Depending on your goals and fitness levels, additional activity may not be necessary. However, if you are increasing the volume of your program, it must be approached intelligently. If you are preparing for challenging military training programs or selections, you must progress to advanced, well-rounded fitness and conditioning levels over time. This often means adding more calisthenics and cardio to a lift routine.
Here is a question from a reader:
Do you think doing a push-pull-leg split lift routine in the morning is OK, followed by calisthenics and cardio in the afternoon?
Thanks,
Derek
Yes, doing a push-pull-legs split with lifting in the morning, followed by calisthenics and cardio in the afternoon, is generally OK — if you manage your recovery and avoid working the same muscle groups too hard, too often. Where most people go wrong is that they do not stay on the split routine for the second workout of the day.
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So if you are doing a push day in the morning, limit your calisthenics to push-ups, dips, burpees and overhead movements. For pull day, add pull-ups and time on the rowing machine in the evening. For leg day, incorporate squats, lunges, jumps, hills, stairs, load-bearing activities (such as rucking) or swimming with fins.
However, you could also focus primarily on the lift cycle and work to get stronger, but use related muscle groups targeted on that day as calisthenics warm-ups prior to the lift of that same muscle group. You can also follow the lift with some form of cardio, such as running, swimming or rucking.
Splitting workouts into morning and afternoon (or evening) sessions is challenging and should be part of a progression of conditioning over time. You will burn more calories, so eating more may be required to maintain weight. We often do two-a-days, but the second workouts are primarily swimming and pool skills with a focus on techniques and conditioning for many military preparation routines.
Here are some issues to watch out for if you try a second workout of the day:
Watch for Overlap
A common mistake is not adhering to the split and instead working all forms of calisthenics in the evening. This can lead to multiple days in a row of working the same muscle groups, which can stall growth and lead to overtraining if repeated too frequently without adequate rest. For example, after a heavy bench press day, don’t do push-ups or dips the following day.
Be Careful When Mixing Weights and Calisthenics
Calisthenics are similar to weight training. In fact, pull-ups and dips are considered the “heavy weights of calisthenics,” because most of your body weight is working to do those movements. You can do them in separate sessions on the same day or use the calisthenics as a warm-up or cooldown from the strength training of the same muscle groups.
Rest Is Critical
You will grow when you rest and sleep well. More exercise is not always better. Recovery days and rotating the focus on various muscle groups are necessary to avoid burnout. It is important to listen to your body and adjust as needed. Some days, you will not need a second workout. And at least once a week, there should be a day off for recovery. If you feel your performance is dropping or excessive soreness is building up, reassess your split or dial back the total volume or frequency.
That plan can work great if you balance intensity, avoid redundant exercises for the same muscle groups on consecutive days and keep an eye on your recovery. Don’t be afraid to adjust based on how you feel and rotate muscle groups appropriately to maximize results while staying healthy.
Learn more about split routine options and recovery methods at the Military.com Fitness Section.
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