Push Pull Legs (PPL) Split: Benefits, Structure, and Example Workouts

How to Do Push Pull Legs?

The Push Pull Legs (PPL) workout split is a highly effective training methodology that groups exercises based on their movement patterns, optimizing muscle recovery and training frequency for comprehensive strength and hypertrophy gains.

What is the Push Pull Legs (PPL) Split?

The Push Pull Legs (PPL) split is a popular and highly effective strength training routine that divides your workouts into three distinct categories based on the primary action of the muscles involved: pushing movements, pulling movements, and leg-focused exercises. This systematic approach ensures that all major muscle groups are trained efficiently while allowing for adequate recovery.

• Push Day: Focuses on muscles involved in pushing movements, primarily the chest (pectorals), shoulders (deltoids), and triceps. Exercises typically involve pressing away from the body.
• Pull Day: Targets muscles involved in pulling movements, including the back (lats, rhomboids, traps), biceps, and often the rear deltoids. Exercises involve pulling weight towards the body.
• Leg Day: Concentrates on the lower body musculature, encompassing the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. These sessions involve movements like squatting, hinging, and lunging.

The rationale behind PPL is rooted in biomechanics, grouping synergist muscles that work together in specific movement patterns, thus reducing overlap and allowing for more intense, focused sessions for each muscle group.

Benefits of the PPL Split

The PPL split offers several advantages that contribute to its effectiveness for both strength development and muscle hypertrophy:

• Optimized Muscle Recovery: By grouping muscles that work together and then giving them a dedicated rest period before their next strenuous session, PPL minimizes overlapping stress on individual muscle groups. For instance, after a push day, your chest and triceps recover while you train your back and legs.
• Increased Training Frequency: A common PPL schedule involves training 6 days a week (e.g., Push, Pull, Legs, Push, Pull, Legs, Rest), allowing you to hit each major muscle group twice per week. This increased frequency is highly beneficial for muscle growth, as supported by scientific literature.
• Time Efficiency (for 6-day split): While training 6 days a week sounds extensive, individual sessions can be shorter and more focused compared to full-body workouts or less frequent body part splits, as you're only targeting a specific movement pattern.
• Balanced Muscular Development: The PPL structure inherently promotes balanced training across the anterior and posterior chains, reducing the likelihood of developing muscular imbalances often seen in less structured routines.
• Adaptability: The PPL framework is highly adaptable to various training goals (strength, hypertrophy, endurance) and can be modified for different experience levels (3-day vs. 6-day frequency).
• Reduced Overtraining of Individual Muscles (with proper programming): While the overall training volume might be high, the distributed nature of the PPL split means no single muscle group is subjected to excessive stress in consecutive sessions, provided proper recovery and nutrition are in place.

Anatomy and Biomechanics Behind PPL

Understanding the anatomical and biomechanical basis of the PPL split enhances its application and effectiveness.

Push Day Muscles & Movements:

• Primary Muscles: Pectoralis major (chest), Anterior and Medial Deltoids (front and side shoulders), Triceps Brachii (back of upper arm).
• Key Movements:
  • Horizontal Pressing: Bench press (barbell/dumbbell), push-ups, machine chest press. These primarily target the chest and front deltoids.
  • Vertical Pressing: Overhead press (barbell/dumbbell), seated dumbbell press. These emphasize the deltoids and triceps.
  • Elbow Extension: Triceps pushdowns, overhead triceps extensions, close-grip bench press. These isolate the triceps.

Pull Day Muscles & Movements:

• Primary Muscles: Latissimus Dorsi (lats), Rhomboids, Trapezius (upper, middle, lower back), Biceps Brachii (front of upper arm), Posterior Deltoids (rear shoulders).
• Key Movements:
  • Vertical Pulling: Pull-ups, lat pulldowns, chin-ups. These primarily target the lats and biceps.
  • Horizontal Pulling (Rowing): Barbell rows, dumbbell rows, seated cable rows, T-bar rows. These emphasize the entire back musculature, including rhomboids and traps.
  • Elbow Flexion: Bicep curls (barbell/dumbbell/cable), hammer curls. These isolate the biceps.
  • Shoulder Extension/External Rotation: Face pulls, reverse flyes. These target the rear deltoids and upper back stabilizers.

Leg Day Muscles & Movements:

• Primary Muscles: Quadriceps (front of thigh), Hamstrings (back of thigh), Gluteus Maximus/Medius/Minimus (buttocks), Gastrocnemius and Soleus (calves).
• Key Movements:
  • Knee Dominant: Squats (barbell, goblet, front), leg press, lunges, leg extensions. These primarily target the quadriceps and glutes.
  • Hip Dominant (Hinging): Romanian deadlifts (RDLs), good mornings, glute-ham raises, leg curls. These emphasize the hamstrings and glutes.
  • Ankle Plantarflexion: Calf raises (standing, seated). These target the calves.

Structuring Your PPL Program

The PPL split can be structured in a few ways, with the most common being a 3-day or 6-day per week schedule. The choice depends on your experience level, recovery capacity, and training goals.

The 3-Day PPL Split

This is ideal for beginners or those who prefer to train fewer days per week with higher volume per session. Each muscle group is trained once a week.

• Example Schedule:
  • Monday: Push
  • Tuesday: Rest
  • Wednesday: Pull
  • Thursday: Rest
  • Friday: Legs
  • Saturday: Rest
  • Sunday: Rest
• Focus: Allows for significant recovery time between sessions for each muscle group. Volume per session tends to be higher to compensate for lower frequency.

The 6-Day PPL Split

This is a more advanced approach, allowing you to hit each muscle group twice per week. This higher frequency is often considered superior for hypertrophy.

• Example Schedule:
  • Monday: Push
  • Tuesday: Pull
  • Wednesday: Legs
  • Thursday: Push
  • Friday: Pull
  • Saturday: Legs
  • Sunday: Rest
• Focus: Higher training frequency with potentially lower volume per individual session. Requires excellent recovery and nutrition.

Workout Structure within Each Day

Regardless of the frequency, each PPL workout should follow a general structure:

1. Warm-up (5-10 minutes): Light cardio to elevate heart rate, followed by dynamic stretches and movement-specific warm-up sets (e.g., empty bar squats before heavy squats).
2. Compound Movements First: Prioritize multi-joint exercises that engage multiple muscle groups. These are typically the most demanding and should be performed when you are freshest.
3. Accessory/Isolation Movements: Follow compound lifts with single-joint exercises to further stimulate specific muscles or address weaknesses.
4. Cool-down (5-10 minutes): Static stretching to improve flexibility and aid recovery.

Rep Ranges and Sets:

• Strength: Typically 3-5 sets of 1-6 repetitions with heavier weights.
• Hypertrophy (Muscle Growth): Typically 3-4 sets of 6-12 repetitions with moderate weights.
• Endurance: Typically 2-3 sets of 12-20+ repetitions with lighter weights.
• Adjust rest times between sets based on your goal (longer for strength, shorter for hypertrophy/endurance).

Example PPL Workouts

Here are illustrative examples for each day. Adjust exercises, sets, and reps based on your individual goals, equipment availability, and experience level.

Push Day Example (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)

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

Pull Day Example (Back, Biceps, Rear Delts)

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

Leg Day Example (Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves)

• Barbell Back Squats: 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps
• Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs): 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Leg Press: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
• Leg Curls (Hamstring Curl Machine): 3 sets of 10-15 reps
• Leg Extensions (Quad Machine): 3 sets of 10-15 reps
• Standing Calf Raises: 3 sets of 10-20 reps

Key Considerations for PPL Success

To maximize the benefits and ensure safety with a PPL split, keep the following principles in mind:

• Progressive Overload: This is the fundamental principle for continuous progress. You must consistently challenge your muscles by gradually increasing the weight, reps, sets, or decreasing rest times over time. Without progressive overload, your muscles will not adapt and grow.
• Proper Form Over Weight: Always prioritize correct exercise technique. Lifting too heavy with poor form drastically increases the risk of injury and reduces the effectiveness of the exercise by shifting tension away from the target muscles.
• Nutrition and Recovery: Your training is only as good as your recovery. Ensure you consume adequate protein to support muscle repair and growth, maintain a caloric intake appropriate for your goals, and get sufficient sleep (7-9 hours) to allow your body to repair and rebuild.
• Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to signs of overtraining, such as persistent fatigue, decreased performance, prolonged muscle soreness, or irritability. If needed, take an extra rest day or deload (reduce volume/intensity) to allow for full recovery.
• Individualization: While these are general guidelines, your specific PPL program should be tailored to your individual goals, current fitness level, available equipment, and recovery capacity. A personal trainer or exercise physiologist can provide personalized guidance.
• Consistency: Adherence to the program over time is far more important than any single workout. Regular, consistent effort is what yields results.

Is PPL Right for You?

The Push Pull Legs split is an excellent choice for a wide range of individuals, particularly:

• Intermediate to Advanced Lifters: Those with a foundational understanding of exercise technique who can handle higher training frequencies.
• Individuals Aiming for Hypertrophy (Muscle Growth): The ability to train muscle groups twice a week with adequate recovery is highly conducive to muscle gain.
• Those with Consistent Schedules: The 6-day split requires significant commitment, making it suitable for individuals who can consistently dedicate time to the gym.

However, it might be less suitable for absolute beginners who are still mastering basic movement patterns, or individuals with very limited time, for whom a full-body routine 2-3 times a week might be more appropriate. As with any exercise program, consulting with a healthcare professional or certified fitness expert before beginning is recommended, especially if you have pre-existing health conditions.