With the ultimate split I'm about to describe, you'll hit each body part three times every two weeks... Try this split and follow the guidelines that I've put together for you, right here! Read on for the details.

Once you've trained for at least 12 months on a solid full-body program, experiment with a split routine. But if you use one of the typical splits that appear in most bodybuilding magazines and books, you're unlikely to make much, if any, progress.

Most of the popular splits undermine bodybuilding progress for average trainees. Just because a certain split works for a genetic phenomenon who may be bolstered by drug support, it doesn't mean that it will also work for natural, genetically average body builders.


The Ultimate Split


With the ultimate split I'm about to describe, you'll hit each body part three times every two weeks; that is, once every four or five days per body part. You'll train three nonconsecutive days each week, which will give you four full days of recovery every seven days. The popular split routines usually include more training than nontraining days, which is counterproductive for most bodybuilders.


Next, you'll put exercises that primarily work your lower body in one routine and those that almost exclusively work your upper body in another routine. That's a good way to divide the exercises so that there's only minimal overlap between the two routines.

Now, choose three nonconsecutive training days, such as Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and alternate the two routines as follows:

Week 1:

Monday: Calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, abs
Wednesday: Neck, shoulders, chest, lats, triceps, biceps
Friday: Calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, abs
Week 2:

Monday: Neck, shoulders, chest, lats, triceps, biceps
Wednesday: Calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, abs
Friday: Neck, shoulders, chest, lats, triceps, biceps
Continue with that rotation. Week 3 is the same as week 1, week 4 will be the same as week 2, and so on.

Keep in mind that the ultimate split will help you build strength and size only if you:

Choose good exercises.
Use correct exercise technique.
Train hard enough.
Train progressively.
Avoid using too many exercises and/or sets.
In other words, apply the 10 Commandments of Bodybuilding, which begin below.


Sample Routines


Here are two sample routines you can plug into the ultimate split:

Workout 1:

Deadlifts or stiff-legged deadlifts 2 x 6
One-legged calf raises 2 x 12-15
Leg presses 2 x 8-10
Leg curls 2 x 8-10
Crunches 2 x 10-12
Side bends 1 x 12-15
Hyperextensions 2 x 8-10
Note: Do one to two progressively heavier warm-up sets prior to the work sets listed for each exercise.


Workout 2:

Parallel-bar dips, bench presses or incline-bench presses 2 x 6-8
Pulldowns or Pullovers 2 x 6-8
Seated cable rows 1 x 6-8
Seated dumbbell presses (on a 75 degree bench) 2 x 6
Lateral raises 2 x 8
Shrugs 2 x 8
Incline dumbbell curls 2 x 6-8
Lying L-flyes 1 x 8-10
Neck-forward flexions and extensions 1 x 10-12
Note: Do one to two progressively heavier warm-up sets prior to the work sets listed for each exercise.


If any of those exercises aren't safe for you or the equipment isn't available, substitute comparable movements.


Abbreviated Training


This is abbreviated training, and it's precisely what most body builders need if they want to make good progress. The short workouts will enable you to train hard, with focus. The four full days of recovery each week will give you the chance to recuperate fully.

Then you should be able to add a small amount of weight to the bar on most exercises every week or two. That's a world away from longer, more frequent training, where you don't recuperate fully and you only go through the motions in the gym.


Applications For All:

Abbreviated training is the approach of choice because it's more practical and time efficient than conventional or so-called advanced methods that require commitments of greater time and energy. One of the biggest problems in the bodybuilding world is the belief that simple training routines are for beginners only. Wrong!


Also keep in mind that training provides only the stimulus for growth. What you do outside the gym determines whether the stimulation yields growth. The effective strategy for most bodybuilders is short routines, correct exercise technique and hard work combined with sufficient nutrition and recovery time.


All of that, properly applied, produces growth in strength and muscle—and it applies to beginners, intermediates and advanced trainees, although the training for specific individuals can vary. For example, the training of supergifted, competition-level bodybuilders can be another story altogether, but that applies to a very small minority.

Requirements Of Bodybuilding:

Combine the Ultimate Split with the 10 Commandments of Bodybuilding, and the rest is up to your genetics and your persistence. The big bonus is that you need to train only three times a week. You'll have more time for the rest of your life and you'll probably make better progress than ever before.

The requirements of body building are straightforward, but most bodybuilders think otherwise. Thus they get caught up in complexities and irrelevances. As a result, they fail to make progress.

In my "Anticrash Course," which appeared in the December '04 and January '05 issues, I summarized 16 key lessons of bodybuilding. Those keys aren't the last word on bodybuilding, but they are what you should live by if your primary concern is to build as much muscular size as your genetics will permit, drug-free.