The Best Push Pull Legs Programs in 2026: Nine Compared
Push/pull/legs splits training by movement: chest, shoulders and triceps on push days, back and biceps on pull days (often with the deadlift), and the rest of the lower body on leg days. Run twice, that is six sessions and a day off, with each muscle trained twice a week.
Which program is best depends on your days, level and goal. So instead of ranking by reputation, here is what the nine push/pull/legs programs in the depot.fitness library actually prescribe, counted set by set.
The nine, side by side
| Program | Level | Days | Weeks | Sets a week | Progression rule |
|---|
| PPL Beginner Program | Beginner | 3 | 8 | 41 | Reps or 2.5 lb when every set is done |
| PPL Fat Loss & Conditioning | Intermediate | 6 | 8 | 96 | Shorter rests, more work |
| Classic PPL Intermediate | Intermediate | 6 | 12 | 98 | Weight, reps or shorter rests |
| PPL Double Progression 6-Day | Intermediate | 6 | 10 | 100 | One rep per set a week, then load |
| Classic PPL Hypertrophy | Intermediate | 6 | 12 | 110 | Top of the range, then 2.5–5 lb |
| Push Pull Legs — Hypertrophy | Intermediate | 6 | 12 | 115 | 2.5 kg on compounds every two weeks |
| PPL Strength Powerbuilding | Advanced | 6 | 10 | 95 | Load or reps each week |
| PPL Strength Volume | Advanced | 6 | 12 | 104 | Vary main lifts weekly (heavy/moderate/light) |
| PPL Arnold-Style 6-Day | Advanced | 6 | 8 | 130 | Reps, then weight, on every lift |
Three things stand out.
- PPL is the six-day split. Eight of the nine run six days, and eight of the library's nine six-day programs are push/pull/legs.
- It carries the most work. The nine have a median of 100 working sets a week. The library as a whole has a median of 58, and upper/lower programs about 72.
- It needs a gym. All nine are written for a full gym, and every one uses a cable station.
What a PPL session contains
Across the 51 training sessions in the nine programs, the median session has 5 exercises and 17 working sets. Almost all have five or six exercises, 24 sessions each; the other three have four. Push, pull and leg days are about the same size: a median of 17, 17 and 18 sets.
The exercise choices are just as consistent:
- Push: eight of the nine open the first push day with the barbell bench press. All nine follow the opener with an overhead or shoulder press and a triceps exercise; eight add an incline press and lateral raises.
- Pull: the first pull day opens with a deadlift in five programs, a barbell row in two and a lat pulldown in two. After the opener, all nine include a row and a curl.
- Legs: eight of the nine open the first leg day with the barbell squat. Most then add a Romanian deadlift, the leg press, leg curls or extensions and calf raises, each in seven or eight of the nine.
Seven exercises appear in all nine programs: face pulls, lat pulldowns, seated cable rows, triceps pushdowns, biceps curls, leg curls and calf raises.
The usual complaint about PPL is that push day turns into chest day. Not here: chest presses and flies are about 40% of push-day sets, 117 of 295, and shoulder and triceps work makes up most of the rest. Pulling is not shortchanged either. In every program, pull days get as many weekly sets as push days, give or take three, and 13 of the 17 pull days include face pulls or rear-delt flies.
The second half of the week is not a repeat
A six-day PPL is not the same three sessions run twice. In all eight six-day programs, the second push, pull and leg day opens with a different lift from the first: 24 pairs out of 24. The second leg day opens with a front squat in six of them.
The second half also works in higher reps. The lift that opens days 1 to 3 has a median top of 8 reps; the lift that opens days 4 to 6, a median of 12. Four programs say so in their day names, marking the second half as volume or light days: Classic PPL Hypertrophy, PPL Strength Powerbuilding, PPL Strength Volume and PPL Double Progression 6-Day.
Rest follows the same logic. The first exercise of each session rests a median of 2 minutes; everything after it rests a median of 60 seconds.
PPL is mostly a muscle-building split
Eight of the nine are tagged for muscle gain, and the rep targets show it. Only 7 of the 276 exercise prescriptions in these programs are sets of five reps or fewer, about 2.5%, against roughly 11% across the whole library. Five of those seven are deadlifts. And 84% of the prescriptions top out at 10 reps or more.
If strength is the main goal, the split can still do it, but pick the program written for it. PPL Strength Powerbuilding is the only one that runs all three of the bench press, deadlift and squat in sets of 3 to 5, one on each of its heavy days. Strength comes from that main lift getting heavier over time.
How they progress
Every one of the nine writes down a progression rule. The most common is double progression, spelled out in four of them (one uses it for isolation lifts only): work up to the top of the rep range on every set, then add weight and start again at the bottom. PPL Beginner Program's rule, more reps or 2.5 lb once every set is done, is a looser version.
The others vary. Push Pull Legs — Hypertrophy adds 2.5 kg to its compound lifts every two weeks. PPL Strength Volume's progression note tells you to vary the main lifts week to week, for example a heavy, a moderate and a light week. The fat-loss version cuts rest and adds work rather than weight. Progressive overload covers double progression and the other ways to add work.
A program without a rule is just a list of exercises. Whichever you pick, follow its rule as written.
Which one to run
Pick by the days you can train every week.
- Three days: a three-day PPL trains each muscle once a week. A full-body program works the whole body every session, three times a week, and two are free in full: Full Body Starter and Classic 5×5 Strength (the free programs). PPL Beginner Program is still a reasonable way to learn the lifts in this layout: 41 sets a week, with a rest day written between each session.
- Four days: upper/lower fits better. Upper/lower vs push pull legs compares the two.
- Six days, building muscle: start with Classic PPL Intermediate: 12 weeks at 98 sets a week, progressing by weight, reps or shorter rests. Classic PPL Hypertrophy is the step up, at 110 sets a week against a median of 102 for the eight six-day PPLs, with a double-progression rule.
- Six days, strength and size: PPL Strength Powerbuilding, rated advanced. It has the fewest weekly sets of the six-day PPLs, 95, and opens each heavy day with sets of 3 to 5.
- Six days, most volume: PPL Arnold-Style 6-Day: 130 sets a week, 23 on each push and pull day. It is rated advanced for a reason.
A six-day PPL leaves one rest day a week. If some of your weeks will only have room for four or five sessions, the four-day upper/lower option above is the safer choice.
FAQ
Is PPL good for beginners?
It works, but it is not the best fit. The library's one beginner PPL runs three days, so each muscle is trained once a week. Beginners can still add weight almost every session, and a three-day full-body program trains each muscle three times a week, which gives them more chances to do it. Pick PPL Beginner Program if you specifically want to learn this split.
How many days a week is a PPL program?
Usually six: eight of the nine run six days, and PPL Beginner Program runs three. Spreading the six sessions over fewer days drops each muscle below two sessions a week. The upper/lower comparison above covers the four-day case.
How long should I run a PPL program?
The nine run 8 to 12 weeks: three run 8, two run 10 and four run 12. Run the whole block. Change programs when the main lifts have stalled for several weeks despite normal sleep and food, not when the sessions start to feel familiar.
Try one
Every program lists each session's exercises, sets, reps and rest. PPL Beginner Program is free in full: start day 1, no account needed. Day 1 of each of the other eight PPL programs runs without an account too.