Workout Summary
- Main GoalBuild Muscle
- Workout TypeSplit
- Training LevelIntermediate
- Program Duration12 weeks
- Days Per Week4
- Time Per Workout30-45 minutes
- Equipment RequiredBarbell, Bodyweight, Dumbbells, EZ Bar, Machines
- Target Gender Male & Female
- Workout PDF Download Workout
Workout Description
This is another 4 day muscle building split, designed by Shaun and should be used by those looking to build muscle and/or gain weight.
Daily Workout Schedule:
| Monday - Legs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Legs | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Squat | 4 | 10 |
| 45 Degree Leg Press | 4 | 10 |
| Leg Extension (Triple drop set) | 1 | 10,10,10 |
| Stiff Leg Deadlift | 4 | 10 |
| Leg Curl (Last set follow w/ a drop set) | 4 | 10 |
| Tuesday - Chest and Calves | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chest | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Incline Smith Machine Bench Press | 4 | 10 |
| Dumbbell Bench Press | 4 | 10 |
| Incline Dumbbell Flys | 3 | 10 |
| Pec Dec (After last set, drop weight and immediately do a 4th set) | 3 | 10 |
| Calves | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4 | 12 |
| Seated Calf Raise (30 seconds rest between sets) | 4 | 12 |
Wednesday - Rest Day
| Thursday - Shoulders and Triceps | ||
|---|---|---|
| Shoulders | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Seated Dumbbell Press | 3 | 10 |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raises (Finish w/ drop set as 4th set) | 3 | 10 |
| Rear Delt Machine (Finish w/ drop set as 4th set) | 3 | 10 |
| Shoulder Press Machine | 1 | 15 |
| Triceps | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Lying Tricep Extension | 3 | 10 |
| Cable Tricep Extension | 3 | 10 |
| Dumbbell Tricep Kickback | 3 | 10 |
| Friday - Back and Biceps | ||
|---|---|---|
| Back | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Wide Grip Pull Up | 3 | 10 |
| Lat Pull Down (Finish w/ drop set as 5th set) | 4 | 10 |
| Machine T-Bar Row | 4 | 10 |
| Machine Row | 4 | 10 |
| Biceps | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| EZ Bar Curl | 3 | 10 |
| Incline Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10 |
| Reverse Grip Barbell Curl | 3 | 12 |
Saturday and Sunday - Rest Days
84 Comments
It’s okay do just 5 pull up per set?
Hey Jan - I would do as many strict pull ups as you can and then do negative pullups for the remaining reps.
This doesn’t have anything to do with this workout but, would create a workout that hits each muscle twice a week at low to medium reps. I haven’t been able to find a workout that does that on this website.
Hi Connor,
Thanks for the recommendation - We can certainly look into this.
In the meantime, have you checked on these workouts? https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/strength
Steve, would it be ok to add 4 sets of Barbell and Dumbbell shrugs to back day, or would that be over training?
I am glad to see such a great workout routine on here for it is very similar to the 4-day split that that I do myself.
Monday: Back and abs
Tuesday: Shoulders and triceps
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: Full leg workout with abs
Friday: Chest and biceps
This gives you a great workout routine with the push and pulls spread out enough to give yourself enough time to rest and heal before hitting them again.
Example: Pulls> with back on Mondays also hits the biceps you wont hit the primary biceps until Friday Giving you a few days to rest and heal between.
Example: Push> With shoulders and triceps being on Tuesday and Chest being on Friday that also gives you enough time to rest and heal before targeting the triceps hard again with chest exercises until Friday.
I have been following Frank Sepe's workout routine for awhile now and love it very much and I am glad to see yours is very similar as it makes the most sense to me out of any that I have seen on here or any other sight for that matter. Thank you so much.....
Hi Shaun, i recently got this supplements, wheybolic extreme, oxy elite pro, creatine monohidrate and animal pak, i want to know the best way to take them, im 27yo, 5'7", 3 months on gym, im going to start insanity too, thank you
whats up bro,
i am ready full strength to go back to the gym im looking for a routine schedule what would u prefer out of these 3...
monday thru friday one body part each day weekends off cardio after each workout
or
tuesday chest biceps wed off thursday back triceps friday off saturday shoulders legs and sunday back to the chest biceps so tuesday thursday sat n sun
or
one day on one day off like il do chest bis then next day off then next day triceps back then off and so on.. what would u suggest out of the 3
It depends on your schedule, I personally prefer a 4 day split some thing like;
MON: Chest/Triceps
TUE: Legs
WED: OFF
THU: Shoulders/Calves
FRI: Back/Biceps
whats up bro,
i am ready full strength to go back to the gym im looking for a routine schedule what would u prefer out of these 3...
monday thru friday one body part each day weekends off cardio after each workout
or
tuesday chest biceps wed off thursday back triceps friday off saturday shoulders legs and sunday back to the chest biceps so tuesday thursday sat n sun
or
one day on one day off like il do chest bis then next day off then next day triceps back then off and so on.. what would u suggest out of the 3
is it ok to do 5-10 minutes of cardio before to warm up?
Yes this is a good idea to get the blood pumping
Hi Steve,
I need a change in my workout routine, which is:
Monday - Back & Triceps
Tuesday - Shoulders & Biceps
Wednesday - Legs/Calves & Abs
Thursday - Off
Friday - Chest & Abs
I was thinking to change to the following routine:
Monday - Back & Triceps
Tuesday - Biceps & Abs
Wednesday - Legs
Thursday - Off
Friday - Chest & Abs
Saturday - Shoulders & Calves
What do you think?
Thanks
I prefer not to split Chest, Shoulders and Triceps to their own day. The muscles are involved heavily as secondary muscles and as such I would pair 2 of them together, chest/tri's or shoulders/tri's or chest/shoulders...
Same with working biceps the day after back.. I'm not a big fan. I would do 5/6 sets on my biceps after training back and that's all they need.
Monday - Back & Biceps
Tuesday - Shoulders & Calves
Wednesday - Off
Thursday - Off
Friday - Legs & Abs
Saturday - Chest / Triceps
Hi im 13 y old and im trying to build muscle because i play football and im not the biggest on my team.
what are some things I could do to build muscle
Eat lots of food and lift some weight, but at your age make sure that you keep the reps high.
There's teen workout sections on the website & forum, take a look.
Hi
Is it okay to switch the Back and Biceps workout with the Chest and Calves workout? In other words, the Tuesday workout and Friday and vice versa?
Ideally you shouldn't work chest the day after hitting Shoulders and Triceps as these muscles will need to recover and they are utilised as secondary muscles in chest movements.
Hi....
I am 21 y old and I have been workingout for more than a year now...
I have done a lot of Split..... And gain over a 8 kg....
Put my split are getting old and my trainer is no longer available....
So do you think that this's a good split for me ....
Btw I train 5days a week ....
Hi,
Yes this is a good 4 day split. Give it a try.
Could I also add dips in the routine on the chest workout day to hit the lower pec? Or is that not recommended?
I don't think it's needed in this routine but you can add it in if you like.
how many calories should i be taking in?
I have no idea.
It depends firstly on what your goals are, adding muscle, losing fat?
and secondly on your age, weight, activity level and other things.
Check the tools section of the website for a BMR calculator, then add or subtract from this figure depending on your goals.
I've noticed that all these workouts are working each muscle group only once a week. Is this new? It used to be that you should workout each muscle three times a week. Is it not nessasary now?
It's common to work each muscle group once per week using a split routine such as this one.
Full body routines are also quite popular as well as upper/lower splits which can both work muscle groups more than once per week.
Both options can bring good muscle gains and it's down to individual preference as to which method you choose.
how can i gain muscle and what food should i eat and how often
You gain muscle by eating, lifting weights and resting.
Read the nutrition section of the website for diet advice and sample meal plans.
hi im looking for a program that will put on some serious size and gain strength could you recommend one.thanks
This one should do the job when combined with the rite diet.
the gym i go to doesnt have a Pec Dec machine. can i substitute that with machine flys, or is there something else i could or should do?
Cable cross overs would be the best substitute.
hi
I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS PLEASE
1-i want to know does this exercises are enough
like THERE IS NO EXERCISES FOR LOWER BACK
AND THERE ARE NO EXERCISES FOR FOREARMS AND TRAPS
2- THE REPS ITS BETTER TO BE LIKE 10+10+10 OR 12+10+8+8
I'M 70kg and 1.77m in height.
Hi
Add DB shrugs for traps.
Reverse BB curls is a forearm exercise.
I don't specifically work my lower back but you can add this if you want to.
Aim for 10 reps, when you hit 10 reps for all the sets move up in weight next week.
how much weight do i workout with i mean is it a certain percentage of my max or what?
Hi
You need to use a weight where you struggle to complete the last few reps of the set with good form. Once you can hit the desired number of reps for each set it is time to up the weight.
Post your questions
hi! i started to working out 2 month ago. I see improvement slowly and i think im doing something wrong. i think its the food that im eating was getting me nowhere. You mentioned how to eat properly to gain muscle can you tell me more about the food i should eat and avoid?
i need information about the food requirements during my workout period?
Hi Shawn,
These articles will help get you on track:
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/your-go-to-guide-to-gaining-m...
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/how-to-create-a-bodybuilding-...
Hey Steve!
When doing a drop set do you just drop the weight and immediately go into the next set without resting? And when it says "triple drop set" is it still that same concept? Thanks!
Hi Dallis,
You are correct. If you started with 100 pounds on an exercise, a triple drop set would look like:
Set 1 - 100 for reps
(No rest)
Set 2 - About 90 pounds for reps
(No rest)
Set 3 - About 70-80 pounds for reps
hey there
I just started working out about 2 month ago. I am currently working all my muscle groups each time I go, 3 times a week. Is it better to work individual muscles groups (or 2) each time or to work entire body?
Also what is better, dumbbell bench press or barbell bench press?
Cheers
Hi William,
Either approach is acceptable, but the key is to keep the same weekly volume. If you train chest once a week for 9 sets, you could train chest 3 times per week - 3 sets per day.
As far as bench press, barbell and dumbbell are both great exercises, but I rank barbell bench press as king.
thanks for the information.
greatly appreciated
Greetings,
I'm benefiting greatly from this workout, and I'm terrifically appreciative that it's been offered here. Purely for purposes of perspective, I was wondering if the Thursday and Friday workouts might be reversed, so that I would do back/biceps on Thursday and shoulders/triceps on Friday. I have found that the Tuesday chest exercises give my shoulders and triceps a pretty thorough workout as well, so perhaps an extra day of rest before hitting them again would be beneficial; on the other hand, maybe the shortened rest period is intentional. Your thoughts would be warmly appreciated.
Hi Brandon,
If I were running the program I would probably switch the Thursday and Friday workouts to give triceps and delts an extra day of rest.
Hi Steve
I like the split designed in this workout so thanks.
I am overweight at the moment around maybe 2 stone and have around 25% bodyfat, in terms of trying to change my body with a routine like this, how can I reach my goals?
cheers
Hi Graham,
the best way to reach your goals is to train hard and eat right. For training, push yourself on every set, trying for more reps and ultimately more weight using good form. For diet, you will want to eat around 2300 to 2500 calories per day, including 30 to 40 grams of protein every 2.5 to 3 hours. Make a goal to lose about 2 pounds per week, and adjust your daily calories as needed. If you don't train hard with the weights, you will provide your body with a reason to lose muscle and fat.
can I add another exercise for leg workout like front squat how many set and repetitions do you suggest..
Hi John,
I would recommend lower the sets for leg press and squats to 3, and adding in 3 sets of front squats in the 6 to 10 rep range.