Which Muscles Groups To Focus On When Working Out
In order to sift through all the information that is out there, it can be difficult to inform yourself with actual truths about what’s on the down low for all things muscles for working out. There are many different ways to structure a training program which works in one’s favor because it makes everything very customizable. It gets to be totally you. This is the time for you to incorporate goals, how your body seems to work, any injuries, etc. Remember to put YOU first before the programming you saw on Instagram (no hate, just a warning).
What Are The Different Muscle Groups In The Body
There are three types of muscles in your body: cardiac, smooth, and skeletal. The cardiac muscles are the muscles that control your heart. Your involuntary muscles are controlled by smooth muscles. Skeletal muscles are typically the ones that you try to specifically target – they make about about 40% of your bodyweight. A “muscle group” is pretty much what it sounds like – it’s a group of muscles situated close together that perform similar movements.
It is very common for fitness experts to consider the major muscle groups:
-arms
-shoulders
-chest
-back
-abs
-legs
This is a great starting place for creating your individualized programming. Once you have a grasp on these groups, you will learn the other specific such as:
-calves
-hamstrings (also known as hammies)
-quadriceps (also known as quads)
-glutes
-biceps
-triceps
-traps
-lats
-etc
Push Vs. Pull Movements
Push vs. pull may sound familiar to you or maybe not. There’s a lot of debate about performing at least one pull movement per exercise and one push. There are some advocates of having strict pull days and other days push. A push or pull workout is a style of training that targets muscles based on whether they involve a pushing or pulling action. They are great for optimizing recovery time between workouts and helping create a balanced physique.
Push: chest, shoulders, and triceps
Pull: back, biceps, and forearms
Some recommended push / pull routines include:
Beginners:
Monday: Push
Tuesday: Rest / Active cardio
Wednesday: Pull
Thursday: Rest / Active cardio
Friday: Legs and core
Intermediate and advanced:
Monday: Push
Tuesday: Pull
Wednesday: Legs and Core
Thursday: Rest / Active Cardio
Friday: Push
Saturday: Pull
Sunday: Legs and Core (SUNDAY FUNDAY)
Types of Exercises & Muscles Groups
One of the best parts about weight training is that you can use bodyweight, dumbbells, barbells, resistance bands, medicine balls, machines, etc. There’s so many ways to customize your programming that makes the most sense for your goals, lifestyle, and more.
Creating a strength training program is a great way to learn about your body and see what your body responds best to. Keep in mind that as your body composition changes and other factors, your body may begin to respond differently to certain programming. It’s not necessarily a bad thing at all – it can be a very good sign that you’re getting stronger.
Now onto the fun part. Here are some examples of exercises you can perform to target certain muscles.
Chest
-Bench Press
-Push-Ups
-Chest Flys
Back
-Single-arm dumbbell row
-Resistance Band Pull-Apart
-Lat Pull Down
Legs
-Squat
-Bulgarian Lunge
-Glute Bridge (key for glute activation)
Shoulders
-Seated Shoulder Press
-Front Plate Raise
-Lateral Raise
What to pair together?
There is no right or wrong way to group your muscles together. There are even some people that say that you shouldn’t program workouts around individual muscle groups at all and focus on doing heavy full-body functional training. You may want to experiment with a few different pairings to find what works best for you. For example, it is traditional to hit back and biceps together; however, you may find that doing a leg day with some bicep exercises gives you better results. The benefit of categorizing muscles into units helps organize our training. Just like anything else – listen to your body and pay attention to moderation. You don’t want to only work biceps 3x a week.
You’ll often find that people prefer to train chest and triceps together, but then there are also people who would prefer to train biceps with chest. Maybe there are some weeks where you alternate this. Within learning what to pair together, some people get more granular and divide muscle groups up into smaller ones such as: upper pecs, obliques, forearms, rear delts, etc. It is a way to learn more about the body and how to modify your programming in an informed manner. This isn’t totally necessary, either.
Monday: Arms & Cardio
-Push Ups: 3 sets of 10 (modify as needed)
-Bicep Curls: 3 sets (15, 10, 8 – modify weight as needed)
-Bench Dips: 3 sets of 15
-Tricep Extensions: 3 sets (15, 10, 8)
-Single Cable Curls: 3 sets of 10 each arm
-Cable Tricep Extensions: 3 sets of 10
-Finisher: Preacher Curl for as many reps as you can (slow)
-30 Minutes of cardio of your choice
Strong arms and grip strength along with that are key to a toned figure and ability to do a wide variety of other exercises.
Wednesday: Back & Bicep
Superset (this means to do two exercises back to back with a short break before the next round)
-Lat Pull Down (4 sets of 15,12,8,10)
-Hammer Curl (4 sets of 10)
-Dummbell Bent Over Rows (4 sets of 10)
-Bicep curls (4 sets of 10)
-Cable X Row (4 sets of 12,10,10 – last set until failure)
-Cable Single Arm Curls (4 sets of 10 – last set until failure)
Friday: Glutes, Quads & Abs
-Barbell Back Squats (3 sets of 12, 10, 8)
-Forearm plank (3 sets of 30 seconds)
-Narrow Stance Front Squat (3 sets of 10)
-Step-Ups (3 sets of 10 each leg)
-Barbell Hip Thrusts (3 sets of 10)
-Medicine Ball Rainbow Crunch (3 sets of 10 on each side)
In your programming, make sure to take a realistic look at your schedule and meet yourself where your body is starting. You may start out with 3 days a week and that’s a success! Don’t cheat yourself before you have the chance to get started. And while it is great to be able to create the freedom of your own workout plans, it is not a bad idea to consult a professional expert such as a trainer on how to perform exercises with proper technique to ensure efficiency and technique. A trainer is also an accountability partner that can help you guage progress and find a well-rounded plan for you.
Get Inspired To Push Your Workout To The Next Level With The BXNG Club
Put your programming together with The BXNG Club! The BXNG Club (TBC) was created with a belief that fight arts can be an effective and fun platform for overall fitness and health. With that in mind, TBC brought together the top fight and fitness instructors in the industry – from Boxing to Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu, MMA, High Intensity Interval Training-based fitness, Yoga, Spin, and Pilates to create a unique and exhilarating fitness experience based on combat sports.
At TBC, we believe that our members should never just be faces in a crowd. Our commitment to members is reflected in everything we do – from keeping class sizes comfortable for personal attention to learning more about our clients to help them achieve their goals faster and more effectively. The positive and welcoming culture and community within our club is what makes us special and sets us apart from traditional gyms.
