Popular 4‑day split trend
A viral training thread is pushing a 4‑day split—Push, Pull, Legs, Full Body—with high‑volume work (12–15 reps, 3–4 sets) and core drills like planks and ab‑wheel 3x/week for hypertrophy and conditioning (x.com). Trainers in the same thread also stress full range of motion on deep squats, Romanian deadlifts, overhead presses and lunges while warning against lightweight 'cute' workouts (x.com).
The American College of Sports Medicine’s 2026 position update recommends roughly 10 sets per muscle group per week for hypertrophy and separates strength prescription (heavier loads ≈80% 1RM) from higher-volume hypertrophy work. (acsm.org) A series of meta-analyses led by Brad Schoenfeld and colleagues found similar muscle-growth outcomes from low- and high-load training when sets are taken near failure, supporting effective hypertrophy across wide rep ranges including 12–15 reps. (unboundmedicine.com) Practical evidence reviews place the target weekly volume for most muscle groups at about 10–20 sets per week, meaning session-level prescriptions (for example, 3–4 sets per exercise) must fit into a larger weekly plan to drive growth. (outlift.com) Guidance on core programming routinely recommends training the trunk 2–3 times per week for most trainees, with many coaching guides and reviews listing ab-wheel rollouts and planks as exercises commonly programmed 2–3 sessions weekly for progressive overload. (cyvigor.com) Recent systematic reviews show deep (full‑range) squats produce greater quad and glute activation in training studies of 6–10 weeks without an observed increase in knee-joint injury risk when performed with proper technique. (frontiersin.org) Coaching literature highlights Romanian deadlifts for posterior‑chain hypertrophy and hip‑hinge teaching, and overhead presses as a high‑activation compound shoulder lift, while critics of social‑media “lightweight” trends say such routines often lack the progressive overload and weekly volume shown to drive measurable hypertrophy. (powerliftingtechnique.com)
