Guide · training splits
The Arnold split: chest and back, shoulders and arms, legs, twice a week
The Arnold split groups the body into three days, chest with back, shoulders with arms, and legs, and runs each twice a week for six sessions. It is a high-frequency, high-volume bodybuilding split named after the routine Arnold Schwarzenegger trained on in the 1970s. Done at a sane volume, it is a strong option for experienced lifters with six days to spare.
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Key takeaways
- Three pairings: chest & back, shoulders & arms, legs. Each twice a week, six sessions.
- Chest and back are opposite movements, so they alternate well in one session.
- Every muscle is trained twice a week; the A and B days use different exercises.
- It demands recovery. If six days is too many, run it three on, one off, or move to Push Pull Legs.
What the Arnold split is
The Arnold split is a three-way split run twice a week. Where Push Pull Legs separates presses from pulls, the Arnold split puts them together: chest and back share a day, shoulders and arms share a day, and legs have their own. Six sessions a week cover each pairing twice.
The chest-and-back pairing is the signature. Because a press and a row use opposite muscles, you can alternate them with short rests and get through a lot of work in an hour. Shoulders and arms go together because they are all smaller muscles that recover quickly.
What goes on each day
These are the six days of IronBuddy's Arnold Split (6×) preset. The A and B days train the same muscles with different exercises and angles. Rest about 2 minutes after the main presses and leg work, 90 seconds after rows and pulldowns, a minute after isolation sets.
| Day | Exercises (sets × reps) |
|---|---|
| Chest & Back APresses and pulls, paired | Machine Chest Press 3×10–12 · Lat Pulldown 3×10–12 · Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 3×10–12 · Chest-Supported Row 3×10–12 · Cable Fly 2×12–15 · Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown 2×12–15 |
| Shoulders & Arms ADelts, biceps, triceps | Machine Shoulder Press 3×10–12 · Dumbbell Lateral Raise 3×12–15 · Reverse Pec Deck 2×12–15 · EZ-Bar Curl 3×10–12 · Cable Triceps Pushdown 3×10–12 · Incline Dumbbell Curl 2×12–15 · Overhead Cable Triceps Extension 2×12–15 |
| Legs AQuads, hamstrings, calves | Leg Press 3×10–12 · Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 3×10–12 · Leg Extension 2×12–15 · Seated Leg Curl 3×12–15 · Standing Calf Raise 3×12–15 |
| Chest & Back BDifferent angles | Incline Machine Chest Press 3×10–12 · Seated Cable Row 3×10–12 · Dumbbell Bench Press 2×10–12 · Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown 3×10–12 · Pec Deck 2×12–15 · One-Arm Dumbbell Row 2×12 per side |
| Shoulders & Arms BDelts, biceps, triceps | Machine Shoulder Press 2×10–12 · Cable Lateral Raise 3×12–15 · Reverse Pec Deck 3×12–15 · Dumbbell Hammer Curl 3×12–15 · Cable Biceps Curl 2×12–15 · Rope Triceps Pushdown 3×12–15 · Overhead Cable Triceps Extension 2×12–15 |
| Legs BQuads, glutes, hamstrings, calves | Hack Squat 3×10–12 · Hip Thrust 3×10–12 · Bulgarian Split Squat 2×10–12 per leg · Lying Leg Curl 3×12–15 · Leg Extension 2×12–15 · Seated Calf Raise 3×12–15 |
On the shoulder-and-arm days the preset suggests pairing biceps and triceps as supersets now and then: a curl straight into a pushdown, rest, repeat. It saves time and suits the spirit of the split. IronBuddy logs supersets as a set technique, so the pairing is kept with the set.
How to lay out the week
Six days, Monday to Saturday
Week: Chest & Back A, Shoulders & Arms A, Legs A, Chest & Back B, Shoulders & Arms B, Legs B, rest
Suits: The split as written. Every muscle twice a week, one rest day. Only for people who recover from six sessions.
Three on, one off
Week: Chest & Back, Shoulders & Arms, Legs, rest, then repeat with the B days
Suits: The same six days with a rest after every three. The cycle takes eight days, so it does not line up with the calendar.
Three days a week
Week: Chest & Back A, Shoulders & Arms A, Legs A one week; the B days the next
Suits: The Arnold grouping at a normal frequency: each muscle once a week, like a bro split, but with chest and back paired.
Who it suits
- Experienced lifters with six days. Twice-a-week frequency with full sessions for every area, if you can recover from it.
- People who like the chest-and-back day. Some lifters find it the best session of the week; if that is you, this is the split built around it.
- Not for: beginners, or anyone with four days or fewer. The Upper Lower split gets the same frequency in four days, and a bro split gives the same one-area focus at five.
How to track the Arnold split
- A against A, B against B. Chest & Back A this week against Chest & Back A last week. Each exercise appears on one day only, so IronBuddy's per-exercise comparison lines up with the day automatically.
- Watch the weekly total. Six sessions add up fast. Muscle Balance on IronBuddy's Home shows your sets per body area; chest and back should land around the same number, and shoulders should not run away because they get work on four days (two directly, two from pressing).
- Recovery is the limit, not volume. If the B days are consistently worse than the A days, the week is too long. Drop to three on, one off before dropping sets.
- Progress the first two lifts of each day. When they hit the top of the rep range on every set, add weight. The progressive overload guide covers the method.
Running the Arnold split in IronBuddy
IronBuddy includes Arnold Split (6×) as one of its ten preset splits, with the exercises above, a rep range and a rest time on every exercise. It is a six-day preset, Monday to Saturday; use Edit Week for a three-on, one-off layout, and the Superset technique when you pair biceps and triceps.
- Open Splits, filter the presets if you like, and open Arnold Split (6×).
- Tap Set active. Home shows this week's days with their status, and Edit Week puts each day on the weekday you train.
- Swap any exercise for one your gym has. The first time you edit a preset, IronBuddy saves your version under My splits and leaves the preset as it was.
- Open each day from Home, enter reps and weight (and any drop sets or supersets), then tap Log workout. The summary compares every exercise with last time.
- Check Progress for best weight, estimated 1RM and volume per exercise, and Muscle Balance on Home for your weekly sets per muscle group.
The 7-day free trial includes the whole workout tracker: workout logging, progress charts, body metrics, the full library of 800+ exercises, every split and your own custom splits. Buying IronBuddy for €6.99 keeps everything unlocked after the trial, and adds export and import of your data, a local copy of your data kept on your phone, share cards, a customizable Home and accent colors. In both the trial and the full version, Android's own backup protects your data if Google backup is turned on. See training splits in IronBuddy for screenshots of the presets, filters and week editor.
Arnold split questions
Why train chest and back on the same day?
They are opposite movements: a press and a pull. Pairing them lets you alternate exercises with little rest, because the back rests while the chest works, and the pump in both at once was part of the appeal for Arnold. The preset keeps them alternated: press, pull, press, pull.
Is this what Arnold actually did?
Not exactly. Arnold's own routines ran six days a week with far more sets, sometimes two sessions a day, and heavy barbell work. The grouping (chest and back, shoulders and arms, legs, each twice a week) is the part that survives. IronBuddy's preset is that grouping on machines and dumbbells at a volume a normal person can recover from.
Can a beginner run the Arnold split?
Six days a week is too much for most beginners, and the three-day version is just a bro split with different pairings. Start with a three-day full body plan or Push Pull Legs. Come to the Arnold split when you have a year or so of training behind you and genuinely want six sessions a week.
A note on safety
This guide is general training information, not medical advice. Choose loads and a weekly layout that suit your experience and recovery, and speak to a qualified professional if you have an injury or a health condition.
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