Push pull legs workout plan to copy
A PPL plan with six sessions trains each muscle group twice a week. Per exercise, 3 sets of 6 to 12 reps close to failure are enough. That gives chest, back and legs 12 to 18 direct sets per week.
The weekly schedule
Monday push, Tuesday pull, Wednesday legs, Thursday push, Friday pull, Saturday legs, Sunday rest. The exercises below are an example and can be swapped for equivalent variations, such as dumbbells instead of a barbell.
Days 1 and 4: Push (chest, shoulders, triceps)
- Bench press – 3 × 6–10
- Incline dumbbell press – 3 × 8–12
- Overhead press – 3 × 6–10
- Lateral raises – 3 × 8–12
- Cable triceps pushdown – 3 × 8–12
Days 2 and 5: Pull (back, rear delts, biceps)
- Pull-ups or lat pulldown – 3 × 6–10
- Barbell row – 3 × 6–10
- Seated cable row – 3 × 8–12
- Face pulls – 3 × 8–12
- Biceps curls – 3 × 8–12
Days 3 and 6: Legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves)
- Squat – 3 × 6–10
- Romanian deadlift – 3 × 6–10
- Leg press – 3 × 8–12
- Leg curl – 3 × 8–12
- Calf raises – 3 × 8–12
Why these numbers?
Reps. For hypertrophy, the ACSM recommends loads in the 1 to 12 rep range with an emphasis on 6 to 12 (ACSM, 2009). According to Schoenfeld et al. (2021), muscle grows similarly across a wide range of loads, but moderate loads are considered the most efficient approach.
Sets. With 3 sets per exercise, chest, quads and hamstrings get 12 direct sets per week and the back gets 18. That falls within the 12 to 20 sets Baz-Valle et al. (2022) give as a guideline. Arms and shoulders get extra indirect work from the compound lifts.
Effort. Sets should end close to muscular failure. The ACSM (2026) gives 2 to 3 reps in reserve as the target.
Rest. In 2009 the ACSM recommended 1 to 2 minutes between sets for hypertrophy. In trained men, however, 3 minutes of rest led to more strength and muscle growth than 1 minute (Schoenfeld et al., 2016). For heavy compound lifts, the longer rest is therefore worth it.
Progression. According to the ACSM (2009), load is increased by 2 to 10 % once you can do one or two reps more than planned.
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- American College of Sports Medicine (2009). Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41(3), 687–708. PubMed
- Currier, B. S., et al. (American College of Sports Medicine) (2026). Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 58(4), 851–872. PubMed
- Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., Van Every, D. W. & Plotkin, D. L. (2021). Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: A Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum. Sports, 9(2), 32. PubMed
- Schoenfeld, B. J., Pope, Z. K., Benik, F. M., et al. (2016). Longer Interset Rest Periods Enhance Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Resistance-Trained Men. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30(7), 1805–1812. PubMed
- Baz-Valle, E., Balsalobre-Fernández, C., Alix-Fages, C. & Santos-Concejero, J. (2022). A Systematic Review of The Effects of Different Resistance Training Volumes on Muscle Hypertrophy. Journal of Human Kinetics, 81, 199–210. PubMed