Best Training Splits for Muscle Growth: Ranked

[Malleable]

There is more noise around training splits than almost any other topic. This thread cuts through that and gives a direct breakdown of which splits are worth running for maximum hypertrophy, ranked by how well they hold up against practical application.
My ranking criteria: Weekly volume per muscle group, frequency optimization, recovery management, structure, and real-world adherence.

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THE SPLITS RANKED

[S TIER] Full Body Every Other Day (FBEOD)


FBEOD is the most mechanically sound split for hypertrophy at an intermediate level. Every muscle group is trained every 48–72 hours, which aligns directly with the protein synthesis window observed in muscle tissue. You accumulate high weekly frequency without any single session becoming unsustainable in volume.

• Frequency: 3–4x per muscle group per week
• Recovery: Built-in rest days between full sessions
• Weekly volume: Easily 15–25+ sets per muscle across the week
• Flexibility: Works Mon/Wed/Fri or any alternating schedule

Training each muscle 3+ times per week consistently outperforms lower frequency approaches in hypertrophy research. FBEOD delivers this automatically. The structure forces compound movement prioritization, keeps sessions manageable, and produces the most even muscular development of any common split. For someone optimizing purely for muscle growth, this is the default recommendation.


[S TIER] Anterior / Posterior (AP Split)


The AP split divides the body into front-chain and back-chain sessions rather than the outdated push/pull/legs or body-part categorization. This approach is anatomically intelligent — it groups muscles by movement pattern and mechanical synergy.

• Anterior day: Quads, chest, front delts, biceps, abs
• Posterior day: Hamstrings, glutes, back, rear delts, triceps, calves
• Frequency: 2x per muscle at minimum; 4x on a 4-day schedule
• Overlap: Minimal — anterior and posterior groups do not significantly fatigue each other

The AP split produces exceptional structural balance and eliminates the common lagging posterior chain seen in bro splits. Because antagonist groups are trained on separate days, each session allows higher intensities on compound movements. On a 4-day AP schedule, you achieve near-optimal weekly frequency with clean recovery. It is also superior to PPL for upper-body development because it separates fatigue patterns more naturally than a push/pull division.

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FULL COMPARISON TABLE

Split	Freq/Muscle	Volume Ceiling	Recovery	Balance	Overall
FBEOD	3–4x	BEST	Excellent	Excellent	S Tier
Anterior/Posterior	2–4x	Very High	BEST	Excellent	S Tier
Upper/Lower (4-day)	2x	High	Good	Good	A Tier
PPL (6-day)	2x	High	Moderate	Moderate	A Tier
PPL (3-day)	1x	Moderate	Good	Moderate	B Tier
Upper/Lower (2-day)	1x	Low	Excellent	Good	B Tier
Bro Split (5-day)	1x	Moderate	Good	Poor	C Tier

NOTES ON COMMON SPLITS


Upper / Lower- Solid and well-supported. A 4-day upper/lower is a reliable A-tier option. It falls short of the top two primarily because it does not inherently optimize anterior/posterior chain balance the way AP does, and frequency is lower than FBEOD. Still a strong default for anyone training 4 days.


Push / Pull / Legs- PPL on 6 days gets reasonable frequency but is mechanically inferior to AP because the push/pull division creates compound fatigue overlap — shoulder fatigue from push days bleeds into pulling sessions in ways that AP separation avoids. The 3-day PPL cycle only hits each muscle once per week, which is functionally a bro split with extra steps.


Bro Split- One session per muscle per week is the single largest structural disadvantage a split can have. Protein synthesis in trained individuals peaks at 24–48 hours and largely returns to baseline by 72 hours. Waiting 7 days to restimulate a muscle leaves significant hypertrophic stimulus on the table every single week. It is not an effective choice for maximizing muscle growth regardless of in-session volume.

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WHICH TO RUN

3–4 days available → Run FBEOD. Most frequency-efficient split in existence. Three full body sessions per week outperforms nearly every other structure for intermediate-level muscle growth.

4–5 days available, prefer structure → Run Anterior/Posterior. Four days of AP gives you elite frequency, excellent balance, and clean recovery. The most anatomically intelligent split for a proportionate physique.

6+ days available → FBEOD or AP on an extended cycle, not a 6-day bro split. More days do not produce more growth if frequency per muscle is not increasing.

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SUMMARY
The research on training frequency is not ambiguous. Higher frequency within a recoverable volume range consistently produces superior hypertrophy outcomes. FBEOD and the AP split are the two structures best designed around this principle. Everything else involves meaningful tradeoffs that reduce their ceiling.

Scientific Literature used to back my claims:
(If you are interested in these, I can send more and more recent studies if ur interested lmk)
Schoenfeld, Brad J., Dan Ogborn, and James W. Krieger. "Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Journal of Sports Sciences, vol. 34, no. 13, 2016, pp. 1247–1253. PubMed, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27102172/.


Schoenfeld, Brad J., et al. "How Many Times per Week Should a Muscle Be Trained to Maximize Muscle Hypertrophy? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Studies Examining the Effects of Resistance Training Frequency." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 33, no. 7, 2019, pp. 1906–1914. PubMed, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30558493/.


Neves, Rodrigo P., et al. "Effect of Different Training Frequencies on Maximal Strength Performance and Muscle Hypertrophy in Trained Individuals — A Within-Subject Design." PLOS ONE, vol. 17, no. 10, 2022. PLOS ONE, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0276154.


Hamarsland, Håvard, et al. "Equal-Volume Strength Training With Different Training Frequencies Induces Similar Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Improvement in Trained Participants." Frontiers in Physiology, vol. 12, 2022, article 789403. Frontiers, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.789403/full.


Nishimura, Akihiro, et al. "Higher Training Frequency Is Important for Gaining Muscular Strength Under Volume-Matched Training." Frontiers in Physiology, vol. 9, 2018, article 744. Frontiers, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2018.00744/full.


Ralston, Grant W., et al. "The Effectiveness of Frequency-Based Resistance Training Protocols on Muscular Performance and Hypertrophy in Trained Males." Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, vol. 29, no. 7, 2020, pp. 1024–1032. Human Kinetics, https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jsr/29/7/article-p1024.xml.


Nuckols, Greg. "Training Frequency for Muscle Growth: What the Data Say." Stronger by Science, 26 Jan. 2020, https://www.strongerbyscience.com/frequency-muscle/.


Nuckols, Greg. "When and How to Increase Training Frequency." MASS Research Review, 15 Jan. 2024, https://massresearchreview.com/2024/01/15/when-and-how-to-increase-training-frequency/.

hope yall found this helpful, if you see any mistake or got any question, send me them.
(Note, I am new to posting and dont get this formatting shit so dont be surprised if I formatted this like a fucktard)

 

[kzch72]

Upper lower is way better than AP because it doesn't suffer as bad from overlaps.

 

[Malleable]

I wholly agree, but tbf it still depends how you program.

 

[chang cypionate]

Torso limbs split underrated.

 

[combatingNorwooding]

AP is definitely not S tier. I hate talking absolutes about splits in the gym but it’s objectively a bad split with crazy overlap.

Weekly volume: Easily 15–25+ sets per muscle across the week

Nigga HOW THE FUCK are you going to get 15-25 sets per week in FBeod without frying the fuck out of your CNS

The structure forces compound movement prioritization

Nigga as long as you’re not a minimalist/beginner in the gym you SHOULD NOT prioritize compounds in FBeod. This split is long asf, you want to reduce intra session fatigue as much as possible

The AP split divides the body into front-chain and back-chain sessions rather than the outdated push/pull/legs or body-part categorization. This approach is anatomically intelligent — it groups muscles by movement pattern and mechanical synergy.

i lowkey think PPL is better than AP. It I mean if someone is having more fun with AP then I definitely wouldn’t force him to change his split lol

Overlap: Minimal — anterior and posterior groups do not significantly fatigue each other

Of course they are

Triceps and chest? Biceps and back? Glutes and quads + adductors ? Brother

each session allows higher intensities on compound movements

This is so obviously AI, it’s always preaching compounds

It is also superior to PPL for upper-body development because it separates fatigue patterns more naturally than a push/pull division

it is superior to PPL for upper body but for different reasons. In PPL you have a whole day of lower body and in AP you don’t, that’s why you can put legs last in the session so you could prioritize upper body

Upper/Lower (4-day)

2x

High

Good

Good

A Tier

bro when he finds out you can get 3x frequency with UL

UL mogs the fuck of AP

Push / Pull / Legs- PPL on 6 days gets reasonable frequency but is mechanically inferior to AP because the push/pull division creates compound fatigue overlap —

shoulder fatigue from push days bleeds into pulling sessions in ways that AP separation avoids

. The 3-day PPL cycle only hits each muscle once per week, which is functionally a bro split with extra steps.

No fucking way you are talking about some overlap and say that AP is better since it has less overlap. AP is the split with THE MOST overlap bro wtf are you on.

shoulder fatigue from push days bleeds into pulling sessions in ways that AP separation avoids

How shoulder fatigue bleeds into pulling sessions exactly? How would that affect your pulling days lol.

The 3-day PPL cycle only hits each muscle once per week, which is functionally a bro split with extra steps.

Same with AP it hits each muscle group 1.5x per week if you go 3 times, is it better than 3 time PPL? Maybe, but what the fuck is that example?

If you have 4-5 days available run FBEOD/AP/UL

If 6+ times then UL/PPL or just what ever the fuck you want to.

There is not absolute in the gym, the gym is the last thing that is absolute, it’s individualized so a guide like this is stupid, there is no best split. Each split with 2x frequency is good so do what you enjoy

Torso limbs split underrated.

Crazy overlap

 

[Malleable]

AP is definitely not S tier. I hate talking absolutes about splits in the gym but it’s objectively a bad split with crazy overlap.

Nigga HOW THE FUCK are you going to get 15-25 sets per week in FBeod without frying the fuck out of your CNS

Nigga as long as you’re not a minimalist/beginner in the gym you SHOULD NOT prioritize compounds in FBeod. This split is long asf, you want to reduce intra session fatigue as much as possible

i lowkey think PPL is better than AP. It I mean if someone is having more fun with AP then I definitely wouldn’t force him to change his split lol

Of course they are

Triceps and chest? Biceps and back? Glutes and quads + adductors ? Brother
View attachment 4852764

This is so obviously AI, it’s always preaching compounds

it is superior to PPL for upper body but for different reasons. In PPL you have a whole day of lower body and in AP you don’t, that’s why you can put legs last in the session so you could prioritize upper body

bro when he finds out you can get 3x frequency with UL
View attachment 4852775
UL mogs the fuck of AP

No fucking way you are talking about some overlap and say that AP is better since it has less overlap. AP is the split with THE MOST overlap bro wtf are you on.

How shoulder fatigue bleeds into pulling sessions exactly? How would that affect your pulling days lol.

Same with AP it hits each muscle group 1.5x per week if you go 3 times, is it better than 3 time PPL? Maybe, but what the fuck is that example?
View attachment 4852798
If you have 4-5 days available run FBEOD/AP/UL

If 6+ times then UL/PPL or just what ever the fuck you want to.

There is not absolute in the gym, the gym is the last thing that is absolute, it’s individualized so a guide like this is stupid, there is no best split. Each split with 2x frequency is good so do what you enjoy

Crazy overlap

Fair points tbh. The overlap criticism on AP is valid I oversimplified it. Triceps show up on both days through pressing and rowing, and depending on how you program quads and glutes it gets messier than I made it sound. Should've addressed that instead of presenting it as a clean split. Just as a side note I did only just start running AP about a month and a half ago after FBEOD for a year

The CNS point on FBEOD I'd push back on bc that 15–25 sets is spread across the week, not per session, so a single session is usually 5–8 sets per muscle max. But the sessions running long is valid so mb.


UL deserved more credit too since an 6-day UL gets you 3x frequency and I basically buried it at A tier without explaining that properly. That ranking was lazy.


The no absolutes thing I agree with you I just wanted to make a punchier more bold thread ig? But yeah in the gym like you said there is no absolutes. Thanks for the feedback ill try and not make a low IQ post again brah

 

[combatingNorwooding]

The CNS point on FBEOD I'd push back on bc that 15–25 sets is spread across the week, not per session, so a single session is usually 5–8 sets per muscle max

I know it’s per week. Still a lot. 5-8 set per muscle (including or not including overlap) is TON of volume

5 is the maximum of sets you should do including overlap

 

[Malleable]

I know it’s per week. Still a lot. 5-8 set per muscle (including or not including overlap) is TON of volume

5 is the maximum of sets you should do including overlap

kinda offtopic but I got a question for FBEOD. Since I had already huge legs and now with a year of training their bigger, should I just cut down how much leg volume I do? I was thinking of only hitting it once per week as I recover slower on them, and then for the other days in the week I could hit the rest of the body, ie, the upper body. Thoughts? Since I don't really need more leg mass. So basically Full body, then Upper Upper Upper, etc. Until its time to hit the actual full body day again. This might be retarded but my legs can recover. Unless you suggest to still hit them with high frequency but lower intensity and how many leg excersises.

 

[combatingNorwooding]

kinda offtopic but I got a question for FBEOD. Since I had already huge legs and now with a year of training their bigger, should I just cut down how much leg volume I do? I was thinking of only hitting it once per week as I recover slower on them, and then for the other days in the week I could hit the rest of the body, ie, the upper body. Thoughts? Since I don't really need more leg mass. So basically Full body, then Upper Upper Upper, etc. Until its time to hit the actual full body day again. This might be retarded but my legs can recover. Unless you suggest to still hit them with high frequency but lower intensity and how many leg excersises.

Didn’t you say you are on AP right now?

 

[Malleable]

What you stated earlier makes me want to go back to FBEOD But tweaked. Plus AP I was planning on ending in a week as im approaching the 2 month mark.

 

[combatingNorwooding]

What you stated earlier makes me want to go back to FBEOD But tweaked. Plus AP I was planning on ending in a week as im approaching the 2 month mark.

Why are you stopping AP because you’re approaching the 2 months mark I’m confused ?

also yes if you do FBeod then do legs every 2 sessions

 

[Malleable]

Why are you stopping AP because you’re approaching the 2 months mark I’m confused ?

also yes if you do FBeod then do legs every 2 sessions

I have not been recovering well and sessions go on too long + I am not having fun and I simply enjoy FBEOD more