Having a split is one of the most important things when it comes to lifting. Instead of trying to work all of your muscles each time you lift, splitting helps you break them up into different groups so you can work just a few each day. By doing this, not only are you able to work each muscle group harder, but it also allows for each muscle to get proper recovery time to grow back stronger.
Making a split is easy, but first, it is important to understand what general muscles are the most common to work when lifting weights. Commonly people work chest, back, triceps, biceps, shoulders, quads, and hamstrings. Some people may also choose to work their core,
traps, forearms, or glutes in addition. Most compound movements, which are movements that hit more than one muscle at one time, will hit those additional muscles. But, if desired, some people may want to work in some isolation exercises, which only focus on one muscle, to hit them further. As a beginner, I would recommend just sticking to the commonly worked muscles, and as you build endurance and experience, add in more specialized movements to hit the isolated muscles.
Now, time to get into splitting. Some of the most common splits are push-pull-legs and the Arnold split. However, there are no rules when it comes to creating a new split. Currently, I am on a front, back, and arms split. It is unconventional, to say the least, but since legs are split over two days (quads are paired with chest, and hamstrings are paired with back), it doesn't allow me to skip leg day. But as you go through your lifting journey you will find what works best for you.
The push-pull-legs split is one the most common splits, and for good reason. It is a three-day split and is structured as follows:
Day 1 (Push)- Chest, triceps, shoulders (optional)
Day 2 (Pull)- Back, biceps, traps (optional), forearms (optional)
Day 3 (Legs)- Quads, Hamstrings, calves (optional), glutes (optional)
During this split, I usually choose to work in one quick core exercise two out of the three days, taking the third day as a break from core. This split is so popular because it breaks down each group of muscles into logical groups. For instance, when you "push" with your chest, there is usually some sort of activation in your tricep as well. The sample beginner workout I will attach below follows the push-pull-legs split and is a great resource if you are not confident in creating your own split or need inspiration.
The other popular split I will mention is the Arnold split, named after legendary bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger. This split also consists of three days, and is as follows:
Day 1- Chest, back, traps (optional)
Day 2- Triceps, Biceps, shoulders, forearms (optional)
Day 3- Quads, Hamstrings, Calves (optional)
As with the PPL split, I also like to throw in a core exercise two of three days. This is also a great split, and if you were to get bored of PPL it is a great alternative split to use.
As you go on your fitness journey, remember that overtraining is a real thing. It is important to take a rest day here and there, and also keep to an amount of lifting you can sustain both physically and mentally. Life can be busy, so make the best of your time in the gym. Happy lifting!
Link to my starter split:
A great resource to learn new exercises:
To learn more about Arnold Schwarzenegger, I recommend this Netflix episode:
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