The split Arnold Schwarzenegger made famous: chest with back, shoulders with arms, then legs, twice a week. Opposing-muscle supersets, drop sets and failure sets throughout.
The Arnold split pairs opposing muscles: chest with back, biceps with triceps. That lets you superset them, resting one while you work the other, so the sessions pack in a lot of volume. Each pairing comes round twice a week, for six sessions in total.
Every day opens with straight sets on the heaviest lifts: bench press and pull-ups, overhead press, squats. Then the supersets start. On chest and back days, a press is paired with a row and a fly with a pulldown. On shoulders and arms days, curls are paired with triceps work. Each day finishes with a drop set or a set to failure on an isolation move.
It is demanding: around 16-20 sets per muscle per week. That works for experienced lifters who recover well, and it is too much for most people with less than two years of consistent training.
Run the six days in order and rest on the seventh. Take a lighter week every 5-6 weeks.
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell Bench Press | 4 × 6-8 | 150s |
| Pull-Up | 4 × 6-10 | 120s |
| Dumbbell Incline Press | 3 × 10 · superset A | 90s |
| Machine Seated Row | 3 × 10 · superset A | 90s |
| Cable Crossover | 3 × 12-15 · superset B | 60s |
| Cable Straight-Arm Pulldown | 3 × 12-15 · superset B | 60s |
| Dumbbell Pullover | 2 × 12 · last set to failure | 60s |
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell Overhead Press | 4 × 6-8 | 150s |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 4 × 12-15 · drop set on the last set | 60s |
| Barbell Curl | 3 × 8-10 · superset A | 90s |
| Skull Crusher | 3 × 8-10 · superset A | 90s |
| Dumbbell Hammer Curl | 3 × 12 · superset B | 60s |
| Cable Rope Pushdown | 3 × 12 · superset B | 60s |
| Machine Reverse Pec Deck | 3 × 15 · last set to failure | 60s |
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell Squat | 4 × 6-8 | 180s |
| Romanian Deadlift | 3 × 8 | 150s |
| Machine Leg Press | 3 × 12 · last set to failure | 120s |
| Machine Leg Extension | 3 × 15 · drop set on the last set | 60s |
| Machine Seated Leg Curl | 3 × 12 | 60s |
| Smith Machine Calf Raise | 4 × 12 | 60s |
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell Incline Bench Press | 4 × 8 | 150s |
| T-Bar Row | 4 × 8-10 | 120s |
| Dumbbell Bench Press | 3 × 10 · superset A | 90s |
| Dumbbell Single-Arm Row | 3 × 10 per arm · superset A | 90s |
| Machine Pec Deck | 3 × 12-15 · superset B | 60s |
| Cable Lat Pulldown | 3 × 12 · superset B | 60s |
| Push-Up | 2 × 12-20 · last set: as many reps as possible | 60s |
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 4 × 8-10 | 120s |
| Cable Lateral Raise | 3 × 15 · drop set on the last set | 60s |
| Dumbbell Incline Curl | 3 × 10 · superset A | 90s |
| Cable Rope Overhead Triceps Extension | 3 × 12 · superset A | 90s |
| Cable Biceps Curl | 3 × 12 · superset B | 60s |
| Cable Triceps Pushdown | 3 × 12 · superset B | 60s |
| Cable Face Pull | 3 × 15 | 60s |
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell Front Squat | 4 × 6-8 | 180s |
| Barbell Hip Thrust | 3 × 10 | 120s |
| Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 × 10 per leg | 90s |
| Machine Prone Leg Curl | 3 × 12 · last set to failure | 60s |
| Machine Seated Calf Raise | 4 × 15 · drop set on the last set | 45s |
The Arnold Split 6-Day plan is 6 days a week, with sessions of about 65 minutes, over 8 weeks.
The Arnold Split 6-Day plan uses a barbell, dumbbells, a cable machine, gym machines, a bench and pull-up bar.
The Arnold Split 6-Day plan is an advanced plan for experienced lifters. If you are new to training, start with a beginner plan first.
Yes. The full plan is free to read here and to follow in the StayActive app, with no subscription and no ads.
Opposing muscles recover while the other works, so supersets between them let you do more work in less time without hurting performance. Arnold also liked the pump of training both sides of the torso together.
On that exercise, do your normal sets, then on the final set keep going until you cannot complete another rep with good form. It only appears on machine, cable and isolation work, where failing a rep is safe. Never take heavy squats, deadlifts or bench presses to failure.
When you finish the last set of an exercise marked "Drop set", the tracker adds a drop: reduce the weight by about 25% and keep going straight away with no rest. Log the drop like any other set.
For many lifters, yes. If you are still sore when a muscle comes round again, or your lifts stall for two weeks, remove the last superset from each day.
This is a high-volume plan for experienced lifters. Keep the opening heavy lifts one to two reps short of failure and only use techniques where the plan marks them. If your shoulders or elbows start to ache, drop one superset per session. Take a lighter week every 5-6 weeks.
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