Arnold Split
Chest with back, shoulders with arms, legs on their own, twice through the week. High volume, antagonist pairings, and no hiding.
Who it’s for
This is the highest-volume split here and it assumes you can recover from six sessions a week. It pairs opposing muscles in the same session — chest with back, biceps with triceps — which lets you superset and keeps the pump that made it famous. If you are not already training consistently five days a week, it will bury you.
How the week runs
Six days: chest and back, shoulders and arms, legs, then the same three again with different movements. Antagonist pairs mean you can superset the first two exercises of each upper day and cut real time off the session without cutting sets.
The program
All 6 sessions and 34 exercises, exactly as they arrive in the app. Rep ranges and rest are the defaults — change any of them once it is yours.
Arnold Day 1
6 exercises| Exercise | Muscle | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bench PressBarbell · compound | Chest | 4 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Pull UpBodyweight · compound | Lats | 4 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Incline Bench PressBarbell · compound | Chest | 3 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Barbell RowBarbell · compound | Upper back | 3 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Pec DeckMachine · isolation | Chest | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
| Cable RowCable · compound | Upper back | 3 | 8–12 | 120s |
Arnold Day 2
6 exercises| Exercise | Muscle | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overhead PressBarbell · compound | Shoulders | 4 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Barbell Bicep CurlBarbell · isolation | Biceps | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
| Triceps PushdownCable · isolation | Triceps | 3 | 10–15 | 60s |
| Dumbbell Lateral RaisesDumbbell · isolation | Shoulders | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
| Hammer CurlDumbbell · isolation | Biceps | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
| French PressBarbell · isolation | Triceps | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
Arnold Day 3
5 exercises| Exercise | Muscle | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SquatBarbell · compound | Quads | 4 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Romanian DeadliftBarbell · compound | Hamstrings | 3 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Leg ExtensionsMachine · isolation | Quads | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
| Leg CurlsMachine · isolation | Hamstrings | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
| Calf RaisesMachine · isolation | Calves | 4 | 10–15 | 90s |
Arnold Day 4
6 exercises| Exercise | Muscle | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incline Dumbbell PressDumbbell · compound | Chest | 4 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Chin UpBodyweight · compound | Lats | 4 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Dumbbell PressDumbbell · compound | Chest | 3 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Dumbbell RowDumbbell · compound | Upper back | 3 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Machine FliesMachine · isolation | Chest | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
| Machine RowMachine · compound | Upper back | 3 | 8–12 | 120s |
Arnold Day 5
6 exercises| Exercise | Muscle | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DB Shoulder PressDumbbell · compound | Shoulders | 4 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Preacher CurlsBarbell · isolation | Biceps | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
| DipsBodyweight · compound | Triceps | 3 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Seated Lateral RaisesDumbbell · isolation | Shoulders | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
| Concentration CurlDumbbell · isolation | Biceps | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
| French PressBarbell · isolation | Triceps | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
Arnold Day 6
5 exercises| Exercise | Muscle | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leg PressPlate machine · compound | Quads | 4 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Romanian Deadlift DumbbellsDumbbell · compound | Hamstrings | 3 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Bulgarian Split SquatsDumbbell · compound | Quads | 3 | 8–12 | 120s |
| Leg CurlsMachine · isolation | Hamstrings | 3 | 10–15 | 90s |
| Calf RaisesMachine · isolation | Calves | 4 | 10–15 | 90s |
Run it without typing any of it in
This split is built into Gym Journal. Star it and it becomes your week — the app knows what today’s session is, tracks every set, and tells you when to add weight.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Arnold split?
A six-day bodybuilding split pairing antagonist muscles: chest with back, shoulders with arms, and legs on their own, run twice a week.
Is the Arnold split too much volume?
For most people training around a job, probably. It works if your sleep and food are in order and you are already used to five sessions a week. Otherwise Upper/Lower gets you most of the result for two-thirds of the time.
Should I superset on the Arnold split?
The antagonist pairings are built for it. Supersetting chest and back work is the intended use and roughly halves the rest time on those exercises.