The Dueling Duos

You know them as those lethal duos. They’re those infamous buddy tandems who have bonded over the past few decades to create that winning, invincible formula.

The combinations are endless. Redford & Newman. Gibson & Glover. Starsky & Hutch. Cagney & Lacey. Schwarzenegger & DeVito.

You get the point.

In this case, we’re not solving cases or fighting crime. We’re just looking to beat our muscles into oblivion.

It’s all a question of finding the right formula that works for you. Sometimes, two muscles groups will come together to form an instant hit, like peanut butter and chocolate or vodka and orange juice.

But other times, you’ll get the Siskel & Ebert formula, the two counterparts that rarely agree. Not every combination of muscle groups will work and once in a while, you’ll find an Oscar & Felix, a real odd couple in the mix.

Here are a couple of suggestions of how to build that winning team.

CHEST & TRICEPS: If you’re not training your chest and triceps together, you probably should be. The thinking here is simple. Many of your chest exercises consist of pushing motions – like dips and various bench presses – and thus, require help from your triceps. Considering that you are already working your triceps to a degree, consider the chest workout as a warm-up of sorts for your triceps workout.

Otherwise, you could run into a variety of problems in your workout. If you were to blast your triceps the day BEFORE your chest workout, these muscles will be further invigorated during the crucial recovery period. If need be, it would be better to work triceps the day after a chest workout, although the ideal scenario would be to couple them on the same day.

BACK & BICEPS: The same concept rings true for the back-biceps tandem – the two work well in harmony. Because your back exercises involve pulling motions (pull-downs, upright rows, etc.), your biceps are being worked throughout the range of motion. Thus, try working your back and biceps together.

The back is the larger of the muscle groups and hence, is the most demanding. It will need the bulk of your energy and attention so it would be wise to work your lats first. Otherwise, your fatigued biceps would greatly effect your performance of your lat workout.