THE BATTLE OVER what is the ‘best’ training split shows no sign of slowing down, and after 20 years in the industry I’m confident it’s an argument that’s going to rage on forevermore.
Full body, push/pull/lower, upper/lower, body part bro split – they all get kicked around. They all have their drawbacks, they all have their pluses, they all have their fans. And they all have people getting incredible results from them.
And that’s the kicker – most things work. Better or worse for different people, better or worse depending on your circumstances.
On a long enough timeline, I’d encourage you to try all of them.
If you find one you enjoy, even if it’s not the most optimal, the fact you enjoy it is likely to keep you coming back and training with the intensity that’s actually going to make it work.
That’s my philosophy. But even I find that this combo makes me feel weird – ‘legs and arms’. It doesn’t even sound right. More like something out of a nursery rhyme than a training split.
But bear with me, because there is method in this madness.
What Is a Legs and Arms Workout Split?
If you’re training with a split schedule – be it upper/lower, perhaps push/pull/legs, basically anything that separates upper and lower body – and you’re slightly tight on time, you might not want to chuck in a dedicated arm day, or even dedicated arm exercises on your upper days. And that’s absolutely fine.
You can go a long way with just chest pressing, shoulder pressing, pull-ups, rows and dips. Anyone with elite arm genetics might go all the way and build a whopping set of arm cannons just from compound lifts.
For the rest of us mere mortals, however, we’re probably going to have to train biceps and triceps directly.
So here’s what I want to present to you.
Legs and Arms Day: The Time-Saving Training Hack
By supersetting arm exercises with your compound leg exercises on your lower-body days, you can not only get in that arm work, but you might even find you’re boosting your strength in your leg workout.
Sounds nuts, granted. But by alternating exercises, you’re giving yourself longer to rest between those leg movements while still getting work done. And crucially, you’re working a non-competing muscle – i.e. one that’s not going to hamper the recovery of the leg muscles you’re trying to train.
Let’s use back squats as an example.
If we’re doing heavy back squats, we want to be resting two to three minutes between sets (at least) to make sure we’re optimally recovered and can push as much weight as possible. In that time, you might crank out a set of 10 bicep curls.
Yes, you’re still working, but it’s an isolation movement – lower systemic fatigue, so your legs are still recovering almost optimally. You’re not taking up any extra time, and that’s the crucial part.
So that 5 sets of 5 squats becomes squats plus 5 sets of 10-15 bicep curls, all in the same time.
Move on to Romanian deadlifts and work in some tricep extensions. Go into lunges with another variety of bicep curls. Finish with leg extensions and hamstring curls supersetted, and in between those, chuck in some tricep pressdowns.
All things being equal, you’re working for roughly the same amount of time, but hitting both your legs and your arms.
Why This Split Works for Busy Lifters
And as a matter of fact, if you’re someone who struggles to rest between sets – or just doesn’t pay attention – you might be jumping back in too soon, not fully recovered, and hampering your progress in the long run. By chucking in these arm exercises, you’re effectively guaranteeing enough rest between leg movements, giving yourself ample time to recover.
Should You Try a Legs and Arms Split?
As I said, on a long enough timeline, you should try everything. Every available training split until you find the one that works best for you. And when it doesn’t work anymore, try something else.
Most things work with a liberal application of effort, and everything is worth trying – even the weird-sounding legs and arms day.
