Push Pull Legs (PPL): The Complete Routine

July 10, 2026 · 9 min read · Buffro Team

Push/pull/legs is the most popular muscle-building split in the world for a simple reason: it groups muscles that work together, so everything gets trained hard, then gets time to recover. Push days cover chest, shoulders, and triceps. Pull days cover back and biceps. Leg days cover everything below the waist.

Who PPL is for

Run it 6 days a week if muscle growth is the priority and you can train almost daily. Run the 3-day version if you're newer or busier — each muscle still gets trained once per week with solid volume, and you can graduate to 6 days later. If you train 4-5 days, a different split fits better; see the best split for your schedule.

The routine

Push day

Exercise	Sets × Reps
Barbell Bench Press	4 × 5-8
Barbell Seated Overhead Press	3 × 6-10
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press	3 × 8-12
Dumbbell Lateral Raise	3 × 12-15
Cable Pushdown	3 × 10-15

Pull day

Exercise	Sets × Reps
Barbell Deadlift	3 × 4-6
Pull-Up	3 × 6-10
Barbell Bent-Over Row	3 × 8-10
Lever Front Pulldown	3 × 10-12
Barbell Curl	3 × 10-15

Leg day

Exercise	Sets × Reps
Barbell Squat	4 × 5-8
Barbell Romanian Deadlift	3 × 8-10
Leg Press	3 × 10-12
Lever Lying Leg Curl	3 × 10-15
Barbell Standing Calf Raise	4 × 10-15

3-day vs 6-day

3-day: Push Monday, Pull Wednesday, Legs Friday. Each muscle is hit once a week — enough to grow, especially in your first year or two.

6-day: Push, Pull, Legs, rest, repeat (or run six straight days with Sunday off). Each muscle is hit twice a week, which research consistently favors for growth — but only if you can recover. Sleep and food have to keep up.

How to progress on it

Work within the rep range: start at the bottom (say 5 reps on bench), add a rep each week until you hit the top (8), then add 2.5 kg and drop back to 5.
Stop each set 1-2 reps short of failure. The last rep should be slow but clean.
If a session stalls for 2-3 weeks, drop the weight 10% and climb back up. That's a normal part of progressive overload.

Common mistakes

Turning push day into chest day. Shoulders and triceps need their sets — count them like everything else (here's how many sets each muscle needs).
Skipping leg day "just this once." The split only balances if all three days happen.
Resting 45 seconds because you're in a hurry. Rest longer — 2-3 minutes on the big lifts.