Creating a 4-day split! Ideas?

Bellchick91 · October 2015

Hey!
Hope you're all doing goooood!

I'm in the process of making myself up a four day split. It will be 2 leg days and 2 upper body days. I do abs three times a week and some light cardio to stay conditioned. Trying to gain weight so not much cardio. The split's gonna be:

1. Glutes and Hamstrings
2. Back and Shoulders
3. Triceps and Chest
4. Glutes and Quads

I know I'll be squatting, using the lat pull down...etc. But Id like some new exercises, but there are so many! I want to stick to a plan but something with a bit more oomph than my old one! I do need more glute exercises (hence why they're there twice!). My priority is legs, but also back and shoulders majorly important.

Any ideas, your favourite exercises...will be greatly appreciated!!

ovidnine · October 2015

The program I'm working is similar. Its by Greg Nuckols of strengtheory.com. I believe he's titled it the Journey and I'm doing the intermediate progression which breaks down similar to what you're going for. The total idea with reps and stuff is there for free so I'll just lay out the general setup.

You can do the days in any order:

M: Main lift- squats Auxiliary lift(only 1 of these): Romanian dead lift, pin pulls (some version of a deadlift) Accessory lifts(2 of these 1 for quads, 1 for spinal erector/hamstring and then rows): leg press, RDL (if not your auxiliary) some sort of rows

T: Main lift- Bench Auxiliary lift(1 of these): arnold press, incline db press (essentially shoulder work) Accessory lifts(5 or 6 total of these): pull-ups, lat pulldowns, tricep extensions or skullcrushers, curls, or flyes (essentially hitting your arm & chest muscles with more isolated movements than just bench)

TH: Main lift- Deadlift Auxiliary lift(1 of these): some other form of squat, paused squats, anderson squats, etc. Accessory lifts(same idea as squat day): Ft squats (or something else hitting your quads hard) Good mornings (or GHR if you have a station to do them) different type of rows than monday

F: Main lift- OHP Auxilary lift(one of these): different form of bench (close grip, bench from pins, etc) Accessory lifts(same idea as bench day): pull ups, pulldowns (I do wide grip 1 day, standing front grip the other) curls, facepulls, dips, different tricep isolation than Tuesday

I hope this makes sense, Greg has it laid out really neat and I would encourage you to check it out because even if you don't use it directly I think it'd give you a lot of ideas on lifts to use.

Essentially you're doing the 4 "big lifts" once a week, and a different version of them once a week along with accessory work hitting other muscles.

I've been on it for approximately 3 months and have seen the biggest changes since my initial beginner gains and it mixes stuff up enough I never get bored but is still simple enough if I forget my notebook (OH NOES!) i can fumble my way through it at 4:45 in the morning.

Finally (I'm at work with nothing to do sorry for the long winded reply)

My favorite lifts besides the big 4:

Romanian Deadlifts, pause squats, pull ups, pull downs, bench from pins, skullcrushers, front squats(love/hate), facepulls, dips(love/hate)

Bellchick91 · October 2015

ovidnine wrote: »

The program I'm working is similar. Its by Greg Nuckols of strengtheory.com. I believe he's titled it the Journey and I'm doing the intermediate progression which breaks down similar to what you're going for. The total idea with reps and stuff is there for free so I'll just lay out the general setup.

You can do the days in any order:

M: Main lift- squats Auxiliary lift(only 1 of these): Romanian dead lift, pin pulls (some version of a deadlift) Accessory lifts(2 of these 1 for quads, 1 for spinal erector/hamstring and then rows): leg press, RDL (if not your auxiliary) some sort of rows

T: Main lift- Bench Auxiliary lift(1 of these): arnold press, incline db press (essentially shoulder work) Accessory lifts(5 or 6 total of these): pull-ups, lat pulldowns, tricep extensions or skullcrushers, curls, or flyes (essentially hitting your arm & chest muscles with more isolated movements than just bench)

TH: Main lift- Deadlift Auxiliary lift(1 of these): some other form of squat, paused squats, anderson squats, etc. Accessory lifts(same idea as squat day): Ft squats (or something else hitting your quads hard) Good mornings (or GHR if you have a station to do them) different type of rows than monday

F: Main lift- OHP Auxilary lift(one of these): different form of bench (close grip, bench from pins, etc) Accessory lifts(same idea as bench day): pull ups, pulldowns (I do wide grip 1 day, standing front grip the other) curls, facepulls, dips, different tricep isolation than Tuesday

I hope this makes sense, Greg has it laid out really neat and I would encourage you to check it out because even if you don't use it directly I think it'd give you a lot of ideas on lifts to use.

Essentially you're doing the 4 "big lifts" once a week, and a different version of them once a week along with accessory work hitting other muscles.

I've been on it for approximately 3 months and have seen the biggest changes since my initial beginner gains and it mixes stuff up enough I never get bored but is still simple enough if I forget my notebook (OH NOES!) i can fumble my way through it at 4:45 in the morning.

Finally (I'm at work with nothing to do sorry for the long winded reply)

My favorite lifts besides the big 4:

Romanian Deadlifts, pause squats, pull ups, pull downs, bench from pins, skullcrushers, front squats(love/hate), facepulls, dips(love/hate)

Thank you so much! That's a nice array exercises - Id do most of these in some form already. Although not sure what you mean by some of them. What are 1. pin pulls? 2. anderson squats 3.rows - as in like a bent over row?

I should make it clear I am a female and 24 with not a whole lotta strength yet but totally getting there! I have never tried a front squat but they're attractive as they make you stay upright all the time. Helps with form...it seems? I SO dont do enough deadlifts - I do Good Mornings a lot but Id like to do a good one for the glutes and hamstrings. Thinking a basic DL will be good enough. I focus on form to a major extent and Im always unsure If im doing them correctly. My mother literally burst a disc in her spine this year, and since then I am SO cautious/afraid of even remotely hurting my back!!

Thank you again! You're awesome x

ovidnine · October 2015

I'm 35 & male and not a whole lot of strength yet imo. lol

1. Pin pulls are deadlifts off the pins in a squat rack (or anything to raise the weights off the ground a bit). You don't want the bar to be higher than your knee, but higher than a normal deadlift with the weights on the ground.
2. Anderson squats- set the pins in the squat rack at the bottom of your movement (not too deep or you'll never get under the bar properly) and put the bar on them. Get under the bar, do the "UP" portion of your squat. Its to help you isolate getting out of "the hole." so you don't get any help from "bouncing" at the bottom of your squat motion.
3. Rows- tons of different types- pendlay rows/bent over barbell rows, 1 arm dumbbell rows, seated cable rows. all of them blast your back in different ways

Front squats are brutally awesome. They build your quads and work your core quite a bit. I still don't use much weight with them yet myself. lol

Romanian Dead Lifts (RDLs) are a great one for your hamstrings/back.

Yeah, I try really hard to do things with proper form as I'd like to keep doing this for years and years and don't want any injuries now, or in the long run.

scottver2 · October 2015

What are your goals? To achieve muscular hypertrophy, muscles need to be trained twice a week (or more). The idea of working a muscle out only once a week to failure is great if you are on performance enhancing substances, but most natural people do not respond well to this theory. Focusing on compound movements (any chest press, squats, dead lift, shoulder press, etc), followed by low volume isolation exercises done twice a week has been repeatedly proven to provide better results.

Obviously most women are looking for a different type of physique than men, so approaches will vary. The biggest question from this point is...what are your goals?

piperdown44 · October 2015

Why not just run something like Wendler's 531 with the Big But Boring (BBB) option 4 day?
If you do the alternate sets of BBB it looks like this:
Mon - OHP (as the main lift), 5x10 bench, pull-ups/chinups/or lat pulldown
Tues - Deadlifts, 5x10 squats, hanging leg lifts or other ab stuff
Wed - off
Thurs - Bench, 5x10 OHP, dumbbell row or barbell rows or cable rows
Fri - Squats, 5x10 deads, hammy curls or RDL or something similar
Sat - off
Sun - off

The main lifts will challenge you with progressively heavier weights each week with the fourth week being a deload week. The 5x10's are approximately 50% of your 1rm or you can set the % to whatever you want. Then there's at least 1 more accessory of 5x10, like 5x10 pull-ups or lat pulldowns.

That way you are hitting body parts at least twice a week. One heavy day and a couple days later a lighter day for more volume.

Proven program and fairly easy to follow. I use blackironbeast.com for the 531 calculator and print the sheets off for the monthly cycle.

Ironmaiden4life · October 2015

Keep it simple....

either piperdown44's suggestion or a Upper/Lower Push Pull split

Sam_I_Am77 · October 2015

Hypertrophy is a factor of nutrition and total training volume; it could be 2 days, it could be 3 days, it could be 5 days it could be ONE day as long as the volume is there. One thing that is often forgotten that the... let's call them smaller muscles are trained in the main movements. In a shoulder press it's not just the shoulder musculature being trained, the triceps are heavily recruited, and your lats are eccentrically loaded as well. Rowing / Chin-ups, yes the upper back musculature are the primary movers but your biceps play a big roll as well as your elbow becomes flexed though the whole motion. This may be an extreme example but look at a gymnast that specializes in the rings, they usually have very impressive arms and I can guarantee that most of them do not have an "Arms day".

Why not just run something like Wendler's 531 with the Big But Boring (BBB) option 4 day?
If you do the alternate sets of BBB it looks like this:
Mon - OHP (as the main lift), 5x10 bench, pull-ups/chinups/or lat pulldown
Tues - Deadlifts, 5x10 squats, hanging leg lifts or other ab stuff
Wed - off
Thurs - Bench, 5x10 OHP, dumbbell row or barbell rows or cable rows
Fri - Squats, 5x10 deads, hammy curls or RDL or something similar
Sat - off
Sun - off

The above is really good for just about anybody, especially individuals that don't understand program design. 531 with BBB or FSL is a really good means of training for the purpose of getting strong and adding size.

Bellchick91 · October 2015

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

Hypertrophy is a factor of nutrition and total training volume; it could be 2 days, it could be 3 days, it could be 5 days it could be ONE day as long as the volume is there. One thing that is often forgotten that the... let's call them smaller muscles are trained in the main movements. In a shoulder press it's not just the shoulder musculature being trained, the triceps are heavily recruited, and your lats are eccentrically loaded as well. Rowing / Chin-ups, yes the upper back musculature are the primary movers but your biceps play a big roll as well as your elbow becomes flexed though the whole motion. This may be an extreme example but look at a gymnast that specializes in the rings, they usually have very impressive arms and I can guarantee that most of them do not have an "Arms day".

Why not just run something like Wendler's 531 with the Big But Boring (BBB) option 4 day?
If you do the alternate sets of BBB it looks like this:
Mon - OHP (as the main lift), 5x10 bench, pull-ups/chinups/or lat pulldown
Tues - Deadlifts, 5x10 squats, hanging leg lifts or other ab stuff
Wed - off
Thurs - Bench, 5x10 OHP, dumbbell row or barbell rows or cable rows
Fri - Squats, 5x10 deads, hammy curls or RDL or something similar
Sat - off
Sun - off

The above is really good for just about anybody, especially individuals that don't understand program design. 531 with BBB or FSL is a really good means of training for the purpose of getting strong and adding size.

Thanks! These are good options, too. I do all of these in my current split, but other stuff thrown in too. I'll take all of that on board - thank you!

Sam_I_Am77 · October 2015

EmmaRichards91 wrote: »

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

Hypertrophy is a factor of nutrition and total training volume; it could be 2 days, it could be 3 days, it could be 5 days it could be ONE day as long as the volume is there. One thing that is often forgotten that the... let's call them smaller muscles are trained in the main movements. In a shoulder press it's not just the shoulder musculature being trained, the triceps are heavily recruited, and your lats are eccentrically loaded as well. Rowing / Chin-ups, yes the upper back musculature are the primary movers but your biceps play a big roll as well as your elbow becomes flexed though the whole motion. This may be an extreme example but look at a gymnast that specializes in the rings, they usually have very impressive arms and I can guarantee that most of them do not have an "Arms day".

Why not just run something like Wendler's 531 with the Big But Boring (BBB) option 4 day?
If you do the alternate sets of BBB it looks like this:
Mon - OHP (as the main lift), 5x10 bench, pull-ups/chinups/or lat pulldown
Tues - Deadlifts, 5x10 squats, hanging leg lifts or other ab stuff
Wed - off
Thurs - Bench, 5x10 OHP, dumbbell row or barbell rows or cable rows
Fri - Squats, 5x10 deads, hammy curls or RDL or something similar
Sat - off
Sun - off

The above is really good for just about anybody, especially individuals that don't understand program design. 531 with BBB or FSL is a really good means of training for the purpose of getting strong and adding size.

Thanks! These are good options, too. I do all of these in my current split, but other stuff thrown in too. I'll take all of that on board - thank you!

One thing to note is that with the 5/3/1 BBB split, it's not just about the split and exercise selection; it's very much about the intensity used for each set and each week. 5/3/1 BBB is very good, but I would strongly encourage you to buy the book and understand what exactly is happening, otherwise you won't make any progress. You need to pay attention to the usage of a Training Max to determine the weight used for every set, how to progress your training max, the weight you need for each set / each week. I may have made that sound a little difficult but I promise you it's a very simple program to follow, but definitely buy the book (Beyond 5/3/1); it's a very easy read.

https://store.jimwendler.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Beyond531

Creating a 4-day split! Ideas?

Replies

Categories