Split Routines

Regardless of your goals, you need to hit each muscle group at least twice a week. The simplest way to accomplish this is to perform two total-body workouts per week; in other words, twice a week perform a routine that works every major muscle group.
Total-body workouts are great if you’re doing only one or two exercises per muscle group. But when you get serious about weight training — adding exercises and sets — a total-body workout can become tedious. If your schedule permits you to lift weights at least 4 days a week (the sessions can be as short as 15 minutes), consider doing a split routine. You split a total-body routine into two or three shorter routines. For example, you can train your upper body on one day and your lower body the next. You can even split your upper body muscles into three different workouts. (We discuss these options in detail later in this section.)
Split routines are ideal for people who have the time to work out several days a week but may not have much time for each workout session. Split routines also work well for people who have a short attention span for weight training or who want to give each muscle group an extra-hard workout. Brief, focused workouts help you stay motivated. If you walk into the gym knowing that all you have to do today is work your back and biceps, you’re more likely to give those muscle group exercises an all-out effort.
When designing a split routine, you need to follow two basic rules: Hit each muscle group at least twice a week, and don’t work the same muscle group on consecutive days. This second rule is a bit more complicated than it sounds. For example, you may think that it’s okay to work your triceps and thighs on Monday and then your chest and butt on Tuesday. Actually, it’s not. You see, most chest exercises also work the triceps, and most butt exercises also work the thighs. So, if you work your triceps on Monday, they won’t have recovered sufficiently by Tuesday to help out on your chest exercises. These rules may sound confusing, but within a few weeks, they’ll become second nature. Until then, here’s a list of muscle pairs that you shouldn’t work on back-to-back days:

• Chest and triceps
• Back and biceps
• Butt and thighs

Understanding Progression

Progressing your program or increasing intensity over time requires skill and patience. You don’t want to progress too quickly or you risk injury; but, if you don’t progress your program, it will become stale. After you’ve mastered 15 reps to fatigue at a particular weight, you’re ready to progress to two sets. After you’ve mastered two sets of 15 reps to fatigue, you can add an additional set or you can progress to a heavier weight level in the 8 to 12 rep range. Increase your weight by up to 5 percent. For example, let’s say you’ve been lifting 40 pounds for 15 reps for two sets. To progress, you would increase by 2 pounds and lift 42 pounds for 8 to 12 reps for one set. The challenge with lower weight ranges is that it is difficult to find small weights to add the incremental poundage. If you’re working on machines, look for the small 5-pound bars that you can rest on top of the stack. If you’re working with dumbbells with narrow handles, you can hold more than one in your hand.
Another way to progress your program is to add variety by performing more exercises for each muscle group. This continues to stimulate the muscle by working the muscles through different movement patterns and by requiring more muscle fibers to work.

Putting Together Back Health and Balance Routines

Core training has a different emphasis than training for strength. Follow these tips to maximize the effectiveness of your workout routines.

• Always warm up: Because these are shorter workouts, you can do your warm-up as part of your workout with core specific and balance exercises. Active exercises that warm up your muscles and challenge your core stabilizers include lunges or squats, particularly one-legged squats. You can even use push-ups. Don’t work at an all-out level, but instead work at a level that is appropriate for a warm-up.
• Focus on endurance: To improve core stabilization, your focus is on increasing muscular endurance. Do anywhere from 12 to 20 reps depending on the specific exercise. Do two to three sets as time permits.
• Thirty-second rest periods: Your rest periods should be shorter because you’re focusing on improving endurance.
• Use good form: Don’t continue to perform an exercise past the point where you can execute it with good form. Because these exercises are also for the purpose of improving your movement efficiency, it’s critical that you use good quality movement in every repetition.
• Listen to your body: You want to be particularly careful to avoid any strain to your lower ack or to your neck. Listen to your body. If any exercise causes you pain, don’t do it. If you have specific back issues, follow the instructions of your healthcare provider.
• Always stretch: To be more efficient, you can incorporate stretches either directly after particular exercises to use the time during the rest period, or you can do a series of stretches at the end of your workout. For best results, always include stretches to enhance balanced muscle development and promote flexibility and ease of movement.