Push Pull Legs (PPL) Workout: Structure, Examples and When It Makes Sense
How the push pull legs split works: structure, frequency (3x or 6x a week), example exercises and when it makes sense for people who want to build muscle.
Push pull legs is, probably, the most popular training split in the world of weightlifting. It's simple, robust, and organises exercises in a way that makes sense for anyone who has been training for a while. The problem is that it's usually presented as "the best split", when the useful truth is more nuanced: it depends on your level, the frequency you can hit, and your goal.
This guide explains how PPL works, gives concrete templates for the two most common versions, 3x and 6x a week, and is honest about when it makes sense to pick something else. At the end, it fits with nutrition and recovery, which are what makes any split actually pay off.
The core idea is simple: instead of grouping exercises by isolated muscle (chest one day, back another, etc.), you group by movement pattern. The muscles that work together in a movement are trained in the same session.
On the push day you work everything that pushes: chest, shoulders (anterior and lateral) and triceps. On the pull day you work what pulls: back (lats, traps, rhomboids) and biceps. On the legs day you work the entire lower body: quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves and core.
This logic has two practical advantages. The first is that the muscles sharing a movement are already pre-fatigued together, so you avoid hitting them on two consecutive days by accident. The second is that, by concentrating large groups in the same session, you can accumulate plenty of volume per day without having to train every day.
3 or 6 times a week, how to choose
This is the first decision, and the one that most defines your plan. The two most common versions are opposites.
In the 3x a week version, you run push, pull and legs in a simple cycle (train, train, train, rest, repeat). Each muscle is stimulated once a week. It's simpler, gives plenty of recovery and works well for anyone with a tight schedule or short sleep, but it demands more sets per session to make up for the lower frequency.
In the 6x a week version, you run two full cycles each week (push, pull, legs, push, pull, legs, rest). Each muscle is stimulated twice a week. This version lines up with what the evidence shows: the meta-analysis by Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger (2016) concluded that training each muscle at least twice a week is better for hypertrophy than training it only once. The trade-off is needing good recovery, regular sleep and nutrition in order.
There are 4 and 5-day variants, usually crossing PPL with an upper/lower to round out the week. They're reasonable middle grounds if your calendar doesn't reach 6 days but goes beyond 3. The sensible call is to put on paper the number of days you can actually keep up over months, without kidding yourself, and pick the matching version.
When PPL isn't for you
This is the part almost no guide says, and probably the most useful. There are three scenarios where PPL isn't the best choice.
The first is true beginner, especially in the first three to six months. The low per-movement frequency of PPL doesn't give you enough reps to lock in the technique of bench, squat, deadlift and row. At this stage, a full-body 3x a week plan covers better, because you practise the same movements several times and grow on low volume. See our beginner gym workout plan and, if you're earlier than that, how to start going to the gym.
The second is poor recovery. Short sleep, high stress, aggressive calorie deficit: in those contexts, PPL 6x becomes punishing and loads stall. Drop to 4x a week or go back to full-body for a stretch.
The third is an unpredictable schedule. If you know you'll manage three days in most weeks and two in some, full-body delivers better than a PPL cut in half. The worst PPL is the one done by halves.
The most common temptation, and the most frequent mistake, is to start straight on the 6-day version to "grow fast". Growing fast doesn't exist; growing consistently over months does.
Example exercises by day
The order matters: compound lifts first, machines and isolation moves afterwards. Compounds recruit more muscle, demand more energy, and should sit near the start of the session, while you're fresh. Tie these choices to our guide to gym machines, the leg press, the cable machine and the gym bench, which are the pieces you'll work with most days.
Push day (chest, shoulders, triceps)
Start with a flat bench press with barbell or dumbbells, 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps. Follow with an incline bench press to bring out the upper chest, 3 sets of 8 to 12. Move on to a shoulder press, with barbell or dumbbells, 3 sets of 8 to 12. Close with isolation: lateral raises for the shoulders, dips or push-ups for triceps and chest, and triceps pushdowns on the cable or overhead triceps extensions, on the order of 2 to 3 sets each at 10 to 15 reps.
Pull day (back, biceps)
Start, if you want, with deadlifts in a short heavy set (2 to 4 sets of 3 to 6 reps), for the usual reasons: it's the most demanding movement and wants you fresh. Follow with lat pulldowns or pull-ups, 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 10. Move to a row, barbell bent-over row or low cable row, 3 sets of 8 to 12. Close with shrugs for the traps, barbell or dumbbell curls, and hammer curls for the brachialis, 2 to 3 sets each at 10 to 15 reps.
Legs day (legs, glutes, core)
Start with barbell back squats, 3 to 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps. Move to the leg press, 3 sets of 8 to 12. Add a Romanian deadlift for hamstrings and glutes, 3 sets of 8 to 10. Work the quads with leg extensions and the hamstrings with leg curls, 2 to 3 sets each at 10 to 15 reps. Finish with calf raises and a short core block (plank, sit-ups or hanging knee raises), 2 to 3 sets each.
Volume, sets and reps
The practical rule is simple: around 10 effective sets per muscle group per week is the starting point for meaningful hypertrophy. As you progress, you climb to 12 to 20 sets per muscle per week. More than that tends to bring worse recovery, not more muscle.
In terms of reps, the evidence shows hypertrophy happens across a wide range, from 5 to 30 reps per set, as long as you train close to technical failure. In practice, the main work falls between 6 and 12 reps, with heavier sets for strength on compounds and higher sets for isolation.
On time, 50 to 75 minutes per session is enough for the useful work. More than that tends to be dead time between sets, not training. Rest times between sets vary: 1.5 to 3 minutes on heavy compounds, 1 to 2 minutes on isolation. Sticking to these intervals is harder than it sounds, especially when the gym is packed and the phone is calling.
Nutrition and recovery that support PPL
Training is only half the work. Without enough protein and without rest, PPL 6x burns you out quickly and the results don't come. The ISSN recommends 1.4 to 2.0 g of protein per kilo of body weight per day for people doing strength training who want to gain mass, split across the day in 3 to 4 meals.
The timing around training is more flexible than it seems, but it's worth doing well. Carbs before the session for energy, protein and carbs after to replenish and repair. For the detail and practical examples, see what to eat before and after training.
On supplements, the base is food. The exceptions with solid evidence are two: protein powder, as a convenient shortcut to hit the daily dose, and creatine monohydrate, 3 to 5 g a day, which boosts strength performance and helps recovery across weeks. If you don't yet supplement, start there: how to take creatine has the essentials.
The least glamorous piece, and the one that weighs most, is sleep: 7 to 9 hours a night. Without it, PPL 6x stacks up fatigue rather than muscle. Badly managed stress has the same effect.
How to progress and when to switch plans
In the first weeks of any plan, you'll have linear progression: you add load or reps on the main lift whenever you can complete all the sets with good execution. Keep this simple rule going as long as it works.
Every 4 to 8 weeks, run a deload week, with reduced volume and lighter loads, to let the body recover properly. It isn't weakness, it's part of the plan.
The question of when to change split has a less romantic answer than you'll hear out there. If PPL stops paying off after 6 to 12 months done well and well fed, it's worth trying an upper/lower or a more specialised split. Before that, switching is almost always change for the sake of change, and the "new plan that will fix it" rarely fixes anything. Log your loads and reps week by week (in an app or a notebook), because the only way to know whether you're really progressing, and whether the time to change has actually come, is having the numbers in front of you instead of relying on memory.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's a training split that organises exercises by movement pattern: push (chest, shoulders, triceps), pull (back, biceps) and legs (legs, glutes, calves, core). It's run 3 or 6 times a week.
6x gives a frequency of at least 2 sessions per muscle, which is better for hypertrophy in people who recover well. 3x still works with adequate volume per session and is more sustainable for people with a tight schedule or slower recovery.
Not as a first choice. Beginners gain more from a full-body 3x a week plan in the early months. Move to PPL once you've mastered bench, squat, deadlift and row.
50 to 75 minutes with focus. More than that tends to be dead time between sets, not useful volume.
From around 10 effective sets per muscle per week you already have a clear hypertrophy stimulus. Intermediates grow well on 12 to 20 sets per muscle per week.
Yes. Moderate cardio 2 to 3 times a week coexists well with PPL. Put it on separate days or after the weights session, and adjust calories if the goal is to build muscle.
No. Food and rest sort out almost everything. The exceptions with evidence are protein powder (handy to hit the daily dose) and creatine monohydrate (3 to 5 g a day, improves performance).
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TLDR: Key Points
PPL splits training into three sessions: push (chest, shoulders, triceps), pull (back, biceps) and legs (legs, glutes, calves, core).
The most common versions: 3x a week (each muscle once) or 6x a week (each muscle twice).
For hypertrophy, training each muscle at least twice a week beats once; typical volume of around 10 or more sets per muscle per week.
True beginner: full-body 3x a week is better than PPL. Move to PPL once you've mastered the movements.
Each session lasts 50 to 75 minutes, with compound lifts first and machines afterwards.
PPL pays off more when nutrition and recovery are aligned; creatine and protein come in here.
Tomás Jorge
