PPLUL Split: The Full 5-Day Push Pull Legs Upper Lower Workout Plan
A PPLUL split runs push, pull and legs on Monday to Wednesday, rests on Thursday, then trains upper and lower body on Friday and Saturday. Every major muscle group gets two sessions a week in five workouts of about 45–55 minutes, which suits intermediate lifters who want more than 4 days of training but not 6.
| PPLUL at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Days | Mon Push · Tue Pull · Wed Legs · Fri Upper · Sat Lower |
| Level | Intermediate (about 6+ months of lifting) |
| Session length | About 45–55 minutes, 5–7 exercises |
| Rep ranges | 5–8 heaviest compounds · 8–12 other main lifts · 12–15 isolation |
| Block | 5 training weeks, then a deload week |
Ready to start? Save the PPLUL plan in JEFIT, or let the Adaptive Plan build one around your schedule.
What is a PPLUL split?
PPLUL stands for push, pull, legs, upper, lower. The first three days split the body by movement, chest, shoulders and triceps on push, back and biceps on pull, then legs; the last two split it into top and bottom. Each muscle is trained at least once in each half of the week.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Push | Pull | Legs | Rest | Upper | Lower | Rest |
The 5-day PPLUL workout plan
Each day below lists the workout, then three notes: why the exercises are there, the one cue that matters most, and what to swap in if the gym is busy. Warm up with 2–3 lighter sets of the first lift, building to your working weight. Rest a full 2–3 minutes on the first lifts of the day: in trained men, 3-minute rests built more strength and size than 1-minute rests over 8 weeks (Schoenfeld et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2016).
End most sets with about 2 reps still in you. Across 15 studies, taking sets all the way to failure added only a trivial amount of growth (Refalo et al., Sports Medicine, 2023), and the fatigue carries into the next day's session.
Monday: Push
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell bench press | 4 × 5–8 | 3 min |
| Barbell military press | 3 × 5–8 | 2.5 min |
| Dumbbell incline bench press | 3 × 8–12 | 2 min |
| Dumbbell lateral raise | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Rope tricep pushdown | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Cable rope overhead tricep extension | 2 × 12–15 | 60 s |
- Why: two heavy barbell presses first, while you're fresh, then an incline press for the upper chest and lighter work for side delts and triceps.
- Cue: on the military press, squeeze your glutes so your lower back doesn't arch the bar up.
- Swap: bench taken? Use the dumbbell bench press at the same sets and reps.
Tuesday: Pull
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell deadlift | 3 × 5 | 3 min |
| Pull-up | 3 × 5–8 | 2 min |
| Barbell bent-over row | 3 × 5–8 | 2 min |
| Cable rope face pull | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Barbell curl | 3 × 8–12 | 90 s |
| Dumbbell hammer curl | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
- Why: the deadlift sits on pull day so the week has one heavy hinge, then a vertical pull, a horizontal row, rear delts and two curls.
- Cue: on the row, pull the bar to your lower ribs, not your chest.
- Swap: can't do 5 pull-ups yet? Use the wide-grip lat pulldown and build up to bodyweight reps.
Wednesday: Legs
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell squat | 4 × 5–8 | 3 min |
| Barbell Romanian deadlift | 3 × 8–12 | 2 min |
| Leg press | 3 × 8–12 | 2 min |
| Lying leg curl | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Standing calf raise (machine) | 4 × 12–15 | 60 s |
- Why: the heavy squat leads, the Romanian deadlift covers hamstrings through a long stretch, and the leg press adds quad volume without loading your back again.
- Cue: on the Romanian deadlift, push your hips back until you feel the hamstrings, not until the bar touches the floor.
- Swap: no leg press? Use goblet squats at the same sets and reps.
Friday: Upper
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell incline bench press | 3 × 8–12 | 2 min |
| Cable seated row | 3 × 8–12 | 90 s |
| Dumbbell shoulder press | 3 × 8–12 | 90 s |
| Pull-up | 3 × 5–8 | 2 min |
| Dumbbell lateral raise | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Dumbbell incline curl | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Cable rope overhead tricep extension | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
- Why: the second chest, back, shoulder and arm session of the week, built from dumbbell and cable work so it doesn't repeat Monday's and Tuesday's barbell lifts.
- Time: at 21 sets this day has the most work. Alternate the incline curl and overhead extension set for set: alternating two exercises like this halved session time without cutting the work done in a study of trained men (Robbins et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2010).
- Swap: dumbbell shoulder press for the machine shoulder press if the dumbbells you need are taken.
Saturday: Lower
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Hack squat | 3 × 8–12 | 2 min |
| Barbell hip thrust | 3 × 8–12 | 2 min |
| Dumbbell Bulgarian split squat | 3 × 8–12 per leg | 90 s |
| Leg extension | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Seated leg curl | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Seated calf raise | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
- Why: no heavy barbell squat or deadlift here, because both were trained earlier in the week; the hack squat, hip thrust and split squat load the legs hard with less strain on your back.
- Cue: on the Bulgarian split squat, keep most of your weight on the front foot.
- Swap: no hack squat machine? Use the leg press at the same sets and reps.
How many sets per muscle does PPLUL give you?
This plan gives quads 16 hard sets a week, shoulders 15, back and hamstrings 12 and chest 10, so quads, shoulders, back, hamstrings and chest each meet the 10-plus weekly sets linked to the most growth in a dose-response meta-analysis (Schoenfeld et al., Journal of Sports Sciences, 2017).
| Muscle | Sets a week | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Quads | 16 | Wed, Sat |
| Shoulders | 15 | Mon, Tue, Fri |
| Back | 12 | Tue, Fri |
| Hamstrings | 12 | Tue, Wed, Sat |
| Chest | 10 | Mon, Fri |
| Biceps | 9 | Tue, Fri |
| Triceps | 8 | Mon, Fri |
| Calves | 7 | Wed, Sat |
| Glutes | 3 | Sat (direct); Tue, Wed via deadlifts and squats |
Counts are direct sets only. Biceps also work on every row and pull-up, triceps on every press, and glutes on squats and deadlifts; counting those indirect sets as half a set each predicted growth best in a 2025 meta-regression (Pelland et al., Sports Medicine, 2025).
Is PPLUL good for hypertrophy?
Yes. PPLUL hits the two things the research ties to muscle growth: enough weekly sets, shown in the table above, and a second weekly session for each main muscle. Training a muscle twice a week grew more muscle than once a week in a meta-analysis of 10 studies (Schoenfeld et al., Sports Medicine, 2016).
That advantage mostly comes from the extra sets: when weekly sets are equal, frequency matters little for size (Schoenfeld et al., Journal of Sports Sciences, 2019). Two sessions just make those weekly sets fit without any one workout running long.
Is PPLUL better than PPL or upper lower?
PPLUL is better than both only if 5 days is your schedule: all three train every major muscle twice a week, so the right split is the one with as many days as you can actually train.
| Upper lower | PPLUL | Push pull legs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days a week | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Chest / back / quads sets a week | 10 / 10 / 13 | 10 / 12 / 16 | 17 / 16 / 16 |
| Pick it if | you have 4 days | you have 5 days | you have 6 days and recover well |
Set counts are from each guide's own plan. For every split side by side, see the workout split guide.
PPLUL or ULPPL: which order is better?
Neither: ULPPL runs the same five workouts as upper, lower, push, pull, legs, and the leg days stay 3 and 4 days apart either way. Pick the order that puts your hardest days where you have the most time.
- PPLUL: heavy deadlift and squat on Tuesday and Wednesday; Friday and Saturday hold the upper and lower days.
- ULPPL (Mon Upper, Tue Lower, Thu Push, Fri Pull, Sat Legs): the deadlift and squat move to Friday and Saturday.
Is PPLUL good for beginners?
Not as a first plan. Five sessions a week is a lot to recover from in your first months; start with one of JEFIT's beginner plans 2–3 days a week, and move to PPLUL after about 6 months of steady training.
How do you progress on PPLUL?
Add weight on the 5–8-rep lifts whenever every set reaches the top of its range, and add reps first on everything else. Both count: adding reps and adding weight grew muscle about equally in an 8-week trial with trained lifters (Plotkin et al., PeerJ, 2022).
| Lift | When to add weight | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Bench, military press, row, pull-up (5–8) | All sets reach 8 | 2.5 kg / 5 lb |
| Squat (4 × 5–8) | All 4 sets reach 8 | 5 kg / 10 lb |
| Deadlift (3 × 5) | All 3 sets of 5 done with good form | 5 kg / 10 lb |
| Upper and lower day lifts (8–12, 12–15) | All sets reach the top of the range | Smallest step: next dumbbell, plate or pin |
If the bar slows down and progress gets slower, use the American College of Sports Medicine's steadier rule: raise the load 2–10% once you beat the target by 1–2 reps two sessions running (ACSM position stand, 2009).
Every 6th week, deload: same exercises and weights, half the sets. Strength and physique coaches agreed in a Delphi study that a deload means cutting volume for about 7 days (Bell et al., Sports Medicine – Open, 2023). For a week-by-week example of adding reps then weight, see how double progression works.
In JEFIT, every set opens with your last logged weight and reps already filled in, so you can see on the spot whether you beat them; Elite's Periodization on your own plan can also adjust the weights week to week for you.
How long should a PPLUL workout take?
About 45–55 minutes. Push, pull and legs run 17–18 sets; Friday's upper day has the most sets, 21, so use the alternating-sets tip above if you're short on time.