Strongman has a scheduling problem that other strength sports do not. A powerlifter trains three lifts. A strongman trains three lifts plus five events that change at every competition, and the events are the most fatiguing training you can do. Fit that into four days without burying yourself and you have solved most of the sport’s programming.
The split is where that gets decided — not the exercises, not the percentages. Get the split right and everything downstream becomes simple.
The principle: heavy barbell work and heavy event work should never sit next to each other. Every good strongman split is built by placing your two most demanding days as far apart as possible, then filling in around them.
The four-day split (the default)
If you can train four days, this is the structure most competitors settle on eventually:
| Day | Focus | Main work |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Lower / pull | Deadlift or variation, rows, posterior chain |
| Tuesday | Overhead | Log or axle press, strict press, upper accessories |
| Thursday | Squat | Squat, front or Zercher squat, single-leg work |
| Saturday | Events | Moving events, carries, loading, conditioning |
Why this order works: the deadlift day and the event day — the two heaviest hits on the posterior chain and the nervous system — are five days apart. Overhead sits the day after deadlifts because pressing barely competes with pulling for recovery. Squats land midweek, far from Saturday’s carries.
The three-day split
Three days is enough, and for lifters with jobs and families it is often more productive than four badly recovered days. The compromise is that events merge into the strength days.
| Day | Strength | Event work bolted on |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Deadlift 4 × 3 | Farmer’s walk, 4 × 20 m |
| Wednesday | Overhead press 5 × 3 | Log clean and press, 6 × 2 |
| Saturday | Squat 4 × 5 | Yoke or sandbag, then a short medley |
The rule that keeps this from collapsing: the event goes after the barbell lift, and it stays short. Four to six working sets, stopped while the movement still looks good. Events are skill practice with a heavy load attached, not the conditioning finisher.
Where the event day goes
This is the question that decides the split. Three workable answers, each with a real trade-off:
- Its own day (best). Events get you fresh, which is when technique is learnable. Costs a training day.
- After the matching strength day. Press events after overhead, carries after deadlifts. Efficient and specific, but you practise the event tired — acceptable for conditioning, poor for learning.
- Split across two short sessions. Twenty minutes of one event twice a week. Excellent for skill, hard to schedule if you travel to equipment.
If you only get to real implements once a week — which is the norm for anyone without a strongman gym nearby — make that session its own day, plan it properly, and use gym substitutions for the rest of the week.
How the split changes near a competition
Eight weeks out, the balance flips. Barbell work becomes maintenance and the events become the priority, because at that point the specific skill is worth more than another 5 kg on your squat.
| Weeks out | Barbell | Events | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12–9 | Heavy, 3 days | 1 general day | Build the base |
| 8–5 | Moderate, 2–3 days | 2 days, competition implements | Learn the actual event list |
| 4–2 | Light, 2 days | 2 days at competition weights | Rehearse, including the order of events |
| 1 | One light session | One short technical session | Arrive fresh |
Rehearsing the order of the events matters more than beginners expect. Doing a heavy yoke immediately after a max deadlift feels nothing like doing it fresh, and competition day is a poor time to discover that.
Splits to avoid
- Bodybuilding splits. Chest day and arm day have no place here; the sport is organised around movements and events, not muscles.
- Two heavy pulling days back to back. Deadlifts on Monday and a loading medley on Tuesday is one session with a nap in the middle.
- Five or six days without a plan for recovery. Events raise recovery demands well beyond what the same volume of barbell work costs. More days is not more progress unless sleep and food keep up.
- Everything on the weekend. Two enormous sessions and five days off produces a lot of soreness and very little adaptation.
Building your own
Three questions, in order:
- How many days can you genuinely train? Not in a good week — in an average one. Build for the average.
- When can you reach implements? That day is fixed; everything else moves around it.
- What is your weakest discipline? It gets the freshest slot in the week. For most strongmen that is overhead, and most people schedule it last.
Once the split holds for a few months, progress becomes a programming question rather than a scheduling one — which is when conditioning and event specialisation start to earn their place.
This article is part of the complete strongman training guide.
Want a split built around your week?
Online coaching with Rauno Heinla starts with a questionnaire about your schedule, your equipment access and your competition plans — the three things a split has to be built from.