Create a Push and Pull Day Workout Plan with These Exercises

If you hear someone reference their recent "push day workout" at the gym, they don't mean they spent the session working harder than usual.

Push and pull workouts consist of exercises that utilize a pushing or pulling motion. Specifically, push day exercises involve pushing a weight or the ground away from your body (think: squats and push-ups), while pull day exercises involve pulling a weight toward your body (such as biceps curls and bent-over rows). Along with motions such as hinging and rotating, pushing and pulling are two basic movement patterns you'll perform in your everyday life. For instance, you might have to open a few super heavy doors and trudge up a steep sidewalk with a baby stroller all in the same day, says Christine Tordé, C.F.S.C. II, C.P.T., a strength coach at Body Space Fitness in New York. And that's why it's important that your workouts hit them both.

So, what's the point in adopting a push-pull workout routine? It's a surefire way to avoid working the same muscles back-to-back or overtraining the front of your body while ignoring your posterior chain. "Alternating days of push and pull workouts gives your muscles a chance to rest and recover because you're working the opposite muscles. Timewise, these workouts allow you to get a lot of work in while attacking muscle groups in a different way," explains Bryant Johnson, an ACE-certified personal trainer and the creator of the RBG workout.

However, you don't have to regiment your workouts with an all-push workout one day, then an all-pull routine the next day. You can choose from a variety of ways to approach a push-pull workout routine:

• Upper/lower: Do a push-pull upper body day followed by a push-pull lower body day.
• Total-body push/total-body pull: Perform push day exercises (both upper and lower body) one day, then the next day, do all pull day moves (both upper and lower body).
• Push/pull/legs: This popular option entails doing an upper-body push day, then an upper-body pull day, then a general leg day.
• Push/pull together: You can also bring both movement patterns together and do one workout that incorporates both pushing and pulling exercises for a balanced workout. This can focus on your upper body, lower body, or both.

No matter how you choose to divvy it up, the goal is to avoid working the same muscles on consecutive workouts or days. "Be sure to leave a day of rest in between exercising a given muscle group, either way you split it up," advises Johnson. "This is essential for your body to recover so that you can get back to your full strength and repeat the workout again." (BTW, push-pull workout plans are just one type of workout split.)

Push and Pull Workouts to Try

Below, you'll find two workouts — one push day and one pull day workout — created by Johnson and demonstrated by Tordé. These are simple moves you've likely seen before, combined into two total-body workouts. Just remember that these exercises are merely suggestions, and there's no shame in modifying the moves so they work best for you. "If you need to regress the movement or weight, do it," says Tordé. "Don't let your ego get in the way of your safety or success."

Also important: Work through a warm-up set before you try lifting heavy on any of the pull or push exercises, says Tordé. "I always start my clients with a warm-up set at a lighter weight to practice the engagement and tension that needs to be used," she says. "[It] also gets that mind-body connection ready for when we go heavier."

Ready to try push and pull workouts out yourself? Follow the workouts below on your push and pull days, or steal your favorite moves to create your own push-pull exercise plan. These workouts can all be done with at-home equipment. But if you're at the gym, you can swap the dumbbell lat pull-over for a lat pull-down on the machine, then perform your rows on the seated row machine rather than on the floor with a resistance band. (

Push Day Workout

How it works: Do the suggested number of reps for each exercise, then repeat the push day circuit 2 to 3 more times.

What you'll need: a pair of medium dumbbells

Chest Fly

A. Lie on the floor or a bench holding a dumbbell in each hand, with feet flat on the floor, palms facing inward, and arms extended (but not locked) so the dumbbells are hovering directly over chest.

B. Keeping elbows slightly bent, lower both arms out to sides. Pause when they reach shoulder height.

C. Squeeze chest to raise the dumbbells and bring them together above chest.

Do 10 to 12 reps.

Chest Press

A. Lie on the floor or a bench holding a dumbbell in each hand, with feet flat on the floor, elbows open to sides so that biceps are at a 45-degree angle to torso, and palms facing inward.

B. Press the dumbbells up and away from chest, straightening arms so the weights are directly over shoulders.

C. Lower the dumbbells and bend elbows to return to the starting position.

Do 10 to 12 reps.

Overhead Triceps Press

A. Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding one end of a dumbbell with both hands, and arms extended overhead, with biceps next to ears.

B. Keeping elbows tucked in, bend elbows to slowly lower the dumbbell behind head until the bottom end is in line with shoulders.

C. Straighten arms and press the dumbbell overhead to return to the starting position.

Do 10 to 12 reps.

Shoulder Press

A. Stand with feet hip-width apart and arms raised to shoulder height, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Elbows are bent at 90-degree angles with palms facing forward.

B. Press the dumbbells directly overhead so wrists stack directly over shoulders and biceps are next to ears.

C. Pause, then slowly bend elbows and lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.

Do 10 to 12 reps.

Dumbbell Squat

A. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in front of chest.

B. Sit back into hips and bend knees to lower until thighs are parallel or almost parallel with floor, keeping chest up and preventing back from rounding.

C. Pause, then press through feet to straighten legs and return to standing.

Do 10 to 12 reps.

Pull Day Workout

How it works: Do the suggested number of reps for each exercise, then repeat the pull day circuit 2 to 3 more times.

What you'll need: a pair of medium dumbbells and a resistance band

Biceps Curl

A. Stand with feet hip-width apart and arms at sides, holding a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing forward.

B. Bend elbows to raise the dumbbells up to shoulder height.

C. Pause, then straighten arms to lower the dumbbells back to sides.

Do 10 to 12 reps.

Knee Lift and Drive

A. Stand with feet together, hands on hips, and core engaged. Lift right knee up to hip height so right leg is bent at a 90-degree angle in front of body. This is the starting position.

B. Keeping right thigh parallel to the floor and hips square, drive right knee toward the right until knee is nearly in line with hips.

C. Pause, then drive right knee back to the starting position.

Do 10 to 12 reps. Switch sides; repeat.

Seated Row

A. Sit on the floor with back straight, legs extended with a slight bend in knees, and a resistance band wrapped around feet. Hold the ends of the band at sides of knees.

B. Keeping core engaged, draw elbows back next to ribs and squeeze shoulder blades together to pull the band toward belly button.

C. Pause, then slowly straighten arms to return to the starting position.

Do 10 to 12 reps.

Reverse Fly

A. Stand with feet hip-width apart and arms at sides, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Keeping back straight and knees slightly bent, hinge at hips and bend forward until torso is at a 45-degree angle. Let hands hang directly below shoulders, palms facing each other.

B. Keeping core engaged and leading with elbows, lift the dumbbells up to sides until they reach shoulder height.

C. Pause at the top, then slowly lower the dumbbells until they're directly below shoulders to return to the starting position.

Do 10 to 12 reps.

Deadlift

A. Stand with feet hip-width apart and arms in front of thighs, holding a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing legs.

B. Keeping core engaged and back flat, send hips back and bend knees slightly to lower the dumbbells until they reach shins.

C. Drive hips forward, straighten knees, and squeeze glutes to return to the starting position.

Do 10 to 12 reps.

Lat Pull-Over

A. Lie faceup on the floor with knees bent, feet flat on the ground, and arms extended behind head, hands holding the ends of a dumbbell.

B. Keeping core engaged and back flat, lift the dumbbell overhead until it's directly above chest.

C. Pause, then lower the dumbbell back to the floor behind head to return to the starting position.

Do 10 to 12 reps.