Push pull legs — usually just called PPL — has remained one of the most widely used training splits for years, and for good reason. It groups exercises by movement pattern rather than by individual muscle, which keeps sessions logical (nothing feels random), balances volume naturally across the body, and scales cleanly from 3 days a week all the way up to 6. It's rare to find a split this flexible that still delivers consistently good results across experience levels.
This guide covers how to structure each day, pick exercises sensibly, choose a frequency that fits your schedule, and figure out whether PPL is actually the right fit for you.
How the Push, Pull and Legs Days Are Typically Organized
The split divides training by the direction of force or muscle action involved in the movement:
- Push day: chest, shoulders, triceps — any exercise where you're pressing weight away from your body (bench press, overhead press, dips, lateral raises).
- Pull day: back, biceps, rear delts — any exercise where you're pulling weight toward your body (rows, pull-ups, deadlifts, curls).
- Legs day: quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and often core — squats, deadlift variations, lunges, leg curls and extensions.
This grouping means muscles that assist each other in daily movements get trained together, and it naturally prevents you from, say, hammering triceps on both a chest day and a shoulder day within 48 hours, which can happen with poorly designed body-part splits.
Exercise Selection Guidelines for Each Day
Push day exercises
Lead with a heavy compound press — barbell or dumbbell bench press, or overhead press — for 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps. Follow with an incline press variation, then isolation work: lateral raises (3 sets of 12-15) and triceps work like pushdowns or overhead extensions (3 sets of 10-15).
Pull day exercises
Start with either a vertical pull (pull-ups, lat pulldowns) or a heavy horizontal row, 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps. Add a second rowing variation for back thickness, face pulls for rear delt and shoulder health (3 sets of 15-20), and finish with bicep curls (3 sets of 10-15).
Legs day exercises
Open with a squat pattern for 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps, then a hip-hinge movement like Romanian deadlifts (3 sets of 8-12). Add unilateral work — walking lunges or split squats — then finish with leg curls, calf raises, and optional direct core work.
Exercise order tip: Always perform your heaviest compound lift first on each day, while you're freshest. Save isolation movements like lateral raises, curls, and calf raises for the end — fatigue on these has minimal impact on the rest of the session, unlike fatigue going into a heavy squat or bench set.
Common Frequency Options, Including 3-Day and 6-Day Variations
3-day PPL (once through weekly)
Push, pull, legs, then rest, repeating weekly. This suits beginners or anyone with limited time, though each muscle group is only trained once weekly — volume per session needs to be higher to compensate (5-6 exercises per day rather than 4).
6-day PPL (twice through weekly)
Push, pull, legs, push, pull, legs, then one rest day. This doubles frequency to twice weekly per muscle group, generally considered more effective for hypertrophy since it spreads the same total volume across more, less-fatiguing sessions. This version demands more recovery capacity and time commitment.
4-5 day hybrid variations
Some lifters run PPL plus an extra upper or arm-focused day, or PPL followed by 1-2 rest days depending on the week's schedule. This offers a middle ground for those who want more than 3 days but can't commit to 6.
Who Benefits Most From This Style of Split
PPL suits intermediate lifters particularly well — those who've moved past full body basics and want more volume per muscle group than a 3-day full body routine allows, but who also want a fairly balanced approach rather than heavily prioritizing individual body parts. It's also a strong fit for anyone whose weekly schedule varies, since the 3-day version can be repeated in any order without disrupting muscle group balance if a day gets missed.
It suits beginners less well only in the sense that a simpler upper/lower or full body split may be easier to manage while first learning proper form on major lifts. Very advanced lifters sometimes move toward more specialized splits that isolate a single lagging muscle group with extra dedicated volume, though many advanced lifters continue using 6-day PPL indefinitely with great results.
- PPL organizes training by movement pattern — pushing, pulling, and leg-dominant exercises — which naturally balances volume and recovery.
- Lead each session with the heaviest compound lift, finishing with isolation exercises for smaller muscles.
- 3-day PPL suits limited schedules; 6-day PPL doubles frequency per muscle group and generally drives faster hypertrophy.
- The split is especially well suited to intermediate lifters wanting more volume than full body training without extreme specialization.
- PPL's flexible order makes it forgiving of inconsistent weekly schedules compared to rigid body-part splits.
Should I do 3-day or 6-day PPL as a beginner?
3-day PPL is usually a better starting point, giving adequate frequency and recovery time while you're still building work capacity and technique on the main lifts. Move to 6-day PPL once recovery and consistency are well established, often after 6-12 months.
Can I rearrange the order of push, pull, and legs days?
Yes — the split doesn't require a strict order, and many lifters rotate it week to week based on schedule. Just try to avoid training legs on consecutive days without a rest day between, since lower body recovery tends to take slightly longer.
Do I need to train core separately on a PPL split?
Not necessarily — many compound lifts, especially squats and deadlifts, provide substantial core engagement. Adding 2-3 direct core sets on leg day or as a finisher on any day is enough for most people who want extra targeted work.