Push Pull Legs Workout: The Ultimate Guide And Split
One of the most basic and classic programs is the "push pull legs" routine:
Push movements - activates chest, shoulders, and triceps.
Pull movements - activates back and biceps.
Leg movements - activates your entire lower body: quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
Benefits Of The Push Pull Legs Workout
The "push pull leg" workout is undoubtedly one of the most effective and beneficial routines.
Here are some benefits:
Beginner/Experienced friendly
It saves time since it's effective
Muscle recovery time
Easy to adjust
Works both for strength training and bodybuilding
Classic Push / Pull / Legs Workout (3 Days a Week)
The classic layout is what you can call the standard layout. It is clear to follow.
It looks like this:
Monday: Press (Chest, shoulders, and triceps)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Pull (Back and biceps)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Legs (Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. )
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
You can see that you have three weekly training sessions with this program, with 1 or 2 days of rest between sessions.
Therefore, this approach is the most uncomplicated and most comfortable and will work best for beginners.
The problem is that you only train each muscle group once a week.
It is possible to get incredible results by only training each muscle group once a week, but it is not the most optimal for the majority of the population.
Therefore this approach is not recommended as long as you are not new to the gym or if you do not have time to train more.
If, on the other hand, you are a little more ambitious and have been training for a while, you can try one of the different approaches.
The training frequency is not optimal for building muscle and burning fat.
Push / Pull / Legs Rotating Workout (4/5 Days a Week)
This approach has a slightly higher training frequency but is a bit more complicated to follow.
It looks like this:
Week 1
Monday: Press (Chest, shoulders, and triceps)
Tuesday: Pull (Back and biceps)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Legs (Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Press (Chest, shoulders, and triceps)
Sunday: Pull (Back and biceps)
Week 2
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Legs (Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Press (Chest, shoulders, and triceps)
Friday: Pull (Back and biceps)
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves)
It may look a little hard the first time you look at it, but it's not as hard as you think.
It follows a very light pattern where you train either 4 or 5 times a week.
Immediately, you have a much better training frequency that is much more effective in building muscle and burning fat.
As long as you are not a beginner, this training frequency will be much more effective than the previous setup.
The downside of this approach is that it varies from week to week. You will not train on the same weekly days, but this will alternate.
In other versions of the training schedule, you have specific days you train each week, which does not change.
From a planning perspective, this can become a problem. As long as you do not have the opportunity to have a flexible training schedule, this arrangement may not be for you.
Push / Pull / Legs Hard Workout (6 Days a Week)
This workout is named "hard" for a reason. It will be challenging.
If you have not already trained in strength training for an extended period, or if you do not eat correctly, you will not be able to manage this training program.
It looks like this:
Monday: Press (Chest, shoulders, and triceps)
Tuesday: Pull (Back and biceps)
Wednesday: Legs (Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Press (Chest, shoulders, and triceps)
Saturday: Pull (Back and biceps)
Sunday: Legs (Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves)
This training plan is not for everyone. So take it easy.
If you are eager to test, start carefully and test it for 1-2 weeks.
It is possible to train with training pain, but if you notice that your body does not have time to recover between sessions, you should probably change your training plan.
Listen to your body; it usually knows best.
Final words about the Push / Pull / Legs training program
Try not to overthink; the whole point of this exercise program is that it should be natural and easy, making it effective.
You can change the layout of the days and workouts a little as long as you follow the basics of the Push / Pull / Legs routine, which is that you run the three different workouts.
Now that you know the basics, you can start running this exercise program. You will see results if you focus on the basic exercises and constantly try to overload the muscles to maximize muscle hypertrophy.
Push movements - activates chest, shoulders, and triceps.
Pull movements - activates back and biceps.
Leg movements - activates your entire lower body: quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
Benefits Of The Push Pull Legs Workout
The "push pull leg" workout is undoubtedly one of the most effective and beneficial routines.
Here are some benefits:
Beginner/Experienced friendly
It saves time since it's effective
Muscle recovery time
Easy to adjust
Works both for strength training and bodybuilding
Classic Push / Pull / Legs Workout (3 Days a Week)
The classic layout is what you can call the standard layout. It is clear to follow.
It looks like this:
Monday: Press (Chest, shoulders, and triceps)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Pull (Back and biceps)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Legs (Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. )
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
You can see that you have three weekly training sessions with this program, with 1 or 2 days of rest between sessions.
Therefore, this approach is the most uncomplicated and most comfortable and will work best for beginners.
The problem is that you only train each muscle group once a week.
It is possible to get incredible results by only training each muscle group once a week, but it is not the most optimal for the majority of the population.
Therefore this approach is not recommended as long as you are not new to the gym or if you do not have time to train more.
If, on the other hand, you are a little more ambitious and have been training for a while, you can try one of the different approaches.
The training frequency is not optimal for building muscle and burning fat.
Push / Pull / Legs Rotating Workout (4/5 Days a Week)
This approach has a slightly higher training frequency but is a bit more complicated to follow.
It looks like this:
Week 1
Monday: Press (Chest, shoulders, and triceps)
Tuesday: Pull (Back and biceps)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Legs (Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Press (Chest, shoulders, and triceps)
Sunday: Pull (Back and biceps)
Week 2
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Legs (Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Press (Chest, shoulders, and triceps)
Friday: Pull (Back and biceps)
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves)
It may look a little hard the first time you look at it, but it's not as hard as you think.
It follows a very light pattern where you train either 4 or 5 times a week.
Immediately, you have a much better training frequency that is much more effective in building muscle and burning fat.
As long as you are not a beginner, this training frequency will be much more effective than the previous setup.
The downside of this approach is that it varies from week to week. You will not train on the same weekly days, but this will alternate.
In other versions of the training schedule, you have specific days you train each week, which does not change.
From a planning perspective, this can become a problem. As long as you do not have the opportunity to have a flexible training schedule, this arrangement may not be for you.
Push / Pull / Legs Hard Workout (6 Days a Week)
This workout is named "hard" for a reason. It will be challenging.
If you have not already trained in strength training for an extended period, or if you do not eat correctly, you will not be able to manage this training program.
It looks like this:
Monday: Press (Chest, shoulders, and triceps)
Tuesday: Pull (Back and biceps)
Wednesday: Legs (Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Press (Chest, shoulders, and triceps)
Saturday: Pull (Back and biceps)
Sunday: Legs (Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves)
This training plan is not for everyone. So take it easy.
If you are eager to test, start carefully and test it for 1-2 weeks.
It is possible to train with training pain, but if you notice that your body does not have time to recover between sessions, you should probably change your training plan.
Listen to your body; it usually knows best.
Final words about the Push / Pull / Legs training program
Try not to overthink; the whole point of this exercise program is that it should be natural and easy, making it effective.
You can change the layout of the days and workouts a little as long as you follow the basics of the Push / Pull / Legs routine, which is that you run the three different workouts.
Now that you know the basics, you can start running this exercise program. You will see results if you focus on the basic exercises and constantly try to overload the muscles to maximize muscle hypertrophy.
