Do one set of rows for each arm before moving onto squats. If you’d rather not squat, feel free to do a simple dumbbell lunge instead, doing reps per leg. PPL routines are straightforward, making them easy for beginners to follow.
Version #2: The 4-5 Day Push/Pull/Legs Split
Next, we’re going to move onto lateral raises to now prioritize the side delts. Although they were worked to an extent during the standing shoulder press done earlier, lateral raises have been shown to elicit far greater activation of the side delts. Which showed that one of our rotator cuff muscles, the supraspinatus, is most active during the beginning of the raise.
- This logical grouping is not arbitrary; it reflects how the body functions synergistically.
- The six-day split is a lot of volume, so you may find it hard to recover from initially.
- PPL goes a long way toward avoiding muscle group training overlap.
- It is a mix of Upper/Lower and Push/Push/Legs, to ensure you hit the same muscle twice per week.All sets are 3×12 because they focus on Hypertrophy.
- “Pull” exercises consist of pulling weights toward your body, such as back or bicep workouts.
- Switching from a 3-day split to a 4-day split is an example of increased training frequency.
Weight and Rep Ranges
And an added bonus of this variation is that it better activates the outer quads. This can then help balance out any inner versus outer quad imbalances you may be experiencing. There’s no major difference between the best workout split for women and the best workout split for men.
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Furthermore, the split’s inherent focus on heavy compound exercises facilitates the application of mechanical tension and progressive overload—two primary drivers of muscle growth. The inclusion of isolation exercises further allows for accumulating necessary training volume on smaller muscle groups without excessive systemic fatigue. While PPL can be adapted for beginners using a 3-day schedule, some exercise science professionals advocate for starting with full-body routines (e.g., 3 times per week). A 3-day PPL involves practicing each movement pattern only once per week. Here’s how to add push-pull training for the legs into your weekly training program, whether you’re exercises at home or at the gym. The Push/Pull/Legs workout split remains a cornerstone of effective resistance training programming for good reason.
Leg Exercises for PPL Routine
Which can actually be preferentially activated during your back training. But if you’re currently unable to perform pull-ups, mad muscle review as suggested in my recent pull-up strength article, you’ll want to swap these for kneeling lat pulldowns instead. Since this exercise has been shown to best mimic their muscle activation pattern when compared to other commonly used alternatives.
And, as we all know, rest is insanely important.
Your body repairs these tears during rest, making your muscles stronger and larger over time. Without proper rest, your muscles don’t have the time they need to recover, which can lead to fatigue, injury, and reduced performance. Remember that we want you to be as prepared for the next set as possible, which is why we have two minutes of rest between each set and exercise.
Why You Should Include Hip Thrusts In Your Push Pull Legs Routine
A 3 day split is a great option for beginners, since it provides a lot of recovery time through the week. This PPL split is focused on compound exercises first and foremost. Compound exercises target multiple muscle groups simultaneously with the same movement. This increases the efficiency of your workout routine, by maximizing the impact of your workout time.
Keeping Track of Your Progress
Perform a couple of warm-up sets before hitting your working weights. Warming up gets the blood flowing to your muscles, improves your performance, and reduces the risk of injury. This article explains the push pull legs training method, details the many benefits, and outlines the Push Pull Legs Intermediate and Push Pull Legs Advanced training programs.
Workout 1: Push Day (Bench Press)
You probably only need one exercise for each, so that might mean doing dips, incline bench presses, overhead presses, triceps extensions, and lateral raises. For pull day, you’ll follow the same formula above for the muscles responsible for pulling movements, including your lats, rhomboids, traps, delts, and biceps. You can use the categories below to pick a compound lift, accessory lift, shoulder exercise, and biceps isolation exercise. The Push Pull Legs (PPL) split provides a structured and effective way to train your entire body. Here’s a sample workout plan for each day, outlining key exercises and rep/set recommendations.
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