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PUSH/PULL/LEGS SPLIT – STRENGTH AND SIZE

30 Comments Articles, Hypertrophy, Strength 17 June,

2018

One of the simplest yet rewarding routines out there is the

Push Pull Legs Split. It is an easy template mould which
harnesses all the required criteria for a balanced strength and
hypertrophy program, perfect for beginner and intermediate
lifters.

The split is based upon grouping exercises into three

categories:

Push: Upper-body movements that push away from the

centre of the body e.g. bench press
Pull: Upper-body movements that move resistance towards
the centre of the body e.g. dumbbell rows
Legs: Any movement which targets the muscles of the legs

Sets and Repetitions

As a general rule of thumb a single session should consist of
4-6 movements (exercises) and 16-24 sets. Here are the ideal
sets and repetition ranges you should perform for each
exercise:

1. Primary Exercise: focus upon strength = 3-5 Repetitions x 3-

6 Sets
2. Main Assistance: aimed towards improving strength in the
primary exercise, again, focused on strength and athletic
development with a little muscle building = 5-8 Repetitions
x 4-6 Sets.
3. Compound Mass: aimed to improve upon strength and
muscle weaknesses = 6-8 Repetitions x 3-5 Sets.
4. Mass Assistance: directed towards gaining muscle mass
and strength = 8-12 Repetitions x 3-5 Sets.
5. Mass: solely focused on muscle development and
conditioning = 10-15 Repetitions x 3 Sets.
6. Mass: solely focused on muscle development and
conditioning = 10-15 Repetitions x 3 Sets.

As you can see we begin with strength and athletic

development exercises that focus on low repetitions and
heavy weight which are used to develop strength. These
require the most amount of energy and technique; therefore
they must be performed at the start of the session. We slowly
fade into mass building parameters, focusing on slightly
higher repetitions.

Exercise Selection
Exercise selection is easy – on pull day you do pulling
exercises, on push day you do pushing exercises, on leg day
you do leg exercises.

You begin with compound movements and slowly move onto

isolation movements. Here are some exercises you could use:

D
a Primary Main Assistance and Mass
Mass
y Exercise Compound Mass Assistance
s

Overhead Press

Triceps P
Bench Press (and
ushdown
any variation e.g.
Push ups
close grip)
Bench Triceps E
Dips
Press xtension
Dips
P Dumbbell Bench
Cable fly’s Push ups
u Press
Overhea
s Fly’s Cable
d Press Incline Press
h fly’s
Skull crush
Push Pr Push ups
ers Fly’s
ess
Dumbbell Overhead
Pec Deck Dips
press (single or
double) Lateral ra
ises
Push Press

Floor Press

Chin ups

Pull ups Scarecro

Olympic Lifts ws
Shrugs

Deadlift Row
Rows (any type) Band-
Variatio variation
pull
P ns Chin ups (lighter)
aparts
u
Pull ups Pulldowns
ll Face
Olympic Shrugs
Straight pulls
Lifts
Rack-pulls arm
Curls
pushdown
Pulldowns (any arm
Face pulls work)

Band-pull
aparts

Glute-ham
Olympic Lifts
raises Sled drag
s
Split Squats
Pull-
Hip Trusts through Leg exten
Squat sions
Good mornings Swiss ball
Variatio
L leg curl Leg curls
ns Stiff-leg deadlifts
e
Reverse Glute-
g Lunges
hyperexten ham rais
s Olympic Step ups
sions es
Lifts
Leg Press
Lunges Swiss bal

Hack Squats l leg curl

Step ups
Glute-ham Raise Abdomin
Hip trusts
al work
Box Squats
Leg press

Push Pull Legs Split – Example

Plan
Here’s what an example push pull legs split may look like:

Push:

1. Primary Exercises: Bench Press (3-5 Repetitions x 3-6 Sets)

2. Main Assistance: Dumbbell Incline Bench Press (5-8
Repetitions x 4-6 Sets)
3. Compound Mass: Dips (6-8 Repetitions x 3-5 Sets)
4. Mass Assistance: Push-ups (8-12 Repetitions x 3-5 Sets)
5. Mass: Triceps Extensions ( 10-15 Repetitions x 3 Sets)
6. Mass: Triceps Pushdowns (10-15 Repetitions x 3 Sets)

Pull:

1. Primary Exercise: Deadlift (3-5 Repetitions x 3-6 Sets)

2. Main Assistance: Dumbbell Rows (5-8 Repetitions x 4-6
Sets)
3. Compound Mass: Chin ups (6-8 Repetitions x 3-5 Sets)
4. Mass Assistance: Face Pulls (8-12 Repetitions x 3-5 Sets)
5. Mass: Barbell Curls (10-15 Repetitions x 3 Sets)
6. Mass: Hammer Curls (10-15 Repetitions x 3 Sets)

Legs:

1. Primary Exercise: Squat (3-5 Repetitions x 3-6 Sets)

2. Main Assistance: Stiff-legged Deadlifts (5-8 Repetitions x 4-
6 Sets)
3. Compound Mass: Bulgarian Split Squats (6-8 Repetitions x
3-5 Sets)
4. Mass Assistance: Leg Press (8-12 Repetitions x 3-5 Sets)
5. Mass: Glute-ham Raises (10-15 Repetitions x 3 Sets)
6. Mass: Weighted Abdominal Rollouts (10-15 Repetitions x 3
Sets)

Push Pull Legs Split – 3 days vs

4 days
Push pull legs split can be put into a three or four day a week
program:

Day 3 Days a Week 4 Days a Week

Monday Legs Legs

Tuesday Off Push

Wednesday Pull Off

Thursday Off Pull

Friday Push Off

Saturday Off Legs

Sunday Off Off

Monday Legs Push

Tuesday Off Pull

Wednesday Pull Off

Thursday Off Legs

Friday Push Off

Saturday Off Push

Sunday Off Off

Both have their benefits, if your goal is purely strength and

size based or you’re going through a bulking phase, you may
find the four day a week to be beneficial.

However, I personally prefer the 3 day a week program as it

gives athletes plenty of time to work on skills needed in their
sport, as well as sprinting and other conditioning sessions,
while still gaining great amounts of strength and size.

If you’re an in-season athlete you’ll need something more

refined, get your free in-season programme here – Game
Ready: The Inseason Training Programme

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30 thoughts on “Push/Pull/Legs
Split – Strength and Size”
Pingback: 5 x 5 |

Fred on November 5, 2013

Reblogged this on and commented:
This is a great article to build your knowledge of exercising,
very comprehensive!
Fred (LHXC)

Pingback: 3 Principles of Progression and Training Success |

Jack Tyler - Fitness and Performance

Genas mousas on December 19, 2013

no shoulder press on push movement ?

jacktyler1 on December 22, 2013

Push press and overhead press are the two shoulder
movements in the push section.

Fred on December 26, 2013

@ Genas mousas there is als dumbell shoulder press so yeah
he has 3 big shoulder exercises listed there.

@ Jack, let me tell ya what I decided to do here. I am coming

back from a shoulder injury and am also at a stage in life
where time is at a premium and I have to be careful I get my
sleep. So I’m gonna use this routine as follows;

Starting out I am using light weight to ensure my shoulder is

rock solid. I am also using the min reps and sets you have
listed (except for deadlifts which I am doing 5 x 5 at moderate
to heavy weight). I am also only training 3 x/week for now.
As I get stronger I will use the wave method and increase the
sets and tweak rep ranges where it will benefit myself. As long
as the shoulder holds up I will work out to heavy weights at 3 x
a week for about 6 to 9 weeks.
After 6 to 9 weeks I will evaluate. Am I hitting a plateau ? Is my
shoulder healthy? Somehwere in the 6 -9 week range we
usually peak our strength levels. At this point I will taper the
wave back down to less intensity and restart with min
reps/sets again.

Also when I feel I can handle things timewise I will go from the
3 day to the 4 day routine thereby “kicking up a notch”
another way.

Question: I Did dead lifts and the next day I am feeling it but
knowing myself I am probably gonna feel it tomorrow even
more and its leg day tomorrow….. I though about doing Pull on
monday instead of push and keep legs on friday to avoid not
being fresh for leg day after crushing deadlifts. It just seems
like one day off in between back day and leg day doesn’t give
me the rest I need.

So what would be better, leave back day alone but just go

lighter on deadlifts to make sure Im not too wiped out for
squats 48 hrs later? Or just switch the push/pull days around?

Thanks !

Fred on December 26, 2013

Forgot this…..Or another option would be deadlift heavy then
squat light (or skip squats and do another exercise) one week
and then deadlift light (or skip deadlifts ) and go heavy on
squats the next week and keep alternating.?

jacktyler1 on December 29, 2013

First of all, if you’re short on time, I’d recommend cutting
some of the mass exercises out which are usually at the end
of the session. As these are more optional, not vital. Also, do
you know what your shoulder issue was?

In answer to your question – you can use the program in a

pull,push,legs order but personally I would look into your
dead-lift, the volume might be a bit much with 5×5. I would
reduce the overall volume by reducing the amount of sets and
reps, you don’t need to decrease the intensity.

Fred on December 29, 2013

No idk what exactly was wrong with my shoulder. My
chiropractor was one week away from sending me for an mri
when it started to feel better. It has progrssively gotten better
over the past few weeks as I slowly ramp up in weight and
intensity.

Concerning the deadlift you are most like correct. Deads are
my fav and when Im doing them I feel like an animal. I usually
end up going hard as hell and work my ass off. The next day I
feel wiped out and hungry !!! Sometimes I dont even sleep well
that night , even if I pulled early in the a.m.!

I like the idea of switching btween deads and squats on the

intensity level. week 1 heavy deads & light squats (or no
squats) week 2 Heavy squats & light deads (or no deads)
repeat.

Dom 'Mothwood' Halley on February 15, 2014

Hey! been deciding on a push pull legs routine for a while
now! and came across yours, looks great with in depth details
of what to do and why given me great info thanks you say
this is for beginners, what would you recommend for someone
who has more experience, been lifting over a year now,
SERIOUS hard gainer, now iv got my diet in check getting
strength is a slow but steady progress i’m just really struggling
with size! thanks again for the info i shall be looking at more of
your stuff
thanks
Dom

jtfitnessperformance on February 16, 2014

–

Cristian Donati on February 25, 2014

Rest between set?tank you

jtfitnessperformance on February 25, 2014

Generally:

Primary Exercise: 2-3minutes

Main Assistance/ Compound Mass: 90seconds- 2 minutes
Others: 30seconds-90sec

Nabeel on March 4, 2014

I specially go to my college gym because they have the trap
bar. I love the trap bar deadlift. When I am training legs can I
replace the split squats for the trapbar deadlifts? I am a
hardgainner, my trapbar deadlift is about 275 lbs for 6 reps. I
am 5`8, 140 lbs. If I do the 4 days program with full hard work
and keep my calories in the 3500-4000 range, will I gain
muscle? Keeping in mind that I will also be resting 8 hours,
taking protein shake(3 servings divided. upon waking up,
before workout, and after workout, and creatine(5-10 grams a
day. Upon waking up and post workout). I will highly appreciate
a reply. Also, I am confused on whether I am a beginner and a
hardgeinner or not because being a hardgainner is not at all in
my genetics. I can do 50 pushups, 20 pullups, I mostly do
compound movements. My squat went up from 115 to 155,
bent over row from 90 to 115. Chest press from 115 to 145. I
have been training for long but not with seriousness.

strengthnsense on March 7, 2014

Reblogged this on Strength and Sense and commented:
Thought I would re blog this post made me think about doing
Push Pull Legs.

Pingback: More Experimentation: Push, Pull, Legs | Strength

and Sense

strengthnsense on March 7, 2014

http://strengthstrategy.wordpress.com/2014/03/06/more-
experimentation-push-pull-legs/

I will be trying a Push Pull Legs in the near future. just thought
I would share. Thanks again for the great post!

jtfitnessperformance on March 7, 2014

–

jtfitnessperformance on March 7, 2014

Thanks for sharing on your blog mate. Just followed your
twitter, you’ve got some good stuff going on. Keep up the good
work.

Moving Along on March 7, 2014

Reblogged this on 6 month tranformation and commented:
This sounds pretty great, after my deload week next week I’m
going to give this a crack for 4 weeks. Focusing on the 3
sessions a week.

Moving Along on March 7, 2014

Hey man, thanks for this, looks great to me. Definitely going to
give it a try. Cheers.

jtfitnessperformance on March 7, 2014

Thank you! Good luck with it mate. Great to have a fellow
rugger on board!

Moving Along on March 7, 2014

Cheers man, just a quick question. I get alot of hamstring
injuries recently and it seems to happen usually after stiff leg
deadlifting. Any suggestions on another exercise to do instead
of them?

jtfitnessperformance on March 7, 2014

–

Moving Along on March 7, 2014

I’ve had a grade 1 tear in the left hamstring and an issue with
the area around the tendon insertion in the right one in the
last year. I’ve worked hard on flexibility in the last few months
and they’re feeling much better but still reluctant to go back to
stiff leg or romanian deadlift to be honest.

jtfitnessperformance on March 7, 2014

–

Moving Along on March 7, 2014

Cheers man, much appreciated

strengthnsense on March 7, 2014

Thanks! I shall do my best.

jtfitnessperformance on August 11, 2018

test

Anonymous on October 10, 2024

Hi ! Great article.. question – why would an athlete opt for
push, pull, leg split over 3 days of total body?

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