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WHICH MUSCLE GROUPS SHOULD YOU TRAIN TOGETHER FOR MAXIMUM GROWTH?

Dr. Nash Jocic PhD | Build Muscle and Burn Fat

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Most people spend all their time arguing about the “best training split” — 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, push-pull-legs, upper-lower…
But there is another question that matters just as much:
Which muscle groups should you actually train together?
In this video, I explain how I would organise the best 3-day, 4-day and 5-day bodybuilding splits, which muscle groups pair well together, which combinations I would avoid, and why recovery, fatigue and weak points matter more than simply following a popular template.
I’ll cover:
• Why chest and biceps can work better than chest and triceps
• Why back and biceps are not always the best combination
• Why I like calves before back in a 4-day split
• How to structure 3, 4 and 5 training days
• Which muscle pairings I would avoid
• How to prioritise weak body parts
• Why recovery determines whether a split actually works
The best split is not the one that looks perfect on paper.
It’s the one that allows you to train every muscle with enough quality, volume, intensity and recovery to keep progressing.
Train intelligently. Recover fully. Grow consistently.
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Timestamps:
00:00 – The Best Muscle Group Pairings for Maximum Growth
01:37 – What Makes a Good Muscle Pairing?
04:50 – Recovery & Muscle Overlap
06:07 – The Best 3-Day Training Split
07:26 – The Problem With 3-Day Splits
08:55 – My Preferred 4-Day Training Split
09:35 – Why I Train Chest With Biceps
12:30 – Legs & Abs
15:30 – Shoulders & Triceps
18:27 – Why This 4-Day Split Works So Well
19:50 – My 5-Day Bodybuilding Split
26:25 – Should You Train Each Muscle Twice a Week?
31:35 – 5 Muscle Pairings I Would Avoid
33:35 – What About Abs & Calves?
35:02 – Should Men And Women Use The Same Pairings?
36:32 – Age And Recovery
38:09 – Which Split Should YOU Choose?
40:47 – The Most Important Rule
42:20 – How Can I Help YOU?

#TrainingSplit #MuscleGrowth #Bodybuilding #WorkoutSplit #BuildMuscle

20 Comments

@Dr.NashJocic Creator 2 weeks ago Pinned

What do YOU train together? Want to go deeper? 👇
👉 Online Coaching: https://www.nashfittraining.com/category/all-products
👉 My bodybuilding & nutrition e-books: https://www.nashfittraining.com/category/all-products
👉 Bodybuilding Blueprint Course: https://www.nashfittraining.com/product-page/the-complete-bodybuilding-blueprint-course

@photo80sjeff 7 days ago

Probably the best video on splits ever.❤👍🏋️‍♂️💪

@mustafahameed9252 5 days ago

This advice is solid. I recall training for one day with a pro bodybuilder, we trained ‘chest and biceps’.

@gerhardbraatz6305 7 days ago

The day I saw your 4 day split, I instantly saw 5he intelligence of having fresh biceps with working the chest. I immediately switched from the push, pull split.

@2Rugrats9597 7 days ago

Doing Dr.Nash 4day program has been a game changer for me. Once i retire in 4mos i will be going to his 5day program. I am never too sore, plenty time for recovery and no injuries

@camcorp 7 days ago (edited)

im 56 and doing the 4 day split as Nash suggested. i love it, now a video on what the best exercises for each muscle group? !!

@lacsapdukeharm9547 7 days ago

I love the Nash 4 day split! Awesome advice.

@RoyyMak 7 days ago

I'm 60, I do 1 body part 20 sets ,8-12 reps , next day off, 3rd day new body part. I don't confine myself to the " 7 days of a week", I just keep going til l get back to the exercise of day 1 , even if it's 10 days on. I don't think that's " too much time off between body parts", but that's just me. You don't grow in the gym, you grow while resting.

@Shreadington 6 days ago

48yo experienced Masters Competitor here. The best split for me is the 4 day. RECOVERY is the key. I went from 5 to 4 days last year. BIG improvement! No more tendinitis or little qwerks anymore because I'm recovering, I can put full intensity into my training days, and I have more family time. Off days are active rest days with daily morning vacuums, foam rolling, stretching, getting 15k+ steps, low carb for increased insulin sensitivity. With diet, sleep, recovery, and training optimized progress has been exactly what I wanted.

@user-bt7oe5jj1o 7 days ago

Im 51, late beginner. Nash's frequency and volume instruction has been huge for pain and soreness reduction. My order is a bit different but following his advice I ended up at 4 days.

1 different thing for me that is working. My legs have been tough to respond and my back responds easilly. so I do a main leg day that is quad focussed. I do deadlifts and leg curls first on back day. Working great the last 3 months.

@xydrex_journeys 6 days ago

Fully agree, especially for those doing lower frequency like 1x per week with higher volume, it makes sense to separate overlapping stimulus like back/bis etc.

@DAZSOV 6 days ago

It’ also depends on how you prioritise your growth and shape of you body. People who don’t have time to train at least 4 times a week should not call the work outs a bodybuilding but fitness resistance training.

@bobsanderz3005 7 days ago

The exact video I needed to see. Starting to plateau a little at 45 and needed to make sense of a split that will work for me right now

@Hellenic-x3l 7 days ago

Everything you say is correct. Based on my experience, the 4-day program is the best one I’ve settled on. The only exception is calves; I train them on leg day—even though I’m naturally well-endowed there—just so I don't ruin my proportions. After all, anyone without calves looks ridiculous. I have two observations: 1) Legs should be trained on the first day, followed by chest/biceps or shoulders/triceps on the second, because that distributes the fatigue better. 2) You can either schedule rest days within the program or simply not stick to a strict weekly cycle to allow for recovery. Finally, only those on steroids can train the same muscle twice.

@GFMarine 5 days ago

Dr. Nash, I was one of those that did PPL six times a week on top of a ton of other responsiblities and work so I was pretty fucking miserable, I was tired all the time, started to develop insomnia from the overtraining, I was in a bad mood all the time, just bad all around, then I came across your four day split video earlier this year that's exactly like the one on this video, and I both saw as well as felt the results of following your advice in a single month, plus I find the split to be very fun to do as well, been growing like crazy since then and I don't feel like shit 24/7, that's only after leg day, your advice was actually life changing, so I cannot thank you enough sir.

@DeepVoicedOne 7 days ago

Chest and biceps are my favorite pairing and really make the most sense since the biceps are fresh to hammer after benching and even after some forward leaning dips.

I've had similarly good results with back and triceps for the same reason above. I'll definitely have to give back and calves a shot.

Good 4 day split recommendations.

@andynonimuss6298 3 days ago

There's better isolation in training Chest and Biceps on the same day and Back and Triceps on the same day.

@bijanbayne3259 6 days ago

i'm 66, and have trained since I was 16. For 50 years I trained upper body every other day, and legs on the alternate days. Upper body day I did about 90-130 (depending on how young I was) pushups to failure as a warmup, then tricep pulldowns on a lat machine, lying bench tricep presses (up), lat pulleys (three sets facing the machine and three sets facing away), lying bench dumbbell flies, finishing with three sets of seated dumbbell bicep curls with both hands at same time. On leg day I did three sets of dumbbell squats with my arms at my sides, three sets of dumbbell lunges, and three sets of leg extension raises on a knee machine. About five weeks ago I switched to a Jokic split: DAY ONE)
CHEST & BICEPS
DAY TWO)
LEGS
DAY THREE)
OFF
DAY FOUR)
BACK/LATS
DAY FIVE)
SHOULDERS & TRICEPS
DAY SIX)
OFF
DAY SEVEN)
OFF