4-day body-part split workout plan

The plan, week 1

Week 1 is calibration: pick a weight for the bottom of each range with one more rep in reserve than later. The RIR column shows week 1 → week 2 onwards; the grid below shows what changes in weeks 2-8.

Tempo 3-0-1-0: 3 s lowering, 0 s pause in the stretch, 1 s lifting, 0 s pause in the squeeze. X: lift as fast as you can while staying in control.

What RIR means →How to read tempo →How supersets work →

B3fx3×6–10 · RIR 2

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Tempo	Rest	Notes
2	WUWarm-up sets	2 × 5	–	–	1:00
3	ABarbell Bench Press	3 × 6–10	3 → 2	2-0-X-0	3:00
4	BIncline Dumbbell Bench Press	3 × 8–12	3 → 2	2-0-1-0	2:00
5	CMachine Chest Press	2 × 8–12	2 → 1	2-0-1-0	2:00
6	DCable Middle Chest Fly	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	1:00
7	ECable Triceps Pushdown	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	1:00
8	FKneeling Cable Abs Crunches	2 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	1:00

16 working sets · ≈40 min · → Superset: go straight to the next exercise, rest after the pair

B3fx3×6–10 · RIR 2

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Tempo	Rest	Notes
2	WUWarm-up sets	2 × 5	–	–	1:00
3	ABarbell Bent Over Row	3 × 6–10	3 → 2	2-0-1-0	2:30	Torso well forward and still; if you have to swing the bar up, it is too heavy.
4	BCable Lat Pulldown	3 × 8–12	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	2:00	Pull-ups instead if you can do 10 or more strict reps.
5	CChest Supported Machine Row	2 × 8–12	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	2:00
6	DCable Neutral Grip Lat Pulldown	3 × 8–12	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	2:00	Neutral-grip pull-ups instead if you can do 10 or more strict reps. Its own history: don't copy the first pulldown's weight.
7	EDumbbell Biceps Curl	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-0	1:00
8	FDumbbell Hammer Curl	2 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-0	1:00

16 working sets · ≈40 min · → Superset: go straight to the next exercise, rest after the pair

B3fx3×6–10 · RIR 2

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Tempo	Rest	Notes
2	WUWarm-up sets	2 × 5	–	–	1:00
3	ABarbell Squat	3 × 6–10	3 → 2	2-0-X-0	3:00
4	BRomanian Deadlift	4 × 8–12	3 → 2	3-0-1-0	2:30	One lighter feeler set first (not a plan set). Bar close to the legs; stop before the back rounds.
5	CLeg Press	2 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-0	2:00
6	DBarbell Hip Thrust	2 × 8–12	3 → 2	2-0-1-1	2:00
7	E1Seated Leg Curl	4 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	→	Set up the leg extension before the first round, so the superset runs without waiting.
8	E2Seated Leg Extension Machine	4 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	1:30

19 working sets · ≈50 min · → Superset: go straight to the next exercise, rest after the pair

B3fx3×8–12 · RIR 2

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Tempo	Rest	Notes
2	WUWarm-up sets	2 × 8	–	–	1:00
3	ASeated Dumbbell Shoulder Press	3 × 8–12	3 → 2	2-0-X-0	2:00
4	BDumbbell Lateral Raise	4 × 12–20	2 → 1	2-0-1-0	1:00
5	CCable Rear Delt Fly	4 × 12–20	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	1:00
6	DSeated Incline Biceps Curl	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	3-0-1-0	1:00
7	ECable Overhead Triceps Extension	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	3-0-1-0	1:00
8	FCalf Leg Press	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-2-1-0	1:00
9	GKneeling Cable Abs Crunches	2 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	1:00

22 working sets · ≈45 min · → Superset: go straight to the next exercise, rest after the pair

Chest & TricepsBack & BicepsLegsShoulders & Arms

Print / save as PDF

Track this plan for free

Week by week

Week 8 is a deload: about 60% of the sets (4→2, 3→2, 2→1), the same weights and rest, stop at RIR 4. Why a deload helps →

Saved only in this browser. The app keeps your weights and reps.

How to progress on this plan

The simplest method that works on any plan: double progression. Keep the weight and add reps while you finish your sets with the reserve in the RIR column. When every set reaches the top of the range, add one step and build the reps up again.

• Barbell Bench Press 3 × 6–10 at RIR 2: when all 3 sets reach 10 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 3 × 8–12 at RIR 2: when all 3 sets reach 12 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2 kg next session.
• Machine Chest Press 2 × 8–12 at RIR 1: when both sets reach 12 reps at RIR 1 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
• Barbell Bent Over Row 3 × 6–10 at RIR 2: when all 3 sets reach 10 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
• Cable Lat Pulldown 3 × 8–12 at RIR 1: when all 3 sets reach 12 reps at RIR 1 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
• Chest Supported Machine Row 2 × 8–12 at RIR 1: when both sets reach 12 reps at RIR 1 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
• Isolation exercises (10–20 reps) follow the same rule. With light dumbbells, the next pair can be too big a jump: use the in-between weight, or stay and go 1-2 reps above the range for a week or two.
• The bench press, barbell row and squat (6-10 reps at RIR 2, 2.5 kg steps) come once a week each, so expect several weeks of adding reps before each step. Don't add sets to make up for it.
• The worked example, the seated dumbbell shoulder press, goes up a whole pair at a time, usually 2 kg per dumbbell. A rep a week is good progress here: the block may end before you reach the next pair, and the next run starts with it.
• Biceps and triceps get two sessions with different exercises. Each exercise progresses against its own last session, so don't carry weights over from Tuesday's curls to Friday's incline curl.
• If Tuesday's rows still tire your lower back on Thursday and the Romanian deadlift suffers, swap the barbell row for the seated cable row for all 8 weeks.

The full guide: how to progress →

Your starting weights

Enter a recent set of the exercise: weight, reps and how many reps you had left. You get the week-1 weight for the bottom of the range with one rep more in reserve, from the widely used RPE chart (RTS).

1RM calculator →

Weekly volume per muscle

Working sets per muscle in a regular week, counted the way the app counts them: a set is 1 for a muscle the exercise trains directly and 0.5 for one it trains indirectly. Warm-ups don't count.

Abs and calves are optional. From 10 sets a week the app labels a muscle "High volume": above its default target and still productive.

Count your own sets →

Substitutions

Choose your substitute in week 1 and keep it for all 8 weeks: the app tracks progress per exercise. Each substitute trains the same muscles directly, so the volume above stays the same.

Adapt the plan

Short on time

Legs is the longest session, about 50 minutes: drop the hip thrust first (about 5 minutes); glutes and hamstrings fall to 8 weekly sets, still in the growth zone. The calf raises and crunches are optional: skipping them saves about 10 minutes on Friday and 4 on Monday.

Bulking or cutting

Keep the plan as it is in both. On a cut, aim to hold your weights: reps that drop by one or two are normal, and you can skip the last set of the isolation exercises if recovery suffers.

Bringing up one muscle

Add the 2-3 extra weekly sets on another day, not to the muscle's one long session: a chest press or a row at the start of Friday, lateral raises after Tuesday's curls, a hip thrust or leg curl at the end of Monday. The muscle then gets a second session a week.

Over 40

Warm up a little longer, keep one more rep in reserve on the heavy barbell lifts and take the full rest. Joints decide the pace, not the calendar.

Training at home

At home with dumbbells and a bench, take the dumbbell 4-day upper/lower plan: the same four days, built for dumbbells.

The same plan in the app

The app opens exactly this plan: all 8 weeks, the same targets, week 1 calibration included. Its description in the app:

A 4-day body part split for intermediates: Chest & Triceps, Back & Biceps, Legs, Shoulders & Arms on Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri, about 60-65 minutes per workout. Big muscle groups get one session a week (arms two); “Upper/Lower · 4 days” trains each of them twice a week on the same 4 days. 8 weeks: week 1 is calibration (one more rep in reserve than the target), weeks 2-7 at RIR 2 on free-weight compounds and RIR 1 on the rest, week 8: deload, about half the sets, RIR 4. Progression: add reps first, then weight once every set reaches the top of its range at the target RIR.

Free: the plan, logging weight, reps and RIR, the rest timer, history, previous results and the calculators.

This page teaches the manual method. With Premium, the app suggests the weight and reps for every set after each workout, from the weights, reps and RIR you logged, including week-1 calibration and the deload. Its suggestions can differ from this simple rule because it uses more of your data.

Track this plan for free in SmartWorkout

The same exercises, sets, reps and RIR, ready in the app. Logging, rest timer and history are free. Automatic progression suggestions: Premium.

In the app: Plans → Body part split · 4 days