Have you ever heard of workout splits? It’s not as intimidating as it sounds and adds more efficiency to your exercise routine! The idea is to strategically split up your weight training to target all major muscle groups in one week. Luckily, there are a variety of options for breaking up your workouts within a seven-day cycle. You can determine your splits depending on your goals, level of experience and the amount of time available.

The most common split is push, pull and legs. This classic split is a staple when starting a consistent fitness journey and is a great way to build and maintain a solid foundation. As the word implies, a pull day would focus on exercises that execute a pulling motion. This can be done for muscle groups of both the upper and lower body. Examples of exercises for pull days are biceps curls, lat pull downs, pullups, any variation of rows, deadlifts, hamstring curls and ab/adduction movements.

On a push day, the movements you concentrate on would involve a pushing motion. This also includes options for the upper and lower body. Some of the most common push exercises are bench or chest press, pushups, any squat variations, overhead press, triceps extensions, dips and leg press.

The third component to the split is legs. On this day, you would focus mostly on lower body exercises. You can refer to the types of exercises from the push or pull days, but you can also program in movements of the lower body that were not done in your push or pull workout.

There are plenty of ways to split up your workouts, but it may take some time to figure out what works best for you. If you are feeling lost or stuck, remember the Student Recreation and Wellness Center (SRWC) has certified personal trainers who are here to help you succeed. Whether you decide to work with a SRWC personal trainer or exercise alone, don’t forget to scan your barcode at the membership desk on your way out to redeem a point for Owen’s Condition for Tuition!