When it comes to hitting the weights, one of the biggest decisions trainees have to make is which workout split they’re going to use. A workout split is simply the body parts that will be trained and on which days to train them.

The simplest training split is the full body split. This mean you’ll work then entire body in one workout. This is usually done two or three days per week such as Monday and Thursday or Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Most beginners start with a full body workout split. After a while, as you build muscle mass and gain strength, it can be tough to get through an entire full body workout if you’re training intensely. This is where the idea of split routines come into play.

A split routine is simply dividing up body parts into different workouts and training them on different days of the week. For example, on of the most common split routines is the upper body / lower body split.

Yes, it’s as simple as it sounds. One workout would consist of all upper body training. The next workout would be all lower body training. The workout days vary. Some people train the upper lower split six days per week, alternating upper and lower body workouts Monday through Saturday and then taking Sunday off. This hits all muscles twice per week.

Another variation of this split is to workout Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The upper body workout is done on Monday and Thursday and the lower body workout is performed on Tuesday and Friday.

This brings us to maybe the most popular of the split routines and that’s the push/ pull style workouts. While the idea of this split routine is pretty simple, it does take a little more planning in terms of exercise selection and when you perform the workouts.

With the push / pull training split, you divide the training into two different workouts. But instead of dividing by the muscle groups, you divide by how the exercises work. One session is all pushing exercises. This is any exercise that involves pushing the weight. Some examples include the bench press, shoulder press, squat, dips, tricep extensions, and calf raises.

For pulling exercises, we’re talking about exercises like deadlifts, bent over rows, pull ups and chin ups, lat pulldowns and any kind of bicep curl.

Let’s take a look at push/ pull style workouts.

Workout #1 (Push)

Barbell Squat

Bulgarian Split Squat

Standing Calf Raise

Barbell Bench Press

Dumbbell Incline Press

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Lying Tricep Extension

Workout #2 (Pull)

Barbell Deadlift

Stiff-Legged Deadlift

One Arm Dumbbell Row

Lat Pulldown

Standing Barbell Curl

Incline Dumbbell Curl

Now let’s take a look at why the push / pull split routine takes a little more thought.

For starters, there can be a little more overlap in the muscles that are worked in the routine. Variations of the squat and deadlift both hit the lower back pretty hard.

Also, while the squats focus more on the quadricep muscles of the thigh, they also hit the hamstrings. The stiff-legged deadlifts hit the hamstrings and the lower back pretty hard. Regular deadlifts hit the lower back and the hamstrings.

Most back exercises, also hit the shoulders to a lesser degree. What this means is that while push/ pull style workouts are really effective and building muscle and strength, it’s probably best that you don’t hit the workouts on consecutive days. Instead, you should always have a day of rest between the workouts.

By allowing the body rest after each workout, you’ll make sure the muscles can recover and give the next workout the intensity it deserves to increase muscle and strength.

One of the most important things to understand about building muscle is that muscles recover and grow bigger and stronger out of the gym, not during the workout. The workout tears down the muscle fibers which triggers recovery and growth. But those things happen while resting.

For the above split, you would workout every other day. It might look like this.

Monday – Push Workout

Tuesday – Rest

Wednesday – Pull Workout

Thursday – Rest

Friday Push Workout

Saturday – Rest

Sunday – Rest

For the next week you would reverse it with the pull workout happening on Monday. This means you’d hit each workout three times every two weeks.

There’s one more aspect of designing a good push / pull training program and that’s making sure to select the correct exercises. For example, seated and standing presses are a a great push exercise for the shoulders.

But another great exercise for the shoulders is the dumbbell upright row. But that’s a pull exercise. So what do you do? It’s probably more effective to include it on the push day even though it’s a pull exercise.

Don’t dismiss the push / pull split because it takes a little more planning. The extra thought that has to go into an effective workout is more than worth the results you’ll get in terms of increased muscle and strength. You’ll definitely want to give it a try.