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TRAINING

Master the Push, Pull, Legs Workout Split for Muscle Growth

You hit chest on Monday, shoulders on Tuesday, and legs on Wednesday. Sound familiar? The ever-famous “bro split” concentrates on one specific body part each day. While popular, it can be time-consuming and only allows you to hit each muscle group once per week. Fortunately, a better way exists.

Enter the push, pull, legs routine. This incredibly popular and efficient workout split is the perfect solution for anyone looking to build serious muscle and strength. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced lifter, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know, from the basic principles to a full workout plan.

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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.

Mass-Building Basics

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

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.

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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.

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Our articles should be used for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to be taken as medical advice. If you're concerned, consult a health professional before taking dietary supplements or introducing any major changes to your diet.
Chris Appleton
Chris Appleton Author & Editor
Chris is an editor and a level 3 qualified Personal Trainer, with a BA honours degree in Sports Coaching and Development, and a level 3 qualification in Sports Nutrition. He has experience providing fitness classes and programs for beginners and advanced levels of clients and sports athletes. Chris is also a qualified football coach, delivering high-level goalkeeping and fitness training at a semi-professional level, with nutritional advice to help maintain optimal performance. His experience in the sports and fitness industry spans 15 years and is continuously looking to improve. In his spare time, Chris likes to dedicate it to his family while training in the gym.

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