Welcome, JDF! There's no one best way to pair up muscles or any other aspect of workouts -- best results come from variety and any one program followed for too long will become ineffective. Some ideas for you: - Pair up a large muscle group plus a related smaller group: back + biceps, chest + shoulders + triceps.
- Pair up opposite muscle groups: back + chest, biceps + triceps.
- Split your workouts into push days and pull days. Push days use muscles that "push" the weight away like chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, calves. Pull days use the muscles that pull the weight towards you like hamstrings, lower back, upper back, traps, biceps
But again, main thing is to not get stuck with just one approach. Vary all aspects of your training throughout the year and change your programs every 2 months or so. Also, with limited weights and machines, make sure to get the most out out of using your own bodyweight as resistance: pullups, various pushups (hands close together to increase difficulty and isolate triceps, elevate legs to increase difficulty and bring more work to shoulders), squats (including one-legged squats if advanced), lunges holding dumbbells, superman static holds (lie on the floor on our stomach, extend and elevate arms and legs like Superman and hold for a few seconds), etc. Feel free to ask any other questions here and I'll do my best to answer. Again, welcome! |
