Ask a dozen personal trainers what kind of workout routine is best, and you’ll probably get a dozen different answers.
In general, there’s no wrong way to exercise as long as you’re doing it consistently, ensuring you get plenty of rest, and being cautious with your form as to avoid injury.
That said, it doesn’t hurt to know a few different types of workouts and to experiment to figure out what you like best. Enjoying your workouts and having a variety is important since they will help you maintain consistency!
Let’s dive in and outline some of the core workouts you may come across online, clarifying what they are and who they are likely to benefit!
In this article:
Push-Pull-Legs
One of the most common types of workout splits you’ll read about online is a push-pull-legs routine, also called “push-pull.” The name of this type of workout comes from the motion of the individual exercises you’ll do daily.
In general, the way this split is set up, you’ll do abductive movements (i.e., movements that push weights away from the body) across major muscle groups one day and then adductive movements (i.e., movements that pull the weight toward your body) on other days. Then, you’ll have a full day devoted to legs, and folks often tack on an additional day to do cardio.
Benefits
Push-pull routines are great for engaging your entire body. In a standard push-pull routine, you’ll engage all major muscle groups, hitting most groups a couple of times per week.
Because your workouts are spread out across several muscle groups each time you work out, you also (generally speaking) deal with less soreness and fatigue compared to isolated muscle group workouts. At the same time, activating your entire body and moving between multiple workouts and muscle groups means that you’re also going to usually be burning a lot of calories.
Splitting up your workouts into pushing and pulling motions and perhaps throwing in a day or two of cardio each week makes this an ideal workout split for folks who can only commit to 3 days per week in the gym.
Disadvantages
Doing a full push-pull routine with body weight alone can be challenging. As such, you will be best off going to the gym for this type of routine and will likely have trouble doing a consistent push-pull from the comfort of your home.
Additionally, if you’re trying to solve a particular weak point, the spread of a push-pull routine may not have enough intentional focus on that weak point built into it.
Sample Push-PUll-Legs Routine
Day 1: Push (chest, triceps, and shoulders)
- Incline Bench Press, three sets of 6-8 reps, 1 set of 8+ reps
- Arnold Press, three sets of 8-10 reps, 1 set of 10+ reps
- Triceps Dips, four sets of 6-10 reps (variation: Weighted Triceps Dips)
- Superset: Dumbbell Fly and Lying Triceps Extensions, three sets each, 12-14 reps each
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Pull (Back, Biceps, and Forearms)
- Lat Pulldowns, four sets, 8-10 reps each
- Bent-Over Barbell Row, three sets of 6-8 reps, 1 set of 8+ reps
- Face Pulls, four sets of 12-14 reps each
- Superset: Barbell Curl and Dumbbell Shrugs, three sets each, 12-15 reps each.
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Legs & Core
- Barbell Squats, three sets 6-8 reps each, 1 set 8-10 reps
- Walking Lunges (variation: hold dumbbells overhead), four sets, 30-45 seconds of consistent movement per set.
- Cable Crunches, four sets, 15-20 reps per set
- Quad Extensions, four sets, 8-10 reps per set
- Calf Raises, three sets 8-10 reps, 1 set 15+ reps
Upper-Lower Split
An Upper-Lower split follows a similar principle to the Push-Pull split but broadly groups your workouts into two groups: the top half of your body and the lower half of your body.
Benefits
If you can only devote 2 days per week to lifting, an upper-lower split could be a good way to engage all of your major muscle groups.
This can be a good option if your time is limited and you’re mainly looking for muscle and health maintenance instead of building muscle or doing physique work.
Disadvantages
Because an upper-lower split only includes two cycles of lifting, you will have to repeat the split and vary it weekly to ensure that you’re training all of your muscles equally.
Sample Upper-Lower Split Routine
Day 1: Upper Body (Back, Chest, arms, shoulders)
- Pull-Ups (variation: weighted pull-ups or assisted pull-ups), four sets, 5-10 reps per set
- Benchpress, 5 sets, 6-10 reps per set
- Military Press, four sets, 6-10 reps per set
- Superset: Cable Triceps Extensions and EZ-Bar Curls, four sets each, 10-15 reps each
Day 2: Rest or Cardio
Day 3: Lower Body (Legs, some Back, some Core)
- Deadlifts, four sets, 8-10 reps per set
- Leg Press, four sets, 10-12 reps per set
- Leg Curls, four sets, 10-12 reps per set
- Starfish Crunch, four sets, 15-20 reps per set
- Seated Calf Raise, four sets, 15-20 reps per set
Day 4: Rest or Cardio
The Classic Split
The Classic Split goes by a few different names. You may see it referred to as a gym bro split (a name I despise because of the connotation) or, more accurately, a complimentary muscle split.
With this type of routine, you’re pairing targeted muscles based on the types of movements that you’re completing. For example, most pressing movements in the chest also engage the triceps, so you’d pair chest and triceps together; many pulling movements that originate in the lats and other back muscles also engage your biceps and forearms, so you train back and biceps together.
Personally, this is my go-to gym routine. When I hit the gym, this is how I train.
Benefits
This split engages your entire body and lets you focus on each muscle group daily. Focusing on building strength and muscle mass or training to accommodate a specific weakness is a great way to have brilliantly targeted workouts.
Disadvantages
The Classic Split only works for two muscle groups at a time, so you’ll need to go to the gym 4-5 times per week. Additionally, sequencing your workouts and rest days is a tricky skill to acquire since your body may hold onto latent soreness. With this split, it is easy to over-train some muscles, meaning you’ll need to be extra intentional about carving out rest days.
Sample Classic Split Routine
Day 1: Back and Biceps
- Bent-Over Barbell Rows, four sets, 8-10 reps per set
- T-Bar Rows, four sets, 8-10 reps per set
- Barbell Curls, four sets, 12-14 reps per set
- Lat Pulldowns, three sets, 8-10 reps per set
- Hammer Curls, three sets, 12-15 reps per set
Day 2: Legs And Core
- Barbell Squats, three sets, 8-10 reps per set
- Hack Squats, four sets, 6-10 reps per set
- Hip Thrusts, four sets, 10-12 reps per set
- Calf Raises, four sets, 10-15 reps per set
- Cable Crunches, four sets, 15-20 reps per set
- Planks, three sets, 30 seconds to 1 minute per set
Day 3: rest
Day 4: Chest and Triceps
- Incline Dumbbell Press, four sets, 6-10 reps per set
- Bench Press, four sets, 6-10 reps per set
- Triceps Dips, four sets, 5-10 reps per set
- Cable Flys, four sets, 8-10 reps per set
- Diamond Push-Ups, three sets, ten reps per set
Day 5: Shoulders
- Seated Dumbbell Press, four sets, 6-10 reps per set
- Lateral Dumbbell Raise, four sets, 8-10 reps per set
- Standing Dumbbell Shrugs, three sets, 12-18 reps per set
- Cable Face Pulls, three sets, 12-16 reps per set
- Rear Delt Flys, 4 sets, 6-10 reps per set
Day 6 & Day 7: Rest/Cardio
HIIT Training
HIIT– high-intensity interval training– is a training type in which you exercise at full force for set intervals and then repeat. With HIIT training, you often go directly from one exercise to the next without a break in between until your set has been completed.
Benefits
HIIT Training can be done with a weightlifting focus or with bodyweight exercises, making it a great option for folks who cannot make it into a gym or who need to work out at home.
Also, because HIIT is focused on elevating your heart rate quickly, your workouts form a pattern of sharp heart rate spikes followed by short rest periods. This lends itself well to burning calories and building cardiorespiratory endurance.
Disadvantages
Doing a weightlifting-focused form of HIIT (such as CrossFit) can expose you to an increased risk of injury. Your form is imperative for preventing harm whenever you’re lifting weights. If you’re intentionally moving quickly and only engaging in fast, explosive movements, there is a risk that your form will get sloppy. Because of this, I prefer bodyweight-centric HIIT routines.
Sample HIIT Routine
For these sample routines, each interval will consist of three exercises. Collectively, these exercises form a set. They’re structured to perform a set, rest briefly, repeat, rest briefly, repeat, longer rest (3-5 minutes), and then repeat with the next interval.
Bodyweight and Low-Equipment Focus (Performed 2-4 Times per Week)
- First Interval, Repeat three times with 45 seconds to 1.5 minutes of rest between sets.
- Squat jumps, 25 reps
- Push-Ups, 15 reps
- Mountain Climbers, 30 seconds
- Second Interval, Repeat three times with 45 seconds to 1.5 minutes of rest between sets.
- Kettlebell Swings, 30 seconds
- Russian Twists, 30 seconds
- Resistance Band Curls, 25 reps
- Third Interval, Repeat three times with 45 seconds to 1.5 minutes of rest between sets
- Pull-Ups, 3-8 reps
- Lunges, 30-45 seconds
- Resistance Band Upright Rows, 15-20 reps
