The Split — Upper/Lower/Pull/Push/Legs, 5x per week
5 days strikes the best balance of volume and recovery. 4x can make it hard to fit enough volume without long workouts; 6x allows more volume but is harder to adhere to and gives only one rest day. Among 5x options, research favors hitting muscles ~2x/week once volume exceeds ~6–8 sets/session — which rules out the bro split for intermediate-advanced lifters. Full Body 5x is taxing and better for advanced lifters. That leaves U/L/U/L/U vs U/L/Pull/Push/Legs; splitting the two upper days into Pull and Push makes workouts feel more distinct and engaging without sacrificing volume.
Pull/Push/Legs vs Push/Pull/Legs: Personal preference — the author finds the chest and shoulders benefit from an extra recovery day vs the back. Swap if you prefer.
| Day | Workout |
|---|---|
| Monday | Upper (Strength Focus) |
| Tuesday | Lower (Strength Focus) |
| Wednesday | Rest |
| Thursday | Pull (Hypertrophy Focus) |
| Friday | Push (Hypertrophy Focus) |
| Saturday | Legs (Hypertrophy Focus) |
| Sunday | Rest |
Training Blocks
Two blocks, both aimed at maximum hypertrophy:
- Foundation Block (5 weeks): Begins with an intro/deload week (Week 1) to learn new exercises and rep ranges, then holds volume constant to establish a baseline and encourage meticulous tracking.
- Ramping Block (7 weeks): Begins with its own intro/deload week (Week 6), then volume progressively increases: Weeks 7–8 up from baseline, Weeks 9–10 up again, Weeks 11–12 one final increase.
This ramping approach is inspired by Enes et al., which compared three groups of female lifters over 12 weeks: (1) constant 22 sets/week for quads; (2) moderate ramp 16→26 sets/week (+2 every 2 weeks); (3) aggressive ramp 18→38 sets/week (+4 every 2 weeks). The groups that increased volume over time made the greatest gains in size and strength — and the group ending at 26 sets/week averaged just 21 sets/week (one fewer than the constant group) yet got superior results. Supports progressively increasing volume over keeping it static, even at similar average volume.
Seamless Progression
This program was run for a full year. After Week 12, jump right back into Week 1, which serves as a deload.
Long Muscle Length Focus
A recent co-authored paper concluded that exercise selection should be biased toward movements that load the muscle in its most stretched position. Examples in this program: Pendlay Deficit Row, DB Bulgarian Split Squat, 1-Arm 45° Cable Rear Delt Flye, High-Cable Lateral Raise, Overhead Cable Triceps Extension, Smith Machine Static Lunge w/ Elevated Front Foot, 45° Hyperextension.
Failure Training
Every exercise goes to failure on the last set (a step further than his recent programs): reinforces "all out," standardizes effort scientifically, and errs on the side of pushing given mixed evidence.
Meticulous Tracking of Weights (DO THIS)
For this project, tracking everything for a year made a big difference — motivating when progress is good, a clear signal when progress stalls. You can progress without tracking everything, but it's encouraged.