Is push pull legs good for beginners?

It can be, but only if you train four or more days a week. On three days, a full-body plan trains each muscle more often and progresses faster.

How many days a week is push pull legs?

Three days for one cycle, or six for two cycles. Four or five days a week works if you rotate the sessions rather than fixing them to weekdays.

What order should push pull legs go in?

Any order works. Push, pull, legs is the usual sequence, but starting with legs is fine if that is what your week allows.

Can I add abs or cardio to a PPL routine?

Yes. A few minutes of core work at the end of any session, and cardio on non-training days or after lifting, both fit without disrupting the plan.

What if I miss a push pull legs session?

Carry on from where you left off rather than skipping ahead, so each session still gets trained roughly evenly across the month.

Push pull legs for beginners

Last updated 11 August 20268 min read

In short

Push pull legs splits the week into a pushing session for chest, shoulders and triceps, a pulling session for back and biceps, and a legs session. Run once through, it needs three days a week; run twice, it needs six. For most beginners three days is the sensible version, and a full-body plan on the same three days trains each muscle more often, so it is usually the better starting point.

Push, pull and legs, each once or twice a week
Three days works; six days is for later, not day one
Each muscle is trained once a week on a three-day PPL
Full-body training hits each muscle more often on the same three days

Push pull legs is the best known training split in the gym, and it can work well for a beginner as long as the number of days is realistic. This guide explains how it is organised, gives a full routine, and is honest about when a simpler full-body week is the better bet.

How the split is organised

Exercises are grouped by what the body is doing. Push covers chest, shoulders and triceps. Pull covers back and biceps. Legs covers quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Nothing overlaps, which is why the split is popular.

What belongs in each day
Day	Muscles	Typical exercises
Push	Chest, shoulders, triceps	Bench press, shoulder press, pushdown
Pull	Back, biceps	Row, lat pull-down, curl
Legs	Quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves	Squat, leg press, hip hinge, calf raise

A three-day push pull legs routine

1. Push day
Bench press or chest press 3 x 6-10, shoulder press 3 x 8-12, incline dumbbell press 2 x 10-12, cable pushdown 3 x 10-15.
2. Pull day
Seated row 3 x 8-12, lat pull-down 3 x 8-12, chest-supported row or face pull 2 x 12-15, dumbbell curl 3 x 10-15.
3. Legs day
Squat or leg press 3 x 6-10, Romanian deadlift 3 x 8-12, leg curl 2 x 10-15, calf raise 3 x 12-20.

Leave at least a day between sessions where you can, stop each set two or three reps short of failure, and add a small amount of weight whenever you hit the top of the rep range on every set.

Three days or six days

A six-day push pull legs week trains each muscle twice, which suits somebody with time, experience and reliable recovery. Very few beginners keep six sessions a week going for long, and a plan you abandon in a month beats nothing only briefly.

Three days: each muscle once a week, easy to sustain
Four days: rotate the three sessions, so the order shifts each week
Six days: each muscle twice a week, high time commitment
Missing a day matters more on a split than on a full-body plan

When full-body training is the better choice

On three days a week, a full-body plan trains every muscle three times rather than once. For a beginner, that extra practice at each movement is worth more than the tidiness of the split, and a missed session costs less.

A simple rule

Three days a week: choose full body. Four or more days a week and enjoying training: push pull legs makes good sense.

For how the other common splits compare, read workout splits.

For choosing the number of days honestly, see training frequency.

Common questions

Is push pull legs good for beginners?: It can be, but only if you train four or more days a week. On three days, a full-body plan trains each muscle more often and progresses faster.
How many days a week is push pull legs?: Three days for one cycle, or six for two cycles. Four or five days a week works if you rotate the sessions rather than fixing them to weekdays.
What order should push pull legs go in?: Any order works. Push, pull, legs is the usual sequence, but starting with legs is fine if that is what your week allows.
Can I add abs or cardio to a PPL routine?: Yes. A few minutes of core work at the end of any session, and cardio on non-training days or after lifting, both fit without disrupting the plan.
What if I miss a push pull legs session?: Carry on from where you left off rather than skipping ahead, so each session still gets trained roughly evenly across the month.