Push pull legs is a training split that sorts the week into three session types by movement pattern. Push days train chest, shoulders, and triceps. Pull days train back and biceps. Leg days cover the lower body. Run the cycle once per week and it's a 3-day program. Run it twice and you get the 6-day version that dominates gym culture.
Why it matters
Grouping by movement pattern solves a real problem: overlap. Your triceps work in every press, so training chest Monday and arms Tuesday quietly hits the same tissue on back-to-back days. PPL keeps muscles that work together in the same session, so recovery windows stay clean.
The catch is frequency. The 3-day version trains each muscle once a week, which research suggests is below the sweet spot for growth. The 6-day version fixes that (everything gets hit twice) but demands six gym trips. Every single week. Most people can't sustain that, and a split you abandon in March builds nothing.
How to use it in training
Be honest about your schedule first. If you can truly train 6 days, PPL twice through is a proven setup: push, pull, legs, repeat, one rest day. If you have 3 or 4 days, you'll usually get more from full body or upper/lower, since plain 3-day PPL leaves each muscle waiting a full week.
There's a middle path too. Run the cycle on a rolling basis (train, train, train, rest, repeat) so each muscle comes back around every 4 or 5 days. It ignores the calendar week, and that's fine.
Related terms
Go deeper
Curious what the research says about training each muscle once vs twice a week? Read our full breakdown: Training frequency research.