Fitness

Push / Pull / Legs

Push/pull/legs groups muscles by what they do. Push day trains the chest, shoulders and triceps; pull day the back, biceps and rear shoulders; legs day the quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Run it three days a week, or six for twice-weekly frequency.

Frequency
3 or 6 days a week
Days
Push, Pull, Legs
Suits
Lifters with some experience who can recover from training each muscle group hard once or twice a week.

A sample week

  1. MonPush
  2. TuePull
  3. WedLegs
  4. ThuPush
  5. FriPull
  6. SatLegs
  7. SunRest

Push day

Chest, shoulders and triceps. Muscles: Pectoralis major, Anterior deltoid, Lateral deltoid, Triceps brachii.

Horizontal push

Pull day

Back, biceps and rear shoulders. Muscles: Latissimus dorsi, Rhomboids, Trapezius, Posterior deltoid, Biceps brachii.

Exercises for this day are coming soon as the library grows.

Legs day

Quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Muscles: Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Gluteus maximus, Calves.

Exercises for this day are coming soon as the library grows.

Who it suits

  • Lifters with some experience who can recover from training each muscle group hard once or twice a week.
  • People who like short, focused sessions with a clear theme each day.
  • Anyone who can train three or six days a week on a fairly regular schedule.

How it works

Each day trains muscles that work together. Pressing exercises share push day because the chest, front shoulders and triceps all extend the arm away from the body; rows and pulldowns share pull day; squats, hinges and lunges share legs day. The exercise lists below fill in automatically from each exercise’s tags, so new exercises appear here as their pages are published.

Run once through (three days) for a lighter week, or twice through (six days) to train each muscle group twice a week. Guidelines for healthy adults suggest split routines suit lifters past the beginner stage, with frequency rising as experience grows [1].

How to progress

  • Add reps, then load. Work within a rep range (for example 8–12 for most assistance work) and add weight when every set reaches the top of the range with clean form. Muscle growth happens across a wide range of reps when sets are taken close to failure [3].
  • Count weekly sets. About 10 or more hard sets per muscle group a week is a reasonable target for growth in trained lifters [2]. Running the split twice a week makes that easy to reach without long sessions.
  • Keep the first lift heavy. Put your main compound first each day (on push day, a flat press such as the barbell or dumbbell bench press) and use the later exercises for higher-rep volume.

Is three days a week enough?

For many people, yes. Three days trains each muscle group once a week; if you want more volume per muscle, either add sets per session or run the six-day version. Pick the version you can keep up week after week.

What if I miss a day?

Carry on with the next day in the sequence rather than skipping it. The order matters more than the calendar day.

Other splits

Sources

  1. Ratamess NA, Alvar BA, Evetoch TK, Housh TJ, Kibler WB, Kraemer WJ, Triplett NT. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687–708. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181915670Verified · checked 22 Oct 2026
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sports Sci. 2017;35(11):1073–1082. Verified · checked 22 Oct 2026
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508–3523. PubMed 28834797Verified · checked 22 Oct 2026

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