Are you curious about the Tristyn Lee training split?
Do you want to know Tristyn Lee trains for size and strength?
Then you’ve come to the right place.
In this comprehensive guide, I will teach you exactly how to use the Tristyn Lee training split to take your training to the next level!
Introduction
- Part 1: Chest
- Part 2: Arms
- Part 3: Legs
- Part 4: Shoulders
- Part 5: Back
Tristyn Lee is one of the most popular bodybuilders on the planet.
He is most famous for his shredded physique – Tristyn walks around at 5% body fat year round!
So how does Tristyn Lee train to stay in unbelievable shape?
Is it a secret workout routine, or is he just gifted for building muscle?
Tristyn Lee trains 5 days per week using a traditional bodybuilding bro split. He trains each major muscle group on its own separate training day, which allows him to use a ton of volume and intensity for each body part.
Here is the exact training split that Tristyn Lee uses to build muscle mass and stay shredded year-round:
The Tristyn Lee Training Split
- Day 1: Chest
- Day 2: Arms
- Day 3: Legs
- Day 4: Shoulders
- Day 5: Back
- Day 6: Off
- Day 7: Off
Tristyn Lee trains 5 days in a row, and then takes the weekends off. Talk about incredible recovery ability!
Let’s start by looking at one of Tristyn Lee’s favorite chest workouts.
Tristyn Lee likes to train his chest using many different exercises, such as dumbbell presses, machine presses, and isolation exercises.
He almost never performs the bench press or incline bench press.
Instead, he likes to focus on more joint-friendly exercises where he can get a great mind-muscle connection. Check it out:
The Tristyn Lee Chest Workout
- Exercise #1: Supine machine press, 5 sets of 15-20 reps
- Exercise #2: Flat dumbbell press, 4 sets of 15 reps
- Exercise #3: 45 degree incline dumbbell press, 4 sets of 15 reps
- Exercise #4: Single arm pec dec, 3 sets of 15 reps
Here is the training video:
Talk about an intense workout!
For this workout, Tristyn Lee performs all of his exercises in the 15-20 rep range.
He says high reps and low reps both have their advantages – the key is to train all out and go to failure.
Even if you are doing a set of 20 reps, he believes you will achieve full muscle activation if you take your set all the way to failure.
“Some people just do endless reps. Let’s say you’re doing 20 reps, and it starts to burn.
But that may not be true failure, it’s just mental exhaustion.
Whereas when you work to actual failure, your muscle is getting activated better.”
Of course, Tristyn Lee also performs lower rep sets in his chest workouts.
He believes for optimal results you should perform both high reps and low reps. That way, you are hitting all of the fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers.
“So it’s good to do both, because with higher volume, you’re going to gain more mind-muscle connection.
It’s just a different type of stimulus when you train with lower reps.”
Tristyn Lee trains his arms on day 2 of his training split.
He likes to train his biceps and triceps together, as they are smaller muscle groups, and he doesn’t see the need for a separate training day for them. Check it out:
The Tristyn Lee Arm Workout
- Exercise #1: Machine preacher curl, 4 sets of 10-15 reps
- Exercise #2: Cable pushdown, 4 sets of 10-15 reps
- Exercise #3: Barbell curl, 4 sets of 10-15 reps
- Exercise #4: 15 degree incline ez-bar extension, 4 sets of 10-15 reps
- Exercise #5: Standing alternating dumbbell curl, 4 sets of 10-15 reps
Here is the training video:
Talk about an intense workout!
For this routine, Tristyn Lee performs a total of 5 exercises. He performs 3 exercises for his biceps and 2 exercises for his triceps.
Let’s start by talking about his biceps exercises.
Tristyn Lee does a great job of using different exercises that target the long and short heads of the biceps, such as machine preacher curls, barbell curls, and standing dumbbell curls.
He keeps all of his biceps exercises in the 10-15 rep range, as he feels this is the best way to build big, muscular arms.
For triceps, Tristyn only performs 2 exercises: cable pushdowns and incline ez-bar extensions.
Most bodybuilders perform at least 3 exercises per workout for their triceps, but on this day, Tristyn felt that 2 exercises was more than enough.
Now let’s look at one of Tristyn Lee’s favorite leg workouts. Check it out:
Tristyn Lee Leg Workout
- Exercise #1: Leg extensions, 4 sets of 15 reps
- Exercise #2: Lying leg curls, 4 sets of 15 reps
- Exercise #3: Smith machine squat, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
- Exercise #4: Sumo leg press, 2 x 20 second isometric hold
- Exercise #5: Seated leg curls, 2 sets of 10-12 reps
Here is the training video:
Talk about an intense leg workout!
If you have been following Tristyn for a long time, you know he likes to mix things up in his leg workouts.
Sometimes he starts his leg routine with heavy squats or deadlifts, and other times he uses machine and isolation exercises to pre-exhaust his quads and hamstrings.
For this workout, he used the pre-exhaust method on leg extensions and leg curls.
Then, after his quads and hamstrings were already pre-fatigued, he moved onto his heavy compound exercises like machine squats and leg presses.
During the workout Tristyn talks about the importance of exploding the weight up – especially on hamstrings exercises. Check it out:
“I focus on exploding the weight up, especially on hamstrings because they are a fast-twitch muscle, so just explode as hard as you can from the bottom position.”
This is great advice! The hamstrings are a fast-twitch muscle, and clearly respond best to explosive concentric phases on most exercises.
Tristyn Lee trains his upper back on day 4 of his training split.
He uses a lot of variety in his back workout, but he almost always uses certain exercises, such as the supinated grip pulldown.
Here is one of Tristyn’s back workouts that you can try. Check it out:
Tristyn Lee Back Workout
- Exercise #1: Lat pulldown (medium / supinated grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps
- Exercise #2: Dorian deadlift, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
- Exercise #3: Lying dumbbell pullover, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
- Exercise #4: Chest supported row, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
Here is the training video:
Talk about an intense workout!
Tristyn Lee performs a total of 4 exercises for his back, including a healthy mix of compound and isolation exercises.
He starts his workout with one of his all-time favorite back exercises: the supinated grip lat pulldown!
He says he feels this exercise much more in his back, as the underhand grip really lets you isolate your lats.
“I’m not claiming this is the best back exercise, but it’s helped me the most in terms of building back mass and thickness.”
Next Tristyn performs another one of his favorite mass-building exercises: the Dorian deadlift!
This is an exercise that was popularized by the legendary bodybuilder Dorian Yates.
On a normal deadlift, you lower the weight to the ground in between each rep. With the Dorian deadlift, you only lower the weight to mid-shin level before lifting it back up. Check it out:
“This is an exercise I like to do at the start of my workout, like in the first 2-3 exercises.
It’s so taxing, especially with all the breaking that you have to do.
And sense you’re not going straight up and down like a pencil, it’s so taxing on your lats.“
The Dorian deadlift puts less pressure on your lower back, and more stress on your upper back.
Tristyn Lee’s upper back is one of his best body parts, so this is definitely worth giving a shot!
Finally, Tristyn Lee trains shoulders on day 5 of his unique training split.
Here is one of his shoulder workouts that you can try. Check it out:
Tristyn Lee Shoulder Workout #1
- Exercise #1: Standing dumbbell lateral raise, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
- Exercise #2: Smith machine overhead press, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
- Exercise #3: Cable front raise, 4 sets of 15 reps
- Exercise #4: Bent over rear delt dumbbell fly, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
- Exercise #5: Machine lateral raise, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
Here is the training video:
Talk about an intense shoulder workout!
Tristyn Lee starts this workout with the pre-exhaust method.
He fatigues his side delts with dumbbell lateral raises before doing anything else. Then, after his side delts have been pre-exhausted, he moves onto his heavy compound pressing exercise.
This is an interesting way to make your side delts work harder on your heavy overhead pressing movements.
“We’re going to try to hit 12-15 reps on this.
It’s a different type of exertion when you’re doing higher volume. Going heavy and doing lower reps is a lot of times easier mentally.
So pushing past those limits is really good for my training.”
After the overhead press, Tristyn performs a variety of isolation exercises for his front, side, and rear delts.
Tristyn especially likes the machine lateral raises that he performed at the end of his routine.
He says this variation lets you hit your side delts better than dumbbells, as there is no pressure on your shoulders in the top position.
“It’s similar to using a cable for front raises.
I’m able to squeeze my delts at the top of the movement without risking my shoulder joint.
It’s different from a dumbbell lateral raise where I have to be a little more cautious.”
I have to agree, the machine lateral raise is a much better exercise for building your side delts.
Unlike dumbbells, the machine gives you consistent tension through the entire range of motion, which means a higher-quality muscle building stimulus.
Conclusion | The Tristyn Lee Training Split
Tristyn Lee is one of the biggest fitness influencers in the world, and it’s easy to see why.
He trains using a unique bodybuilding training split with a separate workout for each major muscle group.
Tristyn says this training split is key, as it lets you hit each body part with a ton of volume and intensity.
If you are looking for a new training split to shock your body into growth, then let it be the Tristyn Lee training split.
It may be just what you need to take your training to the next level!
Before you go, check out my other world-class bodybuilding articles:
- The Tristyn Lee Workout Routine!
- The Ronnie Coleman Training Program!
- The Dorian Yates Training Program!
- The Arnold Schwarzenegger Training Program!
- The Jay Cutler Training Program!
Trust me – you won’t find this cutting edge information anywhere else!
“Failure is not an option. Everyone has to succeed.”
Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of luck on your strength training journey!