Choosing the right training split for your goals

Increase Conditioning - Increase Strength - Increase Muscle

Increase Conditioning - Strength Maintenance - Weight Loss

Increase Strength - Weight Maintenance - Conditioning Variable

Increase Muscle Mass - Increase Strength - Decrease Conditioning

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Increase Conditioning - Increase Strength - Increase Muscle -

Who can/should use this split? - A novice or beginner.

This will be (for the most part) the only time when someone will be able to increase 3 or 4 facets of their training at the same time naturally. Someone coming off of a long layoff could see all three factors for a short time as well.

A dialed in diet with a solid weight training plan will allow a green beginner to increase their conditioning, strength, muscle mass, and lose bodyfat. This phase will not last obviously, so take advantage of it while you can.

Days a week of conditioning - 5
Days a week of weight training - 3
Days a week of rest - 2
Workload/Volume - High

Sample week -
Monday - Weights and Cardio - Upperbody Push and Pull option A - 40 minutes lifting - 15 minutes of intervals
Tuesday - Cardio - 30 minutes - steady state, i.e. treadmill at 3.5 MPH or a steady walk
Wednesday - Weights only - Lower Body - 45 minutes of lifting
Thursday - Cardio - 45 minutes - steady state, same as Tuesday
Friday - Weights and Cardio - Upperbody Push and Pull option B - 40 minutes of lifting - 15 minutes of intervals
Saturday - Off
Sunday - Off

Upperbody Push and Pull option A
Bench Press - 7 sets - 10,8,6,5,3,2,1 (this includes warm ups, and the last set is not a max)
Incline Db Press - 4 sets of 12 reps pyramiding up
Chin-Ups/Pull-Ups - As many as possible in 5 sets
Lat Pulldowns - 3 sets of 12 reps pyramiding up

Lower Body -
Box Squats - 8 sets of 15,12,10,8,6,5,3,2 these include warm ups. I generally have beginners start on the box because it's easier for them to use at first.
Deadlifts - 4 sets of 5 pyramiding up
Leg Curls - 4 sets of 12 same weight
Calf Raises - 3 sets of 10 same weight

Upperbody Push and Pull option B
Standing Db Press - 5 sets of 10 reps pyramiding up
Push Ups - as many as possible in 3 sets
Db Rows - 5 sets of 12 pyramiding up
Chest Supported Rows - 3 sets of 12 pyramiding up

As noted, being able to shed bodyfat, gain muscle, increase strength and conditioning won't last long. So take advantage of it while you can. Some people put beginners on low volume/low intensity programs to ease them into things. That has never been my philosophy because I believe in taking advantage of this small window while you can. Train hard out of the gate.

Strength will not be high so recovery won't be an issue like it would be for an advanced athlete. Training with weights for a 4th day isn't off the table for a rank beginner either. A leg day consisting of bodyweight movements like lunges, glute-ham raises, and bodyweight squats would be an ideal second leg day option.

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Increase Conditioning - Strength Maintenance - Weight Loss


Who can/should use this split? - An athlete with a base level of strength that wants to get in better shape, cardio wise, and improve body composition.

Maintaining strength is the other key facet. Some have found they gained strength on this split because of an increase in rest. Calories, as always, will play a part (but we're not talking about that today!).

Days a week of conditioning - 6
Days a week of weight training - 2
Days a week of rest - 1
Workload/Volume - Moderate

Sample Week -
Monday - Steady state cardio - 45 minutes
Tuesday - Weight - Upperbody push and pull Option A/B (alternate week to week)
Wednesday - Interval Training - 30 minutes
Thursday - Steady state cardio - 30 minutes
Friday - off
Saturday - Weight training - Lower body Option A/B (alternate week to week)
Sunday - Interval Training - 30 minutes

Push Pull Option A -
Bench Press - work up to a difficult triple (leave two reps in the tank)
Incline Press - 2 sets of 12-15 reps
Chin Ups - 50 total reps
Db Rows - 3 sets of 10 same weight

Push Pull Option B -
Clean and Press - work up to a difficult set of set of 5 (leave two reps in the tank)
Superset - Dips/Chins - 5 sets of as many as possible for each
Upright Rows - 5 sets of 10 pyramiding up in weight (no heaving or jerking, and for the love of God no straps for upright rows)

Lower Body Option A -
Squats - 5 sets of 5 same weight
Lunges - 50-100 total reps
Planks or Decline Sit-ups - for time or 50-100 total reps
Calf Raises - 3 sets of 10 same weight

Lower Body Option B -
Deadlifts - 5 sets of 3 pyramiding up in weight
Good Mornings - 2 sets of 8 same weight (light)
Planks or Decline Sit-ups - for time or 50-100 total reps
Calf Raises - 3 sets of 10 same weight

If you are looking to trim excess bodyfat, get into shape, and feel better this is a great split because it allows for a lot of rest between weight training sessions, and gives you two hard conditioning days and two easy conditioning days per week. Don't overlook the easy days of conditioning. These days are great for recovery so do plenty of stretching and foam rolling after your steady state stuff.

For intervals use the standard 1 part difficult 3 parts "rest" ratio. That means if you go hard for 15 seconds take the pace down for 45. You can use a bike for this one particularly well. Pedal as hard as possible for 15 seconds then go easy for 45.

I do a lot of sprinting for conditioning work, and basically I just sprint then use the walk back to where I sprinted from as my rest. If you do a jog/sprint (generally this is after you get in great shape) then use something like the light poles as a guide. Sprint from one lightpole to the next, then jog for the next three. If you do hill sprints, just use the walk back down as the "rest". Interval training should be fun, which is a reason why it is such a preferred method of conditioning for a lot of athletes (and because it works darn well).
It's also more difficult to recover from, so don't exceed the two days a week rule as it can start tapping into your strength reserves.


Do intervals...get in shape...feel the awesome.


Strength wise this routine is setup to help maintain a base level of strength, not achieve a peak level. A peak level only lasts for a short term (which is why it's uh, called a peak level), but on this split, depending on caloric intake, a base level of strength can be maintained. Some people who may have been overtraining a bit may even find a gain in strength. In fact this routine can be used as a strength gaining routine easily by dropping one day of hard conditioning. If you don't think that squatting one week and deadlifting the next week is enough I can point to some championship powerlifters who have used that exact style of split. So there are definitely merits to it. I will say that upping the volume on the lifting days a little bit could be ideal since you are only doing two days a week. Just don't go nuts.

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Increase Strength - Weight Maintenance - Conditioning Variable


Who can/should use this split? - An advanced athlete whose goal is to increase maximum strength while staying at or near the same weight, and maintaining their current level of conditioning.

This could be for a powerlifter, wrestler, sprinter, or football player who already has a foundation of strength built. Basically the program is geared around the 3 days of lifting, and the amount of time spent on conditioning will be determined by what the athlete needs. A wrestler may wrestle and work on techniques 4-6 days a week. A sprinter may sprint 3-5 days a week, etc. This program stays away from rep ranges more closely associated with hypertrophy (generally 6-20) and focuses more on nervous system response for maximum strength.

Days a week of conditioning - Variable
Days a week of weight training - 3
Days a week of rest - Variable
Workload/Volume - Moderate to High depending on the variables

Monday - Squat/Bench
Squat - warm up to a top a moderately heavy triple
Pause Squat - 10% less than the triple for squats, 2x3 focusing on speed
Pause Bench Press - warm up to 3 progressively heavier singles, pause each rep on the chest
Close Grip Bench - 3x3 using 20% less than the top single for pause bench
L-Flye - 3x15

Wednesday - Deadlifts/Abdominals
Deadlifts - 6x3 up to a moderately difficult triple
Deficit Deadlifts - 3x3 using 20% less than the top triple on deadlifts focusing on speed
Planks and Hanging Leg Raises - 3x10

Friday - Squat and Bench Variations
Front Squats - 5x3 to a top triple
Incline Press - 5x5 to a moderately heavy top set of 5
Bent Laterals - 2x20

Notice that most of the movements are very close to the three core lifts (squat, bench, dead) if there is a variation. If you want to be good at something, do THAT. If you are going to add a movement in to improve a lift, make sure it's a very close variation of it. For squats we do pause squats and front squats. For bench we do close grip and incline. For deadlifts we do deficit deadlifts. These all have good carryover for most people to the core lifts. On the squat, bench, and dead make sure when you start the program you leave PLENTY in the tank in terms of weight.

I cannot stress this enough. So I will write it again, LEAVE PLENTY OF ROOM IN THE TANK.


don't be a clown by starting off too heavy...

Your first week in on this program everything should actually feel quite light. You want to be able to add weight for a good 8 or 9 weeks until you are hitting some true maxes in your triples. At the point where you fail to get the triple, go for a new max the next week then reset that lift (take 10 - 20% off of it) and start over. The key to building strength is not rushing a program early. The surest way to stall quickly is to start off too heavy. So check your ego at the door the first few weeks and reap the rewards later.

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Obviously any of these splits can/will do what the goal is, but diet is and always will be a factor. So keep that in mind.

I will save the last split, Increase Muscle Mass - Increase Strength - Decrease Conditioning, for my next article. That particular set of goals seems to be most lifters goal and I have a lot to say about it. The early question would be "why does it say "decrease conditioning"? I will answer that one as well.

Until then stay strong.