Oh the dilemma!

I have been training 3 days per week pretty much since I started training. I've had a few little goes at 4 days per week but haven't been able to do it as I've been quite busy.

My main goal is to pack on some mass and I will be doing a split routine (I have been doing a full body routine for a good while now and fancy a change), although exactly how it's split has not yet been decided.

What do people think? 3 days allows for more recovery, but I'm not sure that will be an issue, especially with a split routine?

Any suggestions to possible splits, be they 3 or 4 days would be appreciated.

4 days if you went for Upper/Lower split so:

Upper
Lower
Rest
Upper
Lower
Rest
Rest

Or a more tradtional body part split over 4 days:

Legs
Chest/Back
Rest
Shoulders
Biceps/Triceps

I agree with Alex

For mass gain I'd go with a 4 day U/L split or a three day FB. Obviously the FB will have less room for specialization, which makes it a bit easier to program a good U/L split. On a 4 day UL, I'd jot down three workouts for upper and three for lower and alternate between heavy and repetitions.
That way you'd end up doing: 1 heavy, 2 reps, 3 heavy, 1 reps and so forth.

4

Four day split. If you want to train with volume & use multiple exericses per bodypart then split your body into four seperate days.

If you think you'd get by best on less volume then do an upper/lower split. Rillas idea of alternating heavy loads + low reps with lighter loads + higher reps between sessions is a good un & I don't do U/L splits anyother way anymore.

Both ideas work well imo.

do you need to train set days? If not how about every other day? that way some weeks its 4 days, soem its 3...not that a week really means fuk all in bodybuilding terms

Legs
chest
back
shoulders

bis and tri's can go in with chest or shoulders which ever you prefer.

Cant go far wrong with that. Wee change from FB with a split. If mass is what your after id go with a split.

Im currently doing strength training for 4 days

I dont go beyond failure at the moment and that means Im fresh for the next workout

Rab wrote:do you need to train set days? If not how about every other day? that way some weeks its 4 days, soem its 3...not that a week really means fuk all in bodybuilding terms

Legs
chest
back
shoulders

bis and tri's can go in with chest or shoulders which ever you prefer.

Cant go far wrong with that. Wee change from FB with a split. If mass is what your after id go with a split.

I don't need to train set days but would prefer it as it makes things easier, as I have a training partner and we both have to train around our uni timetables.

I think I will give 4 days a go, possibly what Alex suggested as I do like training chest and back together.

I've decided I'm gonna do this:

Chest & Back
Legs
Delts
Arms

Gonna do chest and back tomorrow... Any ideas on exercises and volume?

I was thinking possibly 3 chest exercises and 4 back?

I would definitely use pull ups in there as a back exercise, I have found since using these more than curls etc I have gained a lot of mass all over my back and in my arms.

Yep pullups will def be in there... It's my favourite back excercise.

Chest is pretty simple, Flat and Incline Press and DB Fly.

Back would be a Pull Up variation, T-Bar Row, DB Row, BOR or Pendlay Row and Deads if you're doing them on a Back day and not Legs. If you're feeling brave then you could do swap the Pull Up movements with each set so start with conventional then change to mixed grip and then medium width chin and maybe go through them once or twice depending on number of total sets or just use 2 variations and cycle twice.

I think I'm gonna leave deads to leg day.

I'm thinking...

Flatbench
Incline DB press
Incline DB fly

DB row
Pullups
Cable row

Not sure if I wanna add an isolation as well (maybe straight arm pulldowns)