4-day split

With the 4-day split, exercises are spread across four days, resulting in a higher training volume per session and muscle group compared to the 3-day split. A key advantage of the 4-day split is how it distributes major muscle groups over individual days.

This split is recommended for advanced athletes, while beginners should steer clear. Typically, a smaller training stimulus is enough for beginners to stimulate muscle growth. Plus, they need to strengthen tendons, ligaments, and auxiliary muscles before significantly increasing their training volume.

The 4-day split generally follows this weekly schedule:

Monday: Day A exercises
Tuesday: Day B exercises
Wednesday: Rest day
Thursday: Day C exercises
Friday: Day D exercises
Saturday: Rest day
Sunday: Rest day

4-Day Split Example Plan

Below, you’ll find the exercises for the 4-day split, divided by muscle groups over four days. In the next section, we’ll offer additional recommendations, so you can swap out the exercises listed here for more variety.

Day A

Exercise	Main muscle group	Sets	Repetitions
Bench press	Chest	3	10 / 8 / 6
Dips	Chest	3	10 / 8 / 6
Flyes	Chest	3	12 / 10 / 8
Dumbbell bicep curls	Biceps	3	10 / 8 / 6
Cable bicep curls	Biceps	3	10 / 8 / 6
Machine bicep curls	Biceps	3	10 / 8 / 6
Sit-ups	Abdominals	3	20
Crunches	Abdominals	3	20

Day B

Exercise	Main Muscle Group	Sets	Repetitions
Squats	Thighs	3	10 / 8 / 6
Leg Press	Thighs	3	10 / 8 / 6
Leg Extensions	Thighs	3	10 / 8 / 6
Standing Calf Raises	Calves	3	15
Seated Calf Raises	Calves	3	20

Day C

Exercise	Main muscle group	Sets	Repetitions
Shoulder Press	Shoulders	3	12 / 10 / 8
Lateral Raises	Shoulders	3	12 / 10 / 8
Front Raises	Shoulders	3	12 / 10 / 8
Triceps Pressdown	Triceps	3	12 / 10 / 8
Triceps Kickbacks	Triceps	3	12 / 10 / 8
Arnold Dips	Triceps	3	12 / 10 / 8

Day D

Exercise	Main Muscle Group	Sets	Repetitions
Pull-ups	Upper back	3	10 / 8 / 6
Barbell Rows	Upper back	3	10 / 8 / 6
Upright Rows	Neck	3	10 / 8 / 6
Deadlifts	Lower back	3	10 / 8 / 6

4-day split alternative exercises

You can perform the following exercises as alternatives to 4-day split.

Filter the exercises below by muscle group and difficulty.

Exercise	Main muscle group	Difficulty	Type of training
Arnold Press	Shoulder training	Medium	Isolation exercise
Back Extension	Lower back	Medium	Isolation exercise
Banded Good Mornings	Lower back	Hard	Compound exercise
Barbell Curls	Biceps training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Barbell Front Raise	Shoulder training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Barbell Row	Shoulder training	Hard	Compound exercise
Barbell Shrugs	Neck training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Behind-The-Neck Overhead Press	Shoulder training	Medium	Isolation exercise
Bench Press	Triceps training	Medium	Compound exercise
Biceps Curls	Biceps training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Bicycle Crunches	Abs workout	Medium	Isolation exercise
Cable Curls	Biceps training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Cable Deadlift	Lower back	Hard	Compound exercise
Cable Lying Knee Tucks	Abs workout	Medium	Isolation exercise
Cable Shrugs	Neck training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Chest Press	Middle chest	Easy	Isolation exercise
Close-Grip Bench Press	Triceps training	Medium	Compound exercise
Concentration Curls	Biceps training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Crunches	Abs workout	Easy	Isolation exercise
Deadlift	Thigh training	Hard	Compound exercise
Decline Bench Press	Lower chest	Medium	Compound exercise
Decline Dumbbell Bench Press	Lower chest	Medium	Compound exercise
Decline Sit-Ups	Abs workout	Easy	Isolation exercise
Dips	Upper chest	Hard	Compound exercise
Dumbbell Bench Press	Chest training	Medium	Compound exercise
Dumbbell Deadlift	Lower back	Hard	Compound exercise
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift	Lower back	Hard	Compound exercise
Dumbbell Shoulder Press	Shoulder training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Dumbbell Tricep Extension	Triceps training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Flys	Middle chest	Medium	Isolation exercise
Front Raise	Shoulder training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Good Mornings	Lower back	Hard	Compound exercise
Hammer Curls	Biceps training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Hanging Knee Raise	Abs workout	Hard	Isolation exercise
Hyperextension Side Bends	Abs workout	Easy	Isolation exercise
Incline Barbell Press	Upper chest	Easy	Compound exercise
Incline Bench Preacher Curls	Biceps training	Medium	Isolation exercise
Incline Chest Press	Upper chest	Easy	Isolation exercise
Incline Dumbbell Biceps Curls	Biceps training	Medium	Isolation exercise
Incline Dumbbell Press	Upper chest	Medium	Compound exercise
Incline Dumbell Row	Neck training	Easy	Compound exercise
Inverted Row	Shoulder training	Easy	Compound exercise
Kickbacks	Triceps training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Knee Raise	Abs workout	Medium	Isolation exercise
Lat Pulldown on the Machine	Upper back	Easy	Isolation exercise
Lateral Raise	Shoulder training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Leg Extensions	Thigh training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Machine Fly	Middle chest	Easy	Isolation exercise
Oblique Leg Raises	Abs workout	Medium	Isolation exercise
Overhead Tricep Extension	Triceps training	Medium	Isolation exercise
Preacher Curls	Biceps training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Prone Incline Dumbell Shrug	Neck training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Resistance Band Row	Shoulder training	Easy	Compound exercise
Resistance Band Shrugs	Neck training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Reverse Crunches	Abs workout	Medium	Isolation exercise
Reversed Incline Bench Barbell Curls	Biceps training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Romanian Deadlift	Lower back	Hard	Compound exercise
Seated Back Extension	Lower back	Easy	Isolation exercise
Seated Good Mornings	Lower back	Hard	Isolation exercise
Seated Leg Press	Thigh training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Shrugs	Neck training	Easy	Isolation exercise
Side Bends	Abs workout	Easy	Isolation exercise
Single Arm Dumbbell Row	Neck training	Medium	Isolation exercise
Sit Ups	Abs workout	Easy	Isolation exercise
Straight Arm Pulldown	Upper back	Medium	Isolation exercise
Sumo Deadlift	Thigh training	Hard	Compound exercise
T-Bar Row	Neck training	Medium	Compound exercise
Upright Barbell Row	Shoulder training	Hard	Compound exercise
Windshield Wipers	Abs workout	Hard	Isolation exercise