Build Full-Body Muscle

Are you weary of receiving subpar results? You can speed up your progress in the weight room with the “Push, Pull, Legs” (PPL) method without sacrificing time

It might be simple to become caught in the reams and reams of contradicting advice and dubious training personalities on social media when it comes to strengthening and growing muscle. The cacophony can be overwhelming with so many workout splits, food suggestions, and gym tips released hourly, especially if you depend on reliable fitness advice. However, if you browse through any bodybuilding forum or training blog, you’ll probably find one common workout technique that is supported by practically everyone: push, pull, legs (PPL).

The push, pull, legs method is straightforward, just like its name suggests, and it works for practically everyone in the weight room, from motivated beginners to jaded regulars trying to break through a training plateau. Therefore, if you want to try it, you’ve come to the proper location. Priorities first…

How does “Push, Pull, Legs” work?

It’s a full-body training split with a straightforward structure that targets practically all muscle groups to increase muscle mass on a given day of the week: either all of your lower-body pushing muscles (push), all of your upper-body pulling muscles (pull), or both (legs).

Push, pull, and legs exercises often use an alternating pattern to provide each muscle group enough time to recuperate in between sessions. Ideally, you should attend each session twice a week, but for those who are very new to working out in the gym, once a week may be sufficient (more on that below). A divide like this migh

Day #1, Push: Chest, shoulders, triceps

Day #2, Pull: Back, traps, biceps

Day #3: Legs: Legs, glutes and abs

Day #4, Push: Chest, shoulders, triceps

Day #5, Pull: Back, traps, biceps

Day #6, Legs: Legs, glutes and abs

Compound actions, or exercises that engage multiple muscular groups, are typically the focal point of push, pull, and legs workouts in order to get the most bang for your buck. Tom Hall, Third Space Elite Trainer and Education Co-ordinator, says that the push, pull, legs workout split is typically spread out across three to six days. If you really want to, you can cycle this into six days [per week] and do each day twice. You can do three days of push-dominant exercises, pull-dominant exercises, and all-leg workout

Legs, Push, and Pull: A Professional’s

Let’s start by exploring what makes the push, pull, legs methodology so well-liked now that you are familiar with it. In order to hit the muscle groups more regularly, Hall says that six days of exercise per week—especially if you’re bodybuilding—is necessary for effectiveness. The training split enables you to concentrate primarily on specific movement patterns if you only exercise three days a week, such as employing vertical and horizontal pushes or pulls in the same session and working your posterior and anterior chains in your legs in a different session.

Legs, Push, and Pull: The Advantages

“The major benefit is that PPL is simple. Everything you push, you do on one day, everything you pull, you do on another. Everything with your legs, you do with another,” Hall explains. “It categorises movement properly, too, so that you think about movement over muscle groups.

Who Should Avoid Push, Pull, Legs?

By this point it should be clear that there are plentiful benefits to a push, pull, legs training split. But, crucially, that doesn’t mean it’s a one-size-fits-all training plan. Instead, those looking to train using the PPL split should first take a beat to figure out what their schedule, equipment access and individual fitness level allows for. “Even three days a week could be a stretch. In that case, you may want to do full-body — doing PPL in one day for it to be the most optimal training for you — but, everyone can do it. If you’re time-poor, don’t do it. PPL is for people who can get in three to six sessions in a week.”

Push, Pull, and Legs Workout Exercises

Get set to commit? PPL involves more than just doing a series of exercises for an hour in the hopes of gaining muscle quickly. Instead, use Hall’s cheat sheet below for an accessible overview of push, pull, and leg training

The best pushing drills for PPL

Table Press

Lay back on a flat bench while maintaining an overhand, shoulder-width grip on a barbell in the rack above you.

Drive your feet into the ground to tighten your glutes and quads, and pull your shoulder blades back to reduce the route that the weight takes. Your chest, delts, and triceps’ neurological drive are increased as a result

With your arms fully extended, raise the bar off the rack and place it above your chest.

Inhale as you raise the bar to the starting position, then slowly drop it until it touches your chest in the middle.

As you exhale, concentrate on using your chest muscles as you quickly return the bar to the starting position. A rep is one.

Weighted Bench Press

Holding two dumbbells with an overhand grip over your chest while lying on a flat bench.

When your arms are straight, push up and then slowly lower yourself.

Vertical Press

1. With your palms facing forward, stand with your feet together and bring the barbell to your shoulders.

2. Rapidly raise the barbell above your head until your arms are completely extended, then slowly descend it.

Fortress Press

With the second arm out at your side and your feet in a staggered stance, raise the barbell to shoulder height.

Press the weight forcefully up and out in front of you. Your obliques will be working hard to keep you upright since one side of your body will be carrying more weight than the other

After pausing, raise the bar carefully to shoulder level.

Press Push.

Take a breath and engage your core as you place the dumbbells on your shoulders with the palms facing in.

Dip your knees and press your dumbbells above with the assistance of your legs. Repeat by lowering yourself to your shoulders under control.

Deadlift

With your hands about shoulder-width apart, squat while holding a barbell. As you lift the bar, keep your shoulders back, your chest up, and your eyes straight ahead

Keep the bar as near to your body as you can at all times, with your focus on shifting the weight back onto your heels.

Lift to the level of your thighs, pause, and then smoothly return to the starting position.

Pull-ups

With your arms completely extended and your palms facing away from you, grasp the handles of the pull-up bar.

Approximately shoulder-width should separate your hands. To raise your chin above the bar, squeeze your shoulder blades together, exhale, and press your elbows toward your hips. Return to the initial position while lowering under control.

lateral raises

Face aside when knelt in front of the cable machine. Hands should be shoulder-width apart and pointed away from you as you grasp the bar

Slightly recline and extend your chest. After lowering the bar to your chest, slowly raise it back to the starting position. Throughout, you should keep your torso motionless.

Your grasp will likely be the main limiting element for this exercise, as it is with other pulling moves. Drop the weight as soon as your grip breaks to continue working your lats and developing your back.

Bench Press Rows

Go to a flat bench and rest your straight-armed right hand against it beneath your shoulder.

Step your other leg out to the side while placing your right knee on the bench. Grab a dumbbell from the floor with your free hand and row it up to your side until your upper arm is parallel to the floor. Repeat by lowering gradually back to the ground.

Rows of Cable

With your hands spread wider than shoulder width apart, take the bar at the cable machine with an overhand grip.

Keep your back absolutely straight and bend forward at the hips until your torso is practically parallel to the floor while keeping your legs slightly bent.

Row the weight up into the lower area of your chest from here, then slowly lower it.

Weighted Back Squats

Hold a barbell across your upper back with an overhand grip while standing with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart. Do not lay the barbell on your neck. To work the muscles in your upper back, hug the bar into your traps.

Slowly squat down while keeping your back straight, head up, and bottom out. A deeper squat will be more advantageous, but work on your strength and flexibility first. Lower yourself until your hips and knees are in line with each other and your legs are at 90 degrees

To push yourself back up quickly, plant your heels firmly on the ground. One is to maintain form until you are standing up straight.

Backward lunges

Step backwards with one leg, bending the front knee till the back knee contacts the ground while keeping your chest up at all times.

Rapidly raise one leg, pause, and repeat with the other. Do a total of 12 repetitions.

Squat Split

With one leg resting on the bench and the laces down, stand facing away from it. Squat down till the knee of your trailing leg almost touches the floor with your standing leg.

To get back to the starting position, raise your front foot and push up.

Knee Thrust

Lie on the ground and cross your legs over a barbell. When you lie down, make sure the bar is directly above your hips and that your back is parallel to the ground.

Drive through your heels to lift the bar, concentrating on contracting your glutes to ensure that your hips move straight up and that your heels and upper back are supporting the weight.

After pausing, carefully lower the weight.

Greek Deadlifts

Pushing your hips back will help you lower the barbell to the ground while holding it in front of your thighs.

Keep your chest open and broad and your shoulder blades pushed in near each other as you reduce the weigh

To get back to the starting position, drive your hips forward until the weight is below your knees.

Broomstick swings.

Put a kettlebell in front of you, a few feet away. Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Lean forward and hold the handle with both hands while bending your knees.

Drive your hips forward, draw the kettlebell up quickly to shoulder height with your arms straight in front of you by contracting your lats while keeping your back flat (be careful with how deep you swing).

Without pausing, start over where you left off.

Legs to Push and Pull: Advice and Tips

Therefore, how many days a week should you devote to PPL’s church? It invariably depends on the person. According to Hall, “it depends on training experience.”

“People will be able to get going with PPL three times a week, but after a month or two they will want to stop and start doing other things, such as full-body exercises. However, you can train six times per week if you are in high physical condition and wish to do so; it will be a nice split to follow.