The Push / Pull Routine
In this workout we’re going to follow a PUSH / PULL training split. Which simply means that you’ll be doing pushing or pressing exercises during one workout, and pulling or rowing movements in the next workout.
This is a great routine because it allows you to work your muscle groups frequently and it allows for better recovery between movement patterns. One of the flaws with a lot of workout programs is that they train one major muscle group per day, and this often leads to overlapping similar movement patterns over the course of multiple workouts.
For example, if you train chest one day, shoulders the next, and triceps the following day you are literally working your “pressing” muscles 3 days in a row. This movement pattern overlap may cause repetitive use injuries. This is part of the reason why nagging injuries like rotator cuff problems and elbow tendonitis is so common among serious lifters.
Push-Pull workouts help to prevent these problems by grouping all the muscles involved in pushing (chest, triceps, quads, front and side delts) and all the muscles involved in pulling (back, biceps, rear delts, traps, forearms, hamstrings) together in their own workouts.
By separating your body parts by function, you’re able to hit the gym more often because the muscles you’re working that day aren’t beat up from your previous days workout. Also, by splitting a total body workout into two, you can go to the gym more often and this can help increase your fitness level and burn some extra calories along the way.
However, like any workout program, there are pros and cons to Push / Pull training…
You could inadvertently short-change certain muscle groups because in many Push / Pull workout routines, you end up training the smaller muscles like triceps, biceps, deltoids, etc. in a fatigued state compared to the major muscle groups like chest, back, and thighs. This is because the big compound lifts (squats, bench presses, deadlifts, rows, leg press, etc.) are typically done first in the routine.
But if you wanted to prioritize your smaller muscle groups you could simply switch the order in which you do your exercises and focus on the smaller moves first and finish off with the compound moves afterward. This will limit your strength in the power moves, but it will allow you to train your smaller muscles when they are fresh.
Note:
Unless you are trying to prioritize a stubborn muscle group (i.e. bring up weak arms)
I’d recommend following the exercise order as it’s listed in the workouts below.
Click The Link Below To Download The Full PUSH / PULL Workout Of The Month
–>> PUSH / PULL Workout Of The Month – PDF
–>> PUSH / PULL Printable Workout Charts – PDF
If you have any questions or comments about this workout program,
please post them in the forum and we’ll chat there 🙂