The Best Workout Split to Follow in 2026

 

If workouts have started to feel confusing or harder to stay consistent with, even though you genuinely want to take care of your body, or if you have ever chosen a plan that looked great on paper but felt impossible to keep up with once real life showed up, this conversation is for you. 

In this episode, I walk you through how to choose the right workout split based on how many days you realistically train each week. We break down two-day, three-day, four-day, and five-day splits, what each option looks like, and who each one supports best.

I also talk about workout length, weekly training load, recovery, and why doing less in a smarter way often leads to better results over time. This is about simplifying your approach so consistency feels possible instead of pressured.

Here is what you will learn:

• Why the most effective workout split is the one you can repeat
• How to choose a plan that works with your real schedule
• What two, three, four, and five-day splits actually look like
• How weekly training load impacts progress and recovery
• How to decide between 30-minute and 60-minute workouts

If this episode resonated, you may also enjoy:
Episode 566: What Most Women Get Wrong About Progressive Overload 

If you want more from me, be sure to check out… 

Website: www.juliealedbetter.com

Transcript

 (0:00) Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter, (0:05) a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I give you a dose of real talk (0:11) and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your (0:17) authentic self.

Stay tuned if you're ready to Embrace Your Real. Let's get it. Let's go.

(0:30) Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace Your Real podcast. I'm really glad that (0:34) you're here today because today we're going to be talking about something that I know can feel (0:38) very confusing and honestly, just a little overwhelming if you've ever tried to do fitness (0:42) the right way. Today we're going to be talking about workout splits and before your brain (0:46) completely checks out, because that sounds too technical or too intense, I just want you to (0:51) stay with me.

This episode is not about finding the most impressive plan or the most advanced (0:56) schedule. It's really about understanding how to use the workouts that you already have in a way (1:00) that actually fits your life and helps you to see results. One of the biggest reasons that women (1:05) struggle to stay consistent with exercise really has nothing to do with motivation.

It's usually (1:10) because the plan that they choose looks great on paper, but it completely falls apart in real life. (1:15) Like there's too many days. It's too much pressure, too much guilt when something gets (1:19) skipped and then it's just starts to feel like you're constantly behind.

And so today I really (1:24) want to help you simplify this and we're going to be walking through kind of the best two day, (1:28) three day, four day, five day workout split, which each one is best for how long your workouts (1:33) actually need to be and how to choose a plan that compounds results over time instead of burning (1:38) you out. So in today's episode, we're going to be breaking down why the best workout split is the (1:43) one that you can actually repeat, how to choose your split based on real life, not perfection, (1:49) what each split looks like and what it works best for, how to decide between a 30 minute or (1:55) 60 minute workout and why consistency always beats intensity. Before we dive in though, (2:00) I want to share this review.

It comes from figure outable 823. She gave a five star (2:05) review and said two decades. This podcast is absolutely incredible.

I have spent two (2:10) decades talking negatively to myself, not being my own best friend and not practicing (2:15) gratefulness. Listening to Julie each day has really saved my life in a short amount of time. (2:20) And I'm so grateful.

Thank you, Julie, for blessing us with your voice. I love you so (2:23) much. Well, I love you too.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to send in this review. (2:27) It really does mean the world to me and our team. Just kind of know if the podcast in general is (2:32) helping you.

That's amazing. We'd love to know maybe a specific episode really spoke to you in (2:35) this season of life or if you've had a friend that has tuned in, I would just love to hear (2:40) from you. So if you could scooch over to Apple podcasts and leave a rating and review, (2:43) that would mean the absolute world to me and our team.

If you are listening on Spotify, (2:47) you can still rate the podcast and that also helps us in the ratings as well. So if you (2:51) are listening over there, you can still do that for us. Thank you in advance for doing that.

(2:55) Okay. Let's dive into the best workout split to follow in 2026. So inside my movement with Julie (3:01) app, which is my dumbbell only workouts, there are five strength based workouts available each (3:06) week.

There's an upper body, there's a lower body, a full body, a shoulders and glutes, (3:10) and a cardio core workout. What I want to help you understand today is how to use those five (3:15) workouts, depending on how many days you're actually training right now, based on what is (3:19) realistic for you. So whether that's two days, three days, four days, five days, (3:23) there is a way to structure your training that supports your body instead of overwhelming it.

(3:28) And because more workouts only are helpful, if they add useful work, most days do not (3:34) automatically mean better results. What brings better results is consistency. So hopefully this (3:39) episode helps you kind of find a workout split that you can actually be consistent with.

(3:44) And before we break down each option, there's one thing that you need to understand about how (3:48) your body responds to strength training. So your body does not respond to just one workout. (3:53) It responds to the total amount of work it sees across the entire week.

And that's what we call (3:58) a weekly load, right? Your weekly load includes how much weight you lift, how many reps you're (4:03) performing, how much effort you're putting in, and how often your muscles are being challenged. (4:07) And when that weekly load is high enough and repeated consistently over time, your body is (4:13) going to adapt by getting stronger and more defined. When it's too low, progress is going (4:17) to slow or it's even going to stall.

And when it's too high, recovery starts to suffer and your (4:23) body feels run down constantly. Workout splits are simply a way to manage that weekly load in a way (4:29) that your body can handle and your life can actually support. So let's kind of break down (4:33) each weekly split.

So first I want to bring up a two-day workout split. So if you're training (4:39) two days a week, the best setup for most people is one upper body and one lower body. (4:44) And this is one of the most underrated ways to strength train, especially during a very busy or (4:49) unpredictable season of life.

Or maybe you're just getting started with two days you're giving (4:54) each major muscle group one focused training session per week. And that's often enough to (5:00) maintain strength to help you rebuild that consistency, especially if you're newer to (5:05) lifting or coming back after some time off. If you're following a two-day plan, I recommend (5:10) spreading those workouts instead of doing them back to back.

So for example, you might do an (5:15) upper body workout on Monday and a lower body workout on Thursday. That spacing is going to (5:19) give your body time to recover and helps each workout feel just kind of more manageable. (5:24) With this setup, the goal is not rapid change.

The goal is just consistency and maintenance (5:30) while you build momentum again. To get the most out of your two-day workout split daily movement (5:36) really does become important though. I like to think of this as honoring your body with movement (5:41) outside of your lifting days.

So try to aim for about 30 minutes a day of walking, mobility work, (5:47) light stretching, gentle activity. This again is going to keep your body moving. It's going to (5:51) support recovery and it's going to help you feel better overall without adding more stress.

(5:56) If you want to build the body that you want with just two training days a week, (6:00) nutrition is going to play one of the biggest roles here. (6:04) Hitting your macro targets is going to give your body the fuel that it needs to recover from training (6:09) and also maintain muscle without over fueling yourself, right? Strength training is going to (6:13) send that signal, but food provides the building blocks that allow your body to respond. (6:19) And this setup works beautifully when life is really full and your energy needs to be protected.

(6:24) Okay, now that you understand a two-day workout split, let's move on to a three-day workout split. (6:30) So a three-day workout split is oftentimes the sweet spot for many women. This usually looks like (6:35) one upper body, one lower body, and one full body.

A simple way to spread this out would be, (6:41) you know, a lower body on Monday, upper body on Wednesday, and full body on Friday. (6:46) The reason this works so well is because it increases your weekly load in a very intentional (6:51) way. You're no longer training each muscle group just one time a week.

The full body workout is (6:57) going to add another opportunity for your muscles to experience resistance. And that extra exposure (7:02) across the week is often what helps shift your body from maintenance into progress. So each time (7:08) you're lifting weights, you're giving your body a reason to adapt.

After a workout, your body (7:12) spends the next day or two repairing your muscles and making it a little stronger than before. (7:17) When you train again later in the week, you're reminding your body that strength is something (7:21) that it needs to keep. And that repeated signal paired with enough recovery in between, (7:26) that's what's going to lead to those real changes in how your body looks and how your body feels.

(7:31) And this setup gives you enough work to see progress without turning your workouts into (7:36) something that completely takes over your life. It's structured, but it still leaves time and (7:40) still leaves your room for flexibility. Like if you miss a day, you're not derailed.

You're (7:44) still giving your body enough consistent input across the week to keep your body moving (7:49) forward. If three days a week starts to really feel manageable and strength training becomes more (7:54) of a priority, that's when a four day split can make sense. So in a four day split, this oftentimes (7:59) includes an upper body, a lower body, a full body, and a shoulders and glutes workout.

And (8:04) this setup allows for you to increase your weekly training load in a really intentional way, (8:09) while also giving extra attention to areas many women care deeply about building. (8:14) So what makes this split so effective is that you're doing enough work to actually see change (8:20) without asking your life to revolve around your workouts. You're training enough to see (8:25) challenge in your muscles consistently, but not so often that recovery becomes a constant struggle.

(8:32) And having a dedicated shoulders and glutes day is a big part of why this split works so well. (8:37) Those muscles tend to respond best when they get focused on attention, right? Instead of (8:42) squeezing those movements in at the end of an already long workout, you have the space to slow (8:48) down, lift with better form, use appropriate weight, and accumulate enough volume to see progress. (8:54) And that quality of work really matters more than just doing more exercises.

This split also (9:00) supports progression really well. So when training days are spread across the week, (9:04) you can show up to each workout with more energy and focus, and you're not trying to (9:08) do everything in one or two sessions. And that allows you to gradually increase weight, (9:13) improve control, add reps over time without feeling beat up.

(9:17) Progress becomes something that you build, not something that you force. (9:20) From a recovery standpoint, this structure tends to feel better on the body. So your muscles and (9:26) your joints are not being overloaded in a single session, which helps soreness stay (9:30) manageable and keeps your nervous system from feeling constantly taxed.

(9:34) When recovery feels reasonable, consistency stays high. And that consistency is what (9:39) actually drives your results. A four-day split is especially powerful if you're serious (9:44) about seeing changes in your strength and your body composition, (9:47) but you still have a busy life, work, family, relationships, responsibilities, all of that (9:52) matters.

This split gives you enough structure to make progress while still leaving room for (9:57) the rest of your life to exist. And this option works best when your schedule is fairly (10:02) predictable and you enjoy having a routine. So if you like knowing exactly what you're (10:07) doing each day and you can realistically commit to four workouts most weeks, (10:11) a four-day split can feel incredibly satisfying.

It gives you momentum, (10:14) structure, and results without pushing you into this all or nothing mindset. (10:18) All right. Now I'm going to talk about the most amount of workouts.

So a five-day workout split. (10:23) So the five-day workout split is the most structured option. It can work really well (10:28) in certain seasons of life, but it's not automatically better than training fewer days.

(10:33) This workout includes all five available in my MooMoo and Julie app. So we have an upper body (10:38) workout, a lower body workout, full body, shoulders and glutes, and a cardio and core. (10:42) With this split, it's really going to offer focus.

So each workout has a very clear purpose (10:48) because you are training more frequently. Individual sessions can often be shorter (10:53) and more targeted. For some people, that feels really good.

You get into a rhythm, (10:57) you move your body most days of the week and training becomes just a part of your routine (11:00) rather than something that you have to hype yourself up for. That said, a five-day split (11:05) is advanced. This is not something I recommend if you're newer to strength training or still (11:10) building consistency in your routine.

Training five days a week really does require a certain (11:14) level of experience, recovery capacity, mental bandwidth. This is for someone who has been (11:19) training consistently for a while and really does feel ready to take things up a notch. (11:24) Not someone who is trying to jump from zero to all in.

(11:27) Recovery matters a lot here. When you're training five days a week, your body needs support to keep (11:33) up with that demand. Sleep, nutrition, hydration, and rest days all play a role, whether this split (11:38) feels empowering or exhausting.

And if recovery is not dialed in, progress, slows, and workouts (11:44) can start to feel heavier than they need to be. It's also really important to say this out (11:48) loud, but if you're following a five-day split, it is completely okay if some weeks you hit all (11:52) five workouts and other weeks you only hit four. This is still incredible dedication.

Your (11:57) body does not reset because you missed a day. It responds to what you do consistently over time, (12:02) not what you do perfectly every single week. So if fitting in five workouts per week feels (12:08) stressful or heavy, that's your cue to just listen to your body.

It does not mean that you're (12:12) failing. It does not mean that you're lacking discipline. It just simply means that this split (12:16) might not fit the season of life that you're in.

And that information is valuable. That data (12:21) is important to listen to. Building the body that you want comes from choosing a plan that (12:25) you can show up for most of the time, not from setting unrealistic expectations and feeling guilty (12:29) when you can't meet them.

The right split is the one that supports you, allows you to recover well, (12:34) and helps you to stay consistent without the pressure. Before we wrap up, I want to touch on (12:39) workout length because this is another area where people tend to over-complicate things. (12:43) Both the 30-minute and the 60-minute workouts can be effective.

The difference is not the (12:48) results. It's really just sustainability. 30-minute workouts are incredibly powerful for when your (12:53) schedule is really tight or just unpredictable.

Shorter sessions lower the barrier to starting, (12:58) which make follow-through more likely. But the 60-minute workouts work well when you're (13:02) training fewer days or when you're genuinely enjoying longer sessions and you have the time (13:06) and energy for them. Here's kind of my rule of thumb.

So let your schedule decide the workout (13:11) length, not your expectations. On busy days, choose the shorter option and show up fully. (13:16) On the days with more space, take the longer session.

Both count and both move you forward. (13:20) At the end of the day, your body responds to what it sees consistently and strength builds through (13:26) repeated exposure, not occasional perfection. Let me say that again.

Strength builds through (13:30) repeated exposure, not occasional perfection. When training feels manageable and supported (13:36) by proper fueling, consistency becomes easier to maintain and results begin to compound over time. (13:42) All right, before we wrap up, let me just quickly recap.

So the best workout split is not the one (13:47) that looks the most impressive. It's the one that fits your life well enough that you can (13:51) actually come back to it again and again. Two days, three days, four days, or five days, (13:56) those can all work.

30 or 60-minute, they can both work. These are just simply tools, (14:01) and the right tool is the one that supports your energy, your schedule, and your ability (14:05) to stay consistent without the pressure. If you want help putting this into practice, (14:09) this is exactly why I created my Moomoo and Julie Dumble Only workouts.

Your workouts are (14:13) already mapped out based on different splits and the time options, so you don't have to overthink (14:18) it or start from scratch. You can choose what feels right in your life right now, (14:22) just show up and let the consistency do the work. Also, if nutrition has been the piece that makes (14:27) your workouts feel harder to sustain, I have my macro counting made simple online academy.

This (14:32) is here to give you a clear balance framework for fueling your body in a way that supports your (14:37) strength, recovery, and energy without the extremes. Remember, you don't need to get more (14:42) results. You need to do what you can repeat.

If this episode was helpful, I would love for you to (14:47) share it with a friend who's just trying to figure out the routine right now, or leave a review if (14:52) you haven't already. That truly does mean the world to me and our team. That is all that I have (14:56) for today's episode, but if you love this episode, I know you will also love episode 566, (15:01) what most women get wrong about progressive overload.

I will go ahead and link that in (15:05) the show notes below. I love you so much. I mean it.

I'll talk to you in the next one. (15:17) All right, sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. (15:23) First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so Julie A. (15:28) Ledbetter.

Yes, it's with an A in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk, (15:33) healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. (15:37) The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. (15:43) Thank you so much for joining me.

It means the absolute world, and I'm going to leave you with (15:48) one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are (15:52) completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty (15:59) goes so much deeper than the surface, so go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.

 
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