ADVANCED TRAINING PLAN – GREATER STRENGTH, ENDURANCE & TARGETED PROGRESS

The 5-Day Training Plan for Targeted Muscle Growth

A structured training plan helps experienced strength athletes target specific muscle groups and achieve long-term progress. As training experience increases, appropriate workload management, exercise selection and sufficient recovery become increasingly important.

This 5-day split for advanced lifters distributes strength training across different muscle groups. It combines compound exercises with additional isolation movements and provides a foundation for further muscle growth and strength development.

Important: This programme involves a high training volume and is intended for experienced athletes. The number of sets, training weights and training days should be adjusted according to individual capacity and recovery ability.

5-DAY SPLIT FOR ADVANCED LIFTERS – TRAINING OVERVIEW

DAY 1 – CHEST AND TRICEPS

• Barbell Bench Press: 5 sets × 6–8 repetitions

• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 4 sets × 8–10 repetitions

• Dips: 4 sets × 8–10 repetitions

• Cable Flyes: 3 sets × 12–15 repetitions

• Cable Triceps Pushdowns: 4 sets × 10–12 repetitions

• EZ-Bar French Press: 3 sets × 10–12 repetitions

Training Focus: Targeting the chest muscles and triceps through a combination of multi-joint pressing exercises and additional isolation movements.

DAY 2 – BACK AND BICEPS

• Conventional Deadlift: 5 sets × 5 repetitions

• Pull-Ups: 4 sets × 8–12 repetitions

• Barbell Rows: 4 sets × 8–10 repetitions

• Close Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets × 10–12 repetitions

• Barbell Curls: 4 sets × 8–10 repetitions

• Dumbbell Hammer Curls: 3 sets × 10–12 repetitions

Training Focus: Developing back width, back thickness and the biceps. Maintain a stable body position and controlled movements during all pulling exercises.

DAY 3 – LEGS AND CALVES

• Barbell Squats: 5 sets × 6–8 repetitions

• Leg Press: 4 sets × 10 repetitions

• Romanian Deadlift: 4 sets × 8–10 repetitions

• Lunges: 3 sets × 12 repetitions per leg

• Leg Curls: 3 sets × 12 repetitions

• Standing Calf Raises: 5 sets × 15 repetitions

Training Focus: Strengthening the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Proper technique is particularly important during squats and Romanian deadlifts.

DAY 4 – SHOULDERS AND ABDOMINALS

• Barbell Shoulder Press: 5 sets × 6–8 repetitions

• Dumbbell Lateral Raises: 4 sets × 12 repetitions

• Bent-Over Lateral Raises: 4 sets × 12 repetitions

• Cable or Dumbbell Front Raises: 3 sets × 12 repetitions

• Weighted Crunches: 4 sets × 20 repetitions

• Hanging Leg Raises: 4 sets × 15 repetitions

• Plank: 3 sets × 60–90 seconds

Training Focus: Strengthening the front, lateral and rear shoulder muscles while improving core stability.

DAY 5 – ARMS AND INDIVIDUAL WEAK POINTS

• Close-Grip Bench Press: 4 sets × 8–10 repetitions

• EZ-Bar Curls: 4 sets × 8–10 repetitions

• Rope Triceps Pushdowns: 3 sets × 12 repetitions

• Concentration Curls: 3 sets × 12 repetitions

• Parallel Bar or Bench Dips: 3 sets × 12 repetitions

• Cable Hammer Curls: 3 sets × 12 repetitions

• Individual Accessory Exercises: As required, taking the overall training workload into account.

Training Focus: Targeted arm training and improving individual weak points. As the biceps and triceps are already trained on other days, additional training volume should be planned carefully.

IMPORTANT TRAINING RULES FOR ADVANCED LIFTERS

• Rest Between Sets: Rest periods of 2–3 minutes or longer are often beneficial for heavy compound exercises. Approximately 60–120 seconds may be sufficient for lighter isolation exercises.

• Progressive Overload: Aim to improve your training performance over time. This may involve completing additional repetitions, increasing training weights or improving exercise technique.

• Protein Intake: For many strength athletes, approximately 1.4–2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day is a useful guideline.

• Sleep: Aim for approximately 7–9 hours of sleep per night. Adequate recovery supports physical performance and adaptation to training.

• Recovery Weeks: If you experience persistent fatigue or have completed a prolonged period of intensive training, a planned reduction in training volume or intensity may be beneficial. A fixed schedule is not necessary for everyone.

• Training Schedule: The five training days do not have to be consecutive. With a demanding programme such as this, additional rest days between sessions may be helpful.

TRAINING VOLUME AND MUSCLE GROWTH – WHAT DOES SCIENCE SAY?

The appropriate number of training sets per muscle group depends on factors such as training experience, intensity and recovery capacity. More training volume does not automatically lead to better results.

In our scientific article, you can learn how the number of training sets may influence muscle growth and how training requirements differ between beginners and advanced lifters.

→ READ OUR SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE ON TRAINING VOLUME

CONCLUSION – EFFECTIVE MUSCLE GROWTH WITH A 5-DAY SPLIT

A 5-day split allows experienced strength athletes to distribute training for different muscle groups across several sessions. However, long-term progress depends not only on the number of training days, but also on appropriate workload management, proper technique and sufficient recovery.

Train consistently, improve your performance gradually and adapt your training plan to your individual needs and abilities.

Find more information in our Bodybuilding, Muscle Growth and Recovery sections.

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