There are several ways to train you body through weightlifting. The first step is to work out, which workout split fits best into your lifestyle.

In this Blog post I will show you a Pull workout of a push – legs – pull workout split you can do for you next workout in the gym.

The base of a pull workout

If you want to train in a push pull legs split you ideally work out six times a week with two workout session for every muscle group each.

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7
Push	Legs	Pull	Push	Legs	Pull	Rest

A pull workout focuses on the pulling movement for ideal muscle growth.

The set up

The following pull session contains of six exercises, which train the back, the biceps and the anterior delts. Additionally, I will give you a warm up to prepare the body for the training session. This lowers the risk of injury!

The Training Principles

While training you should focus on two things:

• Full range of motion
• Controlling the eccentric part of the movement

If you goal is muscle growth, you should keep these two principles in the back of you head on every repetition. By performing the movement slow and controlled in the eccentric part, the muscle stays longer under tension. Therefore, the muscle has a higher input, which ends in higher adaptation and more muscle growth over time. You should be using lighter weight, because if you do a slow eccentric movement you muscle will be fatigued much faster. In this case you reduce the risk of injury, while getting the same results or even better than with heavier weight and poor execution.

Full range of motion should always be top priority, while doing anything in the gym. Many people do half repetitions, because they can’t handle the weight they are using or they want to squeeze out more reps at the end or a set. By doing this, they hinder themselves having bigger muscle growth. If you use full range of motion, the muscle will be used in the full length of the muscle. Consequently, the muscle will be bigger!

The warm up

5 minutes on the treadmill or Stairmaster. This is just a for elevating your heart rate and to get your body into a light sweat. Your muscle will get warm and you can start the second part of the warm up: Dynamic Stretching. Keep your focus on the back! There is no reason the stretch your legs or any other muscle besides the muscle you will use in the workout.

The pull workout

The workout as mentioned in the beginning of six exercises.

Exercise 1: 1-Arm half kneeling lat pulldown

On the first movement we do 3 sets of 12-15 reps of one arm half kneeling lat pulldowns. You set up this movement by going into a half kneeling stance bracing you non-working hand against the knee of the same leg. Through this you will have a much more stable position and you can fully focus on the movement itself. Set the cable up, so that your forearm and pelvis is in one line. Pull until you hand is in the middle of your body and your arm is vertical.

As an exchange exercises you can perform lat pulldown from the side. Therefore, you would just shoulder adduction and not shoulder extension. Both exercises are pretty good for muscle growth.

Exercise 2: Pull ups

Pull ups are one of the best overall muscle building exercises when it comes to pulling movements. We do 2 sets to failure on this one. The first movement already hit the lats, but now we go all out and roast the lats for maximal growth. Execution and form are key! You want your hands to be a bit more than shoulder width apart. As you go up, you want your elbows to go down to your pelvis. If possible, you want to beat the number of repetitions by one every week. However, if you are gaining weight, staying on the same number of reps is also great, because you are adding resistance.

Exercise 3: Kroc Row

The first two movements were for the width of the back and now we focus on the thickness. The kroc row is a similar exercise like the dumbbell row, but your upper body is more upwards. Here you want to really go for as much weight as you are willing to go for, if you maintain a good technique.

Exercise 4: Cable shrug in

Now we go for a convenient trap exercise for 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps on the cable shrug ins, because we don’t have to load up a bar with weight. The orientation of the cable tent to line up better with the fibers of the trap muscle. Here you should shrug up to get the best out of the exercise.

Exercise 5: Reverse pec deck fly

After that we work out the rear delts with 3 sets of 12-15 reps. On the reverse pec deck fly you want to go back, while keeping a light bend in the elbows. This will target the muscle better than just going back, which targets the mid back more. If you feel like it and want to try something, you can play around with you hand position and see if it makes a difference in the activation of the muscle.

Exercise 6: overhead cable biceps curl                                                          

To finish of the workout, we do 3 sets of 12-15 reps on the cable machine. This one emphasizes the long head of the biceps. You set yourself up in a kneeling position and pull the cable behind your head.

The pull workout concluded

You can use this workout and fit it into your workout program. This pull workout contains a warm up and six exercises, which target the back, the biceps and the rear delts.

Keep in mind

• Full range of motion
• Slow eccentric

Warm up

• 5 mins treadmill or Stairmaster
• Dynamic stretching

Workout

• 1-Arm half kneeling lat pulldown 3 sets x 12-15 reps
• Pull ups 2 sets to failure
• Kroc Row 3 sets x 12-15 reps
• Cable shrug in 3 sets x 15-20 reps
• Reverse pec deck flies 3 sets x 12-15 reps
• overhead cable biceps curl 2 sets x 12-15 reps