Push Pull Legs routine: a free 6-day plan

Push Pull Legs splits your training by movement: pressing muscles one day, pulling muscles the next, legs the day after. Run the cycle twice a week and every muscle gets trained twice, with enough rest in between.

Days per week: 6
Level: Intermediate
Session: 60–75 min
Equipment: Free weight, Cable, Bodyweight, and Machine

Who it’s for

Lifters with six months or more of regular training who can get to the gym five or six days a week. If you can only train three days, run the cycle once a week: each muscle then gets half the sets below, which is enough to keep progressing early on but slower later.

Weekly schedule

Mon · Push
Tue · Pull
Wed · Legs
Thu · Push
Fri · Pull
Sat · Legs
Sun · Rest

Push

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Barbell Bench Press	3	6–10
Incline Dumbbell Press	3	8–12
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press	3	8–12
Dumbbell Lateral Raise	3	12–20
Cable Triceps Pushdown	3	10–15
Cable Overhead Triceps Extension	2	10–15

Pull

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Pull Up	3	6–10
Barbell Row	3	6–10
Seated Cable Row	3	10–12
Face Pull	3	12–20
Barbell Curl	3	8–12
Hammer Curl	2	10–15

Legs

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Back Squat	3	6–10
Romanian Deadlift	3	8–10
Leg Press	3	10–15
Lying Leg Curl	3	10–15
Standing Calf Raise	4	10–15
Hanging Leg Raise	3	10–15

Weekly sets per muscle

Counted the way Musclist counts them: a full set for the muscle an exercise mainly trains, half a set for each muscle that helps.

Muscle	Sets per week
Biceps	22
Triceps	19
Upper back	18
Front delts	14
Forearms	14
Chest	12
Lats	12
Quads	12
Hamstrings	12
Calves	11
Glutes	9
Side delts	6
Rear delts	6
Adductors	6
Abs	6
Traps	3
Lower back	3

How to progress

Use double progression. Each exercise has a rep range. Pick a weight you can lift for the bottom of the range with one or two reps left in the tank. When you reach the top of the range on every set, add the smallest step your equipment allows next session, and work back up.

Big lifts like the squat and bench press go up faster at first, small lifts like lateral raises slowly. That is normal: a 1 kg jump on a lateral raise is a far bigger change than on a squat.

Every 6 to 8 weeks, or when you feel beaten up and weights stall, take an easier week with about half the sets.

Run it in Musclist

In the app, open My routine and add one workout for each day: Push, Pull, and Legs, with the exercises in the order above. Musclist then suggests the next workout every time, starts each exercise from last time’s weight and reps, and shows the muscles you trained after each session. The app keeps the exercises and their order, not the sets and reps, so keep this page handy for those.

Questions

Can I do Push Pull Legs 3 days a week?

Yes. Train Push, Pull and Legs once each with a rest day between them. Each muscle is then trained once a week, so add one or two sets to each exercise if your sessions have the time.

Is Push Pull Legs good for beginners?

It works, but six days is a lot to start with. A full body routine three days a week trains each muscle as often in less time, and is easier to stick to while you learn the lifts.

Which order should I do the days in?

Push, Pull, Legs, then repeat, with a rest day after the sixth session. Push and Pull share few muscles, so they can run on back-to-back days.

Can I swap exercises?

Yes. Swap for an exercise that trains the same main muscle, like a chest press machine for the bench press or a lat pulldown for pull-ups. Keep the swap for a few months so your progress stays comparable.

Other programs

Not sure which one? Read How to choose a workout split.