Push Pull Legs: The Complete Guide to the PPL Split
Push Pull Legs (PPL) is one of the most popular splits in strength training. The idea is simple: divide exercises by movement pattern. The execution requires more thought.
What Is Push Pull Legs?
PPL divides your exercises into three categories:
Push: All exercises where you push weight away from you. Trains: chest, shoulders, triceps.
Pull: All exercises where you pull weight toward you. Trains: back, biceps, rear delts.
Legs: All lower body exercises. Trains: quads, hamstrings, calves, abs.
The advantage: muscle groups that work together are trained on the same day. Bench press fatigues the triceps? No problem — you train them afterwards. On pull day, your triceps are recovered.
Exercise Distribution
Push Day
| Exercise Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Horizontal pressing | Bench press, incline press (dumbbell/barbell) |
| Vertical pressing | Overhead press (standing/seated) |
| Chest isolation | Cable flys, pec deck |
| Shoulder isolation | Lateral raises (dumbbell/cable) |
| Triceps isolation | Pushdown, overhead extension, dips |
Pull Day
| Exercise Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Vertical pulling | Chin-ups, lat pulldown (wide/close) |
| Horizontal pulling | Barbell row, cable row, dumbbell row |
| Rear delts | Face pulls, reverse flys |
| Biceps isolation | Curls (barbell, dumbbell, cable) |
Leg Day
| Exercise Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Quad-dominant | Squat, front squat, leg press, leg extension |
| Hip-dominant | Romanian deadlift, leg curl, hip thrust |
| Calves | Standing/seated calf raises |
| Abs | Cable crunch, hanging leg raise, plank |
PPL 3 Days vs. 6 Days
3-Day PPL
Each muscle group 1×/week. That’s substantially worse than 2× for hypertrophy. If you only have 3 days, a full body plan is the better choice — because you get 2× frequency.
6-Day PPL
Each muscle group 2×/week. This is the PPL variant that works. High frequency, high volume, maximum exercise variation.
Schedule: Mon Pull — Tue Push — Wed Legs — Thu Pull — Fri Push — Sat Legs — Sun Rest.
5-Day PPL (rotating)
Week 1: Pull-Push-Legs-Pull-Push. Week 2: Legs-Pull-Push-Legs-Pull. Each muscle group every 4-5 days instead of every 3-4. Works if 6 days doesn’t fit your schedule.
The Reddit PPL (metallicadpa)
The most popular PPL plan on the internet comes from Reddit user /u/metallicadpa, posted on r/Fitness in 2015. This is the program available as a pre-configured plan in the hitPR catalog.
Pull (Day 1 + Day 4)
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Progression |
|---|---|---|
| Deadlift (Day 1) / Row (Day 4) | 1×5+ AMRAP / 5×5+ AMRAP | +5 kg on success / +2.5 kg |
| Lat pulldown | 3×8-12 | Double Progression |
| Cable row | 3×8-12 | Double Progression |
| Face pulls | 5×15-20 | Double Progression |
| Hammer curls | 4×8-12 | Double Progression |
| Dumbbell curls | 4×8-12 | Double Progression |
Push (Day 2 + Day 5)
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Progression |
|---|---|---|
| Bench (Day 2) / OHP (Day 5) | 5×5+ AMRAP | +2.5 kg on success |
| OHP (Day 2) / Bench (Day 5) | 3×8-12 | Double Progression |
| Incline DB bench | 3×8-12 | Double Progression |
| Tricep pushdown + lateral raise (superset) | 3×8-12 + 3×15-20 | Double Progression |
| Tricep extension + lateral raise (superset) | 3×8-12 + 3×15-20 | Double Progression |
Legs (Day 3 + Day 6)
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Progression |
|---|---|---|
| Squat | 3×5+ AMRAP | +5 kg on success |
| Romanian deadlift | 3×8-12 | Double Progression |
| Leg press | 3×8-12 | Double Progression |
| Leg curl | 3×8-12 | Double Progression |
| Calf raises | 5×8-12 | Double Progression |
Main lifts (bold) alternate: Pull Day 1 = Deadlift, Pull Day 4 = Row. Push Day 2 = Bench, Push Day 5 = OHP. Each main lift gets focused attention 1×/week.
Compound progression: Linear progression with AMRAP on the last set. All reps completed → weight goes up. After multiple failures: reduce by 10% and rebuild.
Accessory progression: Double Progression — first hit all reps at the top of the range (e.g. 3×12), then increase weight and restart at 3×8.
Common PPL Mistakes
1. Too Much Arm Isolation, Not Enough Compounds
5 sets of biceps curls but only 3 sets of chin-ups? Wrong priorities. Compounds first — they train the arms along the way.
2. Skipping Leg Day
If you regularly skip leg day, you don’t have PPL — you have a push/pull split with a leg deficit.
3. No A/B Variation
Both push days identical? Missed opportunity. Push A heavy (bench first), Push B volume (OHP first). Variation within the week = different stimuli for the same muscle.
PPL vs. Upper/Lower: When PPL Is Better
PPL if you:
- Can train 5-6 days per week
- Need high volume per muscle group (16+ sets)
- Have at least 6 months of experience
Upper/Lower if you:
- Can only train 4 days per week
- Prefer shorter sessions
In between sits the Upper/Lower + PPL Hybrid — five days, two upper/lower sessions plus three PPL days. Useful when six PPL days don’t fit your week but four don’t deliver enough volume.
Detailed comparison: Full Body vs. Split
Bottom Line
Push Pull Legs is the most effective split for lifters with 5-6 training days and sufficient experience. Maximum frequency, volume, and variation — all included.
But PPL is not a beginner split. If you train fewer than 5 days or have less than 6 months of experience, you’re better off with full body or GZCLP.
Sources
- metallicadpa. A Linear Progression Based PPL Program for Beginners. r/Fitness
- Schoenfeld BJ et al. (2016). Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy. Sports Medicine, 46(11):1689-1697.
