Push-Pull Training: Understanding the Split, Exercises, and Program Structure

How to do a push pull?

The push-pull training split is a highly effective resistance training methodology that categorizes exercises based on the movement pattern: pushing movements (e.g., chest, shoulders, triceps) and pulling movements (e.g., back, biceps, rear deltoids). Often combined with a dedicated leg day, this split optimizes muscle recovery and allows for high-frequency training of each muscle group.

Understanding the Push-Pull Training Split

The push-pull training split is a systematic approach to resistance training that groups exercises by their biomechanical action. Instead of traditional body part splits (e.g., chest day, back day), you train all "pushing" muscles together, all "pulling" muscles together, and typically dedicate a separate day to "legs." This method inherently ensures that antagonist muscle groups are trained on different days, promoting better recovery and reducing the risk of overtraining specific muscle groups.

Why it's Effective:

• Optimized Recovery: By grouping muscles that work synergistically and separating those that are antagonists, you allow ample time for muscle groups to recover before their next direct workout. For example, your triceps, heavily involved in pushing, get a full rest period before your next push day, and they are not fatigued during your pull day.
• Balanced Development: This split naturally encourages a balanced approach to training, ensuring that both the anterior (front) and posterior (back) chains of the upper body receive adequate attention, which is crucial for posture and injury prevention.
• Increased Training Frequency: For many, the push-pull-legs (PPL) split allows for training each major muscle group twice per week, which is generally considered optimal for muscle hypertrophy and strength gains.
• Efficiency: Workouts are focused on specific movement patterns, allowing for high-volume training of related muscle groups in a single session.
• Progressive Overload Facilitation: The structured nature makes it easier to track progress and apply progressive overload (gradually increasing the demands on your muscles) over time.

Anatomy of a Push Day

A push day focuses on exercises where you push weight away from your body. These movements primarily target the muscles on the front of your upper body and the back of your arms.

Primary Muscles Targeted:

• Chest (Pectoralis Major and Minor): Responsible for horizontal adduction and flexion of the arm.
• Shoulders (Deltoids - Anterior and Medial Heads): Involved in various arm movements, especially pressing overhead and lifting to the side.
• Triceps (Triceps Brachii): The primary muscle for elbow extension.

Key Movement Patterns:

• Horizontal Push: Pushing weight directly away from the chest (e.g., bench press).
• Vertical Push: Pushing weight overhead (e.g., overhead press).

Example Exercises:

• Barbell Bench Press: A foundational horizontal push for chest, front deltoids, and triceps.
• Dumbbell Incline Press: Targets the upper chest and anterior deltoids with a greater range of motion.
• Push-ups: A bodyweight horizontal push, excellent for core stability and chest development.
• Overhead Press (Barbell or Dumbbell): A key vertical push for overall shoulder development and triceps.
• Dumbbell Lateral Raises: Isolates the medial deltoids for shoulder width.
• Cable Triceps Pushdowns: Isolates the triceps for elbow extension.
• Dips (Triceps Version): A compound bodyweight exercise for triceps and lower chest.

Anatomy of a Pull Day

A pull day concentrates on exercises where you pull weight towards your body. These movements primarily engage the muscles on your back and the front of your arms.

Primary Muscles Targeted:

• Back (Latissimus Dorsi, Rhomboids, Trapezius, Erector Spinae): A complex group responsible for various pulling actions, posture, and spinal stability.
• Biceps (Biceps Brachii, Brachialis, Brachioradialis): The primary muscles for elbow flexion.
• Posterior Deltoids: The rear part of the shoulder, crucial for shoulder health and pulling movements.

Key Movement Patterns:

• Vertical Pull: Pulling weight down towards your body from overhead (e.g., pull-ups).
• Horizontal Pull: Pulling weight towards your torso (e.g., rows).

Example Exercises:

• Pull-ups/Chin-ups: Excellent vertical pulling compound exercises for the lats, biceps, and upper back.
• Lat Pulldowns: A machine-based vertical pull, allowing for controlled lats engagement.
• Barbell Rows (Bent-Over Rows): A powerful horizontal pull for overall back thickness and strength.
• Dumbbell Rows (Single-Arm Rows): Allows for unilateral training, addressing imbalances and engaging the lats and upper back.
• Seated Cable Rows: A versatile horizontal pull targeting various back muscles depending on grip and angle.
• Barbell Bicep Curls: A classic isolation exercise for the biceps.
• Hammer Curls: Targets the brachialis and brachioradialis more, contributing to overall arm thickness.
• Face Pulls: Crucial for rear deltoid and upper back development, improving posture and shoulder health.

Anatomy of a Leg Day (The Often-Included Third Component)

While "push-pull" traditionally refers to upper body, a dedicated leg day is almost universally included to form the highly popular Push-Pull-Legs (PPL) split. This day targets the largest muscle groups in the body.

Primary Muscles Targeted:

• Quadriceps: Front of the thigh, primarily for knee extension.
• Hamstrings: Back of the thigh, primarily for knee flexion and hip extension.
• Glutes (Gluteus Maximus, Medius, Minimus): Hip extensors, abductors, and rotators, crucial for power and stability.
• Calves (Gastrocnemius, Soleus): Lower leg muscles for ankle plantarflexion.

Key Movement Patterns:

• Squat Patterns: Multi-joint movements involving hip and knee flexion (e.g., squats, leg press).
• Hinge Patterns: Primarily hip flexion and extension with minimal knee bend (e.g., deadlifts, RDLs).
• Lunge Patterns: Unilateral movements involving hip and knee flexion.
• Calf Raises: Ankle plantarflexion.

Example Exercises:

• Barbell Back Squats: The king of lower body exercises, targeting quads, glutes, and hamstrings.
• Leg Press: A machine-based squat variation for quads, glutes, and hamstrings, allowing for heavy loads.
• Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs): Excellent for hamstrings and glutes, emphasizing the hip hinge.
• Leg Curls (Seated or Lying): Isolates the hamstrings.
• Lunges (Barbell, Dumbbell, Walking): Unilateral exercise for quads, glutes, and hamstrings, improving balance.
• Glute-Ham Raises: Advanced exercise for hamstrings and glutes.
• Standing Calf Raises: Targets the gastrocnemius.
• Seated Calf Raises: Targets the soleus.

Structuring Your Push-Pull Program

The flexibility of the push-pull split allows for various weekly arrangements depending on your training frequency goals.

Common Training Frequencies:

• 3 Days Per Week (PPL once per week): Ideal for beginners or those with limited time.
  • Example: Monday (Push), Tuesday (Pull), Wednesday (Legs), Thursday-Sunday (Rest/Active Recovery).
• 4-5 Days Per Week (Varied PPL): Can involve an upper/lower split or focus on specific weaknesses.
  • Example: Monday (Push), Tuesday (Pull), Wednesday (Rest), Thursday (Legs), Friday (Upper Body or another Push/Pull), Saturday-Sunday (Rest).
• 6 Days Per Week (PPL twice per week): The most common and often recommended for hypertrophy, allowing high frequency for each muscle group.
  • Example: Monday (Push), Tuesday (Pull), Wednesday (Legs), Thursday (Push), Friday (Pull), Saturday (Legs), Sunday (Rest).

Exercise Selection and Volume:

• Prioritize Compound Movements: Start your workouts with compound exercises (e.g., bench press, overhead press, rows, squats, deadlifts) as they engage multiple muscle groups and allow for the heaviest loads.
• Follow with Isolation Movements: After compound lifts, incorporate isolation exercises (e.g., lateral raises, bicep curls, triceps pushdowns, leg extensions) to further target specific muscles.
• Sets and Reps:
  • Strength: 3-5 sets of 1-6 reps.
  • Hypertrophy (Muscle Growth): 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps.
  • Endurance: 2-3 sets of 12-20+ reps.
  • Adjust based on your specific goals and exercise. Typically, 4-6 exercises per workout, with 3-4 sets each, is a good starting point.

Progressive Overload:

The cornerstone of any effective training program. To continue making progress, you must gradually increase the demands on your muscles. This can be achieved by:

• Increasing Weight: The most common method.
• Increasing Reps: Staying with the same weight but performing more repetitions.
• Increasing Sets: Adding more sets to an exercise.
• Decreasing Rest Time: Between sets.
• Improving Form: Performing the same weight/reps with better control.
• Increasing Frequency: Training the muscle group more often (which the PPL split naturally facilitates).

Sample Push-Pull-Legs (PPL) Weekly Schedule

This is a common 6-day PPL split for those aiming for muscle growth and strength.

Monday: Push Day 1

• Barbell Bench Press: 3-4 sets, 6-10 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Press: 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Overhead Press (Barbell or Dumbbell): 3-4 sets, 6-10 reps
• Dumbbell Lateral Raises: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps
• Triceps Pushdowns: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps
• Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extension: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps

Tuesday: Pull Day 1

• Pull-ups or Lat Pulldowns: 3-4 sets, 6-12 reps
• Barbell Rows (Bent-Over): 3-4 sets, 6-10 reps
• Seated Cable Rows: 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Face Pulls: 3-4 sets, 12-15 reps
• Barbell Bicep Curls: 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Hammer Curls: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps

Wednesday: Leg Day 1

• Barbell Back Squats: 3-4 sets, 6-10 reps
• Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs): 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Leg Press: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps
• Leg Curls: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps
• Standing Calf Raises: 3-4 sets, 12-20 reps

Thursday: Push Day 2

• Dumbbell Bench Press: 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Machine Chest Press or Cable Crossovers: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps
• Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Front Raises: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps
• Close-Grip Bench Press: 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Dips (Triceps focused) or Rope Triceps Extensions: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps

Friday: Pull Day 2

• Chin-ups or Reverse Grip Pulldowns: 3-4 sets, 6-12 reps
• Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows: 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps per arm
• T-Bar Rows or Chest-Supported Rows: 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Reverse Pec Deck Flyes or Band Pull-Aparts: 3-4 sets, 12-15 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Curls: 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Preacher Curls or Concentration Curls: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps

Saturday: Leg Day 2

• Front Squats or Hack Squats: 3-4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Leg Extensions: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps
• Walking Lunges or Bulgarian Split Squats: 3-4 sets, 10-12 reps per leg
• Glute-Ham Raises or Hyperextensions: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps
• Seated Calf Raises: 3-4 sets, 15-20 reps

Sunday: Rest Day

Considerations for Optimal Results

Implementing a push-pull split effectively goes beyond just the exercises.

• Warm-up and Cool-down: Always begin with a dynamic warm-up (5-10 minutes of light cardio and movement-specific stretches) and end with a cool-down (5-10 minutes of static stretching).
• Form and Technique: Prioritize proper form over heavy weight. Poor form not only increases injury risk but also reduces the effectiveness of the exercise by not adequately targeting the intended muscles.
• Nutrition and Hydration: Support your training with a balanced diet rich in protein for muscle repair and growth, carbohydrates for energy, and healthy fats. Stay well-hydrated throughout the day.
• Rest and Recovery: Adequate sleep (7-9 hours per night) is crucial for muscle recovery and hormonal balance. The rest days built into the PPL split are just as important as the training days.
• Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to signs of overtraining, excessive fatigue, or persistent pain. Don't be afraid to take an extra rest day or deload if necessary.
• Individualization: While the PPL template is robust, it should be adapted to your individual goals, experience level, recovery capacity, and available equipment. Don't hesitate to swap exercises or adjust volume as needed.

Conclusion

The push-pull training split offers a scientifically sound and highly adaptable framework for building strength and muscle mass. By systematically grouping exercises based on their biomechanical function, it promotes efficient training, optimized recovery, and balanced muscular development. Adopting a push-pull approach, particularly the popular Push-Pull-Legs (PPL) variant, can be a transformative step in your fitness journey, providing a clear path to consistent progress when combined with proper technique, nutrition, and adequate rest.