.png){kind=small}
Another option is pairing opposing muscle groups together. This is a step between an upper/ lower split and a body-builder style split. Muscles that complete opposing actions are paired together on the same day, such as upper push and pull. This generally ends up looking something like day 1. chest and back, 2. legs, and 3. shoulders, biceps and triceps. This is ok IF you're strong enough to obliterate your lower body on leg day, as it usually only gets hit once per week. I personally prefer at least one additional lower body day, which could be lighter weight/ higher reps, speed and power, or leg day one squats/ leg day 2 deadlifts focused. If you're somewhat new to lifting, deconditioned, or only lift light weights, one lower body day per week is not for you. Goals, current fitness level, and time you can devote to training and recovery should all be considered, but to give you a rule of thumb, if you're squatting and deadlifting less than about 100 lbs for women, about 200 lbs for men, as your trainer, I would not program one leg day per week for you. One way to get around this, would be simply to program something like this example: Monday- chest and back Dumbbell row 4x6 Bench press 4x6 Pull downs 3x8 Dumbbell incline press 3x8 Chest fly 3x12 Reverse fly 3x12 Tuesday- legs (squat) Back squat 5x5 Good morning 3x8 Walking lunge 3x24 steps Hip thrust 3x10 Quad extension 3x12 Wednesday- rest Thursday- shoulders and arms Military press 4x6 Face pull 3x10 Lateral raise 3x12 Bicep curl 3x12 Tricep press down 3x12 Friday- legs, (deadlift) Deadlift 5x5 Front squat 3x8 Single leg deadlift 3x8 Glute bridge 3x10 Hamstring curl 3x12 Saturday and Sunday rest
