Programme · Advanced · 6 days a week

Arnold Split

Arnold Split is a common advanced muscle-building programme. Chest/Back, Shoulders/Arms, Legs — twice per week, golden-era bodybuilding. VALDA doesn't offer it as a programme to start: import your own copy (Smart Import, part of VALDA Pro) and VALDA recognises it, so your sessions log against it.

VALDA recognises this programme when you import it (Smart Import, part of VALDA Pro); there's no VALDA template to start. In the app it's listed as “Classic 6-Day Split”.

Who it's for

Is Arnold Split for you?

Advanced bodybuilders with 3+ years of training, the recovery capacity to train six days per week, and the time budget for 75+ minute sessions.

At a glance

Level: Advanced
Goal: Muscle size
Time: 6 days a week, ~75–90 min a session
Length: 4 weeks

A 6-day-per-week bodybuilding split that hits every major muscle group twice per week. High-volume, moderate-rep work with plenty of accessory variety. A classic golden-era pattern still widely used by advanced bodybuilders.

Structure

6 sessions

Arnold Split sessions
Session	Exercises
Chest + Back A	Bench Press · 4×8 Incline Barbell Bench Press · 3×10 Cable Fly · 3×10 Barbell Row · 4×8 Pull-up · 3×10 Deadlift · 8/6/4
Shoulders + Arms A	Overhead Press · 4×8 Lateral Raise · 3×10 Face Pull · 3×10 Barbell Curl · 3×10 Hammer Curl · 3×10 Tricep Pushdown · 3×10 Close-Grip Bench Press · 3×8
Legs A	Squat · 4×8 Leg Press · 3×12 Romanian Deadlift · 3×10 Leg Curl · 3×10 Leg Extension · 3×10 Calf Raise · 4×15
Chest + Back B	Incline Barbell Bench Press · 4×8 Dumbbell Bench Press · 3×10 Cable Fly · 3×10 Pull-up · 4×8 Lat Pulldown · 3×10 Seated Cable Row · 3×10
Shoulders + Arms B	Dumbbell Shoulder Press · 4×8 Lateral Raise · 3×10 Rear Delt Fly · 3×10 Dumbbell Curl · 3×10 Preacher Curl · 3×10 Cable Tricep Extension · 3×10
Legs B	Front Squat · 3×8 Bulgarian Split Squat · 3×10 Leg Curl · 3×10 Leg Extension · 3×10 Calf Raise · 4×15

Six sessions per week: Chest+Back, Shoulders+Arms, Legs, repeating once. Sessions are 15-20 sets of compound and isolation work at 6-12 reps.

Progression

How the weights move

Progression is organic — add weight when you hit the top of the rep range; add volume gradually when stalled. There is no formal progression scheme to run, so VALDA carries no engine for this split: it logs what you lift and leaves every increase to your judgement, which is how golden-era bodybuilding worked.

In VALDA

Train your copy of Arnold Split

With Smart Import, part of VALDA Pro, paste or import your own copy, and VALDA recognises it as this programme
Your sessions log against the right programme, and progress is tracked under its name
Log sets from your phone, Apple Watch or Wear OS watch

Quick answers

Arnold Split questions

Who is Arnold Split for?

Advanced bodybuilders with 3+ years of training, the recovery capacity to train six days per week, and the time budget for 75+ minute sessions.

How many days a week is Arnold Split?

As VALDA runs it: 6 days a week, ~75–90 min a session.

How does progression work on Arnold Split?

Can I run Arnold Split in VALDA?

VALDA doesn't offer Arnold Split as a programme to start. With Smart Import, part of VALDA Pro, paste or import your own copy and VALDA recognises it, so your sessions log against the right programme.

About the programme

Where Arnold Split comes from

The 6-day chest+back / shoulders+arms / legs split was popularised by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1970s-80s and codified in the *Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding*. The pattern traces further back to 1960s golden-era bodybuilding tradition.

This page describes a common training programme for information. It isn't a personal prescription.