Split by the pros worth a try!

There is no room for randomness in a bodybuilder's training. You need to train 10 muscle groups: chest, back, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms, and abs. In what order should you work them so that your muscles have time to recover? How often should you train a muscle, with what volume and intensity?

The answer is different for everyone. To build muscle, you need to change target groups every day, create sufficient overload, and give your muscles time to recover.

Evan Centopani learned from his own experience that excessive zeal is counterproductive. As a teenager, he trained each body part twice a week and did every possible exercise. Then he reduced the number of exercises and sets, but still couldn't give maximum load to the muscles he worked at the end of the session. Only when he decided to train each major muscle group once a week did he notice progress.

Certain muscle groups need to be trained more intensely and require more recovery time. Chest, back, and legs – in exercises like presses, squats, deadlifts, and rows – take all your strength. Therefore, these three groups are never worked on the same day and are not trained two days in a row. If you add other muscles to a large muscle group workout, they should be small groups, such as abs or biceps. Setting aside a separate day for arms is not worth it – this can lead to disproportionate development and wasting a day that could be used for rest or a lagging group.

Evan can train three days in a row, but he always rests afterward. Currently, he trains four times a week, which gives him a rest day before and after each workout. This split generates adequate stimuli for each body part and leaves more time for recovery. Large muscle groups are best trained before smaller ones.