There are many people who go to the gym and lift weights without following any thing more than a simple split.
While a split can certainly make you gains and even training without any plan or split can also make you gains, these are not optimal approaches to accomplishing your physique and strength goals.
The main advantages of following a training program are periodization, variance in exercises, more control over strength gains, consistent progress, and higher accountability.
These are all reasons that programs facilitate muscle growth more than just doing workouts randomly. These advantages can all be summarized in that they help consistently apply progressive overload so long as you stick to the program you have written.
Is Periodization Important for Making Gains?
Periodization is the method of splitting up your training into segments that focus on different reps per set and thus provide slightly different muscular responses.
By following a program which has periodization, this will allow you to progress in different rep ranges in different exercises over a structured time period. Progressive overload should occur in different rep ranges since that will allow hypertrophy to take place over the full spectrum of muscle fibers.
It is not necessary for building muscle but as you become more experienced with lifting and have been working out for longer amounts of time, the smaller details such as equal progression across rep ranges and stimulation of different muscular fiber types becomes important.
How Many Periods Should a Training Program Have?
There is no minimum or maximum requirement for how many periods to have in a training program. Generally, it is standard to have at least 3 periods in a program and 3-5 is the typical range.
The periods in a program should last at least 2-3 weeks and be done long enough to see strength progress in each exercise within that rep range.
An Example of a Period in a Program
This is an example for what a period could like in a program. There are 6 total days that repeat for whatever the duration of the period is being done for. This program follows the push-pull-leg split and gives variance in exercises by having multiple push, pull, and leg days but also ensures that there will be progression in individual exercises at individual rep ranges.
BB stands for barbell, DB stands for dumbbell, Inc stands for incline, Lat stands for lateral, Bi stands for bicep, Tri stands for tricep, Ham stands for hamstring, and Ext stands for extension. The tricep, bicep, and calf isolation exercises at the end of the workouts can be exchanged for other variations since it is less crucial for progress to be tracked with accessory exercises.
There are 15-20 sets done each day which is a good amount of volume. This period could be repeated once per week with 1 rest day at the end of every week. After 3-4 weeks of following this period, you could move onto the next one. Three periods such as these could constitute a training program lasting for 12-15 weeks.
This example is rough and not tailored to you as an individual. It is only meant to serve as a sample for how a period could generally look rather than an ideal partial program for training. This example also does not include RPE’s and warmups for the workouts which should also be included when writing a period for a program.
| Day | Exercise | Sets and Reps |
| Day 1A (push) | BB Press DB Chest Fly Overhead Press Lat. Raise Tri. Extension | 4 sets x 12 reps 3 sets x 8 reps 4 sets x 8 reps 5 sets x 12 reps 3 sets x 8 reps |
| Day 2A (pull) | Con. Deadlift BB Row Lat. Pulldown DB Shrug Bi. Curl | 5 sets x 8 reps 3 reps x 12 reps 4 sets x 8 reps 3 sets x 10 reps 3 sets x 12 reps |
| Day 3A (leg) | BB Squat Leg Press Leg Ext. Ham. Curl BB Calf Raise | 4 sets x 10 reps 5 sets x 8 reps 3 sets x 10 reps 3 sets x 12 reps 4 sets x 12 reps |
| Day 1B (push) | BB Press Inc. DB Press Seated DB Overhead Press Lat. Raise Skullcrusher | 4 sets x 6 reps 5 sets x 8 reps 3 sets x 12 reps 3 sets x 10 reps 4 sets x 10 reps |
| Day 2B (pull) | Sumo Deadlift BB Row Weighted Pull-Up Rear Delt. Fly EZ Bar Bi. Curl | 4 sets x 8 reps 5 sets x 6 reps 3 sets x 10 reps 5 sets x 8 reps 3 sets x 8 reps |
| Day 3B (leg) | BB Squat Hip Thrust Leg Ext. Ham. Curl Mach. Calf Raise | 5 sets x 8 reps 3 sets x 12 reps 4 sets x 6 reps 5 reps x 6 reps 3 sets x 10 reps |
What Needs To Be included in a Training Program?
When writing a training program, the main things that need to be included are periods, days, number of period revolutions, exercises, sets, reps, RPE’s, and lengths of time for the workouts, revolutions, and periods.
RPE’s are the rates of perceived exertion for each set of all the exercises in a program. Higher RPE’s with lower reps are better for building strength whereas lower RPE’s with higher reps are better for building endurance. They both should be used to ensure maximal gains when weightlifting.
Overview
When writing a program for yourself there are a few elements that need to be included. There needs to be periods, revolutions of the period, different exercises, different sets and rep ranges, RPE’s, and durations of the periods and workouts.
Use the sample period to give a basic idea of how a period can look then add RPE’s (higher RPE for lower reps and lower RPE for higher reps) for the exercises and construct additional periods with emphases on different muscle groups and with varying volumes.
For more on training, such as how to quickly make progress in pull-ups and how to keep gains while traveling, click here.
