Push Pull Legs split
Three sessions, run either three or six days a week. The most popular intermediate split in the world, and deservedly so.
The prescription, in one line
3SESSIONS / WEEK
Push Pull Legs groups exercises by what they do rather than by muscle. Everything that pushes — chest, shoulders, triceps — trains together, because those muscles all work on the same movements anyway. Everything that pulls — back and biceps — trains together for the same reason. Legs get their own day. The result is that no muscle is trained hard two days running, which is exactly why the split survives contact with a real week.
Who it is for: Anyone past their first three to six months of training who can commit to three, four or six sessions a week and wants a clean way to organise volume.
स्रोत·Published exercise references·EVERY MOVEMENT LINKS TO ITS OWN CARD·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
How this template was assembled
- Start from the joint action, not the sensation. A muscle is credited when the action it produces is the one being resisted.
- Credit exactly one role per exercise: prime mover, or synergist and stabiliser. Nothing is listed twice.
- Rank by technical demand on a 1–5 scale — how much practice the movement needs to be done safely, not how hard the set feels.
- Order each session heavy-to-light: the movement with the most technical demand goes first, while you are fresh enough to hold the position.
- Attach the published MET category so the energy figure on every card traces back to the same table.
स्रोत·Published exercise references·ATTRIBUTION BY JOINT ACTION·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
Push
| व्यायाम | Sets | Reps | Muscle | टीप |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell Bench Press | 4 | 5–8 | Chest | Touch the bar to the lower half of the chest, roughly in line with the base of the stern… |
| बसून डंबेल शोल्डर प्रेस | 3 | 8–12 | Front deltoid | Kick each dumbbell up into position with a knee and keep the lower back flat against the… |
| इनक्लाइन डंबेल प्रेस | 3 | 8–12 | Chest | Keep the dumbbells slightly wider than the shoulders at the bottom and press them up and… |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 4 | 12–20 | बाजूचा deltoid | Lead with the elbows and stop at shoulder height, with the little finger no higher than … |
| Cable Triceps Pushdown | 3 | 10–15 | Triceps | Pin the upper arms to your sides and straighten the elbows fully, squeezing at the bottom. |
| Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extension | 3 | 10–15 | Triceps | Hold one dumbbell with both hands behind the head, elbows pointing forward and close tog… |
Pull
| व्यायाम | Sets | Reps | Muscle | टीप |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pull-Up | 4 | 5–10 | Lats | Use a band or the assisted machine if you cannot yet do five. |
| बारबेल बेंट-ओव्हर रो | 4 | 6–10 | Upper back | Hinge to about 45 degrees or lower, and pull the bar to the belly button rather than the… |
| Seated Cable Row | 3 | 10–12 | Upper back | Sit tall, pull the handle to the belly button, and let the shoulder blades travel fully … |
| Cable Face Pull | 3 | 15–20 | Rear deltoid | Set the pulley at upper-chest height, use a rope, and finish with the hands beside the e… |
| EZ बार कर्ल | 3 | 8–12 | Biceps | Take the inner angled grips so the wrists sit half-turned rather than fully supinated. |
| Hammer Curl | 3 | 10–15 | Biceps | Keep the palms facing each other throughout and do not let the wrists rotate at the top. |
Legs
| व्यायाम | Sets | Reps | Muscle | टीप |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| बारबेल बॅक स्क्वॉट | 4 | 5–8 | Quadriceps | Set the bar on the traps, brace, and sit between the hips rather than folding forward ov… |
| रोमानियन डेडलिफ्ट | 3 | 8–10 | Hamstrings | Soften the knees once at the start and then keep that exact angle — the knees do not ben… |
| Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 | 8–12 per leg | Quadriceps | Set the front foot far enough forward that the front shin stays near-vertical at the bot… |
| Lying Leg Curl | 3 | 10–15 | Hamstrings | Keep the hips pressed into the pad and pause for a beat at the top of every rep. |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4 | 10–15 | पोटऱ्या | Let the heels drop below the platform for a full stretch, then rise as high as the joint… |
| Hanging Knee Raise | 3 | 10–15 | हिप फ्लेक्सर्स | Curl the pelvis up as the knees rise — without that tilt this is purely a hip-flexor exe… |
How to progress
Add a small amount of weight whenever you hit the top of the rep range on every set of an exercise. When the weight stops moving for two weeks, cut back by 10 per cent and build up again.
Two rules sit above any template. First, technique does not change as the weight climbs — if the range shortens or the tempo runs away, the load has gone past useful. Second, a plan you follow for twelve weeks beats a better plan you abandon in three. Rest days are part of the programme, not a failure of it.
This plan covers 12 muscle groups as prime movers. If something is missing that you care about, add one exercise for it rather than rebuilding the whole thing.
Other workout templates
The questions that come up on the floor
Who is the push pull legs (ppl) for?
Anyone past their first three to six months of training who can commit to three, four or six sessions a week and wants a clean way to organise volume. It runs 3 days a week (one cycle) or 6 days a week (two cycles). both work; the six-day version needs the recovery to match. and needs: full gym.
How do I progress on this plan?
Add a small amount of weight whenever you hit the top of the rep range on every set of an exercise. When the weight stops moving for two weeks, cut back by 10 per cent and build up again.
Will this plan build muscle?
It covers 12 muscle groups as prime movers across 18 exercises. Muscle growth needs progressive overload, enough weekly volume — roughly ten to twenty hard sets per muscle — and enough protein and total food to support it. This template supplies the structure; the effort and the diet decide the outcome.
Can I swap an exercise I cannot do?
Yes. Every exercise page on this site lists computed substitutes that train the same prime mover through the same movement pattern, plus a no-equipment alternative. Swap like for like and the plan still works.
Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the sources page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.
स्रोत·Published exercise references·MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION·पुनरावलोकन जुलै 2026
The people behind these sites
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This site and nine others like it are built and photographed by two people: Amit Sharma — behind the build; Geeta Patel — the poses, demonstrated. New work goes up on Instagram and Facebook before it reaches a page here.
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