For many frequent gym goers, push days is a favourite training session. These workouts are all about targeting the muscles used in pushing movements – these are actions where you move your limbs away from your body. Exercises you can expect on push day include bench presses, shoulder presses, and even lower-body exercises such as squats can be considered a ‘push’ exercise.

Adding push days to your training regime will help you build strength and train multiple muscle groups, contributing to overall functional and sport-specific fitness. Make sure to balance out your push days with days focused on pulling movements, cardio-focused days, and, of course, rest days!

What Muscles Are Worked on a Push Day?

Although often associated with upper-body exercise, push day isn’t a synonym for ‘upper-body workout’. Squats also involve extending your limbs away from the centre of your body and are therefore considered a pushing movement.

Push days can therefore be a whole body workout. Muscles targeted include -

• Chest muscles (pectoralis major and pectoralis minor)

• Shoulder muscles (deltoids and rotator cuff)

• Triceps

• Leg muscles (quads, glutes, and calves)

Five Push Day Workouts

Below you’ll find five examples of push day workouts, including set and rep schemes. These workouts were written with the intermediate athlete in mind. If you are just starting out in the gym, you’ll want to reduce the set and rep range by roughly 20-30%. Equally, if you are an experienced gym rat striving to build muscle, boost muscle tone or improve muscular endurance, feel free to adjust the reps as you see fit! Choose your weights wisely.

The first few reps of any set are meant to feel easy, your middle reps should feel ‘just right’, and those last two or three reps must be a strenuous effort.

Push Day Routine #1

• Dumbbell floor press (3 sets of 10 reps)

• Dumbbell shoulder press (3 sets of 10 reps)

• Dumbbell flye (3 sets of 10 reps)

• Dumbbell lateral raise (3 sets of 12 reps)

• Dumbbell tricep extension (3 sets of 10 reps)

Push Day Routine #2

• Dumbbell incline press (4 sets of 8 reps)

• Dumbbell front raise (3 sets of 10 reps)

• Dumbbell bench press on a Home Gym Bench (4 sets of 8 reps)

• Dumbbell tricep extension (3 sets of 10 reps)

• Dumbbell push up (3 sets of 8 reps)

Push Day Routine #3

• Barbell bench press (4 sets of 6 reps)

• Barbell overhead press (3 sets of 8 reps)

• Barbell incline press with a 20kg Barbell (3 sets of 8 reps)

• Barbell skull crusher (3 sets of 10 reps)

• Barbell front squat (4 sets of 8 reps)

Push Day Routine #4

• Barbell bench press (4 sets of 6 reps)

• Barbell shoulder press (3 sets of 8 reps)

• Barbell thruster (3 sets of 8 reps)

• Barbell close grip bench press (3 sets of 8 reps)

• Barbell back squat (4 sets of 8 reps)

Push Day Routine #5

• Cable chest press (4 sets of 8 reps)

• Machine lateral raise (3 sets of 10 reps)

• Cable tricep pushdown (3 sets of 10 reps)

• Shoulder press on a Shoulder Press Machine (3 sets of 8 reps)

• Machine tricep extension on a Tricep Machine (3 sets of 10 reps)

A solid push day routine can be a key component in building all-round functional fitness. By focusing on a specific set of muscle groups one day, and another set on the next, you’ll balance your development evenly, which can prevent gym burnout and injury. Stay consistent and make sure to mix up your exercises occasionally for the best results. !

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Tags: Equipment > Bars and Weight Plates ; Equipment > Dumbbells ; Equipment > Gym Machines ; Exercise Type > Strength ; Misc > Workout