A push-pull workout program encourages muscle growth and prevents over-training by grouping the muscles you train each day into categories based on their primary function. Pushing muscles are the muscles used in pushing motions such as chest, triceps and front shoulders. The pulling muscles are the muscles used in pulling motions such as your back, rear shoulders, trapezius and biceps. In a push-pull three-day training split, legs and abs are often added as the third day, separate from the push-pull upper body training days. Plan your push-pull program based on your personal training goals.
Push-Pull Programs
The push-pull training program is suitable for beginners or seasoned weightlifters. Beginners should train three days a week. Do the pushing workout on Monday, the legs and abs workout on Wednesday, and the pulling workout on Friday. Advanced trainees can train five or six days a week. A six-day schedule might be doing the push workouts on Monday and Thursday, leg workouts on Tuesday and Friday and the pull workouts on Wednesday and Saturday. Additional training options might be splitting of the leg workouts to train the pushing muscles -- quadriceps and calves -- on Tuesday and the pulling muscles -- hamstrings and glutes -- on Friday. Eliminating one leg day is an option if training six days a week is too much. Always begin every workout with a five- to 10-minute aerobic warmup to get the blood flowing in the muscles and conclude every workout with light stretching.
Push Workout
Begin your routine with four sets of bench press using a weight in which muscle exhaustion occurs between six and eight repetitions. Make your first set a warmup set, and rest 60 to 90 seconds between each set. Next, complete three sets of incline dumbbell press for six to eight reps and cable crossovers for eight to 12 reps. Conclude with three sets of eight to 12 reps of Arnold press, close-grip bench press and dumbbell kickbacks.
Legs and Abs Workout
Perform three sets of six to eight reps of barbell squats, leg press, straight leg deadlifts and lunges, resting 90 seconds between sets. Complete four sets of 12 to 15 repetitions of standing calf raises and seated calf raises, resting 30 seconds between sets. Conclude with three sets of 15 reps resting less than 30 seconds between sets for decline crunches, bicycle crunches and reverse crunches.
Pull Workout
Complete three sets of pullups -- assisted or unassisted -- for 10 to 12 reps. The lat pulldown exercise is another alternative for pullups. Next, complete three sets of six to eight reps of bent-over barbell rows, barbell shrugs and dumbbell curls. Finish with three sets of eight to 12 repetitions of lateral raise, bent-over dumbbell flies and preacher curls, resting 30 to 60 seconds between sets.
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