Guide
Push Pull Legs split: how to plan and track it
A Push Pull Legs split, or PPL, groups your training by movement: pushing muscles one day, pulling muscles the next, then legs. It is simple to plan, easy to repeat, and works at three or six days a week.
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Key takeaways
- Push trains chest, shoulders and triceps. Pull trains back and biceps. Legs trains the lower body.
- Run it three days a week to train each muscle once, or six days to train each twice.
- Start each day with a heavy compound lift, then add smaller exercises for volume.
- Compare each day with the same day last time, so your progress lines up.
What a Push Pull Legs split is
A split decides which muscles you train on which day. Push Pull Legs divides the body by the direction of the movement. Pressing exercises share the chest, front shoulders and triceps, so they go together. Pulling exercises share the back, rear shoulders and biceps. Legs get a day of their own.
Because each day works muscles that help each other, one day's training does not tire out the next day's. That makes PPL easy to repeat week after week.
What goes on each day
| Day | Muscles | Example lifts |
|---|---|---|
| Push | Chest, shoulders, triceps | Bench press, incline dumbbell press, overhead press, skull crushers, close-grip bench press |
| Pull | Back, biceps, rear shoulders | Deadlift, chin-ups, seated cable rows, barbell curls |
| Legs | Quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves | Squat, Romanian deadlift, standing calf raises, plank |
Put the heaviest compound lift first, while you are fresh, and the smaller isolation exercises after it. Swap any lift for a variation that suits your equipment or joints: a dumbbell press for a barbell press, or a leg press for a squat.
Three-day, six-day and rolling layouts
3 days a week
Week: Push, rest, Pull, rest, Legs, rest, rest
Suits: Beginners, busy weeks, or anyone who recovers slowly. Each muscle group is trained once a week.
6 days a week
Week: Push, Pull, Legs, Push, Pull, Legs, rest
Suits: Experienced lifters with time to recover. Each muscle group is trained twice a week.
Rolling
Week: Push, Pull, Legs, rest, then repeat
Suits: People whose training days change week to week. The cycle does not line up with the calendar.
If you miss a day, do that day next time instead of skipping to the following one. The order matters more than the weekday.
How to track a PPL split
- Compare like with like. Check this Push day against your last Push day. On a six-day split, the two Push days may use different rep ranges, so compare each with its own previous session.
- Progress one lift at a time. Add a rep or a small amount of weight when you hit the top of your rep range. The progressive overload guide explains double progression step by step.
- Watch weekly volume. If a muscle group's volume keeps climbing while your form holds up, the split is doing its job.
- Note what changed. A new grip, a swapped exercise or a poor night's sleep explains a strange number later.
For what else is worth recording, see how to log your workouts.
Running Push Pull Legs in IronBuddy
IronBuddy includes two Push Pull Legs templates: Push / Pull / Legs (3×) and Push / Pull / Legs (6×). They sit beside eight other built-in splits, including Full Body, Upper / Lower, PHUL, PHAT and 5/3/1.
- Open Splits and choose the three-day or six-day Push / Pull / Legs template.
- Use Set active so the home screen shows this week's Push, Pull and Legs days.
- Change any exercise to suit your gym. The first time you edit a built-in template, IronBuddy saves your version as your own copy.
- Open each day from the home screen, enter your reps and weight, and tap Log workout.
- Check Progress to follow volume and estimated 1RM for each lift over time.
The 5-day free trial includes workout logging, progress charts, body metrics and backups, with a starter selection of splits and exercises. Buying IronBuddy for €6.99 unlocks every split, the full library of 800+ exercises, and your own custom splits. See training splits in IronBuddy for screenshots.
A note on safety
This guide is general training information, not medical advice. Choose loads and a weekly layout that suit your experience and recovery, and speak to a qualified professional if you have an injury or a health condition.
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