Want to train Monday to Friday, leaving your weekends free? Here's 3 different Monday to Friday routines, adapted from our PPL, ULPPL (upper lower push pull legs) and PHAT workout programs.
A traditional PPL split is performed 3 or 6 days per week, but it's also possible to workout with a PPL 5 days per week. You can of course simply alternate your push/pull/legs day each week. For example, in week 1, you could start with Push, meaning you'll do Push-Pull-Legs-Push-Pull in the first week. In week 2, you'll then start with Legs, and repeat.
However, if you favor consistency, you can also combine your second Push and Pull days into a single workout. That's the approach we've taken. The 5 day Monday to Friday PPL is structured like this:
Monday – Push
Tuesday – Pull
Wednesday – Legs
Thursday – Push/Pull
Friday – Legs
Saturday – Rest
Sunday – Rest
Upper-lower splits are an alternative method of training that split your workouts into two types:
Upper body days - Chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps.
Lower body days - Quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves.
Most people follow either an upper-lower split or a PPL split, but you can combine both into a ULPPL split. The nice thing about this routine is adding 2 upper-lower workouts with 3 PPL workouts naturally sees you train 5 days per week. This fits nicely with our Monday to Friday workout plan:
Monday – Upper
Tuesday – Lower
Wednesday – Push
Thursday – Pull
Friday – Legs
Saturday – Rest
Sunday – Rest
The PHAT workout routine is a 5 days per week training program. The aim of PHAT is to focus on both power and hypertrophy, and so its structure is divided into two distinct phases:
Power Days – The first two days of the routine are the Power Days. In this phase, you are focusing on heavy lifting with fewer reps per set. The goal of this phase is to increase your overall strength and power.
Hypertrophy Days – The remaining three days of the routine are the Hypertrophy Days. In this phase, you are lifting lighter weights with a higher number of reps per set. This phase promotes muscle growth.
We normally recommend taking a rest day between the two training blocks. To make this suitable for Monday to Friday, we've lowered the intensity of the routine slightly. Here's how the Monday to Friday PHAT is structured:
Monday – Upper Body Power Day
Tuesday – Lower Body Power Day
Wednesday – Back and Shoulders Hypertrophy Day
Thursday – Lower Body Hypertrophy Day
Friday – Chest and Arms Hypertrophy Day
Saturday – Rest
Sunday – Rest
Training 5 days per week from Monday to Friday
Most 5 day workout routines recommend taking two rest days through the week, typically after a leg or lower body day. This means you'll be training on either Saturday or Sunday, which might interfere with your social or family commitments.
Instead of dropping down to a 4 day split, you can instead shift both rest days to the weekend. This means you'll be doing 5 workouts back-to-back between Monday and Friday.
Training every day Monday to Friday does compromise your rest and recovery to an extent, but if you're smart about your workout split you can easily avoid any issues.
In this guide, we look at 3 workout splits based on our ULPPL, 5 day PPL and PHAT workout routines. We've tweaked those routines to fit into a regular Monday to Friday schedule, thinking about the required rest between similar exercises and the appropriate amount of volume in each routine.
Why train Monday to Friday?
Apart from the bro split, all 5 day splits divide your body into muscle groups that are trained twice per week. For example, an upper-lower split has two upper body days and two lower body days per week; and a PPL split divides your days into Push, Pull or Legs.
The optimal way to train 5 days per week is with a rest day in the middle of the week (e.g. Wednesday), splitting your workouts into two blocks. In a 5 day PPL, you'll do a first block of Push, Pull, Legs, then a rest day, then a final block of Push/Pull (combined) and Legs, followed by a final rest day.
Taking separate rest days maximizes the amount of rest and recovery in your training program. Think about what happens if you take your rest days back to back. Most of the muscle repair and growth is happening on Rest Day #1. There's nothing much happening on Rest Day #2.
However, there are some very good reasons you might want to train Monday to Friday, taking Saturday and Sunday as rest...
Reason 1 - Consistency
Some people find that having a rest day in the workweek can break their momentum and motivation. If you work Monday to Friday, taking a rest day on Wednesday might make your daily routine feel less consistent, making it difficult to keep a regular routine.
For example, if you train after work, you might find it easier to align your training with your work days. That way you are 'keeping regular hours' through the week, rather than having to fit an 'odd' training day in to your weekend.
If this motivates you to keep a regular habit, it's a great reason to train Monday to Friday, even if it isn't strictly optimal in terms of recovery. Keeping a regular habit and routine is more important!
Reason 2 - Social and family commitments
The other obvious benefit of training Monday to Friday is that it leaves your weekends completely free. For many people, keeping the weekend free better suits their work-life balance. It makes it easier to plan social and leisure activities without worrying about fitting in a workout.
Changelog
17 April 2024 - Monday to Friday routines first published by Jane Litfin.
6 January 2025 - Substantial content update and layout change by Jane Litfin. Adopted a more user-friendly content layout, by including the three routine at the top of the page. Also included information about the structures of each routine.
