If you’re serious about building strength and packing on muscle, the push-pull-legs routine might be exactly what you need. This training style focuses on efficient, compound movements that target all your major muscle groups. In this guide, we’ll dive into the benefits of push-pull-legs for strength training and how to make it work for you.
Push-Pull-Legs Routine
The push-pull-legs routine is a popular way to structure your workouts. It focuses on dividing exercises based on movement patterns. ‘Push’ workouts target muscles used for pushing movements, like your chest, shoulders, and triceps. ‘Pull’ workouts focus on pulling muscles, like your back and biceps. And ‘legs’ workouts, well, those are all about your lower body. In a push workout, you might do bench presses, overhead presses, and triceps extensions. For pull, think rows, pull-ups, and bicep curls. And for legs, squats, lunges, and deadlifts are common.
Why use this approach?
This routine’s been around for a while, and it’s popular for a few reasons.
Efficiency – It’s really efficient because you hit all your major muscle groups with good frequency.
Muscle Recovery – Plus, it gives your muscles enough rest between workouts, which is key for growth.
Overall Strength and Muscle Building – As for benefits, it’s great for building overall strength and muscle.
Flexibility – It’s also pretty flexible, so you can adjust it to your fitness level and goals. If you want to build more muscle, you can add more sets and reps. And if you’re more focused on strength, you can lower the reps and increase the weight.
Time-Saving – One of the best things about this routine is that it’s a real time-saver. You’re hitting all your major muscle groups in just three workouts a week.
Muscle Group Focus -Also, because you’re grouping exercises by movement, you can really focus on those specific muscle groups each workout, leading to better gains.
Adjustable to Goals – Another plus is that it’s easy to adjust to your own goals.
Exercise Variety – One of the great things about this routine is how flexible it is. You can easily switch out exercises to target different muscles or to match your fitness level. Also, because you’re working different muscle groups each day, you’re less likely to get bored or hit a plateau.
Six Day routine
To adapt the push-pull-legs routine for six days a week, you’ll essentially be doubling up on the workouts with a rest day. So, for example, your week could look like this: Monday would be push, Tuesday would be pull, Wednesday would be legs, Thursday would be rest, and then you’d repeat the cycle with push, pull, and legs on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This way, you’re still hitting each muscle group twice a week, but with that crucial rest day in between to avoid overtraining.
Progress tracking
It’s easy to track your progress since you’re focusing on specific movements each workout. This can be really motivating as you see yourself getting stronger over time.
Common Push Exercises
Incline dumbbell press- You’ll lie back on an incline bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height. Then, press the dumbbells upwards, bringing them together over your chest. This exercise targets your upper chest muscles.
Dips – You’ll need parallel bars or dip bars for this one. Hang from the bars with your arms straight, then lower your body by bending your elbows. Push yourself back up until your arms are straight again. Dips are great for your chest, triceps, and shoulders.
Cable crossover – stand in the middle of a cable machine with pulleys set at shoulder height. Grab the handles and bring them together in front of your chest, squeezing your pecs. This one’s great for isolating your chest muscles.
Pec deck machine – Sit on the machine and grab the handles, then bring them together in front of your chest, again focusing on squeezing your pecs. This exercise is another good one for isolating your chest.
Overhead extension – hold a dumbbell or barbell with both hands above your head, then lower it behind your head by bending your elbows. This one really targets the long head of your triceps.
Triceps kickbacks- lean forward with one hand and knee on a bench, holding a dumbbell in the other hand. Extend your arm straight back, squeezing your triceps at the top. This exercise helps isolate and define your triceps.
Lateral raise – hold dumbbells at your sides and raise them out to the side until they’re shoulder height. This one targets the middle part of your shoulder muscles.
Front raises – hold dumbbells in front of you and raise them straight out in front of your body until they’re shoulder height. This exercise works the front part of your shoulder muscles.
Arnold press – hold dumbbells at shoulder height with your palms facing you, then rotate your palms outward as you press the weights overhead. This one hits all three parts of your shoulder muscles.
Common Pull Exercises
Pull-ups – you’ll need a pull-up bar. Grab the bar with an overhand grip, about shoulder-width apart. Hang with your arms fully extended, then pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar. Lower yourself back down with control. Pull-ups are great for building overall back strength.
Barbell rows – You’ll want a barbell and some weights for this one. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees slightly, and hinge forward at your hips. Grab the barbell with an overhand grip, and pull it towards your belly button, squeezing your back muscles. Lower the barbell back down with control. Barbell rows are excellent for building thickness in your back.
Dumbbell row – you’ll want a dumbbell and a bench. Place one knee and hand on the bench for support, and hold the dumbbell in your other hand. Let the dumbbell hang straight down, then pull it up towards your ribs, squeezing your back muscles. Lower it back down with control. Dumbbell rows are great for working one side of your back at a time.
Seated cable rows – You’ll need a cable machine with a row attachment. Sit on the bench with your feet on the footrests, and grab the handle with an overhand grip. Pull the handle towards your torso, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Let the cable return slowly. This exercise is great for building thickness in your middle back.
Lat pulldown – you’ll need a lat pulldown machine. Sit on the seat, adjust the thigh pad, and grab the bar with a wide overhand grip. Pull the bar down towards your chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Let the bar return slowly with control. Lat pulldowns are great for building width in your back.
Barbell curl is a classic – Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and grab a barbell with an underhand grip, about shoulder-width apart. Curl the barbell up towards your shoulders, keeping your elbows close to your body. Lower the barbell back down with control. Barbell curls are great for building overall bicep mass.
Hammer curl – you’ll hold dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing each other. Curl the dumbbells up towards your shoulders, keeping your palms facing each other throughout the movement. Lower the dumbbells back down with control. Hammer curls are great for building thickness in your biceps and forearms.
Concentration curls – Sit on a bench with your legs spread apart, and hold a dumbbell in one hand. Place the back of your arm against the inside of your thigh. Curl the dumbbell up towards your shoulder, focusing on squeezing your bicep. Lower the dumbbell back down with control. Concentration curls are great for isolating and building peak in your biceps.
Cable curl – you’ll need a cable machine with a straight bar attachment. Stand facing the machine, and grab the bar with an underhand grip, about shoulder-width apart. Curl the bar up towards your shoulders, keeping your elbows close to your body. Lower the bar back down with control. Cable curls are great for maintaining constant tension on your biceps throughout the movement.
Common Leg Exercises
Squats – Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, lower yourself as if you’re sitting in a chair, and then stand back up. To perform a squat, begin by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, ensuring your toes are pointing slightly outward. Keep your back straight and your chest up as you bend at your hips and knees, lowering your body as if you’re about to sit on a chair. Aim to get your thighs parallel to the floor, or as low as comfortably possible, while keeping your heels on the ground. Push through your heels to return to the starting position, engaging your quads and glutes throughout the movement.
Leg presses – You’ll sit in a leg press machine and push a weighted platform away with your feet. To use a leg press machine, sit on the seat and place your feet on the platform at a comfortable distance, usually shoulder-width apart. Ensure your feet are flat on the platform. Release the safety handles and push the platform away from you by extending your legs. Avoid locking your knees at the top of the movement. Bend your knees to bring the platform back towards you, controlling the weight throughout the motion.
Hamstring curls- You’ll lie face down on a machine and curl your heels towards your glutes. For hamstring curls, lie face down on the hamstring curl machine with the pad positioned just above your heels. Secure the roller pad against your ankles. Keeping your hips pressed into the pad, curl your heels towards your glutes by bending your knees. Focus on squeezing your hamstrings as you bring your heels up. Slowly return to the starting position, controlling the weight.
Leg extensions- You’ll sit in a machine and extend your legs straight out in front of you. To do leg extensions, sit upright on the leg extension machine with your back against the pad. Place your shins behind the padded lever. Extend your legs forward, straightening them against the resistance. Pause briefly at the top of the movement, squeezing your quads. Lower the weight back down in a controlled manner.
Calf raises – You’ll stand with the balls of your feet on a raised platform and raise your heels up. To perform calf raises, stand on a raised platform or a sturdy surface with the balls of your feet, allowing your heels to hang off the edge. You can hold onto something for balance if needed. Raise your heels as high as possible, lifting your bodyweight and contracting your calf muscles. Slowly lower your heels below the level of the platform to get a full stretch in your calves before raising them again.
Beginners Need to Adapt the Exercise
Everyone starts somewhere. Don’t feel discouraged if you can’t do the standard versions of these exercises. Variations and adaptations are key. Think of them as stepping stones to the full movements. For example, if you can’t do a full push-up, try them on your knees or against a wall. The most important thing is to keep moving and gradually increase the difficulty as you get stronger.
Conclusion
The push-pull-legs routine is a powerhouse for building strength and muscle. By focusing on compound movements and allowing for proper recovery, you can make serious progress in the gym.
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