Key takeaways
The push, pull, legs routine divides training by movement pattern—push (chest, shoulders, triceps), pull (back, traps, biceps), and legs—allowing you to train each muscle group more than once per week for increased growth opportunities. - Beginners train three days per week with rest between sessions to prioritise recovery and technique, while advanced lifters follow a two-days-on, one-day-off schedule to maximise training volume and frequency.
- This split is built around compound exercises like deadlifts, squats, and bench press, which work multiple muscle groups simultaneously and allow for progressive overload—the foundation of building muscle and strength.
- Proper nutrition, including adequate protein intake and supplements like creatine and whey protein, is essential to fuel recovery and maximise the results of your push, pull, legs routine.
Jump to:
- What is push, pull, legs?
- Mass-building basics
- What does a push, pull, legs workout look like?
- Beginner's push, pull, legs routine
- Advanced push, pull, legs routine
- Frequently asked questions
What is the push, pull, legs workout split?
A push, pull, legs (PPL) training split divides your workout days based on the type of movement you perform. Each workout focuses on a specific group of muscles and allows for a separate day of rest, ensuring you don't overtrain any one area. This approach provides your muscles with the rest they need while ensuring you can train each group more than once per week. This increased frequency creates more opportunities for growth and recovery.
Push day works the muscles involved in pushing movements, including your chest, shoulders and triceps. Pull day allows the muscles used in your push day to rest while you train your back, traps and biceps. Leg day is exactly what it says on the tin. While your upper body rests, you're working your lower body to its full capacity, including your glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves.
| Training day | Primary muscle groups | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Push | Chest, shoulders, triceps | All muscles involved in pushing movements are trained together, maximising efficiency and allowing pull muscles to recover. |
| Pull | Back, traps, biceps | Targets all pulling muscles while push muscles rest, ensuring balanced upper-body development. |
| Legs | Glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves | Dedicated lower-body session allows full recovery for upper body, supporting overall muscle growth and strength. |
Mass-building basics
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The push, pull, legs workout routine is for anyone. It doesn't matter if you're walking into the gym for the first time or if you're an experienced gym-goer. The majority of these workouts are built around compound exercises. Unlike isolation exercises (think biceps curls or pec deck sets), compound movements like the barbell bench press, squats and deadlifts work multiple muscle groups at once. This means you get the most bang for your buck. These types of exercises also allow the most room for progression of reps and weight. This is the foundation of progressive overload, which is essential for building muscle and getting stronger over time.
What does a push, pull, legs workout look like?
The basic premise of any push, pull, legs programme is similar, but there are subtle differences depending on your experience level. The main difference between a beginner programme and an advanced one is how frequently you train. An advanced lifter will train more frequently, typically two days on and one day off, to increase the number of times they hit each body part. This provides more opportunities for growth and recovery. A more experienced gym-goer may also add more complex exercises as they improve their technique and knowledge.
Beginner's push, pull, legs routine
For a beginner, the focus should be on learning proper technique and form. For this reason, all sets should be stopped 1-2 reps short of true failure unless otherwise stated. This routine trains only three days a week, with at least a day's rest after each session. This is to promote recovery between workouts, as a beginner's recovery capabilities will be much less than a more experienced gym-goer.
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Monday: Pull
Perform the following exercises on your pull day:
Deadlifts: 3 sets of 5-8 reps Close grip chin-ups: 3 sets (bodyweight to failure) Bent over rows: 3 sets of 8-12 reps Wide-grip cable row: 2 sets of 10-12 reps Barbell curls: 2 sets of 12-15 reps
Wednesday: Push
Perform the following exercises on your push day:
Flat barbell bench press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps Incline dumbbell press: 2 sets of 10-12 reps Standing military press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps Wide-grip upright row: 2 sets of 12-15 reps Narrow-grip dips: 3 sets (bodyweight to failure) Cable pushdowns: 2 sets of 12-15 reps
Friday: Legs
Perform the following exercises on your leg day:
Squats: 2 sets of 10-12 reps Leg press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps Dumbbell still-legged deadlifts: 2 sets of 12-15 reps Leg extensions: 2 sets of 15-20 reps
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You'll notice that the beginner programme has very few isolation exercises. The routine focuses on the classic, basic movements like deadlifts, squats, and the standing military press. This approach provides two main benefits: It gives beginners a great foundation of strength and teaches basic lifting techniques, and it works a large number of muscle groups at once, including the all-important core muscles.
Advanced push, pull, legs routine
An advanced trainer has much greater recovery capabilities than a beginner. They can benefit from and grow with the extra training volume, whereas a beginner could burn out and hinder their progress. For this routine, you will train two days on, one day off.
Training split:
Pull days: Day 1, Day 5 Push days: Day 2, Day 6 Leg days: Day 4, Day 8 Rest days: Day 3, Day 7, Day 11
Day 1: Pull 1
Perform the following exercises on your first pull day:
Deadlifts: 1st set: 3-5 reps, 2nd set: 6-8 reps Underhand pulldowns: 2 sets of 8-12 reps Dumbbell one-arm rows: 1st set: 6-8 reps, 2nd set: 12-15 reps Pendlay rows: 1st set: 6-8 reps, 2nd set: 12-15 reps Skull crushers: 3 sets of 8-12 reps Rope hammer curls: 2 sets of 12-15 reps
Day 2: Push 1
Perform the following exercises on your first push day:
Incline bench press: 1st set: 6-8 reps, 2nd set: 8-12 reps Flat dumbbell press: 2 sets of 8-12 reps Wide-grip dips: 3 sets (bodyweight to failure) Dumbbell shoulder press: 2 sets of 8-12 reps Arnold press: 2 sets of 12-15 reps Skull crushers: 3 sets of 8-12 reps Underhand pushdowns: 2 sets of 12-15 reps
Day 4: Legs 1
Perform the following exercises on your first leg day:
Front squats: 1st set: 6-8 reps, 2nd set: 12-15 reps Feet low & close leg press: 2 sets of 15-20 reps Stiff-legged deadlifts: 1st set: 6-8 reps, 2nd set: 8-12 reps Glute-hamstring raises: Bodyweight to failure Walking lunges: 2 sets of 20 each leg
Day 5: Pull 2
Perform the following exercises on your second pull day:
Bent over rows: 1st set: 6-8 reps, 2nd set: 8-12 reps T-bar row: 2 sets of 6-8 reps Close grip chin-ups: 3 sets (bodyweight to failure) Rack deadlifts: 1st set: 3-5 reps, 2nd set: 6-8 reps Barbell curls: 3 sets of 8-12 reps Reverse grip cable curls: 2 sets of 12-15 reps
Day 6: Push 2
Perform the following exercises on your second push day:
Decline bench press: 1st set: 6-8 reps, 2nd set: 8-12 reps Incline dumbbell press: 2 sets of 8-12 reps Flat machine press: 2 sets of 10-12 reps Seated Smith machine shoulder press: 2 sets of 8-12 reps Wide-grip upright row: 2 sets of 12-15 reps Close-grip bench press: 2 sets of 6-8 reps Overhead rope extensions: 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Day 8: Legs 2
Perform the following exercises on your second leg day:
Squats: 1st set: 6-8 reps, 2nd set: 8-12 reps Lying leg curl: 2 sets of 12-15 reps Hack squats: 2 sets of 15-20 reps Smith machine front squats: 2 sets of 15-20 reps
Stretching and foam rolling are also recommended on this programme to aid the recovery process even more. You will also notice the inclusion of a lower rep set on initial compound exercises. This is because the advanced trainer should be looking to lift more each session, be it by a rep or by a small weight increase. This is known as progressive overload. If you're getting stronger each session, you'll also be growing. This also means the advanced trainer should be logging their workouts every time they train, so they can look back at what they did previously and aim to beat it. This is why there are two rotations of each workout, as progression can grind to a halt much quicker if you follow the same workout for body parts over and over.
Fuel your progress
Training hard is only part of the equation when it comes to building muscle. To get the most out of your PPL routine, it's essential to properly fuel your body with the right nutrition.
Getting enough protein is a crucial step towards muscle growth and recovery. Consider adding the following products to your nutrition plan.
Take home message
The push, pull, legs routine is an excellent choice for anyone looking to build mass and strength efficiently. It offers a structured, science-backed approach that can be adapted for all fitness levels. By combining this intelligent training split with proper nutrition and consistently tracking your workouts, you are sure to see great results. So, swap out that "bro split" and give push, pull, legs a try.
Frequently asked questions
Can beginners use a push, pull, legs routine?
Yes. Beginners can absolutely use a push, pull, legs routine by training three days per week with rest days in between. This lower frequency allows new lifters to focus on learning proper technique and form while giving their bodies adequate recovery time between sessions.
How many days per week should I train on a push, pull, legs routine?
Beginners should train three days per week (eg Monday, Wednesday, Friday), while advanced lifters typically follow a two-days-on, one-day-off schedule, hitting each muscle group twice per week for increased training volume and frequency.
What is progressive overload in a push, pull, legs routine?
Progressive overload is the practice of gradually increasing the weight you lift or the number of reps you perform each session. This consistent progression is the foundation of building muscle and strength over time, and it's why advanced lifters should log their workouts to track improvement.
Why are compound exercises important in a push, pull, legs routine?
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