Push Pull Legs (PPL): The Complete 6-Day Program Guide

Push Pull Legs is one of the most popular and effective training splits for intermediate and advanced lifters. It organizes training by movement pattern: pushing movements (chest, shoulders, triceps), pulling movements (back, biceps), and leg training. When run as a 6-day rotation, every muscle gets trained twice per week with focused, high-volume sessions.

What Is Push Pull Legs?

The PPL split divides weekly training into three session types:

- **Push days:** chest, shoulders, triceps — all muscles involved in pushing movements - **Pull days:** back, biceps, rear delts — all muscles involved in pulling movements - **Leg days:** quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves

The 6-day version runs the cycle twice per week: Push / Pull / Legs / Push / Pull / Legs. Each muscle group is trained twice, with 48–72 hours between sessions of the same type.

Who Is PPL For?

PPL is best suited for: - Intermediate to advanced lifters (at least 1–2 years of consistent training) - Lifters who can commit to 5–6 days per week - People who want high training volume and frequency - Lifters who have identified lagging muscle groups and want dedicated sessions to address them

PPL is **not ideal** for: - Beginners (too much volume per session; full body training is more appropriate) - Anyone training fewer than 4 days per week (the 3-day variant works here) - People with significant recovery limitations (poor sleep, high stress, minimal calories)

The Full 6-Day PPL Program

Day 1 — Push A (Chest Focus)

| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | |---|---|---|---| | Barbell Bench Press | 4 | 6–8 | 3 min | | Incline Dumbbell Press | 4 | 8–12 | 2 min | | Overhead Press | 3 | 8–10 | 2 min | | Cable Fly | 3 | 12–15 | 90 sec | | Lateral Raise | 4 | 15–20 | 60 sec | | Tricep Pushdown | 3 | 12–15 | 60 sec | | Overhead Tricep Extension | 3 | 12–15 | 60 sec |

Day 2 — Pull A (Back Focus)

| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | |---|---|---|---| | Weighted Pull-Up | 4 | 6–8 | 3 min | | Barbell Row | 4 | 6–8 | 2–3 min | | Cable Row | 3 | 10–12 | 90 sec | | Lat Pulldown | 3 | 10–12 | 90 sec | | Face Pull | 3 | 15–20 | 60 sec | | Barbell Curl | 3 | 10–12 | 60 sec | | Hammer Curl | 3 | 12–15 | 60 sec |

Day 3 — Legs A (Quad Focus)

| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | |---|---|---|---| | Back Squat | 4 | 6–8 | 3 min | | Leg Press | 4 | 10–12 | 2 min | | Hack Squat | 3 | 10–12 | 2 min | | Romanian Deadlift | 3 | 10–12 | 2 min | | Leg Curl | 3 | 12–15 | 90 sec | | Leg Extension | 3 | 12–15 | 90 sec | | Calf Raise | 4 | 15–20 | 60 sec |

Day 4 — Push B (Shoulder Focus)

| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | |---|---|---|---| | Overhead Press | 4 | 6–8 | 3 min | | Incline Barbell Press | 4 | 8–10 | 2 min | | Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 3 | 10–12 | 90 sec | | Lateral Raise | 4 | 15–20 | 60 sec | | Rear Delt Fly | 3 | 15–20 | 60 sec | | Close-Grip Bench Press | 3 | 10–12 | 90 sec | | Skull Crusher | 3 | 10–12 | 90 sec |

Day 5 — Pull B (Bicep/Rear Delt Focus)

| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | |---|---|---|---| | Deadlift | 3 | 4–6 | 3–4 min | | T-Bar Row | 4 | 8–10 | 2 min | | Single-Arm Dumbbell Row | 3 | 10–12 each | 90 sec | | Cable Pullover | 3 | 12–15 | 90 sec | | Face Pull | 3 | 15–20 | 60 sec | | Incline Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10–12 | 60 sec | | Cable Curl | 3 | 15–20 | 60 sec |

Day 6 — Legs B (Posterior Chain Focus)

| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | |---|---|---|---| | Conventional Deadlift | 4 | 5–6 | 3–4 min | | Hip Thrust | 4 | 10–12 | 2 min | | Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 | 10–12 each | 90 sec | | Leg Curl | 4 | 12–15 | 90 sec | | Standing Leg Curl | 3 | 12–15 | 90 sec | | Calf Raise | 4 | 15–20 | 60 sec |

**Day 7:** Rest

**Weekly schedule:** Push/Pull/Legs/Push/Pull/Legs/Rest. You can also run it with one rest day mid-cycle: Push/Pull/Legs/Rest/Push/Pull/Legs.

The 3-Day PPL Variant

If you can only train 3 days per week, run one session of each type per week:

| Day | Session | |---|---| | Monday | Push | | Wednesday | Pull | | Friday | Legs |

Increase sets per exercise slightly (add 1 set per exercise) to compensate for lower frequency. This is adequate for maintenance and moderate progress, but not optimal for hypertrophy compared to the 6-day version.

PPL vs Upper/Lower: Which Is Better?

| Factor | PPL (6-day) | Upper/Lower (4-day) | |---|---|---| | Training frequency/muscle | 2x/week | 2x/week | | Volume per session | High | Moderate | | Session length | 60–75 min | 50–65 min | | Recovery demand | High | Moderate | | Best for | Intermediate/Advanced | Beginner/Intermediate | | Days required | 5–6 | 4 | | Specialization | Yes (can bias push/pull/legs) | Limited |

Both splits train each muscle twice weekly — the key difference is PPL uses higher per-session volume with more focused sessions. For most intermediate lifters, both produce similar results. Choose based on how many days you can train and your recovery capacity.

Progressive Overload in PPL

With 6 training days and high volume, progression must be managed carefully to avoid accumulated fatigue.

**Recommended approach:** Use double progression — target a rep range (e.g., 8–12 reps), and only increase weight when you can complete the top of the range for all sets. This prevents chasing weight at the expense of proper volume and stimulus.

**Deload every 6–8 weeks:** Reduce volume by 40–50% for one week. This is not optional with 6-day training — it is mandatory for long-term progress.

Browse [ready-made PPL programs](/programs) or [generate a custom PPL plan](/generate) with your exact equipment and goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

**Can beginners run PPL?** Not recommended. Beginners grow optimally from 3 full-body sessions per week and do not yet have the recovery capacity for 6 days of structured training. Start with full body or upper/lower, then transition to PPL after 12–18 months.

**What if I can only do 5 days?** Run Push/Pull/Legs/Push/Pull one week and Push/Pull/Legs/Push/Pull/Legs the next, alternating. Or simply take one extra rest day in the 6-day schedule.

**How long should I run PPL?** PPL can be run indefinitely with periodic deloads. Most lifters run it for 12–24 weeks before switching to a variation or adding a specialization block.