Are you searching for a 6-day exercise cut up for gaining muscle?
If that’s the case, there’s one thing you need to know…
Figuring out 6 days per week could be a good suggestion for some, however a horrible thought for others.
On this information, I’ll clarify the professionals and cons, inform you who it’s going to work finest for, who ought to positively keep away from it, after which present you the one 6-day splits I ever suggest.
They’re:
- The 6-Day Push/Pull/Legs Break up
- The 5-6 Day Push/Pull/Legs Break up
- The 6-Day Higher/Decrease Break up
Let’s get began.
What Is A 6-Day Exercise Break up?
A 6-day exercise cut up is any schedule on your weight coaching exercises that includes coaching 6 days per week and having simply 1 break day.
The Advantages Of 6 Exercises Per Week
- It permits for the next coaching frequency.
Frequency – which is the variety of occasions you prepare every muscle group per week – is without doubt one of the most essential components that go into creating an efficient exercise routine. And whereas a 6-day cut up can enable for any frequency (as soon as per week, twice per week, thrice per week, or extra), it’s particularly excellent for somebody who desires to make use of the next coaching frequency. - It permits for extra whole weekly quantity.
Quantity – which is the quantity of units, reps, and workouts you do for every muscle group per week – is one other extraordinarily essential a part of an efficient exercise routine. And with 6 classes per week, and the potential for utilizing the next frequency, it turns into considerably simpler to do larger quantities of quantity. That is particularly helpful for superior trainees, as they’re those most definitely to profit from larger quantity coaching. - It’s satisfying (assuming you take pleasure in coaching).
Some folks hate understanding, and are more than pleased to do the least quantity wanted to see the outcomes they need. However others adore it and need to spend as a lot time within the health club as doable. If you happen to’re that sort of particular person, a 6-day cut up will make that dream come true. That is most likely the commonest cause why folks ask me for a 6-day routine.
The Issues With 6 Exercises Per Week
- Elevated threat of restoration points.
6 exercises per week with just one break day? That’s rather a lot of weight coaching per week, and the fact is that most individuals aren’t going to have the ability to deal with that from a restoration standpoint. I’m not even speaking about restoration of particular person muscle teams (which can doubtlessly be a difficulty as effectively), however extra so the general CNS (central nervous system) fatigue that comes with coaching 6 days per week (and on consecutive days). For almost all of individuals, coaching this a lot goes to hinder their progress greater than it would assist it. - Elevated threat of overuse accidents.
Whereas there could be advantages to coaching extra usually (as talked about earlier), one of many downsides is that you just’re at the next threat of growing overuse accidents, that are already fairly widespread amongst folks doing any type of weight coaching. Tendon and joint accidents already occur on a regular basis for folks coaching simply 3-4 days per week. When coaching 6 days, that threat goes up. - It’s laborious to suit into your schedule.
Folks with jobs, households, college, social lives, and so on. already wrestle to search out the time to suit 3-4 exercises into their week. A 6-day cut up can be unimaginable for them. - It’s laborious to maintain constantly.
Even when folks discover a approach to match 6 exercises into their schedule, many ultimately begin lacking exercises and understand that constantly getting 6 exercises achieved per week, each week, merely isn’t sustainable for them.
Who Is A 6-Day Break up Finest For?
Trustworthy reply?
Not many individuals, which is why I don’t suggest 6-day routines usually.
However after I DO suggest it, it’s often to folks becoming this description:
Superior trainees who 1) are in a caloric surplus for constructing muscle, 2) are extra more likely to get better effectively from 6 exercises per week (i.e. good genetics, youthful, low stress ranges, enough sleep, and so on.), and three) have the versatile schedule wanted to constantly get 6 exercises achieved each week.
Let me make clear 3 issues about this.
First, the general public who suppose they’re “superior” usually are not even near being superior.
Right here’s how I’d outline superior. It’s essential to meet ALL of those necessities…
- You’ve been weight coaching constantly for 4+ years.
- You’ve gained a very important quantity of muscle and power.
- At this level, you’ve now gained a lot of the muscle and power your physique is of course able to gaining, and there isn’t a ton of progress left to make.
If you happen to can say sure to ALL of these, you’re superior.
If not, you’re not.
Second, superior trainees DO NOT must work out 6 days per week.
Superior trainees should still run into the entire issues we lined earlier simply the identical as anybody else would. Because of this I like to recommend 4-5 day routines to them extra usually than 6.
My level right here is that somebody who’s superior is solely extra probably than a newbie or intermediate trainee to profit from a 6-day cut up, as a result of somebody superior is extra more likely to profit from the extra frequency and/or quantity it will possibly present.
Third, some intermediate trainees will do effectively with a 6-day cut up. Most gained’t, however some will.
Those that may are usually younger (teenagers or 20s) and/or have above-average genetics (or aren’t pure). Since most individuals don’t match this description, I want to maintain issues further easy and suggest that intermediate trainees follow a 3, 4, or 5-day routine as an alternative.
Who Ought to NOT Use A 6-Day Break up?
Just about everybody else.
If you happen to don’t match that description of being a complicated trainee, in a caloric surplus, who recovers effectively, and has a versatile schedule, I wouldn’t suggest attempting a 6-day exercise routine.
You’ll be significantly better off going with a 3-day cut up, 4-day cut up, or 5-day cut up as an alternative.
Then again…
If you happen to ARE somebody who could make a 6-day routine work, and it suits your preferences, let’s check out the perfect splits for making it occur…
1. The 6-Day Push/Pull/Legs Break up
- Monday: Push
- Tuesday: Pull
- Wednesday: Legs
- Thursday: Push
- Friday: Pull
- Saturday: Legs
- Sunday: off
The push/pull/legs cut up is certainly one of my favorites to make use of when designing 5-day exercises.
It seems it’s among the best choices for 6-day exercises, too.
Cause being:
- Grouping overlapping muscle teams collectively (chest, shoulders, and triceps on ‘push’ day, again and biceps on ‘pull’ day, quads, hamstrings, and glutes on ‘leg’ day) helps decrease the chance of overuse accidents.
- The push and pull exercises will find yourself shorter than one thing like an higher physique or full physique exercise. If you’re coaching this many days per week, conserving the person exercises shorter can assist a bit with restoration.
One essential be aware although.
There are literally two other ways to schedule a 6-day push/pull/legs cut up.
The one I’ve outlined above is the true “6-day” model of it, the place you will have 6 exercises per week each week, with simply sooner or later off.
Personally? I don’t like this model. I want this subsequent one as an alternative…
2. The 5-6 Day Push/Pull/Legs Break up
Week 1
- Monday: Push
- Tuesday: Pull
- Wednesday: Legs
- Thursday: off
- Friday: Push
- Saturday: Pull
- Sunday: Legs
Week 2
- Monday: off
- Tuesday: Push
- Wednesday: Pull
- Thursday: Legs
- Friday: off
- Saturday: Push
- Sunday: Pull
Week 3
- Monday: Legs
- Tuesday: off
- Wednesday: Push
- Thursday: Pull
- Friday: Legs
- Saturday: off
- Sunday: Push
And it continues on and on on this identical format the place it’s three consecutive exercises adopted by a break day (after which repeat). So it’s push/pull/legs/off after which push/pull/legs/off after which push/pull/legs/off, and so on. and so on. and so on.
That is my favourite cut up to make use of for 6-day routines.
After all, it’s not really a “6-day cut up” just like the earlier possibility (or the following possibility we’re protecting under).
Reasonably, it is a schedule the place you find yourself with 5 exercises some weeks, and 6 exercises different weeks. Kind of a hybrid 5-6 day cut up.
And whereas some folks might not like that it’s not 6 days each single week, the massive profit is that there’s an additional relaxation day which breaks issues up into 3-day blocks (relatively than 6 consecutive exercises like earlier than).
It is a small change, but it surely has very constructive results on the restoration and harm points we talked about earlier.
For that reason, I’ve discovered this to be the perfect method for understanding 6-days per week. That’s why it’s the cut up I take advantage of for my very own superior exercise (which is included in my 10 New Exercises).
3. The 6-Day Higher/Decrease Break up
- Monday: Higher Physique
- Tuesday: Decrease Physique
- Wednesday: Higher Physique
- Thursday: Decrease Physique
- Friday: Higher Physique
- Saturday: Decrease Physique
- Sunday: off
I like to recommend the 3-day and 4-day model of the higher/decrease cut up on a regular basis. In reality, in case you’re previous the newbie stage and are understanding 3-4 days per week, it’s my favourite cut up.
This 6-day model of it’s one which I don’t suggest almost as usually, however in case you’re going to be coaching 6 days per week, it’s one other good possibility to think about.
Why?
- If you happen to want the next coaching frequency, this one provides you a well-balanced method of simply coaching every muscle group 3 occasions per week.
- Coaching all the higher physique collectively and all the decrease physique collectively minimizes the sort of overlap generally seen in different splits.
Summing It Up
A 6-day exercise cut up isn’t proper for everybody.
I’d truly say it’s not proper for most folks. Most individuals ought to use a 3, 4, or 5-day program as an alternative.
But when understanding 6 days per week is best for you, these are the three finest choices for doing it. And possibility #2 is the one I believe is finest.
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