A Year’s Worth Of Workouts: Building Up One Month At A Time!
By: Todd Opheim
MONTH #4 - 3 Months Down, Time For the 3 Day Split!
Congratulations, you've made it to Month 4. You've learned a wide variety of exercises
and have perfected their form. You've progressed from the one day full body system to
the two day split. You've made significant improvements in your body at this point. You
should be looking and feeling better from head to toe. You should have gained a
respectable amount of muscle at this point, and you haven't had to kill yourself getting
here. So, what next? It is now time for the three day split. Here are the details.
1. You will take your two day split system and divide it further into three days. In other
words it will now take three workouts to complete your entire body. It will be split into
two upper body workouts (day #1- back and biceps, day #2-chest, shoulders, and triceps)
and one leg workout (day #3- legs, calves, and abs). This workout split is known in
bodybuilding circles as the push/pull system, as you are working the push muscles one
day and the pull muscles on another day.
2. You will now workout 4 times per week rather than 3. The optimal split would be
Monday on, Tuesday on, Wednesday off, Thursday on, Friday on, Saturday off, and
Sunday off. These days could be manipulated somewhat, but the goal is to try to workout
no more than two days in a row. The following is a sample schedule.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Sat./Sun. |
| Back/Bis. | Ch./Sh./Tris. | off | Leg/Cal/Ab | Back/Bis. | off |
| Ch./Sh./Tris. | Leg/Cal/Ab | off | Back/Bis. | Ch./Sh./Tris. | off |
| Leg/Cal/Ab | Back/Bis. | off | Ch./Sh./Tris. | Leg/Cal/Ab | off |
3. Rest intervals will remain at 60-90 seconds. Repetitions will remain at 8-12 for most
exercises.
4. Your upper body volume will be increased and your lower body volume will remain
unchanged. This will result in an even greater amount of micro trauma than last month,
and will result in more muscular soreness (at least initially). That is the major reason why
you need 4-5 days rest before hitting the same bodypart again.
5. You will not be required to learn a bunch of different new exercises, but I have added
a few in order to better round out the program and to keep you learning new exercises.
The new exercises have an asterik next to them. The most significant of the new
exercises is the deadlift. You should use caution with this exercise and work up slowly in
weight, concentrating on using impeccable form. You've already learned the squat and
the bench press, and the deadlift completes the big three exercises. Once you get these
down, you can be assured you've learned the three greatest muscular enhancing exercises.
I will take out the squat and romainian deadlift this month, as they work a lot of the same
musculature as the deadlift, and would be too taxing at this point in the program.
6. You should continue following my diet and cardiovascular suggestions from Month 2.
7. You should have gained a significant amount of strength and muscle at this point, and
the changes I have integrated this month should keep that trend going strong.
CHOOSE YOUR FORMAT BELOW TO VIEW THE WORKOUT!
View Month 4 In Your Browser
Microsoft Works Spreadsheet
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet
Good luck with this new program. See you next month.
Ready For Month #5? Click Here!
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Todd Opheim
opt4fit@opt4fit.com
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