The Charles Poliquin Training Split | The Ultimate Guide!

Are you curious about the Charles Poliquin training split?

Charles Poliquin is one of the greatest strength coaches of all time. He trained Olympic athletes in more than 20 different sports, plus countless professional athletes.

Charles believed that the most common training splits like the bodybuilding bro-split, or the push / pull / legs split are suboptimal for muscle growth. Instead, he believes his “secret” training split is best for advanced athletes!

So what does the Poliquin split look like?

The Charles Poliquin training split is an advanced training split where you train each muscle group once every 5 days. For example, you could train your chest and back on day 1, your legs on day 2, and your shoulders / arms on day 3.

Here is what the Poliquin split actually looks like:

The Charles Poliquin Training Split

Day 1: Chest / Back
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Shoulders / Arms
Day 5: Off

Charles Poliquin believes this is the most effective way to train for advanced athletes. In fact, Charles says he used to use this split with about 70% of his clients!

Now let’s take a closer look at Charles Poliquin’s all-time favorite training split.

Table of Contents

Antagonistic Body Part Pairing

One of the more interesting aspects of the Poliquin splits is that they are all designed from the ground up to allow you to train antagonistic body parts together in the same workout.

For example, you might find quads and hamstrings, chest and elbow flexors, or back and triceps trained together in the same workout.

However, Charles didn’t just train these antagonistic body parts together.

He took things one step further and actually alternated sets for these opposing body parts throughout the workout!

For example, he may have had one of his athletes do a set for the triceps, rest 2 minutes, do a set for the elbow flexors, rest 2 minutes, and repeat the process.

This is technically a super set, but it is quite different from the agonist supersets that I talk about a lot on revolutionary program design.

These antagonistic super sets are not necessarily a new training concept. Arnold Schwarzenegger was using them in the 1970s to build his Mr. Olympia physique!

However, it was not until the 1990s when strength coaches such as Charles Poliquin and Ian King really popularized this training method.

Alternating sets between opposing body parts has several key advantages over more traditional training. They include the following:

Antagonistic Superset Benefits

Benefit #1: Increased motor unit recruitment
Benefit #2: Decreased performance drop off curves
Benefit #3: Increased training density
Benefit #4: Improved structural balance
Benefit #5: Better pumps

These advantages are SO important to the Poliquin splits that we will examine each one in more detail right now.

Benefit #1: Increased Motor Unit Recruitment

The scientific literature is quite clear on this one: antagonistic body part super sets increase your strength levels via increased motor unit recruitment!

The idea is that you are able to produce stronger muscular contractions shortly after contracting the antagonistic muscle group(s).

For example, your strength on preacher curls will be improved 1-2 minutes following a set of lying tricep extensions.

No one really understands why this is the case, but it likely has something to do with the way the nervous system is wired.

The bottom line here is if you want to lift more weight in your next workout then antagonistic body part supersets are one way to do it!

Benefit #2: Decreased Performance Drop Off Curves

Over the course of a workout you will inevitably get weaker. This is just a fact of life.

However, what if I told you there was a way to dramatically decrease the rate at which your body fatigued over the course of a workout?

There is: antagonistic body part supersets!

The scientific literature as well as real-world experience tells us that you will lose strength during a workout slower if you train antagonistic body parts together.

This is true regardless of whether you are doing more of a strength-focused intensification routine with lots of low rep sets, or a high-rep / high-volume accumulation-style workout.

And at the end of the day, a higher number of sets performed with a higher load is always going to result in a bigger, stronger, leaner you!

Benefit #3: Increased Training Density

This one should be rather obvious: when you train antagonistic body parts together you are able to increase the density of your training!

The reason is simple: while one of your muscle groups is recovering from a hard set, the other one is working!

For example, if you are super setting chest and back, your chest will be resting during your sets of back and vice-versa!

This means you can decrease your overall rest between sets without negatively impacting your performance.

In other words, you can get twice as much work done in the same amount of time, or you can complete the same volume of work in half the time!

Not a bad deal if you ask me!

Benefit #4: Improved Structural Balance

This is one of the less obvious but massively important benefits of using antagonistic body part supersets in your training.

One of the keys to achieving optimal structural balance is to work both sides of your body and your joints equally.

For example, if you did 100 sets of bench presses per week but 0 sets of upper back work you would surely run into problems with your shoulder health quite quickly.

One of the easiest ways to make sure you are balancing your training properly is to just use antagonistic supersets as Charles Poliquin advocated!

They literally force you to balance out the number of sets you do for each side of your body and each half of your joints.

This goes a long way in preventing injuries and promoting rapid gains in strength and size.

Benefit #5: Better Pumps

Arnold Schwarzenegger figured this one out a long time ago, and it turns out he was right-on-the-money: antagonistic supersets give you incredible pumps!

There is just something about training chest and back together or quads and hams. The blood just seems to “pool” in the muscles without escaping!

Bodybuilding coaches such as Milos Sarcev and John Meadows are also big proponents of this system, amongst other people.

The bottom line is that there are many, many benefits to incorporating antagonistic body part training into your routines.

And the Poliquin splits accommodate this type of training better than any other split out there (with the possible exception of the classic upper / lower split).

The Charles Poliquin Training Splits

We’re finally getting to the good stuff: the Poliquin splits!

It only makes sense to kick things off with the most famous Poliquin split in the world.

This could be thought of as Charles “default” or “go-to” split as it worked for such a high percentage of his athletes, from gold medalist Adam Nelson to silver medalist Dwight Phillips to gold medalist Helen Maroulis.

Here is the split:

Charles Poliquin Training Split #1

Day 1: Chest / Back
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Arms / Rotator Cuff
Day 5: Off
Day 6: Repeat

Body parts are trained directly once every five days, although many body parts (such as arms) do receive some additional indirect stimulation during the five-day training week.

Even on the lower body day sets for quads and hamstrings are alternated throughout the workout.

For example, this may include super setting squats and leg curls early in the workout and super setting lunges and back extensions later in the workout.

In my experience there are two major drawbacks with this exact split.

First of all, it can be quite taxing to train both your chest and your back in the same workout!

These are two relatively large muscle groups that often require some seriously heavy slag iron to get a training response!

The other major issue is that this split can be very demanding on the lumbar spine.

It is not at all easy to perform heavy rowing exercises including t-bar rows and dead stop rows and then return one day later to do heavy squats and deadlifts!

This was rarely a problem for Charles’ athletes because he almost never incorporated these heavy barbell rowing movements into his clients’ routines.

Instead he preferred rowing movements that are less demanding on the lower back such as one-arm arcing DB rows, one-arm elbows-out DB rows, and cable face pulls.

With all do respect to Charles, this is one area where I strongly disagree with Charles!

I believe these heavy rowing movements have a very important role to play in your training, especially if you use the form that I recommend on t-bar rows and barbell dead stop rows.

Nonetheless, this is a fantastic training split. If you tend to use rowing variations that place minimal stress on your lower back then I highly recommend you give it a try.

Charles Poliquin Style Split #2

Day 1: Arms / Rotator Cuff
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Chest / Back
Day 5: Off
Day 6: Repeat

If you are fond of using relatively heavier rowing movements in your training (as I am, both myself and with my online coaching clients) then you may find this split to be a better option.

There will always be at least 1 day of rest between workouts that significantly tax the lower back which will allow for just enough rest to progress without overtraining.

Another advantages to this specific split is that your arms have an extra day of rest before being hammered again on the chest / back day.

There really aren’t any obvious drawbacks to this split – I highly recommend you give it a shot if your schedule allows.

Charles Poliquin Style Split #3

Day 1: Chest / Elbow Flexors / Rotator Cuff
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Back / Shoulders / Triceps
Day 5: Off
Day 6: Repeat

This is another variation of the so-called Poliquin split.

You are still training antagonistic body parts together (for example, chest and biceps on day 1 and back and triceps on day 4).

Charles often used this specific split with his more dopamine-dominant athletes or those who were blessed with a higher percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibers.

For these gifted athletes it can be quite a challenge to train chest and back together on the same training day.

This split solves this problem by pairing either chest or back with a smaller muscle group such as biceps or triceps.

If you find yourself having trouble recovering from a properly programmed chest / back workout then I highly recommend you give this split a try!

Charles Poliquin Style Split #4

Day 1: Chest / Elbow Flexors / Triceps
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Back / Rotator Cuff
Day 5: Off

This is another split that deserves your attention.

Many people find that they have a hard time performing pressing movements twice in a five-day period.

For example, on the Poliquin-style split #1 you may be doing things like incline bench presses and incline dumbbell presses on chest / back day, and things like close grip bench presses or dips on arm day.

Some people find this is just too much of a good thing and they can’t properly recover!

The most important thing to notice is that the chest and triceps muscles are trained on the same day!

This gives these muscles a full five days of rest to recover with no overlapping of body parts.

This is actually one of my favorite splits to use with individuals with sub-optimal upper body structural balance.

I often just perform shoulder exercises (overhead pressing exercises, really) instead of the “chest” work on this split.

This organization makes it super easy to focus on the major upper body structural imbalances that I see in clients over and over again:

In fact, if I had to pick one split to use to correct a client’s upper body structural imbalances in record time, this would be it! (with chest work swapped out for shoulder / overhead pressing work, of course).

Check out the sample routines for an example of a great routine to improve upper body structural balance!

Charles Poliquin Style Split #5

Day 1: Chest/Back
Day 2: Quads
Day 3: Arms
Day 4: Hamstrings
Day 5: Off

OK, this is a rather extreme variation of the Poliquin split that should only be reserved for highly advanced bodybuilders.

I know many of you will be tempted to try this split before you are ready, which is why I am hesitant to include it here.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

This split breaks up the quads and hamstrings work into two seperate days. This allows bodybuilders with lagging lower bodies to really hammer the legs with a lot of volume and exercises.

The drawback to this split is that you are training 4 times in 5 days.

This is simply too much for most people to recover from, even those individuals with above average recovery ability!

This was a split Charles loved to use during his “5-Day Hypertrophy Bootcamp” seminars.

He purposefully over trained his students into the ground for five days.

After the initial five day training period he instructed his students to take a full five days off training and increase their baseline calorie intake by 50% for the five days!

Many students reported gaining several pounds of solid muscle (and even dropping body fat!) during the 5 day recover period.

This split is certainly interesting, but I think there are better options for most trainees.

Sample Training Routines

Here are a few sample training routines illustrating how you might organize your workouts using one of the above Poliquin splits.

Of course nearly every training style is possible with these routines, from high-volume bodybuilding training, to functional hypertrophy training, to pure strength-training routines.

Note: if you have any trouble at all reading the following workouts then please read through the following article:

How To Read A Workout Routine!

It will teach you step-by-step how to read a training program where all of the loading parameters are clearly defined 🙂

Now onto the sample routines!

Sample training routine #1

This routine uses the following split:

Day 1: Chest / Back
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Arms / Rotator Cuff
Day 5: Off

For example:

Day 1: Chest / Back

A1: 60 degree incline bench press, 5 x 5****, 4/0/X/0, 120 seconds rest
A2: Shoulder width supinated chin ups, 5 x 5****, 4/0/X/0, 120 seconds rest
B1: Decline DB press, 3 x 6-8, 3/1/1/0, 60 seconds rest
B2: 1-arm elbows-out DB row, 3 x 6-8, 2/0/1/2, 60 seconds rest

Day 2: Legs

A1: Front squat (heels flat / wide), 5 x 5****, 4/0/X/0, 120 seconds rest
A2: Standing leg curl (Poliquin method / feet neutral), 5 x 5****, 4/0/X/0, 120 seconds rest
B1: Rear foot elevated split squat, 3 x 6-8, 2/0/1/0, 60 seconds rest
B2: 45 degree back extension (with bands), 3 x 6-8, 3/0/X/1, 60 seconds rest

Day 4: Arms / Rotator Cuff

A1: Close grip bench press, 5 x 5****, 4/0/X/0, 120 seconds rest
A2: 1-arm preacher zottman curl, 5 x 5****, 4/0/X/0, 120 seconds rest
B1: Decline ez-bar extensions (bar to forehead), 3 x 6-8, 2/0/1/0, 60 seconds rest
B2: 60 degree incline DB curl (hammer grip), 3 x 6-8, 3/0/1/0, 60 seconds rest
C1: Seated DB external rotations (elbow on knee), 3 x 8-10, 3/0/1/0, 90 seconds rest

**** all sets performed as cluster sets! A cluster set is a set of five reps where you take a 10-15 second pause in between each rep.

During the pause the barbell should be loaded back onto the squat rack or bench press station etc.

Cluster sets were a favorite of master Poliquin for increasing relative and absolute strength at dizzying rates.

If you are more interested in strength than size then I recommend you give this routine a try.

Sample training routine #2

This routine uses the following split:

Day 1: Arms
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Chest / Back
Day 5: Off

For example:

Day 1: Arms

A1: V-bar dips (upright torso), 3-5 x 6-8, 3/2/X/0, 10 seconds rest
A2: Flat DB extensions, 3-5 x 10-12, 3/0/1/0, 10 seconds rest
A3: Overhead rope cable extensions, 3-5 x 15-20, 2/0/1/0, 120 seconds rest
B1: 30 degree incline DB curls (supinated / offset grip), 3-5 x 6-8, 3/0/X/0, 10 seconds rest
B2: Preacher ez-bar curl (pronated / wide grip), 3-5 x 10-12, 2/0/1/0, 10 seconds rest
B3: Preacher ez-bar curl (supinated / narrow grip), 3-5 x 15-20, 2/0/1/0, 120 seconds rest

Day 2: Legs

A1: Back squat (heels slightly elevated / medium stance), 3-5 x 6-8, 3/2/X/0, 10 seconds rest
A2: Leg press, 3-5 x 10-12, 3/0/1/0, 10 seconds rest
A3: Leg extension, 3-5 x 15-20, 1/0/1/1, 120 seconds rest
B1: Lying hamstring curl (feet plantar flexed / pointed in), 3-5 x 6-8, 4/0/X/0, 10 seconds rest
B2: DB Romanian deadlift, 3-5 x 10-12, 2/2/1/0, 10 seconds rest
B3: 90 degree back extension, 3-5 x 15-20, 2/0/X/0, 120 seconds rest

Day 3: Chest / Back

A1: 30 degree incline DB press, 3-5 x 6-8, 3/2/X/0, 10 seconds rest
A2: 30 degree incline DB fly, 3-5 x 10-12, 3/0/1/0, 10 seconds rest
A3: Pec-dec fly machine, 3-5 x 15-20, 2/0/1/0, 120 seconds rest
B1: Wide grip pronated pull ups, 3-5 x 6-8, 4/0/X/0, 10 seconds rest
B2: T-bar rows, 3-5 x 10-12, 3/0/1/0, 10 seconds rest
B3: Reverse pec dec (for rear delts), 3-5 x 15-20, 2/0/1/0, 120 seconds rest

This routine features tri-sets, another one of Charles Poliquin’s favourite training routines.

Tri-sets are better suited for packing on pounds of muscle as opposed to getting stronger.

I guarantee you some of the best gains of your life if you properly apply yourself on this type of tri-sets training routine for a good 3-6 workouts per body part!

Sample training routine #3

This split uses the following split:

Day 1: Shoulders / Elbow Flexors / Triceps
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Back / Rotator Cuff
Day 5: Off

For example:

Day 1: Shoulders / Elbow Flexors / Triceps

A1: Standing behind the neck press, 6 x 7/5/3/7/5/3, 2/0/X/0, 100 seconds rest
A2: Preacher ez-bar curl (supinated / wide grip), 6 x 7/5/3/7/5/3, 2/0/X/0, 100 seconds rest
B1: Dead skulls, 3 x 8-10, 3/1/X/0, 60 seconds rest
B2: Incline cable curls, 3 x 8-10, 2/0/1/1, 60 seconds rest

Day 2: Legs

A1: Deficit snatch grip deadlift, 6 x 7/5/3/7/5/3, 2/1/X/0, 180 seconds rest
B1: Walking lunge (holding DBs), 3 x 8-10, 1/0/1/0, 60 seconds rest
B2: Seated leg curls (ankles plantarflexed / pointed out), 3 x 8-10, 2/0/1/0, 60 seconds rest
C1: 90 degree back extension (barbell on back), 3 x 10-12, 2/0/1/2, 120 seconds rest

Day 4: Back / Rotator Cuff

A1: Close neutral grip pull ups, 6 x 7/5/3/7/5/3, 2/0/X/0, 100 seconds rest
A2: Standing cable external rotations (elbow by side), 6 x 5, 2/0/2/0, 100 seconds rest
B1: Seated cable rope face pulls (with max external rotation), 3 x 8-10, 2/0/1/2, 120 seconds rest

As discussed earlier this type of split is absolutely fantastic for improving upper body structural balance!

This is especially true when you swap out chest work for some overhead presses for the delts.

You may also notice that this routine uses the 7/5/3 wave loading protocol that I have talked about previously.

This is just an unbelievably effective training method for a large percentage of the training populace.

It boosts strength and functional hypertrophy at a tremendous rate!

If you have completed the upper body structural balance protocol and found weaknesses that need to be addressed then I highly recommend you give this routine a shot!

Verdict | The Charles Poliquin Training Splits!

Charles Poliquin has left the strength training world with many wonderful training concepts, from upper body structural balance norms to standardizing the tempo prescription to varying the method and mode of muscular contraction.

However, one of my favourite gems from Poliquin’s teachings is the Charles Poliquin training split.

These splits are not for everyone. In particular you must have a very flexible schedule as you will have to train on different days of the week each week to make it work.

However, if you have a more flexible schedule and are willing to put in some hard, hard work then this may be just the type of training split you need to realize your genetic potential!

Thank you for reading and best of luck with your strength training endeavors!

Antagonistic Body Part Pairing

The Charles Poliquin Training Splits

Sample Training Routines

Verdict | The Charles Poliquin Training Splits!

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