Tommy's Take by Tommy Pomatico 11/10

How To Set Up Your Week of Training (Based On How Many Days You Actually Train)

Most people overcomplicate programming. They copy a pro’s split, get overwhelmed by the volume, miss two days, and suddenly the whole plan feels “ruined.”

Here’s the truth: your training split should match your life, not the other way around.

Below is the cleanest way to structure your week depending on how many days you can realistically train. Not ideally. Realistically.

3 Days Per Week: Full Body Training

When you only have 3 days, the smartest play is full body sessions. You want frequent exposure to each muscle group without burning yourself out in one go.

Why it works:

  • High frequency with moderate volume

  • Every muscle gets hit 3 times weekly

  • Easy to progress week to week

  • Perfect for busy people, beginners, or anyone wanting max efficiency

Weekly Layout:

  • Monday: Full Body A

  • Wednesday: Full Body B

  • Friday: Full Body C

Each day includes:

  • 1 lower body compound

  • 1 upper body push

  • 1 upper body pull

  • 1 secondary leg movement (hinge or quad bias)

  • 1 accessory (delts/arms/core)

This split builds muscle incredibly well with far less stress than people expect.

4 Days Per Week: Upper Lower Split

This is the king of consistency. Most people thrive on this because it’s enough volume to grow but not so much that life derails your progress.

Why it works:

  • Great balance between frequency and recovery

  • Allows you to push strength on compounds

  • Easy to customize (push-dominant, leg-dominant, arm-heavy, whatever)

Weekly Layout:

  • Monday: Upper

  • Tuesday: Lower

  • Thursday: Upper

  • Friday: Lower

What you get:

  • Upper body twice

  • Lower body twice

  • No crazy marathon workouts

  • Simple progression: add reps or weight each week

If someone asked for the most sustainable split on earth, this is the one.

5 Days Per Week: Push Pull Legs + Upper Lower Hybrid

Five days is where you can get a little spicy. You need enough recovery, but you also want enough frequency to keep progress high.

The cleanest structure is:

Weekly Layout:

  • Monday: Push

  • Tuesday: Pull

  • Wednesday: Legs

  • Thursday: Upper

  • Friday: Lower

Why this hybrid works:

  • You hit each muscle group twice per week

  • Legs get two exposures without overtaxing recovery

  • Shoulders/chest/back get balanced stimulus across all 5 days

  • Volume spreads evenly instead of crushing one body part

  • You avoid the classic “PPL x2 burnout” trap

Push-Pull-Legs gives you the big movements and the pump.

Upper-Lower finishes the week with more tension-based work and lets you clean up weak points.

This is basically the perfect split for anyone with real physique goals who still wants a weekend.

The Bottom Line

Stop trying to “force” a split just because you saw your favorite influencer do it.

Your split should reflect your life, your recovery, and your capacity.

Here’s the cheat sheet:

✅ 3 Days: Full Body

✅ 4 Days: Upper Lower

✅ 5 Days: Push Pull Legs + Upper Lower

✅ 6 Days: (Optional) PPL x2 or Push/Pull/Legs/Rest/Upper/Lower if you’re recovering well

✅ 7 Days: Don’t. Take a rest day. You’re not David Goggins.

Match the split to your lifestyle. Progress week to week. Train hard. Recover harder.

brian mazzaComment