Tom Mutaffis 3-Day Split

[Panzertitz]

I have seen a number of posts lately regarding 3-day training splits and wanted to share a program that I put together which has worked well for me.

Monday: Pulling (Back/Biceps/Deadlift)
- Deadlifts (3 sets)
- Chins (3 sets)
- One-Arm Dumbbell Rows (2 sets)
- Close Grip Pulldowns (2 sets)
- Barbell Curls (2 sets)
- Hammer Curls (1 set)

Wednesday: Pushing (Chest/Shoulders/Triceps)
- Flat Dumbbell Bench Press (3 Sets)
- Incline Barbell Bench Press (2 sets)
- Dips (2 sets)
- Seated Dumbbell Military Press (3 sets)
- Overhead Dumbbell Extension (2 sets)
- Side Laterals (2 sets)
- Pushdowns (2 sets)
- Cable Crossover / Pec Deck (1 set)

Friday: Lower Body (Legs)
- Squats (4 sets)
- Strait Leg Deadlifts (2 sets)
- Walking Lunges (2 sets)
- Leg Curl / Feet High Leg Press Superset (2 sets)
- Calf Raises (3 sets)

For initial compound movement in each workout I generally work in the 3-5 rep range. For the next compound movement I typically go with 5-8 reps, and then I finish the rest of the workout (accessory/isolation movements) in the 8-12 rep range.

On some of the smaller muscle groups (deltoids, biceps, triceps) I will generally perform drop sets.

I had this split before, then I went to a personal trainer. He told me that this split is good, but if you want muscle quick, it is not optimal because it is good if you stimulate the muscle more then 1 time/week. Also it is going to be more difficult to improve your lifting stats, for example your deadlift or squat. He shared a similar program, it is a three day split. This should be better, according to him.

Monday: Back, legs, biceps. (deadlift, squat, chins etc.)
Wednesday: Chest, triceps, shoulders, abs. (bench press, military press etc.)
Friday: Full body (deadlift, benchpress, squat, chins, military press etc.)

Good program though! Thank you

[RyanSOS]

I had this split before, then I went to a personal trainer. He told me that this split is good, but if you want muscle quick, it is not optimal because it is good if you stimulate the muscle more then 1 time/week. Also it is going to be more difficult to improve your lifting stats, for example your deadlift or squat. He shared a similar program, it is a three day split. This should be better, according to him.

Monday: Back, legs, biceps. (deadlift, squat, chins etc.)
Wednesday: Chest, triceps, shoulders, abs. (bench press, military press etc.)
Friday: Full body (deadlift, benchpress, squat, chins, military press etc.)

Good program though! Thank you

I do something similar except that I never do a full body workout.

Day 1: Back, Legs, Biceps (15 sets total)
Day 2: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps (15 sets total)

[mljs54]

There is a 4/5 Day split posted earlier in the thread...

Template:

Monday: Back
Tuesday: Chest
Wednesday: Cardio / Abs / Stretching
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Arms / Shoulders

Specific Workouts:

Back:
- Deadlift: (2) sets of 2-5 reps
- Chins / Assisted Chins: (3-5) sets / goal of 25 total chins, 50 for advanced.
- T-Bar Rows: (2) sets of 5-8 reps
- Close Grip V-Bar Pulldown / (Superset) / Seated V-Bar Row: (2) sets of 8-10 reps each.
- One Arm DB Rows /or/ Underhand Barbell Rows: (2) sets of 10-15

Chest:
- Incline Bench Press: (3) sets, 3-8 reps
- Flat Dumbbell Bench Press: (2) sets of 10
- Decline Flyes: (1) sets of 12
- Hammer Strength Incline Press: (2) sets of 8
- Cable Crossover: (2) sets of 12

Legs:
- Squats: (3) sets of 5-8 reps
- Standing Lunges: (3) sets of 8-10 reps
- Stiff Leg Deadlift: (3) sets of 8-10 reps
- Superset: Option 1: Leg Extension / Leg Curl: (2) sets of 10-15 reps each
Option 2: Hack Squat / Leg Press: (2) sets of 10-15 reps each

Arms & Shoulders:
- Seated DB Military Press: (3) sets of 5-10 reps
- Dips / Weighted Dips: (2) sets of 8-10 reps
- Barbell Curls: (2) sets of 8-10 reps
- Overhead DB or Barbell Extension: (2) sets of 8-10 reps
- Lateral Raise / Front Raise Superset: (2) sets
- Close Grip Bench / Pushdown Superset: (2) sets
- Preacher Curl / Hammer Curl Superset: (2) sets

**I would recommend that you typically perform deadlifts every other week.

Hi Tom,

I'm really liking the 4 day split routine. Have a few questions:

1) I'm coming off 10 weeks of StrongLifts as I really need a change of routine after hitting a wall in a number of lifts... Squats in particular - squatting 3x a week tore me apart in wk 9/10. My goal is to increase bench (185) and squat (175, but I basically started with the bar back in Aug) and put on more mass. Any tips/subs you'd make for those two lifts?

2) Can I make the following subs (basically would love to keep doing the same BB exercises I was doing before - but let me know if they would not work with your split):
- DB bench press for BB bench press
- T Bar Rowe for BB bent over row
- Seated military press for standing BB shoulder press
- Cable Crossover - anything else I can do in place? Asking b/c this machine is broken 95% of the time at my gym


Thanks in advance

[TomMutaffis]

Thanks for the help Tom.
Will be starting your program on Monday.
I will report back in about a month to tell you about my gains.

Sounds good, hope it works out for you!

Hi tom, been training for 4 years now. Not very strong squat 300, bench 250, deadlift 315 never trained for strenght more for hypertrophy.

question for your 3 way splitt push pull leg. does that mean that you have 4 day off a week?

could i do something like:

pull
push
off
leg
off
repeat

or pull,push,leg,off,repeat

or you really thing that we only should train 3 day a week?

I would try to get at least two days off per week, but it all depends on how advanced you are and how well you can recover from workouts. If you wanted to do Push-Pull-Legs-Off and continue repeating you may need to modify some of the workouts or alternate between 'heavy' sessions and 'volume' sessions to avoid stalling, but it could work well especially if you are targeting more hypertrophy (size) than strength.

If your primary goal is strength then 3-4 days per week is going to be optimal for the vast majority.

Sorry if you have already answered this but will this be a good mass building program?
Thanks

Yes, this program can be used for mass building but if you want to put on size you need to make sure that your consuming enough food to grow.

[TomMutaffis]

Hey Tom, great stuff here.

I am a beginner that's been lifting with a 3 day split for a couple months now, quick question regarding the 4 day program-

Would it matter if I eliminated the cardio completely and just did it like this?
Day 1:Back
Day 2:Chest
Day 3:Legs
Day 4:Arms/shoulders

Also, this would give me 3 days off which seems like over-doing the resting time, would it be over-training if I did the above 4 day program with one rest day after day 4 and then resumed day 1? This would give me one rest day per week.

Thanks in advance.

I would put a rest day in the middle to optimize your gains and allow you to recover effectively. If you are training hard the additional rest days will be very beneficial:

Day 1: Back
Day 2: Chest
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Legs
Day 5: Arms/shoulders
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Repeat Day 1
Day 8: Repeat Day 2
Day 9: Repeat Day 3 (Rest)
Day 10: Repeat Day 4...

is it ok to do pull/push/leg/rest and repeat for 2x frequency?

Pull
- Deadlift
- Rows
- Pull up
- Chin up
- Bicep curl

Push
- Bench press
- Incline bench press or flyes
- Overhead press
- Upright rows
- Skull crusher

Leg
- Squat
- Romanian DL or SLDL
- Lunges
- Weighted crunches
- Standing calf raise
- Seated calf raise

This would have you training 6 days in a row with only one day of rest per week. I would recommend resting two days per week, so if you wanted to you could go with the three training sessions in a row and then a rest session and repeat - this would have you resting one day per week one week alternating with two days per week the next week.

Training more frequently is not the key to progress - training hard and following an intelligent program will give you better gains than the individual who simply trains everyday.

[InspecktaDeck]

Oh tom you strong SOB. Love watching your rediculous vids in the pl section.

[durgaprasadzone]

Thanks for sharing information. Actually I had also the same question in mind for a long time anyways you started

this thread & I am so happy.

[RyanSOS]

Training more frequently is not the key to progress - training hard and following an intelligent program will give you better gains than the individual who simply trains everyday.

I totally agree with you, but I know for a fact that my body responds better to 2x a week frequency per muscle group.

would this push\pull split would be okay? (excluding legs I like to do them in my pull day)

Push Day
Barbell Bench Press 6-10x3
Dumbbell Bench Press 6-10x3
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 6-10x3
Side Laterals 10-15x3 (Drop Sets)
Cable Push-downs 10-15x3 (Drop sets)

Pull Day + Legs

Squats 10-20x3
Calves 10-20x2
Bent Over Rows or Deadlifts 6-10x3
Chins Failurex3
Pull Downs 6-10x2
Biceps Curls 10-15x3 (Drop Sets)

Would this routine ABA\BAB style 3 days a week in the gym would be okay?

or If not could you please make a push\pull Split?

I'd really appreciate it if you post one. Thanks in advance.

[TomMutaffis]

Hey OP.

Do you reccomend this while cutting? and is it possible to add a 4th day?

I also cant do Dips/Barbell bench work because I have RC issues .. How would I work around that? I'm fine with DB's though.

Pls respond

The 3-day split could be used by someone who is looking to improve body composition or lose weight, although I would scale back some of the intensity (do not take every set to failure) and would add in some HIIT cardiovascular training.

Since you are working around an injury I would go with any similar movements that allow you to train without furthering the injury. If you want to replace barbell movements with dumbbells that would definitely work, and the dips could be replaced by close grip bench press, overhead barbell extensions, or skull crushers.

Here is a 4/5 day split that is similar and may align better with what you are looking for:

Training Template:

Monday: Back
Tuesday: Chest
Wednesday: Cardio / Abs / Stretching
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Arms / Shoulders

Specific Workouts:

Back:
- Deadlift: (2) sets of 2-5 reps
- Chins / Assisted Chins: (3-5) sets / goal of 25 total chins, 50 for advanced.
- T-Bar Rows: (2) sets of 5-8 reps
- Close Grip V-Bar Pulldown / (Superset) / Seated V-Bar Row: (2) sets of 8-10 reps each.
- One Arm DB Rows /or/ Underhand Barbell Rows: (2) sets of 10-15

Chest:
- Incline Bench Press: (3) sets, 3-8 reps
- Flat Dumbbell Bench Press: (2) sets of 10
- Decline Flyes: (1) sets of 12
- Hammer Strength Incline Press: (2) sets of 8
- Cable Crossover: (2) sets of 12

Legs:
- Squats: (3) sets of 5-8 reps
- Standing Lunges: (3) sets of 8-10 reps
- Stiff Leg Deadlift: (3) sets of 8-10 reps
- Superset: Option 1: Leg Extension / Leg Curl: (2) sets of 10-15 reps each
Option 2: Hack Squat / Leg Press: (2) sets of 10-15 reps each

Arms & Shoulders:
- Seated DB Military Press: (3) sets of 5-10 reps
- Dips / Weighted Dips: (2) sets of 8-10 reps
- Barbell Curls: (2) sets of 8-10 reps
- Overhead DB or Barbell Extension: (2) sets of 8-10 reps
- Lateral Raise / Front Raise Superset: (2) sets
- Close Grip Bench / Pushdown Superset: (2) sets
- Preacher Curl / Hammer Curl Superset: (2) sets

**I typically perform deadlifts every other week.

[TomMutaffis]

Tom,
Concerning the routine you put on the first page,
how close to failure should I go with each sets?
Thanks.

In most cases I would perform one set to failure per exercise for compound movements and all sets to failure on isolation movements. If you are performing a super-set or drop-set then I would leave a bit in the tank on the first movement/set and then use the second movement/set to reach failure.

[Glremme]

Hi Tom,

Due to an injury to the muscles and tendons in both my hip joints and muscles I will be unable to do any lifts involving hip rotation for atleast 3-6 months. This means no deadlifts, squats or legwork in general. So far I've been lifting for about 6 months doing a 3 day split focusing on the major compounds on an a/b rotation.

D'you reckon I could use your routine, omitting the leg day and putting the other two work outs on an a/b routine? Also, I'm scared that due to leaving out deadlifts I won't be hitting my lower back enough, do you have any suggestions?

Edit:

I'd like to do some hypertrophy training for the months coming.

I'm also wondering how many (if any) warm up sets you do before getting to your work sets?

[20vcanuck]

Hi, I recently decided to give this program a go after a long time on 5x5.

My question is..
are the sets listed on page one work sets? Do I do some warmup sets then do my two sets for the same weight

Ex bench
135x12
165x8
205x4
235x5
235x5
235x5

Any so on? Please clarify thanks!

[hypreme]

I have seen a number of posts lately regarding 3-day training splits and wanted to share a program that I put together which has worked well for me.

Monday: Pulling (Back/Biceps/Deadlift)
- Deadlifts (3 sets)
- Chins (3 sets)
- One-Arm Dumbbell Rows (2 sets)
- Close Grip Pulldowns (2 sets)
- Barbell Curls (2 sets)
- Hammer Curls (1 set)

Wednesday: Pushing (Chest/Shoulders/Triceps)
- Flat Dumbbell Bench Press (3 Sets)
- Incline Barbell Bench Press (2 sets)
- Dips (2 sets)
- Seated Dumbbell Military Press (3 sets)
- Overhead Dumbbell Extension (2 sets)
- Side Laterals (2 sets)
- Pushdowns (2 sets)
- Cable Crossover / Pec Deck (1 set)

Friday: Lower Body (Legs)
- Squats (4 sets)
- Strait Leg Deadlifts (2 sets)
- Walking Lunges (2 sets)
- Leg Curl / Feet High Leg Press Superset (2 sets)
- Calf Raises (3 sets)

For initial compound movement in each workout I generally work in the 3-5 rep range. For the next compound movement I typically go with 5-8 reps, and then I finish the rest of the workout (accessory/isolation movements) in the 8-12 rep range.

On some of the smaller muscle groups (deltoids, biceps, triceps) I will generally perform drop sets.

Hi Tom,

I'm about to start this routine and I cannot wait, however, I just have a few questions if you don't mind.

1. I was wondering what the weight progression should be like? Would it be a linear progression focusing on upping compound movements every workout like SS? Or is it just touch-and-go trying to increase weight for all exercises whenever you feel able to?

2. Would it be alright if I reallocated shoulder work to leg day? Or would it be best to keep it on chest/tri day?

3. Is there any substitute for overhead dumbbell extension? I don't feel flexible enough to do them properly yet.

[TomMutaffis]

Responses below in bold:

Hi Tom,

I'm about to start this routine and I cannot wait, however, I just have a few questions if you don't mind.

1. I was wondering what the weight progression should be like? Would it be a linear progression focusing on upping compound movements every workout like SS? Or is it just touch-and-go trying to increase weight for all exercises whenever you feel able to?

My recommendation would be auto-regulation rather than forced progression - if you feel strong then train heavy and go for a new PR. If you are feeling a bit 'off' then simply pick a weight that is challenging but manageable.

2. Would it be alright if I reallocated shoulder work to leg day? Or would it be best to keep it on chest/tri day?

I would keep all of the pressing on the same day, and relocating the shoulder movements to Friday would have you training DB military press with fatigued triceps which would not allow you to get the most out of the movement. If you want to focus on your deltoids then you could move those exercises to the beginning of the workout on Wednesday to prioritize them. You could also throw in some laterals (raises) on Saturday if you wanted some additional deltoids work.

3. Is there any substitute for overhead dumbbell extension? I don't feel flexible enough to do them properly yet.

Sure, there are plenty of other options. You can perform overhead extensions with a barbell or cable (using the low pulley) or you could perform incline skull crushers with a barbell or pair of dumbbells.

[TomMutaffis]

Hi Tom,

Due to an injury to the muscles and tendons in both my hip joints and muscles I will be unable to do any lifts involving hip rotation for atleast 3-6 months. This means no deadlifts, squats or legwork in general. So far I've been lifting for about 6 months doing a 3 day split focusing on the major compounds on an a/b rotation.

D'you reckon I could use your routine, omitting the leg day and putting the other two work outs on an a/b routine? Also, I'm scared that due to leaving out deadlifts I won't be hitting my lower back enough, do you have any suggestions?

Edit:

I'd like to do some hypertrophy training for the months coming.

I'm also wondering how many (if any) warm up sets you do before getting to your work sets?

I would just go with a simple 3-day split something like this:

- Back
- Chest
- Arms & Shoulders

If you wanted to increase the frequency then you could group Back + Biceps and Chest + Shoulders + Triceps and do the A/B rotation just like you have been.

[DongDingDong]

Been following this program for a couple of weeks now, pretty good gains. Thanks!

[tagan1]

This would have you training 6 days in a row with only one day of rest per week. I would recommend resting two days per week, so if you wanted to you could go with the three training sessions in a row and then a rest session and repeat - this would have you resting one day per week one week alternating with two days per week the next week.

Training more frequently is not the key to progress - training hard and following an intelligent program will give you better gains than the individual who simply trains everyday.

Then what you recommend?

Leg / Push / Rest / Pull / Rest. And repeat?

[Pord]

"For initial compound movement in each workout I generally work in the 3-5 rep range. For the next compound movement I typically go with 5-8 reps, and then I finish the rest of the workout (accessory/isolation movements) in the 8-12 rep range."

^ So which lifts are 3-5, which are 5-8, and which are 8-12? I know it says compound, next compound, and Iso, but which are those exactly?

Thanks.

[Retardo-pex]

Sorry if you have already answered this, but when it comes to hybrid routines like these that are desinged to improve strength hypertrophy and conditioning, would you recommend certain forms over others? I ask because while competing I am much stronger with lower bar wider stance squats as well as sumo deadlifts, but I always wonder if I should focus more on conventional deadlifting and high bar or even full olympic style squats as I have no plans of competing anytime soon.

[Sen8or]

Hi Tom,

Been doing this for about 6 weeks now, really liking it

With the deadlifts, is the 3x5 working sets. I have been doing it this way, but the weight is now getting heavy (for me) and 3 sets seems a lot at full weight

Thanks
Sen

[wolfparade]

About the 3-day split in the opening post: Can I change 'Close Grip Pulldowns' with some other exercise? The gym I go has a pulldown machine, but it don't let me adjust the seat low enough to be able to extend my arms fully when returning to the starting position (if that made any sense). What exercise should I do instead, the 'Narrow-Grip Seated Row" perhaps?

[TomMutaffis]

"For initial compound movement in each workout I generally work in the 3-5 rep range. For the next compound movement I typically go with 5-8 reps, and then I finish the rest of the workout (accessory/isolation movements) in the 8-12 rep range."

^ So which lifts are 3-5, which are 5-8, and which are 8-12? I know it says compound, next compound, and Iso, but which are those exactly?

Thanks.

Compound movements are exercises that train multiple muscle groups, typically barbell or dumbbell exercises. Isolation or accessory movements would be a movement that trains one muscle group, or a movement that is not a primary focus for size/strength (typically machines, dumbbell isolation movements, etc.).

Hope this helps.

[TomMutaffis]

Sorry if you have already answered this, but when it comes to hybrid routines like these that are desinged to improve strength hypertrophy and conditioning, would you recommend certain forms over others? I ask because while competing I am much stronger with lower bar wider stance squats as well as sumo deadlifts, but I always wonder if I should focus more on conventional deadlifting and high bar or even full olympic style squats as I have no plans of competing anytime soon.

My recommendation would be to work in as much variation as you can - not only will this keep your more balanced and well rounded but it will allow some recovery time from the movements where you are strongest. What I mean is that if you squat low bar and wide stance you may squat 500 lbs and really hammer your hips/hamstrings/glutes, but if you squat 'oly style' that may drop the bar weight to 425 lbs and place more focus on your quads. Not only does this develop a well-rounded lower body but the lightened overall loads will keep you from 'burning out' with regard to your CNS or supporting structure (low back, etc.).

When I started competing in strongman I made consistent (but moderate) gains on my deadlift over the course of about 3 years by only deadlifting maybe 1-2 times per month, and instead just building my overall lower body with strongman events, accessory movements, and other gym lifts.

Hope this is helpful in planning your routine.

[TomMutaffis]

Hi Tom,

Been doing this for about 6 weeks now, really liking it

With the deadlifts, is the 3x5 working sets. I have been doing it this way, but the weight is now getting heavy (for me) and 3 sets seems a lot at full weight

Thanks
Sen

Sen - Glad to hear that you like the program so far. With deadlifting I would ramp up and still perform 'working sets' but only one set that is at or near failure. If your max deadlift is 405 lbs x 5 then you might do something like 325 lbs x 5, 360 lbs x 5, 385-395 lbs x 5.

Hope this helps.

[TomMutaffis]

About the 3-day split in the opening post: Can I change 'Close Grip Pulldowns' with some other exercise? The gym I go has a pulldown machine, but it don't let me adjust the seat low enough to be able to extend my arms fully when returning to the starting position (if that made any sense). What exercise should I do instead, the 'Narrow-Grip Seated Row" perhaps?

Would you be able to take the V-Bar and put it on a pull-up bar to do close grip pull-up's? (or just use a multi-grip pull-up bar if your gym has one)

If not then I would swap in a Hammer Strength Machine if that is an option.

[Sen8or]

Thanks for that Tom. So far I have been using the starting strength template for warmup reps, 2x5@20%, 1x3@50% and 1x2@75% of working weight, then ramping working weight up by 5kgs every set (so week 1 was say 60/65/70) kgs, then week 2, 65/70/75 and so on).

Sounds like I need to broaden the gap a wee bit with just 1 "heavy" set at the end near my max.

[Swamp Dog]

I was just thinking about a good three day split.
I think I found it, thanks Tom.

[TomMutaffis]

Thanks for that Tom. So far I have been using the starting strength template for warmup reps, 2x5@20%, 1x3@50% and 1x2@75% of working weight, then ramping working weight up by 5kgs every set (so week 1 was say 60/65/70) kgs, then week 2, 65/70/75 and so on).

Sounds like I need to broaden the gap a wee bit with just 1 "heavy" set at the end near my max.

It varies from person to person but I have seen the best results in myself and others who I have trained with when we ramp up to one 'max effort' set (whether it be 1 rep or 10 reps) but add in some additional volume as well to build muscle, improve 'conditioning, etc.

I was just thinking about a good three day split.
I think I found it, thanks Tom.

Good luck with the program! Let me know if you have any questions or anything that you would like to discuss.

[Iceman1800]

I had this split before, then I went to a personal trainer. He told me that this split is good, but if you want muscle quick, it is not optimal because it is good if you stimulate the muscle more then 1 time/week. Also it is going to be more difficult to improve your lifting stats, for example your deadlift or squat. He shared a similar program, it is a three day split. This should be better, according to him.

Monday: Back, legs, biceps. (deadlift, squat, chins etc.)
Wednesday: Chest, triceps, shoulders, abs. (bench press, military press etc.)
Friday: Full body (deadlift, benchpress, squat, chins, military press etc.)

Good program though! Thank you

LOL! Tom is a professional LW strongman. I'd take his advice over a personal trainer any day of the week. Your choice

[Swamp Dog]

Good luck with the program! Let me know if you have any questions or anything that you would like to discuss.

Thanks a lot!
I just did leg day.
I don't have access to a leg press machine so I subbed that movement with front squats. What are your thoughts on that?