Push pull legs, an amazing routine to follow if you are in the phase of building muscles.
This training type helps you work both your upper and lower body twice a week, hence giving the muscle building process a push.
In the push pull legs workout routine, Push and Pull focus on your upper body while legs as the name suggests focuses on your lower body.
This routine also helps you perform a variety of exercises in a week focusing on different muscles which helps in avoiding muscle memory in turn continuously shocking your muscle to allow it to grow.
All that being said, now let’s dive into the routine and take a look at what’s up for the coming week!
Push Day
Day 1 of your push pull legs routine starts with the Push workouts. This includes Chest, Shoulder & Triceps workout.
Three huge muscles together might seem overwhelming at the beginning but believe me we will be just doing two variations on a day, keeping the count of variations to a total of 6 in a day’s session such that the workout routine is optimum.
So, let’s quickly check out the workouts for the first session in the week.
Incline Dumbbell Press
This workout works your upper chest while activating your anterior deltoids & triceps.
Direction:
1. Firstly, set the backrest of the bench at an angle of 30 degrees to get full activation of the upper chest. Make sure that the seat of the bench is also set at an appropriate angle as to the backrest.
2. Now, pickup the dumbbells that you feel would be appropriate to start with. If you are doing this for the first time then I would suggest going with a 10 pound/5Kg dumbbell or an even lighter dumbbell if this too seems to be heavy.
3. The key here is the lift as this is a section where one might injure oneself. So, while you are seated on the bench, place your dumbbells on your thighs such that one of the dumbbell heads rests on your thighs. Then give the dumbbells a push with your legs and simultaneously lie down on the bench. In this position hold the dumbbells besides your chest with your elbows tucked in.
4. Now, push the dumbbells up in front of your upper chest such that when they are up they are kind of in line with your collarbone.
5. In this position make sure your arms form an A and your elbows are still soft. Repeat this for 12-15 times until you feel the fatigue in your muscle.
6. Do 3 sets in total with slightly increasing the weights in each set.
Decline Pec Deck Machine Fly
This is a variation of the pec fly where we not only target the inner chest muscles but also bring more focus to the lower chest fibers in turn developing those.
Direction:
1. Adjust the arms of the pec deck machine to 2 or 3 basis whichever position gives you the required stretch in your chest.
2. Then push the seat of the machine down such that when you pull the arms of the machine the focus is on the lower chest and you feel the pump there.
3. The most important thing here is your posture. So, make sure that your shoulder blades or the upper section of the scapula are rested on the backrest and there is an arch in your back. Your glutes need to be almost at the edge of the seat.
4. From here I think you know the drill. Pull the arms of the machine to bring it to the front of your chest and hold it there without clinging for 2-3 secs. Repeat this for 12-15 times.
5. Do 3 sets in total with slightly increasing the weights in each set.
With this we are done with the chest and move on to the shoulder. I would suggest you do only two variations for each body part at the beginning and maybe later on if you feel the need and have sufficient time then you can do three variations for only two body parts that are either chest & shoulder, chest & triceps or shoulder & triceps.
Overhead Shoulder Press
This shoulder workout emphasizes on the front and rear delts of your shoulder giving the entire shoulder muscle a nice pump.
You can do this exercise both while standing or while seating it’s completely your choice. However, I would prefer doing it while I am standing as in this position even my core gets activated.
Direction:
1. Pickup the weights that you might be comfortable with. Like I said previously, if you are a beginner you can maybe pick up a 10 pounds dumbbell.
2. Hold the dumbbells exactly over your shoulders and push them upwards such that the dumbbells are exactly over your head now.Make sure you form an A with your arms when the dumbbells are over your head and also keep a note of not clinging the dumbbells and keeping your elbows soft.
3. Repeat this movement for 12-15 times until you feel the burn or fatigue in your shoulder muscle.
4. Do 3 sets in total with slightly increasing the weights in each set.
Lateral Raise
In the previous exercise since we focused on the front and rear delts, now lets build those lateral/side delts as well.
Direction:
1. Pickup the weights that you might be comfortable with. Like I said previously, if you are a beginner you can maybe pick up a 5 pounds dumbbell. For this exercise generally you should go with lighter dumbbells as you might injure your shoulder with the heavier ones.
2. With the dumbbells in hand make sure your arms are hanging down besides your body.
3. Now lift the dumbbells such that your arms are raised up to the shoulder while the angle at your elbow is 80-85 degrees. In this position your arms should be parallel to the ground.
4. Repeat this for 12-15 times in a set and perform 3 sets with moderately increasing the weights.
This sums up our shoulder routine. Which leaves us with triceps for the day.
Standing Single Hand Extensions
This is an isolation exercise which helps develop both the triceps equally. In such isolation exercises your weaker side gets more attention hence develops faster.
Direction:
1. Pickup the weights that you might be comfortable with. If you are a beginner then you can go for a 10 pound dumbbell to start with.
2. Now, raise your arm straight above your head with the dumbbell and then slowly bring down the dumbbell by folding your arm from the elbow. Here, ensure your triceps are facing the front, like if you are standing in front of a mirror then you can see your triceps. And while folding your arm the dumbbell goes behind.
3. Bring the dumbbell down only until a position where you feel the contraction in your triceps. If you are doing it for the first time or if you are going heavy in this exercise then you might want to rest your bicep on your head to eliminate the risk of injuring your shoulder.
4. Repeat this for 12-15 times and perform 3 sets of the exercise with increasing the weights in each set.
Kickbacks
This is an amazing exercise to develop your triceps, one of my favorites.
Direction:
1. You can pick up the dumbbells you took for the previous exercise or preferably lighter ones.
2. Now bend forward by making an angle of 45 degrees. Here your arm from the shoulder to your elbow should be in line with your upper body.
3. From this position push the dumbbell backwards by straightening your elbow. You need to ensure that your arm from the shoulder to elbow doesn’t rock back and forth.
4. Again, you know the drill here. 12-15 reps in each set and 3 sets in total.
With this we have completed our push day successfully!
I am sure you guys might be damn tired by now so get yourself hydrated properly and also fuel up because without proper nutrition all our efforts are in vain.
And if you still have the energy to go on for a while then go ahead and start with the core exercise to build those sexy abs. Check out my 7 mins abs workout here.
With this our day ends but our push pull legs workout routine is to continue.
Pull Day
This includes Back & Biceps workout. Back one of the big muscles combined with a small muscle; biceps. The reason we combine these two together is because while working out your back your biceps automatically get activated. Hence, going that extra mile and performing bicep exercises helps develop them too.
I am sure quite a few of you might be thinking why are we calling this workout session as pull day and why were we calling the previous session as push day, right?
Don’t worry, I’ll tell you.
Actually, it’s quite simple. The reason is the exercises that you perform to work your back & biceps i.e. to gain contraction in the muscles pull the weights towards you. And similarly for push day, the exercises that you perform for chest, shoulder & triceps to gain the muscle contraction push the weights against your body.
I guess that’s enough said, now let’s quickly get into the workout session.
Lat Pulldown
This is like a trainer’s favorite exercise I guess, because every gym that I have visited or the trainers that I have spoken to for sure add this exercise to their client’s routine.
Direction:
1. Set the weight in the lat pulldown machine based on what you are comfortable with & also basis your level of training. Like if you are doing it for the first time then maybe start with 25 or 40 pounds. If this seems to be heavy then lower the weight and if it’s the opposite then feel free to increase the weights.
2. Now, hold the pulldown bar at the 45° curve, making sure that you don’t curl your thumbs around the rod such that you eliminate pulling the weights with the help of your forearms and you concentrate only on your lats.
3. Since your hold is now set and perfect, start pulling the weight towards you. Here you need to pull the rod closer to the incline of your chest. While pulling the weights make sure your chest is out and your back is arched and firm. Do not wobble your body while pulling the weights. If your body is wobbling then the weights are too much for you to pull, so you need to reduce it to the optimum.
4. Repeat this for 12-15 times until you feel the fatigue in your muscle.
5. Do 3 sets in total with slightly increasing the weights in each set.
Seated Close Grip Rowing
This workout focuses on the middle and inner section of your back, where the lat pulldown focuses on the outer section of your back, widening it.
Direction:
1. If your gym has the seated row machine then awesome but if your gym doesn’t have then what you can do is pull down the pulley of the all-in-one machine to one but the bottom most position and lock it there.
2. Add handle-like holds to the hook of the machine and adjust the weights based on your strength & level of training.
3. Now, since the weights are locked, hold the handles making sure that you don’t curl your thumbs around the hold eliminating you pulling the weights with your forearms. Pull the weights closer to you such that the handle comes closer to your upper abs.
4. Hold the weight at this position for 2-3 seconds and release it slowly. Need to make sure that the negative is always slow and steady such that you feel the stretch in your muscle nice and strong.
5. Repeat this for 12-15 times and perform at least 3 sets by increasing the weights slowly in every set.
Back Extension
This focuses on the lower back. In this routine we are making sure that we hit each section of the back starting from up top.
Direction:
1. Set the pelvic support or the pad such that only your hip rests on it. Then, place your feet on the foot pad such that there’s a slight bend in your knee. Now in this position your body should be at a 45° angle with the floor.
2. From this position slowly move your upper body down to the ground only to a position where you feel the stretch in your lower back and you make an angle of 30° between your upper & lower body. Hold this position for a couple of seconds.
3. Now move back up to the original position strengthening your lower back.
4. Perform at least 12-15 reps & 3 sets of this exercise. And if you want to increase the difficulty with each set then you can maybe wear a body weight if you have it or maybe just hold a 10-20 pound disc closer to your body.
Shrugs
Shrugs help you build those nice big and strong traps. This is a workout that you can add in your back workout or in your shoulder workout.
Direction:
1. Pick up the dumbbells that you feel are appropriate. If you are doing this for the first time then maybe you can pick up a 25 pounds one.
2. Hold the dumbbells by your side and lift the weights by your traps. Pull your traps up to the maximum and hold for 2-3 seconds, and while releasing make sure you do it nice and slow.
While performing shrugs make sure your chest is out and your back is arched.
With this we are done with Back in our Pull day from our Push Pull Legs routine and now we get into biceps training.
Incline Bicep Curls
This is an amazing variation of the bicep curls. If you want to check out how to do bicep curls then give this blog a read.
Direction:
1. Set your bench at an angle of 45°. Now, pick up the dumbbells that you feel would be appropriate to start with. An absolute beginner can start with a 10 pound dumbbell.
2. With the dumbbells now sit on the bench and do the curls like you would do for normal bicep curls, bringing the weights up until you feel the contraction in your biceps. Make sure that you don’t move your arm i.e. shoulder to elbow while performing the curls.
3. Do at least 12-15 repetitions of this exercise and 3 sets by increasing the weights slightly in each set.
Reverse Bicep Curls
This works out both your long head & the short head or the peak of your biceps. This is similar to your bicep curls, it’s just that the hold reverses.
Direction:
1. Set your pulley machine at the bottom most position & add a rod to the hook.
2. Now, just hold the rod with your palm facing the ground & pull the weight up curling your biceps for supreme contraction.
3. Do at least 12-15 repetitions of this exercise and 3 sets by increasing the weights slightly in each set.
Hammer Curls
This exercise focuses on biceps brachii, brachialis & brachioradialis.
Directions:
1. Pick up the dumbbells that you feel are appropriate. If you are doing this for the first time then maybe you can pick up a 25 pounds one.
2. Now hold the dumbbells besides your body and lift it up such that your biceps get the necessary contraction. Here, you need to make sure that your palm is facing your thighs such that when you lift the dumbbells up your knuckles face the mirror if you are standing in front of the mirror while performing the exercise.
3. Do at least 12-15 repetitions of this exercise and 3 sets by increasing the weights slightly in each set.
With this we sum up our biceps workout & our Pull day of the Push Pull legs routine.
Legs Day
This is a huge muscle to workout hence we give it the much needed attention and work it out separately.
People usually say never miss legs day, legs are very important etc.
The reason is that it builds the foundation for your entire structure. Doing compound exercises like squats for legs not only helps develop legs but also benefits the entire body.
Now, you might be thinking how that’s possible. Allow me to explain. While performing such compound exercises you work your quads but you heavily engage your core helping you tone them, you carry the weighted barbell on your shoulder inturn strengthening your shoulders and your back as your back is also engaged heavily.
I hope this gives you the right reason and sufficient motivation to hit the gym to build those big legs.
Front Squats
In my previous blogs I have mentioned squats or the regular squats that most of you will be aware about. But, this time around I present to you a variation of squats which is equally effective.
Direction:
1. Here, you load up the weights on the barbell as per your convenience and stand in front of the barbell.
2. Place your front delts under the barbell and cross your arms such that your right hand is touching the left shoulder and vice versa, in order to hold the barbell in position.
3. Now, with holding the barbell in position, lift it up and walk back to get into position to start with your squats. Here, I assume that you know how to perform squats. If you don’t then give this blog a read.
4. Repeat this for 12-15 times until you feel the fatigue in your muscle.
5. Do 3-4 sets by increasing the weights in each set as per your convenience.
Leg Press
This is a machine exercise that again helps you focus on your quads. But, here we’ll do a slight variation to work out inner quads which very few people focus upon.
Direction:
1. Load up the machine with the weights as per your convenience and adjust the backrest such that when you take position in the machine your knees are right in front of your chest during muscle contraction.
2. Now, take a seat and place your legs on the platform such that they are close to each other and the knees are right in front of your chest. Make sure that there’s only a finger’s distance between your feets.
3. Angle both your feets in such a way that they are at a 45° angle.
4. With the feet placement set right now push the platform against your body such that you extend your legs one less to the maximum. Make sure that you do not straighten your legs completely as with heavy weights you might injure your knee.
5. Repeat this for 12-15 times and perform at least 3 sets by increasing the weights slowly in every set.
Leg Extension
This focuses on the frontal section of your quads giving it those nice definitions and cuts. We’ll ensure that we perform isolation on this machine such that we develop both our legs equally.
Direction:
1. Adjust the backrest of the machine and load up the weights according to your convenience.
2. Now, place the cushioned roll right above your feet such that you lock your feet under it. Here, you need to lock only one feet so that we can do isolation exercises.
3. Pull the weights up by pushing the roll with your sheen. Here, you can extend your leg completely to get full contraction in your quads.
4. Once you are done with hitting 12-15 reps with one leg you can switch over to the other. And then increase the weight and perform 2 more sets.
Hip Thrusters
This is an amazing exercise to develop your hamstrings and glutes. I personally feel immense burn after performing this exercise, hence it’s one of my favorites.
Direction:
1. Bring on those barbells and load them up moderately as this is going to be a very intense workout.
2. Now, rest your mid back on a bench, stool or a platform, whatever is available in your gym, and then ask your spot to place the barbell on your hip.
Make sure that you have a towel or some kind of support placed on your hip before placing the barbell.
3. Extend your leg with your hip moving up such that with your back now completely rested on the bench your body is parallel to the ground and your legs from the knee and below are perpendicular to the ground. This is your starting point.
4. Now, you need to lower your hip until you feel the extension in your hams & glutes with your back rested on the bench.
5. Do 12-15 reps in the set and for the next 2 sets increase the weights moderately. If you don’t feel the need then you can also continue with the same weight as well.
Stiff Legs
Again an intense workout for the hamstrings but a very easy one.
Direction:
1. Pick up 20 pound dumbbells or heavier if you are comfortable and hold them in your hands close to your body & right in front of your legs. Make sure you are standing up right.
2. Now, from the start position with the dumbbells close to your body, move down slowly.
Make sure that your back is arched while you move down and you can slightly bend your knees to feel the right pressure in your hamstrings
3. Do at least 12-15 repetitions of this exercise and 3 sets by increasing the weights slightly in each set. Increase the weights only if you feel the need.
Calf Raises
This can be either seated or standing, whichever machine your gym has and whatever you’re comfortable with.
Direction:
1. Load up the machine as per your convenience, and if you don’t have a machine then load up yourself with some body weights or load up a barbell with appropriate weight.
2. Now, sit or stand on the machine based on the machine you have in the gym. And if you have loaded up a barbell then place the barbell on your shoulders like you would while performing squats and stand on a platform. Here, you need to make sure that only the 1st 50% of your feet are on the platform.
3. Now, slightly angle in your feet and raise your feet such that you feel the contraction in the calf.
4. Perform 12-15 reps and do 2 more sets with increasing the weights accordingly.
With this we sum up our Legs Day & the Push Pull legs routine.
I am damn sure by this time you might not be in a position to walk back home, don’t worry this is because you have done the routine right.
These are only a few variations that I am listing down for the Push Pull Legs routine, however, there are many combinations & variations that you can try out in this routine.
I’ll list them down for you soon!
So follow my blogs closely for more workouts.
And stay tuned for Legs day workout!