Push Pull Legs Split: The Full 6-Day PPL Workout Plan
A push pull legs (PPL) split trains pushing muscles on one day, pulling muscles on another and legs on a third: chest, shoulders and triceps; back, rear delts and biceps; quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Run twice a week over 6 days, it trains every muscle twice and suits intermediate lifters who can commit to 6 sessions.
| Push pull legs split at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Main goal | Build muscle and strength |
| Training level | Intermediate (about 6+ months of lifting) |
| Days per week | 6: Monday to Saturday (3-, 4- and 5-day versions below) |
| Workouts | Push A · Pull A · Legs A (heavier) · Push B · Pull B · Legs B (more volume) |
| Time per workout | About 60 minutes, 6 exercises |
| Program length | Blocks of 4–8 weeks, each ending with a deload week |
| Equipment | Barbell, dumbbells, cable station, pull-up bar, leg press, leg curl and calf machines |
Ready to start? Save the push pull legs plan in JEFIT, or let the Adaptive Plan build one around your schedule.
In this guide
- What is a push pull legs split?
- Is it good for beginners?
- PPL vs other splits
- The full 6-day PPL workout
- Weekly sets per muscle
- Why PPL builds muscle
- How to progress
- Is 3 days a week enough?
- Is 6 days a week too much?
- 4- and 5-day versions
- Mistakes to avoid
- Bottom line
- FAQ
Quick answers
- What does PPL stand for? Push, pull, legs: three workouts grouped by what the muscles do.
- Is PPL good for building muscle? Yes: chest, back, shoulders, arms, quads and hamstrings each get 2 sessions and 9–18 direct sets a week.
- How do you progress? Add reps to the top of the range, then add weight; on the heavy opening lifts, add weight whenever every rep is done. Upper-body barbell lifts go up 2.5 kg / 5 lb, squats and deadlifts 5 kg / 10 lb.
- PPL vs upper lower: PPL needs 6 days to train every muscle twice; an upper lower split does it in 4.
What is a push pull legs split?
Running push, pull and legs twice a week trains every muscle twice in 6 sessions: three heavier workouts early in the week, then three volume workouts.
| Day | Workout |
|---|---|
| Monday | Push A: heavy bench press |
| Tuesday | Pull A: heavy deadlift |
| Wednesday | Legs A: heavy squat |
| Thursday | Push B: volume |
| Friday | Pull B: volume |
| Saturday | Legs B: volume |
| Sunday | Rest |
The days can shift, as long as the rest day falls after a leg day so the next week starts fresh. Missed a day? Pick up where you left off rather than doubling up; the week just shifts by a day.
Is push pull legs good for beginners?
Push pull legs isn't the best first plan: the 6-day version is a lot to recover from in your first months, and the 3-day version trains each muscle only once a week. It works well once you've trained consistently for about 6 months and can make 6 sessions a week.
- Good fit: you recover well from training most days, and 4 days of upper lower no longer feels like enough work.
- Not yet: you're in your first months of lifting. One of JEFIT's beginner plans 2–3 days a week is easier to recover from and to stick with.
- Different tool: you can only count on 3–5 days. See PPL 3 days a week and the 4- and 5-day versions, or run a 4-day upper lower split.
How does PPL compare with other splits?
A 6-day PPL trains each muscle twice a week like an upper lower or anterior/posterior split, but spreads the same work over more, shorter-focused sessions, which leaves room for more sets per muscle.
| Split | Days a week | Times each muscle is trained | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full body | 2–3 | 2–3 | Beginners, busy weeks |
| Upper lower | 4 | 2 | Intermediates who want strength and muscle in 4 days |
| Anterior/posterior | 4 | 2 | Lifters who want front and back balance |
| Torso/limbs | 4 | 2 | Lifters who want arms trained with legs |
| PPLUL | 5 | 2 | Lifters who want a fifth day |
| Push pull legs | 6 | 2 | Intermediates who want the most weekly volume |
| Arnold split | 6 | 2 | Lifters who want more chest and back volume |
PPL vs the Arnold split: both run 6 days and train everything twice. The Arnold split pairs chest with back and shoulders with arms; PPL keeps chest with shoulders and triceps, so the same pressing muscles work together.
Still deciding? The workout split guide compares every option by goal, days and level.
The 6-day push pull legs workout plan
This 6-day PPL runs heavy Push A, Pull A and Legs A Monday to Wednesday, then Push B, Pull B and Legs B for volume Thursday to Saturday, 6 exercises of 3–4 sets each.
The A days (Monday to Wednesday) open with a heavy barbell lift for strength: bench press, deadlift and squat at 5–6 reps. The B days (Thursday to Saturday) open with a compound at 6–10 reps, then use 10–15 reps; only the bent-over row, lateral raise and hammer curl repeat from the A days.
Rest times follow what the research says about rest between sets: longer for heavy compounds, shorter for isolation moves.
Pick weights you could lift for 1–2 more reps than the target on every set. Training all the way to failure gave only a trivial extra benefit in a meta-analysis of 15 studies (Refalo et al., Sports Medicine, 2023), and on 6 days a week the extra fatigue adds up.
Monday: Push A
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell bench press | 4 × 5 | 3 min |
| Barbell shoulder press | 3 × 8–10 | 2 min |
| Dumbbell incline bench press | 3 × 10–12 | 90 s |
| Cable crossover | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Dumbbell lateral raise | 3 × 15 | 60 s |
| Rope tricep pushdown | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
Tuesday: Pull A
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell deadlift | 3 × 5 | 3 min |
| Pull-up (or lat pulldown) | 3 × 8–10 | 2 min |
| Barbell bent-over row | 3 × 8–10 | 2 min |
| Cable rope face pull | 3 × 15 | 60 s |
| Barbell curl | 3 × 10–12 | 60 s |
| Dumbbell hammer curl | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
Can't do 8 pull-ups yet? Use the lat pulldown at the same sets and reps, and build up to bodyweight reps.
Wednesday: Legs A
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell squat | 4 × 6 | 3 min |
| Barbell Romanian deadlift | 3 × 8–10 | 2 min |
| Leg press | 3 × 10–12 | 2 min |
| Lying leg curl | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Standing calf raise (machine) | 4 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Hanging leg raise | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
Warm up with 5 minutes of easy cardio, then 2–3 lighter sets of the day's first lift. The science-backed warm-up for strength training has the details.
Thursday: Push B
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell incline bench press | 4 × 6–8 | 2.5 min |
| Dumbbell bench press | 3 × 10–12 | 90 s |
| Dumbbell seated shoulder press | 3 × 10–12 | 90 s |
| Dumbbell lateral raise | 3 × 15 | 60 s |
| Dip | 3 × 10–12 | 90 s |
| Cable rope overhead tricep extension | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
Friday: Pull B
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell bent-over row | 4 × 6–8 | 2.5 min |
| Wide-grip lat pulldown | 3 × 10–12 | 90 s |
| Cable seated row | 3 × 10–12 | 90 s |
| Dumbbell reverse fly | 3 × 15 | 60 s |
| Dumbbell incline curl | 3 × 10–12 | 60 s |
| Dumbbell hammer curl | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
To save time, alternate the lighter pairs: reverse flys with incline curls. That's a superset; keep full rest on the row.
Saturday: Legs B
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell front squat | 3 × 8–10 | 2.5 min |
| Barbell hip thrust | 3 × 10–12 | 2 min |
| Dumbbell Bulgarian split squat | 3 × 10–12 per leg | 90 s |
| Seated leg curl | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Leg extension | 3 × 15 | 60 s |
| Seated calf raise | 4 × 15 | 60 s |
How many sets per muscle does this PPL split give you?
This 6-day PPL gives chest 17 hard sets a week, back 16, quads 16 and shoulders 18, well past 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 | Direct sets a week | Where they come from |
|---|---|---|
| Shoulders | 18 | Shoulder presses, lateral raises, face pull, reverse fly |
| Chest | 17 | Bench press, incline presses, dumbbell bench, crossover |
| Back | 16 | Pull-up, rows, lat pulldown |
| Quads | 16 | Squat, leg press, front squat, Bulgarian split squat, leg extension |
| Biceps | 12 | Barbell, incline and hammer curls (plus every row and pull-up) |
| Hamstrings | 9 | Romanian deadlift, lying and seated leg curl (plus deadlifts) |
| Triceps | 9 | Pushdown, dip, overhead extension (plus every press) |
| Calves | 8 | Standing and seated calf raise |
| Glutes | 3 | Hip thrust (plus squats, deadlifts and split squats) |
| Abs | 3 | Hanging leg raise |
The glute and hamstring numbers look low because they count direct sets only. Squats, deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts and split squats all train them too; research that counts those indirect sets as half a set each predicted growth best (Pelland et al., Sports Medicine, 2025).
More on how much weekly volume you need.
Why does push pull legs build muscle?
Push pull legs builds muscle because it fits enough hard sets for each muscle into the week, spreads them over two sessions, and gives every lift a clear way to get heavier.
- Enough weekly sets. Chest, back, shoulders and quads each get 16–18 direct sets a week (full count above), past the 10-set mark linked to more growth; arms and hamstrings get 9–12 plus indirect work from presses, rows and deadlifts.
- Each muscle twice a week. 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). Six shorter sessions fit that volume without any single workout running long.
- Hard, but not to failure. Sets end 1–2 reps short of failure: close enough to grow, without the fatigue that piles up over 6 days.
- A rule for adding weight. Double progression, below, turns each session into a small step up.
How do you progress on a push pull legs split?
Progress on a push pull legs split by adding reps until every set reaches the top of its range, then adding weight and building the reps back up. That is called double progression.
Adding reps and adding weight grew muscle about equally in an 8-week trial with trained lifters (Plotkin et al., PeerJ, 2022), so either step counts as progress.
How does double progression work?
Take the dumbbell bench press at 3 × 10–12 on Push B. You stay at one weight until all three sets reach 12 reps, then move up.
| Week | Weight (each hand) | Reps per set | Next session |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27.5 kg / 60 lb | 12, 11, 10 | Same weight, beat one set |
| 2 | 27.5 kg / 60 lb | 12, 12, 11 | Same weight |
| 3 | 27.5 kg / 60 lb | 12, 12, 12 | Every set hit 12: add weight |
| 4 | 30 kg / 65 lb | 11, 10, 10 | Build back up to 12 |
The drop in reps at the new weight is normal. If you can't reach the bottom of the range (10 here), go back to the old weight for another week.
How do you progress the heavy A-day lifts?
On the bench press, deadlift and squat that open the A days, add weight the next session whenever you complete every rep of every set with steady form. You'll move up most weeks at first, then less often.
| Week | Bench press, Push A | Reps (4 sets) | Next week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 80 kg / 175 lb | 5, 5, 5, 5 | All done: add 2.5 kg / 5 lb |
| 2 | 82.5 kg / 180 lb | 5, 5, 5, 5 | All done: add again |
| 3 | 85 kg / 185 lb | 5, 5, 4, 4 | Missed reps: same weight |
| 4 | 85 kg / 185 lb | 5, 5, 5, 4 | Same weight |
| 5 | 85 kg / 185 lb | 5, 5, 5, 5 | All done: deload next week, then add 2.5 kg / 5 lb |
| 6 | Deload: 85 kg / 185 lb | 2 sets of 5 | Back to full sets at 87.5 kg / 190 lb |
The American College of Sports Medicine suggests a 2–10% load increase once you can do 1–2 reps more than the target in two sessions in a row (ACSM position stand, 2009). That's the more cautious version of the same rule: once single sessions stop going cleanly, wait until the target feels easy twice before moving up.
How much weight should you add?
| Lift type | Examples | Add each time |
|---|---|---|
| Lower-body barbell lifts | Squat, deadlift, Romanian deadlift, front squat, hip thrust | 5 kg / 10 lb |
| Upper-body barbell lifts | Bench press, incline bench, row, shoulder press | 2.5 kg / 5 lb |
| Dumbbell lifts | Dumbbell bench, shoulder press, curls, split squat | The next dumbbell up (usually 2–2.5 kg / 5 lb each hand) |
| Machines and cables | Leg press, pulldown, crossover, pushdown | The smallest plate or pin step |
A dumbbell jump is a big share of a light weight, which is why the isolation moves use wide rep ranges like 12–15: the extra reps give you room to grow into the next weight.
What should you do when you stall?
- Missed reps for 2 sessions in a row: check sleep, food and stress first. On 6 days a week, recovery is usually the limit before the program is.
- Missed for a 3rd session: drop that lift by about 10% and work back up with double progression.
- Several lifts stalling at once: it's time for a deload, below.
When should you deload?
Deload every 4–8 weeks, or sooner when several lifts stall at the same time. Strength and physique coaches agreed in a Delphi consensus study that a deload means cutting training volume for about 7 days (Bell et al., Sports Medicine – Open, 2023).
On this plan: keep the same exercises and weights, do half the sets, and stop each set well short of failure. More in when to deload.
When should you change the plan?
Keep the heavy opening lifts (bench press, deadlift, squat) for several blocks so you can see real progress on them. After 8–12 weeks you can swap accessory moves, for example the crossover for a dumbbell fly or the hammer curl for a cable curl, to keep training fresh.
How does JEFIT help you progress?
Double progression only works if you know last week's numbers. In JEFIT, each set pre-fills with the weight and reps from your last session, the rest timer starts after every set, and new personal records are flagged automatically.
The free estimated 1RM chart shows whether a lift is still climbing.
With Elite, Periodization on your own plan keeps this PPL split as it is and adjusts how much you lift from week to week. More on the method: a simple guide to progressive overload.
Is PPL 3 days a week enough?
A 3-day PPL is enough for newer lifters and for keeping your strength through a busy stretch, but for building muscle it trains each muscle only once a week with about half the 6-day volume.
When weekly sets are equal, how often you train a muscle matters little for size (Schoenfeld et al., Journal of Sports Sciences, 2019). So 3 days can work, but matching the 6-day volume would mean roughly twice the sets per session.
To run it: Push A, Pull A and Legs A on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then Push B, Pull B and Legs B the next week. For 3 days long-term, full body trains every muscle more than once a week.
Is PPL 6 days a week too much?
Six days of PPL isn't too much for intermediate lifters who sleep and eat enough: each workout repeats no sooner than 72 hours later, and only the deadlift and squat days sit back to back.
It is too much when several lifts stall at once, you feel run down for more than a week, or joints start to ache. Take a deload week first; if it keeps happening, drop to 4 or 5 days.
Can you do push pull legs 4 or 5 days a week?
Yes. A 4-day version rotates the workouts or adds a full-body or arm day, and a 5-day version usually becomes PPLUL.
4 days a week
Rotate the six workouts in order across 4 training days, so each week starts where the last one ended. Each muscle is trained about 1.3 times a week.
| Week | Mon | Tue | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Push A | Pull A | Legs A | Push B |
| 2 | Pull B | Legs B | Push A | Pull A |
| 3 | Legs A | Push B | Pull B | Legs B |
Alternatively, run push, pull and legs once and add a fourth full-body or arms day. If you want every muscle trained twice in 4 days, the 4-day upper lower split does it more directly.
5 days a week
The standard 5-day version is PPLUL: push, pull and legs, then upper and lower, which trains every muscle twice in 5 sessions. JEFIT has a ready-made PPLUL split plan.
What push pull legs mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid these push pull legs mistakes: starting the 6-day version too early, letting sessions grow past an hour, and skipping leg days.
- Starting with 6 days. Six sessions a week is a lot to recover from. If you're newer to lifting, start with full body; if you're short on time, run the 3- or 4-day version.
- Adding exercises. Each extra exercise pushes a session past an hour. If a muscle needs more work, add a set to a lift you already do.
- Skipping leg days. Legs get two of the six sessions; missing one cuts your leg volume in half for the week.
- Turning B days into heavy days. Deadlifts on Pull A and squats on Legs A already sit back to back. Keep the B-day rows and leg work at the planned weights instead of turning them into extra max-effort days.
- Grinding every set to failure. It adds fatigue for little extra growth; save all-out effort for the last set of an isolation move. See whether training to failure is the key to growth.
Bottom line: should you run a push pull legs split?
- If you can train 6 days a week and have about 6 months of lifting behind you, run the plan above as written.
- If you're in your first months of lifting, start with full body 2–3 days a week.
- If you have 4 days, run the 4-day upper lower split, or rotate the PPL workouts.
- If you have 5 days, move to PPLUL rather than squeezing the 6 workouts in.