Upper/Lower vs Push Pull Legs: Which Split to Run
Upper/lower and push/pull/legs are the two most common ways to split a week of training. People argue about which one builds more muscle. Counted across the programs in the library, the answer is less dramatic: the sessions are nearly the same. The week is what differs.
The library has 8 upper/lower programs and 9 push/pull/legs programs. Here is how they compare.
A session looks the same in both
- Upper/lower sessions: a median of 5 exercises and 17 working sets.
- Push/pull/legs sessions: a median of 5 exercises and 17 working sets.
A push day is not longer or harder than an upper day. Both take roughly 45 minutes to an hour with warm-ups and rest.
The week is where they differ
| Upper/Lower | Push Pull Legs |
|---|
| Programs in the library | 8 | 9 |
| Days per week | 4 in 7 of 8 programs (one runs 5) | 6 in 8 of 9 programs (one runs 3) |
| Each muscle trained | twice a week | twice a week (on six days) |
| Median working sets per week | about 72 | 100 |
Both splits train each muscle twice a week. Push/pull/legs gets there with six days; upper/lower does it with four. The extra weekly sets in push/pull/legs come from the two extra days, not from longer sessions.
The one three-day push/pull/legs program, PPL Beginner, trains each muscle once a week. That is a reasonable way to learn the lifts, but it is a different thing from a six-day PPL.
Which one to run
Pick by the days you can actually train, every week.
- Four days: upper/lower. It gives each muscle two sessions a week with three rest days.
- Six days: push/pull/legs. More weekly volume, but only one rest day, so a missed day costs more.
- Three days: neither is ideal. A full-body program trains everything three times a week. How many days a week should you train? covers the trade-offs.
A four-day upper/lower you finish every week beats a six-day PPL you finish four days of. Missed days on a PPL leave whole muscle groups untrained until the next rotation.
Level
Both splits are mostly written for intermediate lifters in the library: 5 of 8 upper/lower programs and 5 of 9 push/pull/legs programs. Upper/lower has more beginner options (2 against 1), which fits: four days with rest between them is easier to recover from when you're new.
FAQ
Is PPL better than upper/lower for muscle growth?
Not by session. Both split a week so each muscle gets trained twice. A six-day PPL adds weekly volume (a median of 100 sets against about 72), which can help if you recover from it. How many sets per week explains how much volume is useful.
Can I run PPL on four days?
You can rotate push, pull and legs across four days, but then each muscle is trained less than twice a week, and the schedule shifts every week. Upper/lower fits four days without that problem.
Which is better for strength?
Both can be built for it. The library's Upper Lower — Strength Focus opens every session with a bench press, squat, overhead press or deadlift for sets of 3 to 5, and its PPL Strength Powerbuilding does the same on its three heavy days. Strength comes from that main lift getting heavier over time, which either split can do. Progressive overload covers how.
Try one
Every program lists each session's exercises, sets, reps and rest. PPL Beginner is free in full, and day 1 of any upper/lower or push/pull/legs program runs without an account.