We all have a specific way of working out; this is usually dedicating one body part for one day and going to the gym 6-times a week. This technique isn’t necessarily bad and people typically go for this option, but the constant focus on a single body part could make workouts ineffective and put you at risk of injury. The Split Workout Routine is designed to help prevent this.
What is a Split Workout?
In simple terms, a split workout is basically dividing your body parts and training them in groups. This is usually broken into 2 categories; push and pull. On push day, you use the muscles that are engaged while pushing (Shoulder, Chest, and Triceps), and on pull day, you engage the muscles used to pull (Back and Biceps). This type of workout routine is extremely beneficial if you want more muscle balance and prevent injury.
Benefits of Split Workout
A split workout routine is a great way to work your muscles if you’ve just started working out. There are benefits associated with all types of lifting routines, but it isn’t for everyone, especially someone that does not have the time or strength to focus on a single muscle every day. We all have to start somewhere, so why not make it the most effective way possible?
Less Time Consuming
The best part of a Split Workout is that it doesn’t take a lot of time to perform. This means you can take time out of your daily schedule to workout, without compromising on work or family time.
More Balanced Muscles
Even though muscle dividing can be useful, you might end up overworking your chest as opposed to your back which may create an imbalance in your muscles and physique. Splitting your workouts into groups rather than specific muscles means that you will have a much more balanced workout giving you a better frame.
Prevent injuries
If you’re reading this on your laptop, fold down the screen and then open it. Now do this about 200 more times without stopping. Ok, don’t actually do that because chances are you might wear out your screen. Do you see where I’m going with this? Our muscles work the same way and overusing or overexerting your muscle and bones makes you much more prone to injury. It is better that you focus on a group of muscles rather than working on the same muscle for an hour.
Increased Muscle Mass
The push-pull workout helps you increase the time you focus on all muscle groups. This means that you will have improved muscle mass in all muscle groups.
If you want to learn the science behind the push and pull workout, click here!
How to implement the Split Workout?
Now there are two ways by which you can implement a Split Workout Routine. The one you adopt solely depends on how much you can think you can handle.
Supersets
The first way is to mix both push and pull workouts in rapid succession. You can do these workouts three to four times a week with a rest day in between each day. The most effective way is doing 3-6 supersets a day focusing on multiple muscle groups. You can do 8-15 reps depending on the weight.
For Example- Push-ups followed by pull-ups
- Squats followed by dead-lifts
- Triceps press followed by bicep curls
This way you are engaging both muscle groups back to back, but this may be much more difficult since there are no breaks between the push and pull exercise.
Push followed by pull
This is a much more comfortable way where you can do all the push movement exercises one day, and all the pull movement exercises another. Since many muscles are being targeted, you can do 5-8 exercises, three sets each exercise. Be sure that there is an even number of push and pull days with sufficient rest in between.
Workout Routine
Now we wouldn’t be SQUATWOLF if we didn’t give our Wolf Pack a quick workout routine that they could try out for themselves. Quick disclaimer, this workout routine does not necessarily need to be followed religiously and can be modified according to your needs.
The Split workout is a great way to balance your exercise all the while preventing injuries. This is a great routine if you have just started. If you feel like this isn’t for you, check out our workout blogs to find something that you are looking for.
