Upper Lower vs Push Pull Legs: Why the Wrong Split Is Holding You Back

Can’t decide between an upper lower vs push pull legs split? Then read on…

Which workout split is better for you: Upper Lower or Push Pull Legs? For beginners, the Upper Lower split often wins due to its straightforward structure, manageable recovery time, and focus on key muscle groups. However, if the Push Pull Legs split is designed with the right intensity and volume, some beginners thrive on the variety and frequency the PPL offers. Ultimately, it’s about aligning the split with your goals, experience, and recovery needs to get the best results!

When it comes to building muscle and strength, choosing the right workout split is key. Both the upper lower split and the push pull legs split have their own strengths and weaknesses, and both can be incredibly effective depending on your goals, training experience, and recovery capacity. This guide will break down the benefits, limitations, and ideal applications of each to help you make the best choice for your fitness journey.

Check out this video from fitness YouTuber Michael Marmina for an excellent analysis of an Upper Lower split vs Push Pull split:

Upper Lower Splits: A Balanced Approach to Strength and Hypertrophy

The Upper Lower split divides your training week into workouts that focus on your upper body and lower body separately. Typically, you’ll train four days a week, with two upper-body sessions and two lower-body sessions, allowing each muscle group to be trained twice per week. This routine is commonly recommended for beginners because of its simplicity and efficiency, but it can be adapted for more advanced lifters as well.

What Does an Upper Lower Split Look like?

A traditional Upper Lower split involves four days of training, with a day of rest between most workouts. Here’s an example of how this could be structured:

Day 1: Upper Body A
Day 2: Lower Body A
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Upper Body B
Day 5: Lower Body B
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest or optional cardio

In each upper-body session, you’ll focus on compound movements like bench presses, overhead presses, and rows, while lower-body sessions revolve around squats, deadlifts, and leg presses.

Here’s an example of a workout for each session:

Upper Body A

• Barbell Row: 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Overhead Press: 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Lat Pulldown: 4 sets of 8-10 reps
• Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• EZ Bar Curls: 3 sets of 12-15 reps
• Triceps Pushdowns: 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Lower Body A

• Squats: 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Romanian Deadlifts: 4 sets of 8-10 reps
• Leg Press: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Calf Raises: 4 sets of 15-20 reps
• Core Work (Planks or Sit-ups): 3 sets of 30-60 seconds

The second upper-body and lower-body days (B days) would incorporate different exercises to avoid redundancy and hit the muscles from different angles:

Upper Body B

• Incline Bench Press: 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Pull-ups: 4 sets of max reps
• Cable Row: 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Hammer Curls: 3 sets of 12-15 reps
• Skull Crushers: 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Lower Body B

• Deadlifts: 4 sets of 5-6 reps
• Bulgarian Split Squats: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
• Seated Calf Raises: 4 sets of 15-20 reps
• Ab Wheel Rollouts: 3 sets of 10-15 reps

This routine allows for a mix of compound movements (great for building overall strength) and isolation exercises (targeting specific muscles), ensuring balanced development.

Pro Tip #1: Have a specific training emphasis for your ‘A’ and ‘B’ days. For example, your ‘A’ day might be for heavy lifting. And the ‘B’ day would be for lighter, higher rep training. Or you could do one day with dumbbells, and the next with barbells. You catch my drift.

Pro Tip #2: The choice and order of exercises for each day is also important. Take a look at Upper Body (A) and then Upper Body (B). For ‘A’ you are doing back, then chest, and then shoulders. For ‘B’ you are doing shoulders, then back, and then chest. Changing up the order makes sure you are not devoting too much attention to one muscle group. You have to spread the love around.

Why the Upper Lower Split Works

1. Training Frequency and Recovery

There’s been a lot of research done on training frequency in recent years. And it suggests higher frequency has benefits for strength, and to a lesser extent, hypertrophy (muscle growth). Though, this benefit seems to be greater in untrained individuals (i.e. beginners) than trained individuals.

The Upper Lower split strikes a great balance between training frequency and recovery. You’re hitting each muscle group twice a week, which research shows is an optimal frequency for muscle growth. This allows for enough volume without overwhelming the body’s recovery systems.

2. Efficient for Beginners and Intermediates

The straightforward nature of the Upper Lower split makes it perfect for beginners, who need to focus on mastering compound movements. It’s also a great option for intermediates who are starting to ramp up their training volume and intensity. The routine leaves plenty of time for rest days, which is crucial for those still adapting to higher loads.

3. Focus on Big Lifts

With the Upper Lower split, there’s a major emphasis on compound movements like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and rows. These exercises recruit multiple muscle groups and are excellent for both strength and hypertrophy. This is particularly advantageous for beginners, as they provide the most return on investment for time spent in the gym.

Who Should Use the Upper Lower Split?

• Beginners: The simplicity of this routine, combined with its effectiveness, makes it ideal for those just starting out.
• Intermediates: Lifters with some experience who want a balance of frequency and volume.
• Time-Conscious Lifters: If you can only train 3-4 days a week (which is plenty to see serious results), this is a highly efficient way to structure your routine.

Want to see the upper lower split in action? Check out this video by Buff Dudes Workouts, as they take you through a full upper lower routine:

Why Upper Lower Splits Make it Easy for Your Muscles to Recover

“Stimulate, don’t annihilate.”

Lee Haney (8x Mr. Olympia)

You ever had one of those brutal leg workouts where you can’t walk right for like a week?

Yeah, they’re not fun. And thankfully, with upper lower splits, you won’t have to worry about that. Because there’s no need to destroy each muscle group every time you’re in the gym. And this gives your muscles greater ability to recover. Cause screw not walking. I want to be able to get up from my computer chair without reeling in pain!

A lot of people overdo training volume and cut into their recovery. And this limits their gains.

But it’s much smarter to focus on a smaller amount of exercises (per muscle group). And work them a little more often.

Push Pull Legs (PPL): Optimized for Advanced Lifters

The Push Pull Legs (PPL) split is another highly popular routine, particularly among intermediate and advanced lifters. PPL divides your workouts into three distinct categories:

• Push: Exercises that target pushing muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps).
• Pull: Exercises that target pulling muscles (back, biceps, rear delts).
• Legs: Exercises that target the lower body (quads, hamstrings, calves).

One of the primary advantages of PPL is its ability to train each muscle group with more volume, while still maintaining adequate recovery time between sessions.

Unlike an upper lower split, which is pretty straightforward, the PPL has many variations. For example, you can choose to do each workout one time per week, which puts you in the gym three days a week.

Or you can choose to do a rotating PPL, which puts you in the gym 4-5 days a week. And then there is the classic three days on, one day off, rinse and repeat, which puts you in the gym a whopping 5-6 days a week.

How a Push Pull Legs Split Works

The PPL split can be done in a variety of ways depending on your goals and schedule. A common structure might look like this (6 days):

Day 1: Push
Day 2: Pull
Day 3: Legs
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Push
Day 6: Pull
Day 7: Rest

Or, this (5 days):

Day 1: Push
Day 2: Pull
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Legs
Day 5: Push
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Pull

Or, even this (4 days):

Day 1: Push
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Pull
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Legs
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Push

Each workout focuses on hitting the muscles from multiple angles, which allows for more comprehensive muscle development.

Here’s an example of a PPL routine:

Push Day

• Barbell Bench Press: 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
• Overhead Press: 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Dumbbell Lateral Raises: 3 sets of 12-15 reps
• Flat Dumbbell Triceps Extensions: 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Pull Day

• Deadlifts: 4 sets of 5 reps
• Pull-ups (Weighted if necessary): 4 sets of max reps
• Barbell Rows: 4 sets of 8-10 reps
• Face Pulls: 3 sets of 12-15 reps
• Barbell Curls: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Legs Day

• Squats: 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Leg Press: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Calf Raises: 4 sets of 15-20 reps
• Core Work: 3 sets of 30-60 seconds

Like with the Upper Lower split, you can change exercises between workouts to avoid stagnation and overuse injuries. For example, you might swap barbell rows for dumbbell rows, or leg presses for Bulgarian split squats.

Should You Deadlift on Leg or Pull Day?

This question comes up a lot, and the answer really depends on your preferences. If you really want to focus on upper back growth (lats, traps, etc.), then moving your deadlift to leg day is a good idea. This ensures you still have enough gas in the tank and grip strength to adequately hit your lats.

If you really want to focus on squats or growing your quads, then moving deadlift to your pull day is a better idea. This way, you won’t be exhausted for your quad-focused exercises like squats and leg presses.

Want to see the PPL in action? Check out this training video from 6x Classic Mr. Olympia Chris Bumstead:

Why PPL is Highly Effective

1. More Targeted Volume

The PPL split allows for greater focus on specific muscle groups, leading to more targeted hypertrophy. This is especially beneficial for intermediate and advanced lifters who need to hit muscles with more volume to continue progressing.

2. Flexible Structure

The three-day split can be repeated up to six times a week, offering maximum flexibility. For example, you could train three days a week if you’re short on time, or six days a week if you’re more experienced and your recovery is on point.

3. Ideal for Hypertrophy

By dedicating separate sessions to pushing, pulling, and legs, you can perform more exercises per muscle group, which leads to increased muscle engagement and better hypertrophy. The split ensures that each muscle group has adequate recovery time before being trained again, which is crucial for avoiding burnout and overtraining.

Who Should Use the Push Pull Legs Split?

• Intermediate to Advanced Lifters: Those with more experience will benefit from the added volume and recovery.
• Bodybuilders: If your goal is primarily muscle hypertrophy, PPL provides the volume and specificity needed to optimize muscle growth.
• Lifters with High Recovery Capacity: If you can train 5-6 times per week, this split is perfect for maximizing gains.

Looking to go even deeper into the different types of PPL splits you can do? Check out this in-depth article breaking it all down from A Workout Routine

Comparing Upper Lower and Push Pull Legs: Which is Best?

Now that we’ve explored both the Upper Lower and Push Pull Legs splits, let’s break down the key differences and how to determine which one might work best for you.

Training Frequency and Volume

• Upper Lower Split: You’ll train each muscle group twice a week. This is generally ideal for beginners and intermediates, as it allows for adequate recovery while still providing enough frequency to stimulate growth.
• Push Pull Legs: With PPL, you can train each muscle group 1-2 times a week, depending on how often you hit the gym. If you’re training six days a week, you’ll train each group twice. This makes PPL more suited for those with higher recovery capacities or more training experience.

Simplicity vs Specificity

• Upper Lower Split: Simpler to execute and plan, especially for beginners. You won’t have to worry as much about balancing different exercises across multiple days.
• Push Pull Legs: Offers more specificity, which is excellent for advanced lifters looking to focus on particular muscle groups. It requires a bit more planning but allows for greater volume.

Recovery and Adaptability

• Upper Lower Split: With more rest days built in, the Upper Lower split is more forgiving for those who need extra recovery. It also works well for lifters with busier schedules.
• Push Pull Legs: Recovery can become an issue, especially if you’re training six days a week. However, for lifters who can handle the volume, PPL’s frequent sessions make it ideal for hypertrophy.

The Wrong Split Can Sabotage Your Gains

Choosing the wrong split means your body won’t receive the appropriate stimuli for growth or recovery. For instance:

• If you’re a beginner, a Push Pull Legs split might overwhelm you. The volume can lead to fatigue, improper form, and under-recovery, stalling your progress.
• For advanced lifters, sticking to an Upper Lower split might not provide enough volume to trigger new muscle growth, particularly if you’ve already adapted to higher frequency training.

Ultimately, the wrong split can hold you back from reaching your potential by either under-challenging your body or over-taxing it.

Which Split Should You Choose?

At the end of the day, the best workout split for you depends on your specific fitness goals, experience, and how often you can train. Here’s a simple way to decide:

• Choose Upper Lower if:
  • You’re a beginner or intermediate lifter.
  • You want a simple and balanced routine.
  • You can only train 3-4 days per week.
• Choose Push Pull Legs if:
  • You’re an intermediate or advanced lifter.
  • You want to focus more on hypertrophy with higher volume.
  • You can train 5-6 days a week and have good recovery.

Both routines can be incredibly effective, so the choice largely comes down to your lifestyle and fitness level. Ultimately, the most important factor is consistency and choosing a routine that you can stick with long-term.

Want to know what type of sets to use to build quality muscle? Check out this post on Straight Sets vs Ramping Sets