There are very few workout splits that are perfectly designed in terms of effectiveness, balance, frequency, and scheduling options. Full body and upper/lower would be two good examples of this.
The push/pull/legs split would definitely be another.
Push/pull/legs (PPL) has been around for decades and has become one of the most popular and proven workout splits of all time, particularly for intermediate and advanced trainees with the goal of building muscle.
In this article, I’m going to show you 4 different versions of this split (ranging from 3-6 workouts per week), explain the pros and cons of each, help you figure out which version will work best for you, and provide a full sample workout routine for you to use.
Let’s start with the basics…
What Is The Push/Pull/Legs Split?
The push/pull/legs split is a workout schedule that divides the body up into three groups: upper body pushing muscles, upper body pulling muscles, and legs.
Each group is then trained separately on its own day, like this…
The “Push” Workout
The “push” workout involves training all of the upper body muscles that are involved in “pushing” exercises. This includes:
- Chest
- Shoulders
- Triceps
The “Pull” Workout
The “pull” workout involves training all of the upper body muscles that are involved in “pulling” exercises. This includes:
- Back
- Biceps
- Rear Delts
The “Legs” Workout
The “legs” workout involves training all of the lower body muscles involved in “leg” exercises (shocking, right?). This includes:
- Quads
- Hamstrings
- Glutes
- Calves
Abs are often trained along with legs, but they can really be trained on whichever day you prefer. I usually recommend putting abs at the end of whichever workout is the shortest.
The Benefits Of Pull/Pull/Legs
The main benefit to grouping body parts this way is that it keeps all related muscle groups together in the same workout, which is fantastic for preventing the type of overlap issues that are so common with less-intelligent splits.
For example, compound chest exercises like the bench press, incline press, push-ups, and various chest pressing machines will train the shoulders and triceps in addition to the chest.
Which means if you were using a split that trained chest one day, shoulders on another day, and triceps on some other day, you become a lot more likely to eventually run into problems with insufficient recovery and/or overuse injuries.
However, by pairing up all of the muscle groups that get trained during the same types of exercises, the push/pull/legs split does a damn fine job of minimizing the potential for those types of problems.
Now let’s take a look at the different ways this split can be scheduled.
Version #1: The 3-Day Push/Pull/Legs Split
- Monday: Push
- Tuesday: off
- Wednesday: Pull
- Thursday: off
- Friday: Legs
- Saturday: off
- Sunday: off
This first version of the split is what I consider to be the “classic” version, as it’s the oldest and most well known of the bunch. But does that make it the best? Let’s find out…
The Good
As you can see, there are 3 total weight training workouts per week done in an every-other-day format with 2 days off at the end.
With just 3 total workouts that fall on the same days every week, plus the ability to have the weekend off, this version of the split is by far the most convenient and easy-to-schedule for the majority of people, and it’s the least likely to cause any recovery related issues.
However, there is one major downside to this sort of schedule.
The Bad
In this version of the split, every body part is trained just once per week, and we have plenty of research (sources here and here) and real world experience at this point to know that this is usually the least effective workout frequency for someone trying to build muscle or gain strength.
That’s not to say it doesn’t work or it can’t work. It’s just that, with all else being equal, training each body part 2-3 times per week works best.
For this reason alone, I don’t recommend this version of the push/pull/legs split to anyone looking to gain muscle or strength.
But what if I can only work out 3 days per week?
In that case, I’d suggest going with the full body split if you’re a beginner, the 3-day upper/lower split if you’re an intermediate or advanced trainee, or one of the other 3-day options I cover here: The Best 3-Day Workout Splits
Is a once-per-week frequency ideal for any goal?
Ideal? Probably not. Sufficient? Sometimes.
Specifically, if your primary goal at the moment is to simply maintain the amount of muscle and strength you currently have rather than making additional progress, training each muscle group once per week will usually be sufficient for that purpose (sources here and here).
And in that case, this version of the split is a potential option to consider using.
The Verdict
This version of the push/pull/legs split is the best in terms of convenience and scheduling, but it’s the worst in terms of actual effectiveness due to its suboptimal once-per-week training frequency. I don’t recommend it.
Version #2: The 4-5 Day Push/Pull/Legs Split
Week 1
- Monday: Push
- Tuesday: Pull
- Wednesday: off
- Thursday: Legs
- Friday: off
- Saturday: Push
- Sunday: Pull
Week 2
- Monday: off
- Tuesday: Legs
- Wednesday: off
- Thursday: Push
- Friday: Pull
- Saturday: off
- Sunday: Legs
Week 3
- Monday: off
- Tuesday: Push
- Wednesday: Pull
- Thursday: off
- Friday: Legs
- Saturday: off
- Sunday: Push
Week 4
- Monday: Pull
- Tuesday: off
- Wednesday: Legs
- Thursday: off
- Friday: Push
- Saturday: Pull
- Sunday: off
This second version of the split is one that I often refer to as the “rotating” version.
Why?
Because unlike the previous version which had 3 workouts over a 7-day cycle (which all fell on the same 3 days each week), this version has 3 workouts that take place over a 5-day cycle, and the days they fall on rotate each week.
What I mean is…
- The previous version was push/off/pull/off/legs/off/off and then repeat from the beginning.
- This version is push/pull/off/legs/off and then repeat from the beginning.
For this reason, you end up with 4 total workouts per week most of the time (see weeks 2-4 above), but then 5 total workouts per week (see week #1) every time the “cycle” comes back around to the beginning (this occurs every 6th week).
Now let’s take a look at the pros and cons of doing PPL this way…
The Good
There is one major benefit to scheduling the workouts over a rotating 5-day cycle like this, and it’s all about increasing the training frequency.
The first version of the split trained each body part every 7th day (once per week), which is the least effective frequency for most people. But in this version, each body part is being trained every 5th day (so three times every two weeks).
And while this still isn’t exactly twice per week, it’s a significant improvement over the low frequency of Version 1, which makes this version of the split more effective for most people’s goals. I’ve seen people do quite well with it, in fact.
However, yet again, there are some major downsides to this sort of schedule.
The Bad
This version will be inconvenient for a lot of people.
Aside from the fact that you end up having to train on the weekends (some people aren’t able to do that), the “rotating” nature of it means your training days and rest days will vary from week to week.
So some weeks you’ll be training on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Some weeks Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Other weeks Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. And some weeks there are 4 total workouts. Other weeks, there are 5.
And this sort of variance will be problematic for many people from a scheduling standpoint.
So while this version of the push/pull/legs split makes a beneficial improvement in terms of training frequency, you’ll need a fairly flexible schedule in order to make it work and actually get those benefits.
The Verdict
If you have a schedule that will allow you to put this version into action consistently and without any problems, then I highly recommend it.
But if not, or if attempting to make it work would just lead to you eventually missing workouts because it’s too inconvenient for you, then I don’t recommend it. Instead, I’d suggest sticking with a more static 4-day split, such as upper/lower.
Version #3: 5-Day Push/Pull/Legs Split
Week 1
- Monday: Push
- Tuesday: Pull
- Wednesday: off
- Thursday: Legs
- Friday: Push
- Saturday: Pull
- Sunday: off
Week 2
- Monday: Legs
- Tuesday: Push
- Wednesday: off
- Thursday: Pull
- Friday: Legs
- Saturday: Push
- Sunday: off
Week 3
- Monday: Pull
- Tuesday: Legs
- Wednesday: off
- Thursday: Push
- Friday: Pull
- Saturday: Legs
- Sunday: off
This third version of the split is a pure 5-day version, where you have 5 total workouts per week, every single week.
This is done using a schedule where you have two consecutive workouts… followed by a day off… followed by three consecutive workouts… followed by a day off.
Then you repeat it again.
And unlike the previous version, the 5 workout days fall on the same days each week. In the example shown, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are always the training days, and Wednesday and Sunday are always the the rest days. (Note that the workouts themselves still vary, as one week Monday is a “push” workout, and the next Monday is a “legs” workout.)
Now let’s take a look at the pros and cons of this setup…
The Good
The training frequency is great. Each body part gets trained every 4th-5th day, which is pretty damn close to exactly twice per week, which is ideal. This makes it just slightly more frequent than Version 2.
In addition, this schedule is also much more stable than the previous version, as the training days are consistent from week to week, which will make it more convenient for a lot of people.
However, yet again, there are some downsides.
The Bad
While some people can do quite well with 5 workouts per week, it will be too much for many others, as 5 workouts (with 3 happening on consecutive days) is more recovery intensive than 3-4 workouts per week… which is what tends to suit most people.
This is especially true for those with below-average genetics, people who are older, people with a lot of other activity or stress in their lives, or any combination thereof.
This version also requires training on at least one day of the weekend (which many people can’t do), and also requires 5 total workouts every week, which is often more than a lot of people have time for.
So while this version of the PPL split provides the training frequency we want and does so with a more consistent setup than Version 2, it may be inconvenient for a lot of people to fit into their schedules, and it may be too much for others from a recovery and progression standpoint.
The Verdict
If you have the schedule AND the recovery capabilities needed to do well with a 5-day split like this, then I’d certainly recommend giving it a try.
But if not, I’d recommend sticking with a 3 or 4 day routine instead, such as the 3 or 4 day version of upper/lower, or perhaps Version 2 of push/pull/legs (assuming you have a flexible enough schedule to make it work).
Version #4: 5-6 Day Push/Pull/Legs Split
Week 1
- Monday: Push
- Tuesday: Pull
- Wednesday: Legs
- Thursday: off
- Friday: Push
- Saturday: Pull
- Sunday: Legs
Week 2
- Monday: off
- Tuesday: Push
- Wednesday: Pull
- Thursday: Legs
- Friday: off
- Saturday: Push
- Sunday: Pull
Week 3
- Monday: Legs
- Tuesday: off
- Wednesday: Push
- Thursday: Pull
- Friday: Legs
- Saturday: off
- Sunday: Push
This fourth version of the split is very similar to Version 2 in that it uses a rotating schedule that involves training on different days each week.
The main difference, however, is that Version 2 used a 5-day cycle (push/pull/off/legs/off and then repeat) which meant there’d be 4 or 5 workouts per week, whereas this version uses a 4-day cycle (push/pull/legs/off and then repeat) which means there are 5 or 6 workouts per week.
Now let’s take a look at the pros and cons…
The Good
Once again, the training frequency is great.
Each body part gets trained every 4th day exactly, which makes it the highest frequency version of push/pull/legs, just slightly beating out Version 3 by a very tiny margin.
Unfortunately, there are quite a few downsides.
The Bad
This is the version most likely to be problematic for people from a recovery standpoint and a scheduling standpoint.
It basically has all of the same inconvenient scheduling issues that Version 2 and 3 had – only worse – plus the recovery issues version 3 had, but to a higher/worse degree.
So while this version of the split nails the frequency aspect of things quite well, everything else about it can be a problem for a lot of people.
The Verdict
Honestly, I never recommend this version of the split.
While there are surely some people who can make it work and actually do well with it, these people would be in a very small minority. For this reason, I recommend that those who are considering using this version go with Version 3 instead.
The Push/Pull/Legs Workout Routine
Now that you’ve seen the different versions of this split and picked the one that’s best for you, the next thing you’ll need is an actual workout routine to go along with it.
And for that, you have two options:
1. Use My Free PPL Workout Template
First, I have something awesome for you. And it’s completely free.
I call it The Push/Pull/Legs Workout Template, and it’s the exact template I personally use whenever I design this type of routine for myself or others.
You’ll then be able to use it to design your own push/pull/legs program to suit your specific needs, goals, and preferences.
2. The Sample Push/Pull/Legs Routine
Here now is one of the many examples of a push/pull/legs routine that was designed using my template.
Push Workout
- Bench Press: 3×6-8
- Shoulder Press: 3×8-10
- Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 3×10-15
- Triceps Pushdowns: 3×10-15
- Abs: 10 minutes of whatever you want.
Pull Workout
- Rows: 3×6-8
- Pull-Ups or Lat Pull-Downs: 3×8-10
- Face Pulls: 3×10-15
- Barbell Shrugs: 3×8-10
- Dumbbell Curls: 3×10-15
Legs Workout
- Squats: 3×6-8
- Romanian Deadlifts: 3×6-8
- Leg Press: 3×8-10
- Leg Curls: 3×8-10
- Standing Calf Raises: 3×6-8
- Seated Calf Raises: 2×10-15
And there you have it. That’s everything you need to know about push/pull/legs.
Choose the version of the split that suits you best, use the sample workout shown above (or get my template and design your own), put it into action consistently, and, assuming you’re goal is to build muscle, be sure to combine it with a muscle building diet plan as well.
What To Do Next…
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