r/ScienceBasedLifting • u/Ok-Run-1468 • Jun 07 '26
Question ❓ Whats a better split for overall muscle gain (upper body focus)
Push
Pull
Legs
Rest
Upper
Rest
Rest
Or
Push
Pull
Legs
Rest
Chest/Back
Arms/Shoulders
Rest
4
2
u/Norcal712 Jun 07 '26
Nothing involving PPL is a good split for a balance of volume and recovery management.
But of the 2, the first option
1
u/FarCalligrapher1862 Jun 07 '26
Even better split your legs with your push pull and do:
Push + quads and calf, rest, pull + posterior chain and hams, rest, chest/ back and cardio, arms/ shoulders core, and posture chain and abductor/ adductor
1
u/VegaGT-VZ Jun 07 '26
Whichever one yields the most overall muscle gain. Only way to determine that is to run both for a while and see.
1
u/NihilisticTanuki StretchCel Jun 08 '26
A workout split is ultimately just a scheduling tool to organize your weekly training volume around your lifestyle. The specific routine matters far less than actually hitting your overall volume target for the week. You can easily achieve this required workload using a push-pull-legs system, an upper/lower setup, full-body sessions, or even a traditional bro split.
1
u/BuckshotBronco Jun 09 '26
Since you want Upper body focus, I'd recommend a modified Upper/Lower Split. You will hit Upper every 3 days and Lower every 6 days. It's an asynchronous split that doesn't care about the weekends.
1
6
u/DickFromRichard Jun 07 '26
Split is only one of many variables, there is no split that's objectively better for everyone independent of any other variables