Few training programs have stood the test of time the way the PPL split has. Whether you've stumbled across it on a forum, heard a coach mention it, or found yourself buried in a Reddit thread at midnight, you've probably noticed that everyone seems to swear by it. And for good reason. The push pull legs workout routine is one of the most logical, efficient, and effective ways to organize your training, no matter where you are in your fitness journey.

This guide breaks down exactly how the PPL split works, how many days a week you should be doing it, and how to set it up for your specific schedule and goals.

What Is the PPL Split? Understanding the Push Pull Legs Workout Routine

The PPL split divides your training into three distinct workout types based on movement patterns rather than individual muscle groups:

• Push day trains your chest, shoulders, and triceps, all the muscles involved in pressing movements.

• Pull day trains your back and biceps, the muscles responsible for rowing and pulling movements.

• Legs day targets your quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and core.

This structure means related muscle groups are always trained together, maximizing the overlap of effort within a single session while allowing everything else to recover. When you bench press on push day, your anterior deltoids and triceps are getting stimulated too. By the time you come back to push day, those muscles have had adequate time to recover.

It's a smarter way to train than traditional body part splits, where, for example, you might hit chest on Monday and triceps on Tuesday, loading muscles that haven't had a chance to fully recover.

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The 3 Day PPL Split: The Best Starting Point for Most Lifters

The 3 day PPL split is where most people should begin. It's simple, sustainable, and surprisingly effective. You train three days per week, one push session, one pull session, one legs session, with rest days distributed in between.

A common 3-day schedule looks like this:

• Monday: Push

• Wednesday: Pull

• Friday: Legs

Each muscle group gets trained once per week, which is more than enough stimulus for beginners and plenty for intermediate lifters who are managing high volume per session. Research consistently shows that around 10 or more working sets per muscle group per week is the threshold for meaningful hypertrophy, and a well-designed 3-day PPL split can hit that target comfortably.

The 3-day format also leaves room for cardio, conditioning, or active recovery on off days without compromising your lifting performance.

Load the 3-day PPL workout directly into Setgraph: PPL Split

PPL Split 4 Days: More Frequency Without Burning Out

Not everyone fits neatly into a 3-day or 6-day schedule. If you have 4 days to train each week, a 4-day PPL split is a smart middle ground that increases training frequency without overwhelming your recovery.

One popular way to set this up is a rotating approach, rather than pinning workouts to specific days of the week, you run through the three sessions on a repeating cycle. Over time, this means you'll hit each muscle group slightly more often than a strict 3-day schedule, without the demands of a full 6-day program.

Another option is to complete the full PPL cycle once and then add a fourth session targeting a lagging area, arms, for instance, or an extra leg day with a glute and hamstring emphasis.

The 4-day PPL split is ideal if you've been training consistently for at least six months and feel your body is ready for more volume, but your schedule or recovery capacity isn't quite suited to training 5 or 6 days a week.

PPL Split 5 Day: Training Like an Intermediate to Advanced Lifter

The 5-day PPL split is often organized as a hybrid with an upper/lower structure, commonly known as PPLUL. A typical week might look like:

• Monday: Push

• Tuesday: Pull

• Wednesday: Legs

• Thursday: Upper

• Friday: Lower

This setup lets you train your upper body three times a week and your lower body twice, which supports solid hypertrophy and strength gains. The main advantage is that you get five distinct, non-repeating sessions in a fixed weekly schedule, no rotating cycles or shifting workout days.

The downside is that it usually means training Monday through Friday in a row, which requires solid sleep, nutrition, and recovery habits to sustain. This format is best suited for lifters who have been training consistently for at least a year and have built a good base of strength and conditioning.

PPL Split 6 Day: Maximum Volume for Advanced Lifters

The 6-day PPL split essentially doubles the standard 3-day version. You run through push, pull, and legs twice in a single week, with one rest day. Each muscle group gets trained twice per week, which is supported by research as being superior to once-per-week training for muscle growth.

A standard 6-day schedule:

• Monday: Push

• Tuesday: Pull

• Wednesday: Legs

• Thursday: Push

• Friday: Pull

• Saturday: Legs

• Sunday: Rest

The key difference between your two weekly sessions for the same pattern should be the emphasis, for example, a chest-focused push day and a shoulder-focused push day. This adds variety and ensures you're developing each muscle group from multiple angles.

This is a demanding split. If you're not an experienced lifter with excellent recovery habits, sleep, nutrition, stress management, the 6-day version is likely to work against you. Start with 3 or 4 days and work your way up.

Build your 6-day PPL plan on Setgraph and track every session: PPL Split

How to Structure Each Session in Your PPL Workout Plan

Regardless of which version of the PPL split you're running, every session should follow the same general framework: lead with heavy compound movements, follow with moderate accessory work.

Push day should open with flat or incline bench press, then move into overhead pressing, and finish with lateral raises and triceps work. Rep ranges for the primary lifts tend to sit between 4 and 8, with accessory work in the 10–15 range.

Pull day is built around rows and pull-ups. Start with bent-over rows or cable rows, add pull-ups or lat pulldowns, include some face pulls for rear delts, and finish with bicep curls. Trap work like barbell shrugs can also slot in here.

Legs day should include squats as the primary movement, back squat, front squat, or goblet squat depending on your level. Follow with Romanian deadlifts for hamstrings and glutes, then leg press, leg curls, calf raises, and core work like hanging leg raises or planks.

Every session should begin with a dynamic warm-up and end with a brief cooldown. Skipping these is one of the most common reasons people accumulate nagging injuries over time.

Is the PPL Split Right for You? Honestly Comparing Your Options

The PPL split is not for everyone, and it's worth being honest about that.

If you're brand new to lifting, a full-body program three days a week is almost always the better starting point. Full-body training lets you practice the fundamental movement patterns: squat, hinge, press, pull, multiple times per week, which accelerates skill development and early strength gains. Spend at least six months there before considering a split.

Once you're past the beginner stage, PPL becomes an excellent choice. It's more flexible than a traditional upper/lower split, more efficient than a body part "bro split," and more scalable than most alternatives. You can run it at 3, 4, 5, or 6 days depending on your life.

Compared to a bro split, where you dedicate one day entirely to chest, another to back, and so on, the PPL approach provides better recovery between sessions and avoids the common problem of hammering a muscle group one day and then indirectly thrashing it again the next (like doing chest on Monday and shoulders on Tuesday).

The main limitation of the PPL split is scheduling. It works best at 3 or 6 training days. Four or five days requires more creative planning, and it may mean your workout days rotate across the week rather than falling on the same days consistently.

Track Your PPL Workout Plan and See Real Progress

The biggest mistake lifters make with any program, PPL included, is not tracking their progress. Progressive overload is the engine behind muscle growth and strength gains. That means you need to be adding weight, reps, or sets over time in a systematic way. Guessing doesn't work.

Using a structured app to log your PPL split keeps you accountable, makes progression visible, and removes the guesswork from each session. You can see exactly what you lifted last week and know what you need to hit this week.

Follow a ready-made PPL workout plan in Setgraph and log every session

No spreadsheet required. No printing out a push pull legs workout routine PDF and losing it in your gym bag. Just open the app, load the plan, and train.

Final Thoughts on the PPL Split

The push pull legs workout routine has been around for decades because it works. It's logical, balanced, scalable, and supported by solid evidence on training frequency and volume for hypertrophy. Whether you're running a simple 3-day version or going all-in on a 6-day program, the PPL split gives you a clear structure to make consistent progress without spinning your wheels.

Start with the version that matches your current schedule and recovery. Add days as your fitness improves. Track your progress. And keep showing up.

Get started with the PPL split on Setgraph today

Frequently Asked Questions About the PPL Split

What is a PPL split?

A PPL split, short for push pull legs, is a workout routine that divides your training into three session types based on movement patterns. Push day targets your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Pull day targets your back and biceps. Legs day covers your quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and core. Rather than isolating individual muscles, the PPL split trains related muscle groups together in the same session, which improves efficiency and recovery.

What is the best PPL split for building muscle?

The best PPL split depends on your training experience and schedule. For most intermediate lifters, the 6-day PPL split, where you run through push, pull, and legs twice per week, produces the most muscle growth because it trains each muscle group twice weekly, which research supports as optimal for hypertrophy. That said, a well-programmed 3-day PPL split with sufficient volume per session is highly effective and more sustainable for most people. Consistency always beats an aggressive schedule you can't maintain.

Ready to start? Load your PPL plan on Setgraph: Setgraph PPL Split

Is PPL a good split?

Yes, the PPL split is one of the most well-rounded and widely recommended training structures available. It works because it groups synergistic muscles together, minimizes overlap between sessions, and scales easily from 3 to 6 days per week. It's particularly effective for intermediate and advanced lifters chasing hypertrophy and strength. Beginners may get more out of a full-body routine first, but PPL is an excellent next step once the foundational movement patterns are solid.

What is the difference between a 3 day and 6 day PPL split?

A 3-day PPL split trains each muscle group once per week, with each session being higher volume to compensate. A 6-day PPL split doubles the frequency, hitting each movement pattern twice weekly at moderate volume per session. The 6-day version generally produces better results for advanced lifters because of the increased training frequency, but it demands more from your recovery, meaning sleep, nutrition, and stress management all need to be dialed in. If you're newer to structured training, the 3-day version is the smarter starting point.

PPL vs bro split: which is better?

For most lifters, PPL outperforms a traditional bro split. A bro split dedicates one day entirely to a single muscle group, chest day, back day, arm day, meaning each muscle only gets trained once per week. PPL trains muscles more frequently, which research consistently shows is better for hypertrophy. The bro split also creates recovery overlap problems: training chest on Monday and shoulders on Tuesday means your anterior deltoids and triceps are being loaded before they've fully recovered. PPL avoids this by grouping synergistic muscles and spacing them appropriately.

PPL vs Arnold split: which should you choose?

The Arnold split is a 6-day program that pairs chest and back on one day, shoulders and arms on another, and legs on a third, running through the cycle twice per week. It's intense, effective, and popular among intermediate to advanced lifters. Compared to PPL, the Arnold split provides more direct arm volume and trains opposing muscle groups together in the same session, which some lifters find produces a better pump. PPL, on the other hand, is more logically structured around movement patterns and tends to be easier to program progressively. Both work, the choice comes down to personal preference and how your body responds to each style of training.

PPL vs upper lower split: what's the difference?

An upper lower split divides training into upper body days and lower body days, typically run four days per week. PPL divides training into three movement-pattern categories and is typically run three or six days per week. Upper lower is slightly simpler to program and works very well for four-day schedules. PPL offers more specificity, dedicated pull days mean your back and biceps get more focused attention than they typically do in an upper body session shared with pressing movements. For five-day schedules, many lifters combine both into a PPLUL (push pull legs upper lower) hybrid.

Can beginners do a PPL split workout routine?

Technically yes, but it's not the ideal starting point. Beginners benefit most from full-body training three days per week because it allows them to practice the fundamental lifts, squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, row, multiple times per week. That repetition accelerates skill development and early strength gains faster than a split program can. Once you've been training consistently for six months to a year and progress on full-body work has started to slow, a 3-day PPL split is an excellent next step.

How do I set up a 5-day PPL split?

The most popular 5-day PPL structure is the PPLUL split, push, pull, legs, upper, lower, run Monday through Friday with the weekend off. This gives you five distinct, non-repeating sessions each week without a rotating schedule. Your upper body gets trained three times and your lower body twice, supporting strong hypertrophy across all muscle groups. It's a solid option for intermediate lifters who have the schedule and recovery capacity for five consecutive training days.

Do I need to print a push pull legs workout routine PDF to get started?

You don't need a printed PDF. A better option is to use a workout tracking app where your PPL plan lives digitally, updates as you progress, and keeps a full log of every session. Tracking your lifts over time is one of the most important habits you can build, progressive overload only works if you know what you lifted last week.

Follow your PPL split workout routine on Setgraph, no PDF needed: Setgraph PPL Split