How to build a push pull legs routine that sticks
Push/pull/legs is the most durable split in lifting because it groups movements that share muscles, which means fewer wasted sessions and easier recovery. It is also the split most people over-complicate on day one and abandon by week four. Here is a version that survives contact with a real schedule.
Updated August 2026
The logic of the split
Push is everything where the weight moves away from you: chest, shoulders, triceps. Pull is everything where it moves toward you: back, rear delts, biceps. Legs is legs, plus whatever core work you do.
The reason it works is recovery. Your triceps get hit by every pressing movement whether you plan it or not, so pressing them into one day means they rest for two. Doing chest on Monday and shoulders on Wednesday trains the same triceps twice with no gap.
It also scales. The same three days can run three times a week, six times a week, or on a rolling "whenever I get to the gym" basis — which is what most people actually need.
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Get Superset freeHow to schedule it
Three days a week — Push, Pull, Legs, with rest wherever it fits. Each muscle group trained once a week. Fine for beginners and for anyone busy; it will not be optimal and it will still work.
Six days a week — Push, Pull, Legs, Push, Pull, Legs, one rest day. Each group twice a week, which is closer to the research on frequency. It is also a lot of gym time and the first thing to collapse when life gets busy.
Rolling — the honest option. Do the next day in the rotation whenever you train, regardless of what the calendar says. Miss Wednesday and you have not "missed legs", you just do legs on Thursday. This is the version that survives, and it is what Superset's planner assumes: it suggests the next session based on what you actually logged, not what day it is.
What goes in each day
Four to six exercises per session. More than that and the last movements are performed by a tired person going through the motions.
Structure every day the same way: one or two heavy compound lifts first, in the 5–8 rep range, then two to four accessories in the 8–15 range. The compounds are where progression happens and they deserve you fresh.
| Day | Compounds first | Then accessories | Sets total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Push | Bench press, overhead press | Incline dumbbell press, lateral raises, triceps pushdown | 14–18 |
| Pull | Deadlift or barbell row, pull-ups | Seated cable row, face pulls, biceps curl | 14–18 |
| Legs | Squat, Romanian deadlift | Leg press, leg curl, calf raise | 14–18 |
Building it, step by step
- Pick your compounds first — one press, one pull, one squat pattern, one hinge. Everything else is decoration around these four.
- Add two to four accessories per day for whatever the compounds miss: side delts, rear delts, arms, calves.
- Set a rep range per exercise and write it down. 5–8 for compounds, 8–12 for most accessories, 12–15 for isolation.
- Choose starting weights you can complete comfortably. Everyone starts too heavy. Leaving two reps in reserve in week one costs nothing and prevents a stall in week three.
- Put it in your tracker. In Superset you can paste the whole plan in as text and it builds the days for you — or pick the built-in Push/Pull/Legs starter program and let it suggest the next day.
- Run it for eight weeks before changing anything. Programme-hopping is the single most common reason people make no progress.
What makes people quit by week four
- Too many exercises. Nine movements per day means two hours in the gym and no session you can repeat when busy.
- Starting too heavy. Grinding week one guarantees a stall by week three and a sense of failure that is entirely avoidable.
- Treating the calendar as the plan. Miss Monday and the whole week feels broken. Rolling through the rotation removes this failure mode completely.
- No record of last week's numbers. Without them you cannot progress, and the session becomes exercise rather than training.
- Adding weight everywhere at once. Pick one or two lifts to push in a given week.
- Skipping legs. It is a cliché because it is true, and it is why the split has three days rather than two.
Frequently asked questions
How many days a week should I do push pull legs?
Three if you are busy or new, six if you have the time and recovery for it. The version most people stick with is rolling — do the next day in the rotation whenever you get to the gym, rather than tying it to fixed weekdays, so a missed session shifts the schedule instead of breaking it.
How many exercises per day in a PPL split?
Four to six, for 14 to 18 working sets. Start with one or two heavy compounds in the 5–8 rep range, then two to four accessories in the 8–15 range. More than six exercises and the last ones are done by someone too tired to make them count.
What is the difference between push and pull days?
Push days train everything that moves weight away from you — chest, shoulders and triceps. Pull days train everything that moves it toward you — back, rear delts and biceps. Grouping them this way means the shared muscles get trained together and then rest together.
Can beginners do push pull legs?
Yes. Three days a week with four exercises per session is a perfectly good beginner programme, and the split is easier to recover from than a body-part routine. The mistake beginners make is not the split, it is starting too heavy and adding too many exercises.
Do I need to follow the schedule exactly?
No, and trying to is why people quit. Run it as a rotation instead of a calendar. Superset's planner works this way — it suggests the next session from what you have actually logged, so a missed Wednesday just moves everything along by a day.
How long before I change the routine?
Eight weeks minimum, assuming you are still adding weight or reps somewhere. Programme-hopping is the most common reason lifters make no progress — the plan rarely needs changing before the progression on it has actually stalled.
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