Too many exercises
Stacking 10 exercises per session dilutes the intensity and blows out the duration. Six targeted exercises at the right RPE beat ten half-baked ones.
Blog · Training
Push Pull Legs: the complete beginner split.
May 24, 202610 min readBy ZymFit
Push Pull Legs is three sessions — push, pull, legs — repeated twice a week. You train every muscle group twice every seven days, with comfortable volume and clean recovery. It's the split that naturally follows full body, once you have 3 to 6 months of consistent lifting under your belt.
This guide lays out the full program: exercises, sets, target loads in RPE, weekly schedule and mistakes to avoid. No magic promises, just a solid frame to turn your first real year of lifting into actual progress.
01 / Definition
What a Push Pull Legs split actually is
PPL is a weekly setup that groups exercises by movement pattern rather than by isolated muscle group. Push day collects everything that pushes — chest, shoulders, triceps. Pull day everything that pulls — back and biceps. Leg day covers quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves.
Compared to full body, PPL lets you push more volume on each group without stretching the sessions: 60 to 75 minutes per session, versus 75 to 90 on a heavy full body. Compared to an upper/lower split, PPL hits each group twice a week with similar weekly volume, but with a cleaner mental frame (one theme per day) and a better split of fatigue across muscle groups.
The classic bro split (one muscle per day) belongs to another era: it caps the frequency at once per muscle per week, which is sub-optimal for 99% of natural lifters.
02Timing
When to switch to PPL (and not before)
If you're a true beginner, don't skip the full body stage. For the first 3 to 6 months, you're learning the motor patterns of the big compound lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press, row) and gaining neural strength at a rate you won't ever see again. Three full body sessions a week cash in on that window.
The signs you're ready to switch to PPL: clean technique on the four big compound lifts, you can still add 1 to 2 kg per week on most exercises, and most importantly, you can honestly train 4 to 6 times a week without burning out or wrecking your recovery. If you're still only at 3 sessions and life is built around that, PPL isn't urgent.
To get the full body phase right before moving to PPL, we break everything down in the beginner strength training program: where to start.
03 / Push day
PUSH day — chest, shoulders, triceps
Start with the heaviest horizontal compound, then the vertical press, then finish with isolation work. Rest: 2 to 3 minutes between heavy sets, 60-90 seconds on isolation.
PUSH
Bench press
4 x 8
Main chest compound
Overhead press
3 x 10
Shoulders, standing or seated
Dips
3 x 10
Add load if you go past 12 reps
Dumbbell flyes
3 x 12
Dumbbells or cable
Lateral raises
3 x 15
Side delts, light weight
Triceps extensions
3 x 12
Cable rope or EZ bar
04 / Pull day
PULL day — back and biceps
Vertical first (pull-ups or lat pulldown), then horizontal (rowing), then posterior chain, then biceps isolation. If you can't do strict bodyweight pull-ups yet, stick with the lat pulldown until you can hit 8 clean reps.
PULL
Pull-ups or lat pulldown
4 x 8
Add load if > 10 reps on pull-ups
Barbell row
4 x 10
Flat back, torso at 45 degrees
Romanian deadlift
3 x 8
Hamstrings + lower back
Close-grip lat pulldown
3 x 10
Focus on the lats
Barbell curl
3 x 10
EZ bar to spare the wrists
Hammer curl
3 x 12
Brachialis and forearms
05 / Leg day
LEG day — quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves
This is the day beginners skip — and the one that makes the biggest difference. Start with the heavy squat, follow up with the leg press to stack volume, then hit the posterior chain and the calves. Rest: 3 minutes minimum between squat sets.
LEGS
Back squat
4 x 6-8
The king of leg lifts
Leg press
4 x 10
Volume without axial load
Stiff-leg deadlift
3 x 10
Hamstrings and glutes
Dumbbell lunges
3 x 12
Per leg, balance + unilateral
Leg curl
3 x 12
Lying or seated
Standing calf raises
4 x 15
1-second pause at the bottom
06 / Sample week
Weekly plan and variations
The reference format stays the PPL x 2 over 6 days with a rest day dropped wherever your life allows.
MonPush
TuePull
WedLegs
ThuRest
FriPush
SatPull
SunLegs
PPL x 6 (advanced)— six sessions in a row as shown above. Sunday can also become a second rest day if your recovery is maxed out. It's the densest version, only worth running once you've already mastered the format on 4 or 5 days.
PPL x 4-5 (intermediate) — Push / Pull / Legs / Push (4 days), or Push / Pull / Legs / Push / Pull (5 days). You rotate the sessions on a loop without locking them to specific weekdays. Excellent option if you have 4 reliable time slots.
PPL x 3 (transitional)— one rotation per week, so one Push, one Pull, one Legs. Frequency of 1 per muscle: better than nothing, but below PPL's real potential. If you're only at 3 sessions a week, full body is usually still more effective.
07Intensity
Loads and RPE: dialing it in without guesswork
Rather than chasing a theoretical percentage of 1RM, drive your loads with RPE(Rate of Perceived Exertion). On a set, ask yourself how many reps you'd still have left before failure: that's your RIR (Reps In Reserve). RPE 10 = failure, RPE 9 = 1 rep in reserve, RPE 8 = 2 reps, RPE 7 = 3 reps, and so on.
On heavy compound lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift, row), aim for RPE 7 to 9 on working sets. For isolation work (lateral raises, curls, flyes), you can push closer to failure — RPE 8 to 10 on the last set, because the mechanical risk is much lower.
The full guide to nail down intensity in the first weeks: RPE in strength training: dial intensity without guesswork.
08 / Progress
Progressive overload: the only rule that matters
Without measurable progress, the best split in the world produces nothing. The beginner rule: on every lift, you either add 1.25 to 2.5 kg per week, or you grab one extra repper set at the same load. That's what double progression looks like in practice.
Example on the bench press: week 1, 60 kg x 4 x 8. Week 2: aim for 60 kg x 4 x 9. Week 3: 60 kg x 4 x 10. Once you nail 4 x 10 clean, you bump up to 62.5 kg and drop back to 4 x 8. Then the loop starts over.
Progress slows down fast — that's normal. For the full breakdown of how to push through plateaus: progressive overload explained simply. And to fuel that progress on the food side, check your protein intake with how much protein per day for lifting and your macros via calculating your macros as a beginner.
09 / Pitfalls to avoid
Four mistakes that sabotage your PPL
Poor technique
Film your sets at least once a week. One clean rep at 60 kg builds more than a sloppy rep at 80 kg, and it keeps your joints healthy in the long run.
Not enough rest
Six sessions in a row with no sleep and no day off is a guaranteed plateau or injury. Aim for 7-8 h of sleep and at least one real rest day per week.
Ego lifting
Loading 20 kg extra to grind 3 ugly reps instead of 8 clean ones. Result: no hypertrophy, no strength, just sore joints.
FAQ
The questions we get asked most
How long until I see results with a PPL?
Over the first 4 to 6 weeks, you'll mostly see neural gains: loads go up fast and technique sharpens. Visible muscle gains usually show up between week 8 and week 12, provided you're in a moderate caloric surplus, hit 1.6-2.2 g/kg of protein and stay consistent.
Push pull legs or full body for a beginner?
If you're a complete beginner (0 to 3 months), stick with full body 3 times a week: it's simpler to learn and you progress very quickly. PPL becomes relevant once you can train 4 to 6 times a week and your recovery keeps up. For most beginners, moving to PPL after 3 to 6 months of full body is the right timing.
How many sets per muscle per week on PPL?
On a PPL x 2 per week, you naturally land at 12-18 weekly sets per major muscle group, which sits right in the hypertrophy range recommended for a beginner or intermediate. Past 20 hard sets per muscle per week, recovery becomes the limiting factor.
Can you run PPL at home?
Yes, as long as you have a barbell, plates, a rack or adjustable dumbbells, and ideally a pull-up bar. Without progressive loading, you'll plateau fast: resistance bands can supplement but don't replace real overload on compound lifts like the squat or bench press.
Do I need a specific warm-up routine?
Yes. 5 minutes of light cardio to raise your body temperature, then 2 to 3 progressive warm-up sets on your first heavy lift (40%, 60%, 80% of your working weight). The isolation exercises that follow only need a single light feeler set.
How do you push through a plateau on a lift?
Before changing programs, check the three basics: 7-8 h of sleep, slight caloric surplus, enough protein. Then run a deload (one week at 60% of volume) and come back with a double progression cycle: add reps before adding load. If that still isn't enough, swap the exercise variation (e.g., incline bench press instead of flat).
Read next
Three reads to take it one step further.
Method
RPE in strength training: dial intensity without guesswork
Rate of Perceived Exertion explained simply, to drive your PPL loads without building everything on a 1RM.
Progress
Progressive overload: the only rule that matters
How to add weight or reps every week without breaking your technique or stalling after two months.
Nutrition
Calculating your macros as a beginner
TDEE, protein, carbs, fats: the nutrition intake that fuels a PPL six days a week.
Ready to try it
PPL ready to go. On your phone.
ZymFit programs your Push Pull Legs with video exercises, load suggestions, set-by-set RPE and auto-progression week to week. You focus on the bar, we handle the rest.