Best PPL Split: Intermediate and Advanced Workout Plans

The best PPL split matches your training experience and the number of days you can reliably lift. The intermediate plan below repeats one Push, Pull, and Legs rotation over five or six sessions. The advanced plan uses six distinct A/B workouts for lifters with a proven ability to recover from more volume and complexity.

Neither plan is automatically better because it is longer. Start with the intermediate version unless your training log already shows that you can progress through high-volume six-session blocks without persistent performance loss, joint irritation, or missed workouts.

What is a PPL split?

PPL stands for Push, Pull, Legs:

• Push trains the chest, shoulders, and triceps.
• Pull trains the back, rear delts, and biceps.
• Legs trains the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.

After Legs, the sequence returns to Push. This makes PPL a rotation, not necessarily a Monday-to-Sunday prescription. A six-session week can complete Push, Pull, Legs twice. A five-session week completes five workouts and resumes with the next uncompleted session the following week.

Research does not show that the PPL label itself produces superior strength or muscle growth. A split is useful when it helps you distribute productive weekly training, maintain set quality, recover, and complete the plan consistently. Frequency is a scheduling tool; the exercises, working sets, effort, progression, and recovery determine what you actually adapt to.

Which PPL program should you choose?

“Advanced” describes demonstrated readiness, not how many years have passed since your first gym session. If the intermediate plan still produces measurable progress, it has not become ineffective merely because it looks simpler.

Intermediate push pull legs workout plan

Level: Intermediate Frequency: 5–6 sessions/week Time: 60+ minutes/session Best for: Intermediate lifters who recover well and want a high-frequency PPL without advanced isolation work. Description: A classic Push, Pull, Legs rotation with straightforward accessories. Repeat the three workouts twice for six sessions, or add a rest day for five.

The following prescriptions reproduce the intermediate program available in the app. All listed sets are working sets; perform appropriate warm-up sets before demanding lifts.

Push — Chest, Shoulders and Triceps

Pull — Back and Biceps

Legs — Quads, Hamstrings and Calves

One Push/Pull/Legs rotation contains 47 working sets: 16 on Push, 15 on Pull, and 16 on Legs. Completing the rotation twice produces 94 working sets. That is already substantial. Do not automatically add exercises or sets because another program advertises more volume.

Five-day intermediate schedule

This example illustrates the important point: five PPL sessions do not train every body region twice in each calendar week. The sequence rolls forward, so frequency balances across multiple weeks. If you miss Friday Pull, your next session is still Pull. Do not skip ahead to Push because a new Monday arrived.

Six-day intermediate schedule

This completes two rotations in seven days. It also places Barbell Deadlift on Pull directly before Legs twice. That ordering is part of the fixed program, so the answer is demand management—not silently moving the deadlift. Keep deadlift sets controlled, avoid turning every set into a maximal test, and assess whether grip, spinal erectors, or general fatigue reduces squat and Romanian deadlift performance the next day. If it consistently does, use the five-session rotation or add a rest day while preserving workout order.

Advanced push pull legs workout plan

Level: Advanced Frequency: 5–6 sessions/week Time: Often 60+ minutes/session Best for: Advanced trainees wanting a true twice-weekly PPL microcycle and able to tolerate greater volume, complexity, and exercise variety. Description: Six distinct workouts with heavier compounds and advanced accessories such as cable flyes, preacher curls, pullovers, and front squats.

The A and B sessions are not interchangeable grab bags. Preserve the sequence—Push A, Pull A, Legs A, Push B, Pull B, Legs B—so that performance comparisons remain meaningful.

Six sessions complete the full A/B microcycle inside one week. If you use five sessions, continue with the next lettered workout the following week rather than resetting at Push A.

Push A

Pull A

Legs A

Push B

Pull B

Legs B

The complete advanced microcycle contains 101 working sets: 20 on Push A, 17 on Pull A, 17 on Legs A, 15 on Push B, 16 on Pull B, and 16 on Legs B. That total is a workload to earn through prior training, not a target every intermediate lifter should aspire to.

Barbell Deadlift again occurs on Pull A immediately before Legs A. Preserve that order if you use this exact program. Because four sets of four can create meaningful systemic and posterior-chain demand, use technically repeatable reps and leave a margin rather than grinding. If the next day’s squat performance repeatedly deteriorates at matched effort, the program may exceed your current recovery capacity.

How hard should you train?

Begin most work at roughly two to three repetitions in reserve (RIR). In plain language, stop while you could still complete about two or three clean repetitions. This is deliberately conservative while you learn how the volume affects you.

You do not need to take every set to failure. Reviews comparing failure and non-failure training do not support blanket failure as a requirement for strength or hypertrophy, while repeated failure can increase acute fatigue. Stable machine or isolation exercises can sometimes be trained closer to failure once you understand your response, but that is not a reason to turn all 94 or 101 weekly sets into maximal efforts.

If estimating RIR is unfamiliar, use the RPE and RIR calibration guide before making effort-based changes.

How to progress the PPL program

Use small, conditional load increases:

1. Keep the exercise, technique, range of motion, and rest period consistent.
2. Complete the prescribed sets and reps at about 2–3 RIR.
3. When all sets are clean and the effort target is met across repeat exposures, add the smallest practical load.
4. If the load increase causes missed reps or grinding, return to the previous load or use a smaller jump.

The printed rep target does not require a load increase every workout. A set can improve through cleaner execution, more consistent bar speed, or the same performance at lower perceived effort. Read progressive overload beyond weight and reps for a broader framework.

Do not add sets as the default progression method. Both programs already contain high set totals. Extra work is justified only when your log shows stable recovery, adequate effort, and a specific muscle that is not progressing—not because soreness faded.

Rest and recovery

As a starting point, rest roughly three to five minutes for heavy barbell compounds, two to three minutes for other multi-joint exercises, and one to two minutes for isolation work. The correct rest period is long enough to reproduce the intended performance and technique. See how long to rest between sets for practical adjustments.

Review performance across several exposures. One bad workout can reflect sleep, food, stress, or ordinary variability. More concerning signs include repeated regression at similar RIR, persistent joint irritation, worsening technique, and dread that does not resolve after normal rest.

If fatigue accumulates across the program, first reduce effort or frequency rather than adding compensatory work. A planned deload week can help, but recurring emergency deloads suggest the baseline plan is too demanding.

Common PPL mistakes

Treating five days as two complete weekly rotations

Five sessions finish only one and two-thirds PPL rotations. Continue the sequence next week. Do not repeatedly omit whichever workout falls beyond Sunday.

Choosing Advanced for the exercise variety

Cable flyes and preacher curls do not confer advanced status. The advanced plan requires tolerance for 101 work sets and six distinct sessions. Use it because the workload suits your demonstrated needs, not because the exercise list looks more interesting.

Testing the deadlift on every Pull day

Deadlifts are placed before Legs in these programs. Maximal grinders can compromise the following lower-body session. Respect the prescribed reps, retain 2–3 RIR initially, and judge the sequence from logged performance.

Adding work before calibrating effort

A high-volume plan performed too easily can underdeliver; the same plan taken to failure can be unnecessarily exhausting. Establish repeatable RIR before changing the number of sets.

Forcing PPL onto a four-day calendar

PPL works best here when you can reliably train five or six times. Four reliable days often fit an upper/lower split better, while one to three days can fit full-body training. For a fixed five-day alternative, compare PPLUL and ULPPL.

Frequently asked questions

Is PPL good for building muscle?

Yes, PPL can support hypertrophy when it distributes an appropriate amount of hard training that you can recover from and progress. The split name is not the active ingredient.

Is PPL good for strength?

It can be. The programs include bench presses, deadlifts, squats, rows, and overhead presses. Strength outcomes still depend on lift specificity, loading, effort, rest, and recovery. These are general strength-and-hypertrophy templates, not competition peaks.

Is five-day or six-day PPL better?

Neither is categorically better. Five days offers more recovery but rolls across calendar weeks. Six days completes two PPL rotations weekly but carries greater workload and scheduling demand. Use the detailed five-day versus six-day PPL comparison to choose.

Can a beginner use this PPL split?

The exercises can be learned, but beginners usually do not need five or six long sessions. A one-to-three-day full-body program provides frequent practice with fewer moving parts.

What should I do if I miss a PPL workout?

Resume with the next uncompleted workout. If you miss Pull, perform Pull next rather than skipping to Legs or restarting at Push. If missed sessions are routine, choose a schedule with fewer required days.

How long should I run the program?

Run it long enough to evaluate repeatable performance trends—often at least six to eight weeks—unless pain, persistent regression, or schedule failure requires an earlier change.

The practical takeaway

The intermediate plan is the best starting PPL split for most experienced lifters moving to five or six days: it is repeatable, complete, and already supplies 47 sets per rotation. The advanced version earns its name through workload—101 working sets across six distinct A/B sessions—and belongs with lifters whose logs demonstrate that tolerance.

Choose one version, preserve the sequence, begin around 2–3 RIR, and increase load only when every prescribed set and rep is controlled. Consistency and recoverable progression beat collecting more exercises.

Sources

• Efficacy of Split Versus Full-Body Resistance Training on Strength and Muscle Growth: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis
• Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
• Resistance Training to Failure vs. Not to Failure: Effects on Strength, Hypertrophy, and Muscle Architecture
• Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men
• A Systematic Review of The Effects of Different Resistance Training Volumes on Muscle Hypertrophy