4 Day Workout Split – The Complete Guide 2025

What is the 4 Day Split?

The 4-day workout split is a training plan that involves four weekly gym sessions, each targeting a specific set of muscles. It tries to maximize exertion on the target muscle groups while allowing other muscles to recover on days when they aren’t being used.

(It’s also worth checking out the 2-day or 3-day workout split if having only two or three workouts per week fits your schedule better, or our 5-day workout split if you prefer more frequent training.)

In this article, we’ll break down common variations of the 4-day split workout, including sample routines. We’ll also help you figure out if the 4-day split is a good fit for your workout routine.

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Popular 4-Day Workout Split Variations

4-Day Upper/Lower Split

The upper/lower 4-day split divides the four workout sessions into two days of upper-body training and two days of lower-body training. This makes upper/lower a good 4-day split for hitting muscles twice a week, which has been shown to result in significantly greater muscle growth compared to working each muscle group just once a week (see the bro split).

The idea is to exert one half of your body while the other half rests. Remember, rest days are just as important as gym days.

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Push/Pull/Legs 4-Day Split

Push/pull/legs is similar to the upper/lower split and offers many of the same benefits.

Push days include exercises where you’re pushing (like the bench press) and generally target the muscles in the front of your body. Pull days include exercises that involve pulling (such as pull-ups and rows) and generally target the back of the body. Leg days are just that – days where you train the muscles below the waist.

Push Day Muscle Groups: Chest, shoulders, and triceps
Pull Day Muscle Groups: Entire back, biceps, and obliques
Leg Day Muscle Groups: Glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, and calves

The biggest benefit of a push/pull/legs split is that you’re able to maximize weekly set count for all your major muscle groups because you’re working them out twice a week. There is a lot of research that shows targeting the same muscle group multiple times per week is optimal for muscle recovery.

Here is a 3-day push/pull/legs split:

(Click here and tap the blue Save Folder button to save this split to your Hevy profile.)

This is a 3-day split, but we can schedule it so that we train four times a week. Here’s one example:

Week 1:

• Monday – Push
• Tuesday – Pull
• Wednesday – off
• Thursday – Legs
• Friday – off
• Saturday – Push
• Sunday – off

Week 2:

• Monday – Pull
• Tuesday – off
• Wednesday – Legs
• Thursday – Push
• Friday – off
• Saturday – Pull
• Sunday – off

Week 3:

• Monday – Legs
• Tuesday – off
• Wednesday – Push
• Thursday – Pull
• Friday – off
• Saturday – Legs
• Sunday – off

Repeat.

Looking for more push/pull/legs split ideas? Download the Hevy app, open the routine library (Workout tab > Explore), and browse 25+ training plans for all levels. See each program’s details and save the ones you like to your profile to use anytime.

Classic Bodybuilder 4-Day Bro Split

The classic bodybuilder split (sometimes called the bro split) is the meat and potatoes of four-day splits. It involves training a specific isolated muscle group in each workout. It generally divides the sessions into the back, chest, arms, and legs (quads, hamstrings, outer and inner thighs). 

It allows you to focus entirely on a small set of muscles per session and gives a full week of recovery for each muscle group. A major benefit of focusing on a single muscle group per session is that you can give priority to weaker muscle groups.

In recent years, a lot of research has been done that calls into question the effectiveness of working out a single muscle per workout. Regardless of the controversy, the classic bodybuilder split is a tried-and-true method that extremely successful lifters swear by for results.

(Click here and tap the blue Save Folder button to save this split to your Hevy profile.)

Full Body 4-Day Workout Split

Full body training is generally considered ideal when working out one to three times per week, but it can also work for higher training frequencies. It’s not inherently superior to other options, but you can try it if you’re looking for a new way to approach your weekly schedule. 

One advantage is that you train each muscle with less volume in any given workout, which means no body part ever feels excessively sore or exhausted.

But by hitting each muscle in a fresh and recovered state, your set-to-set performance improves and you’re able to do more sets and reps with a heavier load and better technique, arguably promoting slightly better muscle growth in the long run.

Here is what a sample 4-day full-body plan could look like:

(Click here and tap the blue Save Folder button to save this split to your Hevy profile.)

Is a 4 Day Split Workout For Me?

Working out 4 days a week gives you plenty of time in the gym to build a balanced routine that engages all parts of the body. It plays especially well with upper/lower and push/pull/leg type splits because it gives you a balanced two days for each variation.

It also gives you a good balance of exertion versus rest days, which is important for avoiding overtraining. 

In a 4-day split, you can get away with shorter sessions than you can in the 3-day split, just because you have that extra day to train. Shorter sessions mean you can focus more on quality sets, which is impossible if you’re trying to cram too much stuff into a single workout.

Looking for 4-day workout split ideas? Hevy’s routine library has multiple options for beginners, intermediate-level lifters, and advanced trainees.

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Conclusion

Using a four-day split is a great way to get results and bring your workout routine to the next level. Whether you choose an upper/lower, push/pull/legs, or classic bodybuilder split, the most important thing for results is consistency.

Pick a plan that you enjoy, and don’t be afraid to switch it up after a while if you start getting bored. If you feel like tracking your workouts, be sure to check out Hevy.