top of page

DAVIS FIT TIPS & TRICKS

Trainer Elaine DAVIS

Stretch & Flex - FLEXIBILITY

Better flexibility may:

  • Improve your performance in physical activities

  • Decrease your risk of injuries

  • Help your joints move through their full range of motion

  • Increase muscle blood flow

  • Enable your muscles to work most effectively

  • Improve your ability to do daily activities

IMG_7072.jpg

Stretching Essentials

Stretching essentials

  1. Don't consider stretching a warmup. You may hurt yourself if you stretch cold muscles.

  2. Strive for symmetry.

  3. Focus on major muscle groups.

  4. Don't bounce.

  5. Hold your stretch.

  6. Don't aim for pain.

  7. Make stretches sport specific.

  8. Keep up with your stretching.

  9. Breathe through.

  10. Relax

IMG_6725.jpg

Benefits of Stretching

The Benefits of Stretching

  1. Decreases muscle stiffness and increases range of motion.

  2. May reduce your risk of injury. 

  3. Helps relieve post-exercise aches and pains. 

  4. Improves posture. 

  5. Helps reduce or manage stress. Well-stretched muscles hold less tension and, therefore, can help you feel less stressed.

  6. Reduces muscular tension and enhances muscular relaxation.  

  7. Improves mechanical efficiency and overall functional performance. Because a flexible joint requires less energy to move through a wider range of motion, a flexible body improves overall performance by creating more energy-efficient movements.

  8. Prepares the body for the stress of exercise. Stretching prior to exercise allows your muscles to loosen up and become better able to withstand the impact of the activity you choose to do.

  9. Promotes circulation. Stretching increases blood supply to your muscles and joints, which allows for greater nutrient transportation and improves the circulation of blood through your entire body.

  10. Decreases the risk of low-back pain. Flexibility in the hamstrings, hip flexors and muscles attached to the pelvis relieves stress on the lumbar spine, which in turn reduces your risk of low-back pain.

IMG_3723_edited.jpg

Benefits of ASSISTED STRETCHING

Assisted Stretching – or as we called it Stretch & Mobility – is delivered one-on one with a certified expert that uses a wide range of techniques that involve dynamic yet passive stretches that promote relaxation and the myofascial to release.

 

Proper stretching is more than just idly reaching for your toes or stretching the arms before hitting the treadmill or the road. It involves a series of technical knowledge that will help you to reach the benefits which will be explained; assisted stretching with an expert will change everything and allow you to accomplish faster and more effectively the goals of better body mobility, pain relief, and others.

IMG_6761.jpg
21-Inspirational-Weight-Loss-Tips-Youve-Probably-Never-Tried4.jpg
1375013159_1481264828.jpg
108150939_1405469446320825_5987351724537455729_n.jpg
download_edited.jpg
nutrition2-2.png
Nutrition+Definition+Benefits+of+Proper+Nutrition_edited.jpg
Protein+Intake+Requirements_edited.jpg
NASM-Table-17_edited.jpg
images (1)_edited.jpg
Carbohydrate+Recommendations_edited.jpg
Altering+Body+Composition_edited.jpg
Screen-Shot-2021-05-06-at-2.37.24-PM.webp

Popular 4 Day Split Variations

Upper Lower

The Upper Lower 4 Day Split Workout divides the four workout sessions into 2 days of upper body training and two days of lower body training. Working out half your body each session means you’ll be training a wide range of muscles groups. The idea is to exert one half of your body while the other half rests. Remember rest days are just as important as gym days. Another key benefit is you’ll be training each muscle group 2x a week which has been shown to result in significantly greater muscle growth when compared to just working each muscle group 1x per week.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Push Pull

The Push Pull split is similar to the Upper Lower Split and provides a lot of the same benefits. Again you’ll alternate targeting half your body in each session. Push days include exercises where you’re pushing (Bench Press, Squat) and generally target the muscles in the front of your body. Pull days include exercises where you’re pulling (Pull Ups, Bent Over Row) and generally target the back of the body.

​

Push Day Muscle Groups: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Quadriceps, and Calves
Pull Day Muscle Groups: Entire back, Biceps, Hamstrings, and Obliques

​

The biggest benefit of a Push/Pull split is that you’re able maximize weekly set count for all your major muscle groups because you’re working them out twice a week. There’s lots of research that shows targeting the same muscle group multiple times per week is optimal in terms of muscle regeneration.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

Classic Bodybuilder (Bro Split)

The Classic Bodybuilder 4 Day Split (sometimes called the Bro Split) is the meat and potatoes of four-day splits. It involves training a specific isolated muscle group in each workout. It generally splits the sessions into the back, chest, arms, and legs (quads, hamstrings, outer/inner thighs). 

It allows you to focus entirely on a small set of muscles per session and gives a full week of recovery for each muscle group. A major benefit of focusing on a single muscle group per session is you can give priority to weaker muscle groups.

In recent years, there’s been a lot of research done that calls into question the effectiveness of working out a single muscle per workout. Regardless of the controversy, the Classic Bodybuilder Split is a tried and true method that countless extremely successful lifters swear by for results.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

4-day-split-bro-split-1024x558_edited.jpg
4-day-split-push-pull-1024x606_edited.jpg
4-day-split-upper-lower-1024x643_edited.jpg

Popular 3 Day Workout Splits

Now let’s get it into some of the most popular and effective 3 day splits in gyms around the world.

Classic 3 day Bodybuilder Split

​

This is by far one of the most popular workout splits in the world. It splits the week into 3 days as seen below:

​

Workout 1: Chest Shoulders & Triceps
Workout 2: Back and Biceps
Workout 3: Legs and Core

​

Since these are just 3 workouts you need to do during the week, you can rest one day in between each workout and take the weekend off if you wanted to. This is an example of how you could schedule your week with the Classic 3 Day Bodybuilder Split.

​

Schedule
Monday: Chest Shoulders & Triceps
Tuesday: Rest day
Wednesday: Back and Biceps
Thursday: Rest day
Friday: Legs and Core
Saturday: Rest day
Sunday: Rest day

​

Lets jump into a little more detail for these workouts. The following workouts are an effective group of exercises that you could perform to target the desired muscle groups on each of the days.

Note: These workouts only include the working weight sets. It's always recommended you warm up properly for each exercise.

 

Chest Shoulders & Triceps

  • Bench Press – 3 Sets (6-8 reps)

  • Incline Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Cable Crossovers – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Standing Overhead Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Lateral Raises – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Skullcrushers – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Triceps Rope Pushdown – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

​

Back and Biceps

  • Seated Cable Row – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Lat Pulldown – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Bent-Over Fly Dumbbell – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Back Hyperextension – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Bicep Barbell Curls – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Hammer Curls – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

​

Legs & Core

  • Squat Barbell – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Leg Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Leg Extension – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Leg Curl – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Standing Calf Raises – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Plank – 3 Sets (30-60 seconds)

  • Crunch – 3 Sets (15-20 reps)

​

Adjust the reps and weights to your capacity and level of fitness. The rest times in between sets will depend on your training objectives, and how hard each set was but as a general rule of thumb it's recommended resting 1:30 – 3 min in between sets.

​

If you’re just starting out, you’ll want to be careful starting out too heavy. Gaining muscle is a marathon, not a sprint, and you won’t be able to make any gains if you’re injured.

Bonus! If you’ve still got energy left on the weekend, get some cardio in your workout split. Aim for at least 30 mins of cardio, whether that is running, rowing, biking, etc.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Push Pull Legs

​

An extremely effective workout 3 day workout split, is the Push/Pull/Legs split. Differently to the classic 3 day split, it does not split the workout sessions by targeted muscles, rather with the different types of movements you have to perform.

​

In the Push workout, you train all the upper body “pushing” muscles such as chest, triceps and shoulders.

In the Pull workout, you train all the upper body “pulling” muscles such as back and biceps.

In the Legs workout, you train the entire lower body, such as quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. Many athletes decide to add abs training on leg day as well. 

​

Here’s an example of a Push Pull Legs weekly schedule:

Schedule
Monday: Push
Tuesday: Rest day
Wednesday: Pull
Thursday: Rest day
Friday: Legs
Saturday: Rest day
Sunday: Rest day

​

Push Pull Legs workout routine could look quite similar to a 3 Day Bodybuilder split, except here you're focusing on the pushing and pulling movements.

​

Push

  • Bench Press – 3 Sets (6-8 reps)

  • Seated Shoulder Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Incline Dumbbell Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Lateral Raises – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Triceps Dumbbell Extension – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Triceps Rope Pressdown – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

​

Pull

  • Lat Pulldown – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Bent Over Row – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Face Pulls – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Dumbbell Shrugs – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Bicep Barbell Curls – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Hammer Curls – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

​

Legs

  • Squat Barbell – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Leg Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Leg Extension – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Seated Leg Curl – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Standing Calf Raises – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

​

This Push Pull Legs workout routine can be a powerful way to take your training to the next level or change things up. 

Don’t forget that consistency! Hitting any of these routines for at least 8 weeks will show significant improvements in both strength and mass when paired with a proper diet! 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Upper/Lower

​

The Upper/Lower workout split is a little different to the previous workout splits mentioned. That is because instead of dividing the target muscles into 3 different sessions, this divides it only in 2 sessions.

​

The Upper workout includes all the muscles in the upper body, and Lower includes the muscles in the lower body. This workout split can still be considered a 3 day workout split since you can be alternating your sessions in the following way.

​

Week 1: Upper/Lower/Upper
Week 2: Lower/Upper/Lower
… and so on. So your bi-weekly schedule could look like this.

​

Week 1
Monday: Upper
Tuesday: Rest day
Wednesday: Lower
Thursday: Rest day
Friday: Upper
Saturday: Rest day
Sunday: Rest day

​

Week 2
Monday: Lower
Tuesday: Rest day
Wednesday: Upper
Thursday: Rest day
Friday: Lower
Saturday: Rest day
Sunday: Rest day

​

The Upper Lower workout split is different! To begin with, it’s simpler because you are always alternating between 2 workout routines. If you like to keep things simple, this might be the workout split for you.

Another notable difference compared to the Push-Pull workout split, is instead of dividing the upper body muscles by push and pull, all of the upper body muscles are worked out in the same session.

Below is a sample Upper Lower workout split with a great combination of exercises for maximum muscle gain.

​

Upper

  • Bench Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Barbell Bent Over Row – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Lat Pulldown – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Seated Shoulder Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Lateral Raises – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Bicep Barbell Curls – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Hammer Curls – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Triceps Dumbbell Extension – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Triceps Rope Pressdown – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

​

Lower

  • Squat Barbell – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Leg Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Leg Extension – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Seated Leg Curl – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Standing Calf Raises – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

​

Like the Push-Pull Legs workout split, many athletes decide to incorporate core training in their “Lower” workout session. 

The Upper Lower workout split can provide certain advantages as opposed to other workout routines. Since you’re always alternating between two workouts, that means that you train the muscle groups at a higher frequency.

Training using the upper-lower split means you will be able to workout any given muscle group twice a week every two weeks, given that you are alternating Upper/Lower/Upper on week 1, and Lower/Upper/Lower on week 2.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Full body training split

​

The Full Body Workout Split is a workout split where you workout every major body part is worked out in every session.

Even though you’re training full body every session, the 3 day Full Body Workout Split will still have 3 different workout sessions. A weekly schedule for a Full Body Training Split could look like the following.

​

Schedule
Monday: Full Body 1
Tuesday: Rest day
Wednesday: Full Body 2
Thursday: Rest day
Friday: Full Body 3
Saturday: Rest day
Sunday: Rest day

​

If you wanted to only have two different workout routines instead of three, you could also alternate your workouts between the two routines, and schedule them as the Upper/Lower Split.

Let’s take a look at a sample 3 day full body split.

​

Full Body 1

  • Bench Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Squat – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Barbell Bent Over Row – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Lateral Raises – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Bicep Barbell Curls – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Triceps Dumbbell Extension – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

​

Full Body 2

  • Incline Dumbbell Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Deadlift – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Lat Pulldown – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Seated Shoulder Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Preacher Curls – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Triceps Dumbbell Extension – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

​

Full Body 3

  • Chest Cable Crossovers – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Leg Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Seated Cable Pull – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Overhead Shoulder Press – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Dumbbell Hammer Curls – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

  • Skullcrusher – 3 Sets (8-12 reps)

​

​

3daysplit-bodybuilder-1-1024x662_edited.jpg
3daysplit-pushpulllegs-1-1024x587_edited.jpg
3daysplit-upperlower-1-1024x717_edited.jpg
3daysplit-fullbody-1-1024x587_edited.jpg
bottom of page