THE SPLIT: The 8-Day Gym Split
Full gym, a year or more of lifting. Chest, back, legs and delts over eight days: two rotations, each closed by a rest day.
Who it's for
THE SPLIT is the full-gym program for the man who has been at it: a year or more of consistent lifting and four or more days a week. In the app, those answers land here.
The eight days
Two rotations of three training days, each closed by a rest day, then back to Day 1.
- Day 1: Upper Chest & Biceps
- Day 2: Back
- Day 3: Legs
- Day 4: Active Rest. Actually rest, or a light walk or an easy bike. No sets, no reps.
- Day 1.2: Lower Chest & Delts, with 30 minutes of biking first, preferably the morning of.
- Day 2.2: Shoulders & Biceps
- Day 3.2: Legs, with 15 minutes of reverse walking on an incline treadmill first.
- Day 4.2: Full Rest. No sets, no reps, no cardio. Sleep, eat, recover.
It's a menu, not a calendar. The next session comes up when you train the last one, not when the date changes, and any day can be picked outright.
Day 1 in full: Upper Chest & Biceps
Warm up: Stair Master, 5 minutes, then Hanging Leg Raises, 3 sets of 15.
| Exercise | Warm-up | Working | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incline Dumbbell Press | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3:00 |
| Seated Cable Fly | 1 | 2 | 8 | 1:30 |
| Incline Machine Press | 1 | 2 | 10 | 3:00 |
| Bayesian Cable Curls | 1 | 3 | 10 | 1:30 |
| Preacher Hammer Curl | 1 | 3 | 10 | 1:30 |
| Preacher Curls | 1 | 3 | 10 | 1:30 |
The top set
Every lift climbs to one top set at RPE 7: three reps left in the tank. Every set before it is a step up in weight. The last set you log is the top set, and it is the one the app reads. You finish it clean, not crawling. What RPE 7 means, and how to tell one.
Rest
Rest is timed to the lift. Big compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, presses, rows, pull-ups, dips): 3 to 5 minutes, and the timer starts at 3:00. Single-muscle lifts (curls, raises, extensions, flys, calves, core): 1 to 2 minutes, and the timer starts at 1:30. The timer reads the lift, not its place in the list, so a swap brings its own rest. Why the lift decides the rest.
Progression
Reps first, then weight: 185 × 8, then 9, then 10, then 190 × 8. In The Shift the log reads your top set and tells you what to load next time. The rule, in full.
Deload every 4 to 6 weeks: same program, half the volume.
Alternatives
No exercise is mandatory. The movement pattern is what matters. No equipment for it, a joint that doesn't agree, or a lift that doesn't connect: swap it for one that trains the same movement. In the log, tap the lift's name and pick from its alternatives. The swap keeps its own history.
Day 1's lifts and some of their swaps:
- Incline Dumbbell Press: Incline Barbell Press, Landmine Press, Incline Machine Press
- Seated Cable Fly: Cable Press-Around, Pec Deck Machine, Dumbbell Fly
- Incline Machine Press: Incline Dumbbell Press, Incline Barbell Press, Landmine Press
- Bayesian Cable Curls: Seated Incline Dumbbell Curl, Lying Dumbbell Curl, Incline Cable Curl
- Preacher Hammer Curl: Dumbbell Preacher Curl, Overhead Cable Curl, Zottman Curl
- Preacher Curls: Spider Curls, Concentration Curls, Machine Preacher Curl
Inside The Shift
The other five training days, the log with last session's numbers next to every set, the next-weight call, the rest timer and the swaps. THE SPLIT is one of four programs. The Shift is $6 a week ($26 USD billed monthly, founding price).
Emil Pasini