Why does this generator not offer a no-equipment option?

Because a pull day needs something to pull on. You can improvise pressing and leg work with bodyweight, but the pulling half of this split has no honest bodyweight version for most people, and a push pull legs plan that quietly drops pulling is not the split it says it is. If you have no kit, the home workout generator builds a bodyweight week that does not pretend otherwise.

Is push pull legs a good split for beginners?

It works, but it is not the obvious first choice. At three days a full body arrangement trains each pattern three times a week instead of once, which is more practice of each movement at the point where practice is most of the benefit. The generator will build you a beginner version, with the sets eased, if you want one anyway.

How long should a push pull legs session take?

Long enough to do the work with real rest between sets, which is why the shortest option here is 45 minutes. Cutting rest to fit a session into half an hour turns a strength session into a conditioning one, which is a fine thing to do deliberately and a poor thing to do by accident.

Can you run push pull legs on four or five days?

You can, by running the cycle continuously rather than fitting it to a calendar week, so your training days rotate through the pattern rather than landing on fixed days. This page builds the two versions that map onto a week cleanly. For four days that fit the same days each week, an upper and lower split is the tidier answer.

Should I train arms on their own day?

They are already in the split: pressing trains triceps and pulling trains biceps, which is one of the reasons the grouping works. If you want more direct arm work, add it to the end of the push and pull days rather than building a sixth or seventh session around it.

Free tools

Push pull legs generator

A push pull legs split built at three or six days a week, with alternatives for every slot. No sign-up, and nothing you pick leaves your device.

Days a week

Time per session

What you train with

Where you are

Your push pull legs week

3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s

Day 1: Push

Movement pattern: push, core

Barbell bench press
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Use a spotter or the safety pins; never bench alone with the clips on.
Swap options: Shoulder press machine, Dumbbell press on an incline, Dumbbell floor press
Cable anti-rotation press
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Stand side on to the cable and press the handle straight out in front. The work is in not letting it twist you.
Swap options: Cable woodchop, Mountain climbers, Hollow hold
Barbell overhead press
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Move your head back out of the way as the bar passes your face, then bring it forward.
Swap options: Shoulder press machine, Dumbbell press on an incline, Dumbbell floor press
Suitcase carry
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
One weight, one hand, walk slowly. The work is in not letting yourself lean over.
Swap options: Cable woodchop, Mountain climbers, Hollow hold
Chest press machine
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Set the seat so the handles are level with the middle of your chest.
Swap options: Shoulder press machine, Dumbbell press on an incline, Dumbbell floor press
Dead bugs holding a dumbbell
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Same as a dead bug, with the weight held straight up. Lower back stays pressed down.
Swap options: Cable woodchop, Mountain climbers, Hollow hold
Cable tricep pushdown
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Keep your elbows pinned to your sides and only your forearms move.
Swap options: Shoulder press machine, Dumbbell press on an incline, Dumbbell floor press
Side plank
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Stack your feet and lift your hips. Stop the set when your hips start to drop.
Swap options: Cable woodchop, Mountain climbers, Hollow hold

Day 2: Pull

Movement pattern: pull, core

Barbell bent over rows
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Hinge until your chest is about 45 degrees, then pull the bar to your stomach.
Swap options: Dumbbell pullover, Dumbbell rows, Dumbbell reverse flyes
Cable anti-rotation press
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Stand side on to the cable and press the handle straight out in front. The work is in not letting it twist you.
Swap options: Cable woodchop, Mountain climbers, Hollow hold
Lat pulldown
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Pull the bar to your collarbone and lead with your elbows, not your hands.
Swap options: Dumbbell pullover, Dumbbell rows, Dumbbell reverse flyes
Suitcase carry
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
One weight, one hand, walk slowly. The work is in not letting yourself lean over.
Swap options: Cable woodchop, Mountain climbers, Hollow hold
Seated cable row
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Sit tall and pull to your stomach. Do not rock backwards to move the weight.
Swap options: Dumbbell pullover, Dumbbell rows, Dumbbell reverse flyes
Dead bugs holding a dumbbell
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Same as a dead bug, with the weight held straight up. Lower back stays pressed down.
Swap options: Cable woodchop, Mountain climbers, Hollow hold
Cable face pulls
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Pull the rope towards your forehead and open your hands out as it arrives.
Swap options: Dumbbell pullover, Dumbbell rows, Dumbbell reverse flyes
Side plank
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Stack your feet and lift your hips. Stop the set when your hips start to drop.
Swap options: Cable woodchop, Mountain climbers, Hollow hold

Day 3: Legs

Movement pattern: legs, core

Barbell back squats
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Set the safety pins at a height that catches the bar if you cannot stand it up.
Swap options: Leg curl machine, Dumbbell Romanian deadlift, Dumbbell reverse lunges
Cable anti-rotation press
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Stand side on to the cable and press the handle straight out in front. The work is in not letting it twist you.
Swap options: Cable woodchop, Mountain climbers, Hollow hold
Barbell deadlift
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Push the floor away rather than yanking the bar up. Your back stays flat throughout.
Swap options: Leg curl machine, Dumbbell Romanian deadlift, Dumbbell reverse lunges
Suitcase carry
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
One weight, one hand, walk slowly. The work is in not letting yourself lean over.
Swap options: Cable woodchop, Mountain climbers, Hollow hold
Barbell hip thrust
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Shoulders on a bench, bar across your hips, and squeeze at the top with your ribs down.
Swap options: Leg curl machine, Dumbbell Romanian deadlift, Dumbbell reverse lunges
Dead bugs holding a dumbbell
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Same as a dead bug, with the weight held straight up. Lower back stays pressed down.
Swap options: Cable woodchop, Mountain climbers, Hollow hold
Leg press
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Lower until your knees are at about a right angle. Do not let your hips curl off the pad.
Swap options: Leg curl machine, Dumbbell Romanian deadlift, Dumbbell reverse lunges
Side plank
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps · Rest 90s
Stack your feet and lift your hips. Stop the set when your hips start to drop.
Swap options: Cable woodchop, Mountain climbers, Hollow hold

There is no bodyweight option here on purpose. A pull day needs something to pull on, and a split that cannot train pulling is not push pull legs. If you have no kit, the home workout generator builds an honest bodyweight week instead.

What push pull legs actually is

A way of grouping a week by what the movement does rather than by which muscle it hits. Pressing work goes on one day, pulling work on another, and everything from the hips down on a third. Muscles that assist each other get trained together and then get left alone, which is the whole argument for it.

That grouping is also what makes it easy to run. You never have to work out whether yesterday's session has left you short for today's, because the answer is built into the arrangement.

Three days or six, and who each suits

Three days is one cycle a week: each pattern gets trained once, and the sessions have to carry enough work to be worth it. It is the version that survives contact with a normal week, and it is where most people should start.

Six days is two cycles, with each pattern coming round twice. More frequency, less per session, and far less slack: miss two days and the week has lost a whole cycle. The honest question is not which is better, it is which one you will still be running next month.

Why the order matters

Push before pull before legs is the conventional order, and the reason is boring and practical: pressing leaves your triceps and shoulders tired, pulling leaves your biceps and grip tired, and legs need neither. Run it the other way and your grip is the thing that ends your pulling day.

Where the rest days fall matters more than the order does. On six days the usual arrangement is one day off after each full cycle rather than a single long break at the end of the week.

When push pull legs stops being the right split

When the week stops fitting. Three days is a low frequency for any one pattern, and six days is a lot of sessions to protect. If you can reliably train four days, an upper and lower arrangement fits that number better than a cycle that does not divide into it.

Common questions

Why does this generator not offer a no-equipment option?: Because a pull day needs something to pull on. You can improvise pressing and leg work with bodyweight, but the pulling half of this split has no honest bodyweight version for most people, and a push pull legs plan that quietly drops pulling is not the split it says it is. If you have no kit, the home workout generator builds a bodyweight week that does not pretend otherwise.
Is push pull legs a good split for beginners?: It works, but it is not the obvious first choice. At three days a full body arrangement trains each pattern three times a week instead of once, which is more practice of each movement at the point where practice is most of the benefit. The generator will build you a beginner version, with the sets eased, if you want one anyway.
How long should a push pull legs session take?: Long enough to do the work with real rest between sets, which is why the shortest option here is 45 minutes. Cutting rest to fit a session into half an hour turns a strength session into a conditioning one, which is a fine thing to do deliberately and a poor thing to do by accident.
Can you run push pull legs on four or five days?: You can, by running the cycle continuously rather than fitting it to a calendar week, so your training days rotate through the pattern rather than landing on fixed days. This page builds the two versions that map onto a week cleanly. For four days that fit the same days each week, an upper and lower split is the tidier answer.
Should I train arms on their own day?: They are already in the split: pressing trains triceps and pulling trains biceps, which is one of the reasons the grouping works. If you want more direct arm work, add it to the end of the push and pull days rather than building a sixth or seventh session around it.

The split is fixed. Your recovery is not.

A generated week assumes every week is the same one. The thing that actually decides whether six days works for you is how you recover, and that changes with sleep, work and how hard the last session was. Trael reads that from your check-ins and moves the volume rather than leaving you to guess. See what it costs.

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Where the numbers come from

All free tools - the rest of the free calculators and generators
Free workout plan generator - if you would rather the split was chosen from the days you have
Home workout generator, no equipment - the honest bodyweight week, for when there is no kit
Personal trainer cost calculator - What a personal trainer costs a month and a year at UK rates, next to what an app costs.

Trael provides general fitness guidance only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a doctor before starting any exercise or diet programme.