Push Pull Legs: The 6-Day Split for Maximum Growth
The PPL split is the gold standard for serious lifters. Here is a complete 6-day program with exercise selection, progression, and periodization.
Why PPL works so well
Push/pull/legs is probably the most popular training split among serious lifters, and for good reason. It groups muscles by their function (pushing muscles together, pulling muscles together, legs on their own), which means you get natural synergy between exercises and every muscle gets hit twice per week.
The reason I love PPL specifically is the flexibility. You can adjust the emphasis of each day independently. Want to bring up your chest? Make Push Day 1 chest-heavy. Shoulders lagging? Shift Push Day 2 to prioritize overhead pressing. You can customize the template to your weak points without changing the overall structure.
I ran a PPL split for about three years straight during what I would call my most productive training period. I went from a 275 bench to a 340 bench, put on about 15 pounds of muscle, and brought up every lagging body part I had. It just works if you can commit to six days in the gym.
Who should run a 6-day PPL
Let me be honest: this is not a beginner program. If you have been training for less than a year, you do not need to be in the gym six days a week. You will not recover well, your connective tissue is not adapted to that frequency yet, and you will probably burn out within a couple months.
This program is best for:
- •Intermediate to advanced lifters with at least 1-2 years of consistent training
- •People who genuinely enjoy being in the gym and will not skip sessions
- •Lifters whose schedule allows for six training days per week
- •Anyone whose recovery is dialed in (sleeping 7+ hours, eating enough, managing stress)
If you can only commit to four days per week, run an upper/lower split instead. Showing up for four great sessions beats showing up for six mediocre ones every time.
The weekly layout
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Monday | Push 1 (chest emphasis) |
| Tuesday | Pull 1 (back width) |
| Wednesday | Legs 1 (quad emphasis) |
| Thursday | Push 2 (shoulder emphasis) |
| Friday | Pull 2 (back thickness) |
| Saturday | Legs 2 (hamstring/glute emphasis) |
| Sunday | Rest |
One rest day per week. That is it. The good news is that because each muscle group gets 48-72 hours of rest before being trained again, you should not feel beat up going into any session. Your chest recovers while you do pull and legs. By the time Push Day 2 rolls around on Thursday, your chest has had three days off.
Push day 1 (chest emphasis)
The goal here is to hit chest hard while it is fresh, then move to shoulders and triceps as secondary movers. Your bench press is the main event.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | RPE | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell bench press | 4 | 5-8 | 8-9 | 3 min |
| Incline dumbbell press | 3 | 8-10 | 8-9 | 2 min |
| Cable fly (low to high) | 3 | 12-15 | 9 | 60-90 sec |
| Seated dumbbell overhead press | 3 | 8-10 | 8 | 2 min |
| Lateral raise | 3 | 12-15 | 9 | 60 sec |
| Overhead cable tricep extension | 3 | 10-12 | 9 | 60-90 sec |
Notice the cable fly angle. Low to high targets the upper chest fibers and fills in that area between the collarbone and the pec. Most guys have an underdeveloped upper chest because they never train with an upward pressing or fly angle. This fixes that.
Pull day 1 (back width emphasis)
Width comes from vertical pulling (pulldowns, chin-ups, pullups) and movements that target the lats. This day is all about building that V-taper.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | RPE | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted pull-up or lat pulldown | 4 | 6-8 | 8-9 | 2-3 min |
| Chest-supported dumbbell row | 3 | 8-10 | 8-9 | 2 min |
| Straight-arm pulldown | 3 | 12-15 | 9 | 60-90 sec |
| Face pull | 3 | 15-20 | 8 | 60 sec |
| Barbell curl | 3 | 8-10 | 8 | 90 sec |
| Hammer curl | 3 | 10-12 | 9 | 60 sec |
The chest-supported row is there for a reason. You just did heavy pull-ups, so your lower back and core are somewhat fatigued. Chest support takes those out of the equation and lets you focus purely on squeezing your lats and rhomboids. I like the Meadows row for this spot too if your gym has a landmine.
Legs day 1 (quad emphasis)
Quads are the priority here. Hamstrings and calves get some work but the focus is on the front of the thigh.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | RPE | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell back squat | 4 | 6-8 | 8-9 | 3-4 min |
| Hack squat or leg press | 3 | 8-12 | 8-9 | 2-3 min |
| Leg extension | 3 | 12-15 | 9-10 | 60-90 sec |
| Lying leg curl | 3 | 10-12 | 8-9 | 90 sec |
| Standing calf raise | 4 | 10-12 | 9 | 90 sec |
I want to say something about leg extensions because they get a bad rap. People say they are bad for your knees. For healthy knees, that is mostly a myth. A 2023 review by Pedrosa et al. found that leg extensions produced similar quad hypertrophy to squats when volume was equated. They are a perfectly valid exercise. If you have an existing knee issue, talk to a physical therapist. But do not skip them just because some guy on the internet said they will destroy your knees.
Push day 2 (shoulder emphasis)
This day flips the priority. Shoulders go first while you are fresh, chest work is secondary.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | RPE | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell overhead press (standing) | 4 | 6-8 | 8-9 | 3 min |
| Dumbbell lateral raise | 4 | 12-15 | 9 | 60 sec |
| Flat dumbbell bench press | 3 | 8-12 | 8 | 2 min |
| Pec deck or machine fly | 3 | 12-15 | 9 | 60-90 sec |
| Close-grip bench press | 3 | 8-10 | 8-9 | 2 min |
| Rope pushdown | 3 | 12-15 | 9 | 60 sec |
Four sets of lateral raises is not a typo. The lateral deltoid is a small muscle but it is the single biggest contributor to shoulder width. If you want that capped shoulder look, you need volume on lateral raises. I have some clients who do lateral raises on every upper body day. Six to eight total sets per week of lateral raises will transform your shoulders over the course of a year.
Pull day 2 (back thickness emphasis)
Thickness comes from horizontal rowing. This day is about stacking plates on rows and building that dense, blocky back.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | RPE | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell row (Pendlay or bent over) | 4 | 6-8 | 8-9 | 3 min |
| Seated cable row (wide grip) | 3 | 10-12 | 8-9 | 2 min |
| Lat pulldown (close/neutral grip) | 3 | 10-12 | 8-9 | 2 min |
| Rear delt fly (machine or dumbbell) | 3 | 12-15 | 9 | 60 sec |
| Incline dumbbell curl | 3 | 10-12 | 9 | 60-90 sec |
| Reverse curl | 3 | 12-15 | 9 | 60 sec |
I chose incline dumbbell curls here because they train the bicep in a stretched position (arms behind the torso). Maeo et al. (2022) showed that training muscles at long lengths produces more hypertrophy. Your biceps already got heavy work with barbell curls on Pull Day 1, so this session is about quality stretch and contraction.
Legs day 2 (hamstring and glute emphasis)
The posterior chain gets priority. Quads still get some work but the hamstrings and glutes are the stars.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | RPE | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanian deadlift | 4 | 6-8 | 8 | 3 min |
| Bulgarian split squat | 3 | 8-10 each leg | 8-9 | 2 min |
| Seated leg curl | 3 | 10-12 | 9 | 90 sec |
| Hip thrust (barbell) | 3 | 10-12 | 8-9 | 2 min |
| Leg extension | 3 | 12-15 | 9 | 60-90 sec |
| Seated calf raise | 4 | 12-15 | 9 | 90 sec |
Bulgarian split squats are miserable. I will not pretend otherwise. They burn, they challenge your balance, and you will be sore for two days after. But they are one of the best exercises for quad and glute development because they force each leg to work independently and they load the working leg through a deep range of motion. Suck it up and do them.
How to progress
Use double progression for everything. Pick a weight that puts you at the low end of the rep range. When you can hit the top of the range on all prescribed sets, add weight.
For barbell compounds (bench, squat, OHP, row, RDL): add 5 lbs per side for lower body, 2.5 lbs per side for upper body.
For dumbbell and machine work: go up one increment. If your gym has 2.5-lb micro plates, use them. The difference between a 50-lb and 55-lb dumbbell is 10%, which is a huge jump. Micro plates let you go 51.25 or 52.5, which is much more manageable.
For isolation work (lateral raises, curls, extensions, flyes): do not force weight increases. If you can get 15 reps with the 20-lb dumbbells on lateral raises, try the 22.5s or 25s. If the form falls apart, go back to 20s and add a set instead. Volume increases are progression too.
Managing fatigue on 6 days per week
This is the real challenge with PPL. Six training days is a lot, and if your recovery is not on point, you will feel like garbage by week 3.
Sleep. Seven hours minimum, eight is better. I cannot emphasize this enough. I had a client who was sleeping 5-6 hours and could not figure out why his PPL program was running him into the ground. We did not change a single thing about his training. He started sleeping 7.5 hours and within two weeks his performance was back up. Sleep is not optional.
Food. If you are training six days per week, you need to eat. At minimum, maintenance calories. Ideally a slight surplus (200-300 calories). Trying to run a 6-day PPL in a caloric deficit is a recipe for regression, illness, and injury. If you need to lose fat, reduce to four days per week and drop calories. Do not try to do everything at once.
Autoregulation. The RPE numbers I gave are guides, not commandments. If you walk into the gym on Pull Day 2 and 185 on the barbell row feels like it weighs 300 pounds, drop to 165 and get your reps in. One lighter session will not kill your gains. One forced session where you grind through heavy weight with terrible form might actually hurt you.
Listen to your joints. Shoulders, elbows, and knees take a beating on a 6-day program. If something starts nagging, address it immediately. Drop the aggravating exercise for a week or two and substitute something that does not hurt. Pushing through joint pain is how minor issues become chronic injuries.
Deload protocol
Every 4-6 weeks, take a deload week. Here is what that looks like:
- •Keep the same exercises and the same schedule
- •Reduce all working weights by 40-50%
- •Reduce volume by 30-40% (drop one set from each exercise)
- •No sets above RPE 6
This feels like a waste of time. It is not. The deload lets your connective tissue catch up, clears accumulated fatigue, and resets your sensitivity to the training stimulus. You will almost always come back stronger the week after a deload.
If you are the kind of person who hates deloading (I am one of you), think of it this way: you are not taking a week off. You are giving your body a week to consolidate the adaptations from the last 4-6 weeks of hard training. The muscle growth does not stop during a deload. If anything, it accelerates because you are finally giving your body the recovery it needs to actually build the tissue.
Run this PPL program for 12-20 weeks with deloads every 4-6 weeks. If you are eating enough and sleeping enough, your physique will change noticeably. This is one of the most proven training structures in bodybuilding and it has earned that reputation.