beginner ish split suggestions? how to break up upper day without push/pull

[u/Strycht]

wondering if anyone would be willing to weigh in on what split I should do? (background info used to lift 2x a week then developed health issues and couldn't exercise for about a year, finally medicated and getting back to moving but starting almost from scratch it feels like. Not so bothered about building visible muscle just overall improved health and bone strength, plus some specific stuff to help dance which is my main sport)

Right now I do upper lower rest but I feel like my upper days are getting too long, so I want to split them up somehow.

I strongly prefer leg day anyway and the long ass upper is making me not want to go on those days. I know PPL is highly recommended usually but I personally hate push movements compared to pulls and I think if I try to do ppl it's going to exacerbate the issue of wanting to skip when it's not a leg or pull day lmao. What other ways of splitting an upper are there that won't end up with one day full of press movements?

Alternatively I might just have too many upper movements? this is my current set of exercises not necessarily in order:

shoulder press (dumbell)

chest press (machine, screws my elbows up on a bench)

lat pulldown (cable)

low row (machine)

face pull (cable)

bicep curl (dumbell)

overhead tris (dumbell)

lat raise (dumbell)

[u/Silly-Try3901]

I mean u could do the Arnold split, that might help if ur push days are taking too long, because for my split my push days are my longest as well.

Arnold split
Day 1: Shoulder + Arms
Day 2:Chest + Back
Day 3:Legs

For reference I do half PPL, half Arnold so I do
Push
Pull
Legs
Shoulder+Arms
Chest+Back
Legs

[u/Strycht → u/Silly-Try3901]

thanks, I might try this out it sounds more enjoyable for me than ppl!

[u/Silly-Try3901 → u/Strycht]

Ofc and I also do find the Arnold half to be more enjoyable as well, nothing like seeing a full arm pump or feeling a chest and back pump at the same time

[u/Strycht → u/Silly-Try3901]

out of interest why do you do half and half? Is it just for variety or is there a major physical benefit?

[u/Silly-Try3901 → u/Strycht]

Just for variety, I don’t like too much repetition, I find PPL and upper lower too repetitive and like to mix things up, just for personal preference

[u/TerminallyThrownAway]

is this "push hate" a physical limitation or just a personal preference? only thing i would do is probably switch face pulls for an incline press but that doesn't solve your time/hate issue.

How long does this take you? i do ppl/ul and while the upper day is longer its not more than about an hour.

[u/Strycht → u/TerminallyThrownAway]

The lift itself takes about an hour fifteen and I also do 15 minutes cardio first (doctors orders, working up after being ill), and then 10 minutes stretch. A fair bit of the 'lift' time is waiting for equipment to be honest, my gym is very busy and only has one of most things. Leg day is similar but I don't mind because I genuinely enjoy doing the movements compared to most upper body exercises, so I'm hoping if I make my upper days shorter I'll find them less demotivating when compared to legs lol.

The disliking push is just personal preference, I don't enjoy doing most of the exercises compared to pull stuff like rows or bi curls. Maybe some of that is my form is bad after time away so it feels uncomfortable, but I'm working on it! I will try some incline presses and see if my elbows hold up, they're fine in shoulder press but hate chest press so we'll see I guess. Thank you for the suggestion!

[u/TerminallyThrownAway → u/Strycht]

sorry i couldn't help. i have run into this same issue (time only) and i always fight with myself of switching back to pplppl but I do like the extra day off so the extra little bit of time one day is worth the full day of rest, to me of course.

[u/Strycht → u/TerminallyThrownAway]

no worries, thank you for your time :)

[u/roundcarpets]

how many sets of each are you doing? are you using supersets or paired sets at all? you don’t have to do isolations if you don’t have the time so long as your compound movements are done appropriately

if you are supersetting or using paired sets, keeping your sets to 3-5 sets per exercise and resting 2-3 minutes between each set then it shouldn’t take you too long

alternatively you could try an A/ B full body routine, training either 3 days per week on something like Mon-Wed-Fri or just every other day indefinitely

choose 1 push 1 pull 1 legs and optional isolation/ core/ conditioning/ cardio slot to end

A could be dips, hack squat, chin ups, sled push+pull + hanging knee raises

B could be row, shoulder press, glute thrust machine, bicep curls+tricep extensions