days per week
Beginner: 3 full-body workouts
If you’ve been lifting weights for less than a year, consider sticking with a full-body split three days a week.
This increase in volume from twice a week will help you see faster progress, and training the major movement patterns more frequently will give you more opportunities to practice and become proficient at the exercises.
Try to work out every other day to allow for recovery between workouts.
3 days per week
Upper, lower, full body split
If you have about a year of consistent weightlifting experience under your belt, my favorite three days per week split is upper-lower-full. I actually recommend doing leg day first to allow more recovery before the full-body day, but lower-upper-full sounds weird, somehow.
For lower body, pick 3-5 exercises and include at least one from the squat, lunge, and hinge patterns. Add core if time allows.
For upper body, do two pushing exercises and two pulling exercises. Add arms and/or core if time allows.
For full body, pick one exercise from each of the six major movement patterns; one squat, lunge, hinge, push, and pull.
3 days per week
Push, pull, legs
This is another option for intermediate to advanced lifters who can exercise three days per week.
On your first training day, you’ll do all your pushing exercises, emphasizing your chest, shoulders, and tricep muscles. On your second training day, you’ll do all your pulling exercises, emphasizing your back and biceps. Finally, you’ll do all your leg exercises on your third training day.
Exercise selection:
- Push day – 2-3 pressing exercises and chest/shoulder/tricep isolation
- Pull day – 2-3 pull up/down and row exercises, plus back/bicep isolation
- Legs – one each of squat, lunge, deadlift, bridge/hip thrust, core
The main difference between this split and upper/lower/full-body is that you can’t superset exercises as easily when everything you do on a given training day works the same muscles. You’ll have to rest longer between sets using this method, so the push/pull/legs workouts might take longer than upper/lower workouts where you can superset a press and a row (for instance).
4 days per week
Upper, lower, upper, lower
Since you’ve got more days to work with, and you’re repeating two days of each type of session, you’ll want to vary exercises and rep ranges.
For instance, you could have Upper A, Lower A, Upper B, Lower B, where you might go really heavy on the A days and use lighter weights for more reps on B days.
In terms of exercise selection, pick 1-2 pushing and 1-2 pulling exercises for the upper days, and add isolation exercises as time allows. Pick 1-2 squat/lunge exercises and 1-2 hinge/deadlift exercises for leg days. Add core to your leg days.
5 days per week
Upper x2, lower x2, arms/abs
With a fifth day comes flexibility to add a workout for accessory movements focused on arms and abs.
For the two upper and lower body sessions, vary your loading (heavy vs moderate weights) and rep ranges. For the arms and abs day, work with moderate weights in higher rep ranges. This will allow your body (and nervous system) to adequately recover from the more intense and demanding upper and lower body sessions.
6 days per week
Push x2, pull x2, legs x2
I only recommend this training split if you have a lot of lifting experience and really prioritize your recovery in the form of lots of sleep and solid nutrition (ie, eating enough calories and protein to recover from your training sessions).
When training more frequently, your workouts can be shorter.
Compare this 6/week split to doing push/pull/legs once a week (3 total workouts). You might have 5-6 exercises per workout that takes almost 60 minutes, including your warm up. But if you do push/pull/legs twice a week (6 total workouts) you might only do 3-4 exercises per workout in 45-ish minutes.
Overall, you’ll end up doing MORE total work in six workouts per week, but each individual session will be slightly shorter.
I don’t really recommend anyone train six times per week unless you have at least a year of experience following a structured workout program, and you really prioritize your recovery between workouts.
Conclusion
Whatever split you choose, you only need about 5-6 exercises TOTAL in any given workout. For full body days, that’s one exercise for each movement pattern. For more specialized days (upper/lower) you’ll have multiple exercises for the specific movement pattern you’re doing that day.
If your workout has 7 kinds of squats and lunges, you’re doing too much. If your workout takes you two hours, you’re doing too much. More isn’t better, better is better. And when it comes to exercise, “better” means focusing on doing a couple exercises really well.
The vast majority of people I work with lift weights 2-3 times a week and add cardio or “fun” activities like hiking or skiing/snowboarding on the other days. That’s because I work with people who want their workouts to enable them to enjoy their active lifestyles outside of the gym.
Does that sound like you?
Head to my online coaching page and apply to work with me.
I’ll put together a workout plan built around your schedule/availability, training history, and adventure goals. All workouts are delivered in the KPxFitness app, and I’ll support you along the way with expert coaching, workout modifications and adaptations, and progress your training so that you get stronger to confidently conquer your next adventure.