Push pull legs workout plan: the full schedule, 3 or 6 days a week

Push/pull/legs splits training into chest, shoulders and triceps (push), back and biceps (pull), and legs. Run it 3 days a week (each once) as a beginner or 6 days (each twice) once you recover well, with 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps per exercise.

Push/pull/legs (PPL) groups muscles by the way they move. It is simple to follow and easy to adjust, which is why so many lifters use it.

How the split works

• Push day: chest, shoulders and triceps, the muscles that push weight away.
• Pull day: back, rear shoulders and biceps, the muscles that pull weight toward you.
• Legs day: quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves, plus your core.

3 days or 6 days?

• 3 days a week (Push, Pull, Legs): each muscle is trained once a week. Good for beginners and busy weeks. Add a few extra sets per session to get enough volume.
• 6 days a week (PPL twice): each muscle twice a week, which builds muscle faster for most people, but only if you sleep and eat well enough to recover. Take one rest day a week.

A good middle ground is 4 or 5 days: run the cycle continuously and rest when you need to.

The plan

Push

1. Bench press or dumbbell bench press: 4 sets of 6 to 10
2. Seated dumbbell shoulder press: 3 sets of 8 to 12
3. Incline dumbbell press: 3 sets of 8 to 12
4. Lateral raises: 3 sets of 12 to 15
5. Triceps pushdown: 3 sets of 10 to 12

Pull

1. Lat pulldown or pull-ups: 4 sets of 6 to 10
2. Barbell or seated cable row: 3 sets of 8 to 12
3. Face pulls: 3 sets of 12 to 15
4. Dumbbell curl: 3 sets of 10 to 12
5. Hammer curl: 2 sets of 10 to 12

Legs

1. Squat or leg press: 4 sets of 6 to 10
2. Romanian deadlift: 3 sets of 8 to 10
3. Walking lunges: 3 sets of 10 per leg
4. Leg curl: 3 sets of 10 to 12
5. Calf raises: 3 sets of 12 to 15
6. Plank: 3 holds of 30 to 45 seconds

Rest about 2 minutes on the first big lift of each day and 60 to 90 seconds on the rest.

Pick weights you can lift with one or two reps to spare, and beat last week by a rep or a little weight.

Who it suits

PPL suits anyone who can train at least three days a week and likes clear, separate sessions. If you can only train two or three days and want each muscle more often, a full-body plan may suit you better.

Common mistakes

• Six days from day one, then burning out. Start with three or four.
• Too many push exercises, too few for the back. Keep pull volume at least equal to push.
• Never writing anything down, so you cannot tell if you are getting stronger.

Sources

• How often to train each muscle a week: Schoenfeld et al., 2016
• Weekly sets and muscle growth: Schoenfeld et al., 2017

The takeaway

Three days to start, six when you recover well, and a little more each week. Shulah has push/pull/legs among its programmes and sets your next weights from every set you log.

Want it on paper? Download a free weekly gym schedule as a PDF: 3, 4 or 6 days.