Arnold Split: The Full 6-Day Workout Plan, Plus 3- and 5-Day Versions
The Arnold split is a 6-day bodybuilding split with three workouts, chest and back, shoulders and arms, then legs, each done twice a week. It suits intermediate lifters who want to build muscle and can train 6 days a week; beginners and lifters with 3 days are better served by a full-body split.
| Arnold split at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Main goal | Build muscle |
| Training level | Intermediate to advanced (6+ months of lifting) |
| Days per week | 6 (3- and 5-day versions below) |
| Workouts | Chest and back · Shoulders and arms · Legs |
| Time per workout | About 1 hour, including a warm-up |
| Program length | 6-week blocks: 5 training weeks, then a deload week |
| Equipment | Barbell, dumbbells, cable station, leg press and leg curl machines, pull-up bar |
Ready to start? Save the Arnold split plan in JEFIT, or let the Adaptive Plan build one around your schedule.
In this guide
- What is the Arnold split?
- The full 6-day Arnold split workout
- Weekly sets per muscle
- Is it good for building muscle?
- Benefits and drawbacks
- How to progress
- Common mistakes
- How to warm up
- 3-day and 5-day versions
- Arnold split vs PPL
- FAQ
Quick answers
- What is the Arnold split? A 6-day split: chest and back, shoulders and arms, legs, then repeat, with one rest day.
- Who created the Arnold split? It comes from Arnold Schwarzenegger's training as laid out in The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, written with Bill Dobbins.
- Is the Arnold split good for building muscle? Yes for intermediates. The 6-day plan below gives chest, back and shoulders 20 sets a week each, over 2 sessions.
- Is the Arnold split good for beginners? No. Beginners do better on full body 2–3 days a week.
- Arnold split 3 days: run each workout once a week. It trains every muscle only once, so it builds less than the 6-day version.
- Arnold split 5 days: rotate the three workouts across 5 days, so each muscle is trained about 1.7 times a week.
- Arnold split vs PPL: the Arnold split gives more chest and back sets; a PPL gives more shoulder and arm sets.
- Downsides of the Arnold split: 6 sessions of about an hour, front delts on back-to-back days, and a missed day costs a whole muscle group.
What is the Arnold split?
The Arnold split is a 6-day workout split that trains chest and back together, shoulders and arms together, and legs on their own, then repeats all three, so every muscle is trained twice a week. Pairing chest with back sets it apart from a push/pull/legs split, which keeps chest with shoulders and triceps.
| Day | Workout |
|---|---|
| Monday | Chest and back |
| Tuesday | Shoulders and arms |
| Wednesday | Legs |
| Thursday | Chest and back |
| Friday | Shoulders and arms |
| Saturday | Legs |
| Sunday | Rest |
Prefer a midweek break? Rest on Thursday and do the second leg day on Sunday instead.
Who created the Arnold split?
The Arnold split is named after Arnold Schwarzenegger, who used this chest-and-back, shoulders-and-arms, legs structure in his competitive bodybuilding years. The routine most versions copy comes from The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, written with Bill Dobbins and revised in 1998 (library record) from their 1985 original.
The name is a description, not a brand: the Arnold split isn't affiliated with JEFIT.
What is the Arnold split workout? (full 6-day plan)
The Arnold split workout below is a modern version of the classic layout: 6 or 7 exercises per session, 3–4 sets each, built around one heavy compound lift per day. Rest times follow what the research says about rest between sets: longer for heavy compounds, shorter for isolation moves. Run Days 1–3, then repeat them on Days 4–6.
Day 1 and Day 4: Chest and back
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell bench press | 4 × 8 | 2.5 min |
| Pull-up (or assisted pull-up) | 4 × 8 | 2 min |
| Dumbbell incline bench press | 3 × 10 | 90 s |
| Barbell bent-over row | 3 × 10 | 2 min |
| Cable crossover | 3 × 12 | 60 s |
| Cable seated row | 3 × 12 | 60 s |
To save time, alternate the lighter pairs: incline press with rows, then crossovers with seated rows. Keep full rest on the bench press and pull-ups. Can't do 8 pull-ups yet? Use the assisted version and build up to bodyweight reps.
Day 2 and Day 5: Shoulders and arms
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell military press | 4 × 8 | 2.5 min |
| Dumbbell lateral raise | 3 × 15 | 60 s |
| Cable rope face pull | 3 × 15 | 60 s |
| Barbell curl | 3 × 10 | 90 s |
| Close-grip bench press | 3 × 10 | 90 s |
| Dumbbell incline curl | 3 × 12 | 60 s |
| Rope tricep pushdown | 3 × 12 | 60 s |
Day 3 and Day 6: Legs
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell squat | 4 × 8 | 3 min |
| Barbell Romanian deadlift | 3 × 10 | 2 min |
| Leg press | 3 × 12 | 2 min |
| Lying leg curl | 3 × 12 | 60 s |
| Machine calf raise | 4 × 15 | 60 s |
| Hanging leg raise | 3 × 15 | 60 s |
Weights: pick a load you could lift for 2 more reps than the target. Progression: when you hit the top of the range on every set, add 2.5 kg / 5 lb to upper-body lifts and 5 kg / 10 lb to squats and deadlifts. Deload: every 6th week, keep the exercises and halve the sets.
Want it as a ready-made plan? Here's a community version of the Arnold split shared by a JEFIT member. It is built for advanced lifters and has more sets than the plan above.
How many sets does the Arnold split give each muscle?
The Arnold split above gives chest, back and shoulders 20 hard sets a week each, quads 14 and hamstrings and glutes 12, all over 2 sessions. That clears the 2×10 rule (at least 10 hard sets a week per muscle, spread over at least 2 sessions) for every muscle in the table below.
| Weekly sets | Arnold split (6 days, plan above) | Reddit PPL (6 days) |
|---|---|---|
| Chest | 20 | 14 |
| Back | 20 | 17 |
| Shoulders | 20 | 30 |
| Quads | 14 | 12 |
| Hamstrings + glutes | 12 | 13 |
| Biceps | 12 | 16 |
Despite its dedicated arm day, this Arnold split gives biceps fewer sets than the Reddit PPL. Counted the same way as the workout split guide: working sets where the muscle is the main target, warm-ups excluded.
Is the Arnold split good for building muscle?
Yes, the Arnold split is good for building muscle if you're past the beginner stage and can train 6 days a week, because it gives chest, back, shoulders, legs and arms 12–20 hard sets a week. Weekly sets are the main driver of growth (see how much weekly volume you need): each extra weekly set was associated with a 0.37% greater gain in muscle size (Schoenfeld et al., Journal of Sports Sciences, 2017), and ACSM's 2026 position stand lists 10 or more sets a week for muscle growth (Currier et al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2026).
The 6-day schedule matters less than those sets. A 2019 meta-analysis of 25 studies found no difference in growth between training a muscle once or more often when weekly sets were equal (Schoenfeld et al., 2019); an earlier one found twice a week beat once (Schoenfeld et al., 2016). Splitting 20 sets over two days keeps each workout shorter and each set fresher.
The 8–15 rep targets in the plan work because the sets are hard: light and heavy loads built similar muscle when sets were taken close to failure (not necessarily all the way to failure) (Schoenfeld et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2017).
What are the benefits of the Arnold split?
The Arnold split's main benefits are faster chest-and-back sessions, every muscle trained twice a week, and a dedicated shoulders-and-arms day.
- Chest and back pair well. Alternating a press with a pull lets one side rest while the other works. In 18 trained men, alternating sets of a bench pull and a bench press throw kept the same volume load in about 10 minutes instead of 20 (Robbins et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2010).
- Every muscle twice a week. Each workout comes around twice, so a muscle's weekly sets are split across two sessions.
- Shoulders and arms get their own day. They're trained fresh instead of at the end of a chest or back workout, with room for presses and raises from several angles.
What are the drawbacks of the Arnold split?
The Arnold split's main drawbacks are the 6-day commitment, front delts trained on back-to-back days, and costly missed sessions.
- It takes 6 days. Each session in the plan above is about 45–50 minutes of sets and rest, close to an hour with a warm-up.
- Front delts work on back-to-back days: bench and incline press on chest day, the military press the next. Keep only the overhead sets you can recover from.
- Missed days cost more. Skip shoulders and arms and those muscles wait until the second half of the week, or the next week.
- It's too much for beginners. ACSM recommends 2–3 days a week for beginners and 4–5 for advanced lifters (ACSM, 2009).
Who should do the Arnold split?
The Arnold split is for intermediate and advanced lifters, with 6 months or more of consistent training, who want to build muscle, especially chest and back, and can reliably train 6 days a week. If you can only count on 4 days, an upper lower split or an anterior posterior split trains every muscle twice in fewer sessions; see the workout split guide.
How do you progress on the Arnold split?
Progress on the Arnold split by adding weight once you hit the top of the rep range on every set: 2.5 kg / 5 lb on upper-body lifts, 5 kg / 10 lb on squats and deadlifts. If you can't reach the bottom of the range at the new weight, go back to the old weight, add a rep per set, then try the new weight again. Every 6th week, deload with half the sets so you start the next block fresh.
Log every set so you can see when to add weight. In JEFIT, each set pre-fills from your last session and new personal records are flagged automatically. More on the method: a simple guide to progressive overload.
What are the most common mistakes on the Arnold split?
The most common Arnold split mistakes are starting it too early, adding exercises until sessions run long, and skipping the second leg day.
- Starting before you're ready. Under 6 months of lifting, a full-body split builds more for less time.
- Adding exercises. Each extra exercise pushes a session past an hour. If a muscle needs more work, add a set to a lift you already do.
- Skipping the second leg day. Legs already get fewer sets than chest, back and shoulders (14 for quads, 12 for hamstrings and glutes, against 20). Missing a leg day halves that.
- Going to failure on every set. Pick weights you could lift for 2 more reps than the target, as in the plan above, and save all-out sets for the last set of an isolation move.
How should you warm up for the Arnold split?
Warm up for the Arnold split with 5 minutes of easy cardio, then 2–3 lighter sets of the day's first lift before your working sets. Leg day needs the longest warm-up because the first lift is the squat. See the science-backed warm-up for strength training for more.
Can you do the Arnold split 3 days a week?
Yes, you can do the Arnold split 3 days a week by running each workout once, for example Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The trade-off is frequency and volume: each muscle is trained once a week, with 10 sets for chest, back and shoulders and 6–7 for legs.
It's a reasonable stopgap during a busy stretch. For 3 days long-term, a full-body split trains every muscle more than once a week.
Can you do the Arnold split 5 days a week?
Yes, you can do the Arnold split 5 days a week by rotating the three workouts in order on your 5 training days, so the cycle rolls over into the next week. Each muscle is trained about 1.7 times a week, which works out to roughly 17 sets for chest, back and shoulders, 12 for quads and 10 for hamstrings and glutes.
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chest and back | Shoulders and arms | Legs | Chest and back | Shoulders and arms |
| 2 | Legs | Chest and back | Shoulders and arms | Legs | Chest and back |
| 3 | Shoulders and arms | Legs | Chest and back | Shoulders and arms | Legs |
Is the Arnold split better than PPL?
The Arnold split is better than push/pull/legs if your priority is chest and back; PPL is better if your priority is shoulders and arms. In the weekly-sets table, the Arnold split gives 20 chest and 20 back sets a week against 14 and 17 on the Reddit PPL, while the PPL gives 30 shoulder and 16 biceps sets against 20 and 12.
Both run 6 days and train every muscle twice. PPL is the easier start: the Reddit PPL (by Reddit user Metallicadpa) adds weight every session and is written for beginners, and the r/Fitness wiki lists it among its recommended programs.
What is the PPL x Arnold split?
The PPL x Arnold split is a 6-day hybrid that runs push, pull and legs in the first half of the week and the Arnold split's three workouts in the second half: push, pull, legs, chest and back, shoulders and arms, legs, then a rest day. Each muscle is still trained twice a week, but with two different pairings.
Built from JEFIT's 3-day PPL and the Arnold workouts above, it gives about 17 sets for chest, 16 for back, 19 for shoulders, 14 for quads and 15 for hamstrings and glutes. Choose it if you like both splits or want more variety across the week.
How do you start the Arnold split in JEFIT?
Save an Arnold split plan in JEFIT, then log each set as you train.
- Get the plan: open the community Arnold split or browse JEFIT's workout plans library. Any library plan can be edited and kept as your own version, so you can match it to the sets above.
- Log and progress: each set pre-fills from your last session, the rest timer can be set per exercise, and new personal records are flagged automatically.
- Check your recovery: the Muscle Recovery chart shows which muscles are still recovering before your next session, which helps with the back-to-back shoulder days.
Don't want to build it yourself? JEFIT's Adaptive Plan (Elite) builds a plan around your goal, equipment and schedule, then keeps adjusting it as you log. Start it from the Find tab with "Personalize your plan". How the Adaptive Plan works
Bottom line: should you do the Arnold split?
- Choose the Arnold split if you can train 6 days a week, have 6+ months of lifting behind you, and want more chest and back volume.
- Choose PPL if you want more shoulder and arm volume, or a plan written for beginners.
- Choose full body or upper lower if you can only count on 3–4 days.