Pick the split you can still do when Wednesday disappears. Full-body, upper/lower and push/pull/legs can all organise productive resistance training. The practical difference is how many training days they ask you to protect, and what a missed day does to the rest of the week.
Look at the week before you look at the name
Split names sound like training philosophies. Most are just filing systems. They decide which body areas or movement patterns share a session.
A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis compared split and full-body routines in healthy adults. Average changes in strength and muscle growth were similar when weekly training volume was equated. That is useful, but narrow. It does not say that any plan works for any person, or that showing up and recovering stop mattering. It says the label alone is a poor reason to expect a different result.
The American College of Sports Medicine is the main US sports-medicine body. Their latest position stand, a much larger review of reviews, comes to a compatible conclusion. Progressive lifting improves strength, muscle size and several measures of how well you move. Relatively few programming details consistently change those results. The plan still needs enough work, progression and recovery. The split is how you arrange those jobs.
Seven days, and what one missed session costs
A split’s real cost is not how many sessions it names. It is how many of your seven days it claims, and how little room is left when one of them goes wrong. Read the tally first, then the branch below it.
| Split | The week |
|---|---|
| Full Body Fundamentals 3 training, 4 open | Train Train Train Open Open Open Open |
| Upper Lower Split 4 training, 3 open | Train Train Train Train Open Open Open |
| PPL (Push Pull Legs) 6 training, 1 open | Train Train Train Train Train Train Open |
Then imagine one session disappears
- Does the rest of the planned week still train what the missed session covered?
- Yes. A full-body week repeats the whole body in every session, so the sessions you keep still cover it. Outcome: resume as written and let the week be a short one.
- No. Upper/lower and push/pull/legs give each session its own content, so that content is simply absent. Go to the next question.
- Read the tally above: is there an open slot left in the week?
- Several open slots. Three on a four-day plan, four on a three-day plan. Outcome: you have room to move the session without crowding the next one.
- One open slot. The six-day plan. Using it removes the only unclaimed day in the week. Outcome: decide whether you want the session or the recovery, because you cannot have both.
- No open slot you are recovered enough to use. Outcome: resume the sequence a day later, or repeat the week. Do not stack two demanding sessions to catch up.
The three Forte programmes
These are the live Forte programmes that match the three splits. None of them is the winner.
Forte programme
beginner8 weeks3 days a weekFull Body Fundamentals
Each session covers the whole body.
Forte programme
intermediate8 weeks4 days a weekUpper Lower Split
Upper and lower on alternating days. Leave it if that week is not realistic.
Forte programme
intermediate8 weeks6 days a weekPPL (Push Pull Legs)
One rest day. Only if that week is realistic.
Full Body Fundamentals is listed as a beginner, full-gym programme scheduled for three days per week. Upper Lower Split is listed as an intermediate, full-gym programme scheduled for four. PPL is listed as an intermediate, full-gym programme scheduled for six. All three current rows have an eight-week duration.
That gives you a clean first filter:
- If three protected training days is realistic, inspect the full-body option.
- If four is realistic and you like alternating upper and lower sessions, inspect upper/lower.
- If six is realistic without borrowing time from sleep, work or recovery, inspect PPL.
Do not turn the six-day option into the default merely because it has more sessions. More scheduled days create more chances to train, but also more chances for the week to unravel.
Imagine Wednesday disappears
Before choosing, imagine that Wednesday disappears.
With three full-body days, one missed session removes a large share of the planned week, but the remaining sessions still cover the whole body. With an upper/lower plan, the consequence depends on which day was missed and whether you can move the next session without stacking work you have not recovered from. With PPL, the sequence has more sessions, so moving one day can push the whole rotation later.
This is not a rule to squeeze every missed session back into the same calendar week. It is a prompt to read the programme, check your recovery, and decide whether to resume the sequence or repeat the week. The Forte catalogue fields do not prove an automatic rescheduling behaviour, so this article does not claim one.
Ask three questions:
- Can I protect the advertised number of days in a typical week, not my best week?
- If one session moves, do I still have room to train without placing demanding sessions back to back by accident?
- Will I follow the programme as written, or am I already planning to rewrite half of it?
If the third answer is yes, choose a schedule that fits better before changing the programme.
Session length is not the only cost
A three-day plan may place more work inside each visit. A six-day plan may spread work across more visits, but each visit still has travel, setup and attention costs. Forte does not publish a reliable minutes-per-session figure for these three, so there is no honest comparison here.
Use your own last month as evidence. Count the days you could actually train, then leave one day of margin. If you managed four days only when nothing went wrong, a four-day schedule has no buffer.
Pick, then stop shopping
Once a split fits the week you actually have, give it enough time to be judged. Keep a log. Follow its progression instructions. Watch whether performance is stable or improving and whether you can return for the next session as planned.
Changing splits every time a week feels imperfect hides the more useful question: did the schedule fail, or did one unusual week happen? A workable plan can survive a missed day. It does not need a dramatic restart.
Frequently asked questions
Is PPL better for building muscle than full-body training?
The 2024 review found similar average muscle-growth outcomes for split and full-body routines when volume was equated. That does not make every PPL and full-body programme interchangeable. Compare the actual work, progression and schedule.
Is full-body training only for beginners?
No. Full-body describes session organisation, not a permanent ability level. The specific Forte Full Body Fundamentals row is labelled beginner in the current catalogue. That label belongs to this programme, not every full-body plan.
What if I can train five days?
Do not force a six-day plan into five days without reading how its sequence works. A four-day plan with a buffer may be easier to repeat. The best choice is the one whose written schedule you can follow.
References
- Ramos-Campo DJ, et al. Efficacy of Split Versus Full-Body Resistance Training on Strength and Muscle Growth: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2024. PMID 38595233.
- Currier BS, et al. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2026. PMID 41843416.