Push, Pull, Legs vs. Muscle Group Splits: Understanding Differences and Choosing Your Best Approach

What is the difference between push pull legs and muscle groups?

The fundamental difference lies in their organizational principle: Push, Pull, Legs (PPL) splits group exercises by movement pattern, training muscle groups based on their function in pushing, pulling, or leg movements, whereas traditional muscle group splits (often referred to as body part splits) dedicate entire training sessions to specific anatomical muscle groups like the chest, back, or biceps.

Understanding Training Splits

A training split is the way you organize your resistance training over the course of a week or a given cycle, determining which muscle groups you train on which days. The goal of any split is to optimize muscle growth (hypertrophy), strength development, and recovery, while fitting into an individual's schedule and preferences. The two common approaches often contrasted are the Push, Pull, Legs (PPL) split and the traditional Muscle Group (or Body Part) split.

The Push, Pull, Legs (PPL) Training Split

The PPL split is a highly popular and effective training methodology that divides your entire body into three distinct training days based on the movement patterns involved. This allows for a structured approach that typically trains each major muscle group twice per week, promoting higher frequency.

• What it is: The PPL split organizes exercises into three categories:

  • Push Day: Targets muscles involved in pushing movements, primarily the chest, shoulders, and triceps.
  • Pull Day: Focuses on muscles involved in pulling movements, including the back (lats, rhomboids, traps) and biceps.
  • Legs Day: Concentrates on all major muscle groups in the lower body, such as quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.

• Push Day Muscle Groups:

  • Pectorals: Chest presses (barbell, dumbbell), push-ups, cable flyes.
  • Anterior and Medial Deltoids: Overhead presses (barbell, dumbbell), lateral raises.
  • Triceps: Triceps extensions (overhead, skull crushers), close-grip bench press, dips.

• Pull Day Muscle Groups:

  • Latissimus Dorsi & Rhomboids: Pull-ups, lat pulldowns, rows (barbell, dumbbell, cable).
  • Trapezius: Shrugs, face pulls.
  • Posterior Deltoids: Face pulls, reverse flyes.
  • Biceps: Bicep curls (barbell, dumbbell, hammer).
  • Forearms: Various grip exercises.

• Legs Day Muscle Groups:

  • Quadriceps: Squats (barbell, front), leg press, lunges, leg extensions.
  • Hamstrings: Romanian deadlifts, good mornings, leg curls.
  • Glutes: Squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts, lunges.
  • Calves: Calf raises (standing, seated).

• Benefits of PPL:

  • High Frequency: Most muscle groups are trained twice per week, which research suggests is optimal for hypertrophy for many individuals.
  • Efficient Volume Distribution: Exercises naturally group together, ensuring that assisting muscles (e.g., triceps in a push day) are adequately stimulated without being overfatigued from prior direct work.
  • Improved Recovery: By separating push, pull, and leg movements, you allow specific muscle groups adequate rest before being targeted again.
  • Logical Structure: The movement-based grouping is intuitive and can help in exercise selection.

• Considerations for PPL:

  • Can be demanding if performed 6 days a week (PPLPPL).
  • Requires careful exercise selection to ensure all parts of a muscle group are adequately stimulated.

Traditional Muscle Group (Body Part) Training Splits

Traditional muscle group splits, often simply called "body part splits," involve dedicating an entire training session to one or two specific muscle groups. This approach allows for very high volume and intensity per muscle group within a single workout, typically training each major muscle group once per week.

• What it is: This split organizes training based on anatomical location. For example, one day might be dedicated solely to the chest, another to the back, and so on. The primary goal is to exhaust the target muscle group through a high volume of exercises and sets within that single session.

• Common Examples:

  • Chest Day: Focus on various chest exercises (bench press, incline press, flyes).
  • Back Day: Focus on various back exercises (rows, pulldowns, deadlifts).
  • Shoulder Day: Focus on various shoulder exercises (overhead press, lateral raises, front raises).
  • Arms Day: Focus on biceps and triceps.
  • Legs Day: Focus on quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.
  • Common Combination: Chest/Triceps, Back/Biceps, Shoulders/Abs, Legs.

• Benefits of Muscle Group Splits:

  • High Volume Per Session: Allows for a very high number of sets and exercises for a single muscle group, potentially leading to a significant "pump" and metabolic stress.
  • Maximized Isolation: Easier to focus on isolating and fatiguing a specific muscle group without other muscles being the limiting factor.
  • Ample Recovery Time: Each muscle group typically gets a full week of recovery before being trained again, which can be beneficial for those who train with very high intensity or have slower recovery.
  • Flexibility: Can be adapted to various schedules (e.g., 3-day, 4-day, 5-day splits).

• Considerations for Muscle Group Splits:

  • Lower Frequency: Each muscle group is trained only once per week, which might not be optimal for hypertrophy compared to higher frequency approaches for some individuals.
  • Potential for Imbalances: Can sometimes lead to over-emphasizing certain "show" muscles if not carefully programmed.
  • Longer Workouts: Sessions can be quite long if a high volume is used for a single muscle group.

Key Differences: PPL vs. Muscle Group Splits

The core distinctions between PPL and traditional muscle group splits stem from their fundamental organizational principles, leading to different training outcomes and considerations.

• Training Philosophy:

  • PPL: Focuses on movement patterns and training muscles in concert with their synergistic partners, emphasizing compound lifts.
  • Muscle Group Splits: Focuses on anatomical isolation and maximizing volume for individual muscles, often incorporating more isolation exercises.

• Frequency:

  • PPL: Typically results in higher training frequency per muscle group (often twice per week when run as a 6-day split or 3-4 days when run as a 3-day split with an additional PPL cycle).
  • Muscle Group Splits: Generally results in lower training frequency per muscle group (typically once per week).

• Recovery:

  • PPL: Distributes fatigue more evenly across the week, allowing for localized muscle recovery within 2-3 days before the next session for that movement pattern.
  • Muscle Group Splits: Provides a longer recovery window (up to 7 days) for a specific muscle group after an intense, high-volume session.

• Volume Distribution:

  • PPL: Volume for a particular muscle group is spread across two sessions per week, potentially leading to better cumulative training effect for hypertrophy.
  • Muscle Group Splits: Concentrates a very high volume for a single muscle group into one session.

• Exercise Selection:

  • PPL: Naturally prioritizes compound movements (e.g., squats, deadlifts, bench press, rows, overhead press) that involve multiple joints and muscle groups.
  • Muscle Group Splits: While compound movements are still important, there is often more room and emphasis for isolation exercises to fully exhaust a single muscle.

Which Split is Right for You?

The "best" training split is highly individual and depends on your goals, experience level, recovery capacity, schedule, and preferences. Both PPL and muscle group splits can be highly effective for building muscle and strength when programmed correctly with progressive overload.

• Consider PPL if:

  • You are an intermediate to advanced lifter looking for higher training frequency.
  • You can commit to training 3-6 days a week consistently.
  • You want to prioritize compound movements and functional strength.
  • You find that training a muscle group twice a week yields better results for you.
  • You have limited time per session but can train more frequently.

• Consider Muscle Group Splits if:

  • You are a beginner to advanced lifter who prefers to dedicate a lot of volume to a single muscle group per session.
  • You prefer longer, more focused workouts for specific muscles.
  • You need more recovery time between training sessions for a particular muscle group (e.g., due to very high intensity, slower recovery, or a demanding schedule).
  • You can only train 3-4 days a week but want to hit all major muscle groups.
  • You enjoy the "pump" and feeling of completely exhausting a muscle group in one go.

Conclusion

Both Push, Pull, Legs and traditional Muscle Group splits are valid and effective frameworks for resistance training. The PPL split organizes workouts by movement pattern, typically allowing for higher training frequency per muscle group. In contrast, muscle group splits organize by anatomy, enabling higher volume and intensity for a single muscle group in one session but with lower frequency. Understanding these differences allows you to make an informed decision based on your personal goals, schedule, and how your body responds best to training stimulus and recovery. The most crucial factor, regardless of the split chosen, remains consistency, progressive overload, and adequate nutrition and rest.