{ "slug": "ppl", "name": "PPL", "aliases": [ "push pull legs", "reddit ppl", "metallicadpa", "ppl split" ], "family": "lift", "heat": "high", "talk": "Lots of talk", "mostDiscussed": true, "firstLine": "PPL is a training split that groups pushing exercises, pulling exercises and leg exercises into separate sessions.", "whyLine": "People compare three-day and repeated cycles, exercise selection and how the sequence fits around work, travel and other training.", "feelWords": [ "PPL", "push day", "pull day", "leg day", "six-day split" ], "commonPicture": [ { "lead": "Six-day examples repeat two PPL cycles", "why": "Three-day versions complete one cycle; rolling schedules continue across calendar weeks. [community]" }, { "lead": "Session reports: about 45–75 minutes", "why": "Examples use 3–5 main-lift work sets and 2–4 accessory movements. [community]" }, { "lead": "Major movements often come before accessories", "why": "People keep enough of a template consistent to compare their progress. [community]" } ], "watchFor": "Doing this as week one. Skipping legs. Changing the split every Sunday.", "whatPeopleSay": [ "**The job:** A split they can remember without an app. [community]", "**Gym TikTok and X** still default to PPL. It is the wallpaper of 2020s lifting. [community]", "**Reddit PPL (Metallicadpa, 2015, still cloned)** is the free named template. Late beginner / early intermediate if they can train often. [community]", "**Once-a-week PPL** — one push, one pull, one legs, and call it a program — is the version coaches dunk on. Frequency is the point. [community]", "**Lift Vault 2026 PPL writeups** still say: not a true-novice first month. [community]", "**Why it’s loud:** people want a chest day that is not “full body again.” PPL gives them a named room. [community]", "**Recovery is the real split.** Week three is when sleep and food get veto power. [community]", "**Skipping legs** is so common it is a meme. Then they ask why the squat is stuck. [community]", "**Upper/lower** is the 4-day cousin when 6 days is a fantasy. See Upper / lower. [community]", "**Women’s PPL** threads look the same: compounds first, accessories they care about (glutes, back). The split is not gendered. [community]", "**Bro-split** (one body part a week) is the older cousin people graduate from — or slide back into. [community]" ], "howPeopleRunIt": [ "**Schedules vary:** three sessions can cover one push/pull/legs cycle; six can repeat it. Some lifters rotate the sequence across four or five available days. [community]", "**Push:** bench press or overhead press (OHP), a second press, lateral raises and triceps work. [community]", "**Pull:** row and a vertical pull, rear delts, biceps. [community]", "**Legs:** squat or hinge pattern, a second leg move, calves if they care. [community]", "**Add a little** on the main lift when the last set was clean. See Adding weight. [community]", "**Rest day** is a day. Two “light PPLs” is not rest. [community]", "**If they miss a day:** they do the next letter, they do not restart the week from Push. [community]" ], "amountsPeopleUse": [ "**Days:** **3** or **6** are familiar examples; a rolling **4–5-day** schedule can still be PPL. The sequence may cross a calendar week. [community]", "**Session talk:** about **45–75 minutes**. [community]", "**Main lift:** **3–5** work sets is the Reddit PPL band. [community]", "**Accessories:** **2–4** movements, not twelve TikTok finishers. [community]", "**Weekly frequency:** repeating the three-session cycle twice gives two dedicated sessions per group; one cycle gives one. A three-day PPL remains a split, and overlap between exercises complicates muscle-frequency counts. [community]" ], "howPeopleKeepIt": [ "**Same template for months.** They change accessories, not the letters. [community]", "**A written Push / Pull / Legs list** in the notes app. [community]", "**A rest day they defend** like a meeting. [community]", "**Food on the 6-day** — a surplus or at least maintenance. PPL in a huge cut is a different, crankier card. [community]", "**If life shrinks:** they drop to 3-day PPL or upper/lower. They do not “fail PPL.” [community]" ], "howItFeels": [ "**Week one:** “I have a plan.” The locker-room identity lands. [community]", "**Week three:** recovery catches up. They sleep and eat or they stall. [community]", "**Push day:** the fun one for a lot of people. Ego lives here. [community]", "**Leg day:** the one they move. Then they wonder why nothing grows. [community]", "**Six-on / one-off:** fine until a wedding weekend. Then the plan has to bend. [community]", "**The good version:** a little bored, a little stronger, they stop shopping programs. [community]" ], "howLongPeopleRunIt": [ "**Duration depends on the chosen program:** PPL names the split, so progression can change without changing the split. GZCLP is itself linear progression; 5/3/1 uses different template rules. [community]", "**Years** is common. PPL is a split, not a 12-week challenge. [community]", "**A cut** can keep PPL if volume drops. It does not have to. [community]", "**If they can only train 3 days,** they may be happier on full body. [community]" ], "deepDive": [ "**Metallicadpa PPL** was written as a linear-progression PPL for people who wanted more than 3 days. It is not “the” PPL — it is the named free one. [community]", "**Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower (PHUL), Power Hypertrophy Adaptive Training (PHAT) and upper/lower routines** are other named options people compare for strength and muscle-building goals. Their schedules differ. [community]", "**5/3/1 and GZCLP** are other named programming options. GZCLP uses linear progression, so their names alone do not establish a compulsory next stage after PPL. [community]", "**A bulk on PPL** is the classic gym year. See Lean bulk vs dirty bulk. [community]", "**Gym attendance and the split are separate:** the schedule says when someone trains; push/pull/legs describes how the exercises are grouped. [community]" ], "watchForLong": [ "**Not a first-week program** if they have never lifted. [community]", "**Skipping legs is not PPL.** [community]", "**Once-a-week PPL is a bro-split with better branding.** [community]", "**Changing the split every Sunday** is how nothing gets overloaded. [community]", "**Pain that stays in a shoulder or knee** is a person, not a new push variation. [community]" ], "related": [ "first-gym-week", "progressive-overload", "upper-lower", "five-three-one", "lean-vs-dirty-bulk" ], "researchPointer": [], "housePointers": [ { "href": "/fit/#full-body-three", "label": "STUDfit · Lift 2–4 days" } ], "playPointer": null, "sources": [ "r/fitness Metallicadpa PPL", "Lift Vault PPL 2026", "thefitness.wiki" ], "disclaimer": "Community talk may be wrong. Not medical, training, or diet advice. Sharp pain, fainting, or disordered-eating concerns need a clinician.", "quickAnswerHistory": [ { "field": "howPeopleRunIt", "rows": [ "**Pick 6 days or 3.** Do not invent a 4.5-day hybrid week one. [community]", "**Push:** bench or OHP, a second press, laterals, triceps. [community]" ] }, { "field": "amountsPeopleUse", "rows": [ "**Days:** **6** or **3**. **4** usually means they actually want upper/lower. [community]", "**Weekly frequency:** each muscle **2×** on a 6-day, **1×** on a 3-day — the 3-day is just full-body with extra steps. [community]" ] }, { "field": "howLongPeopleRunIt", "rows": [ "**Until adds stop** and they want a training-max program. Then 5/3/1 or GZCLP. [community]" ] }, { "field": "deepDive", "rows": [ "**PHUL / PHAT / upper-lower** show up when people want 4 days and a bench focus. [community]", "**5/3/1 and GZCLP** are the named next rooms on r/fitness when linear adds die. [community]", "**Self’s lift 2–4 days** is the habit. This card is the split. [community]" ] }, { "field": "commonPicture", "rows": [ { "lead": "6 days: PPL / rest / PPL or PPL / PPL / rest", "why": "The Metallicadpa / Reddit PPL picture. [community]" }, { "lead": "Or 3 days: one push, one pull, one legs", "why": "When life is not a 6-day week. [community]" }, { "lead": "Compounds first", "why": "Bench or OHP, row or pull-up, squat or hinge — then arms. [community]" }, { "lead": "45–75 minutes", "why": "Longer than a beginner full-body day because the accessory list grows. [community]" }, { "lead": "Same template for months", "why": "Program-hopping is how PPL fails. [community]" } ] }, { "field": "firstLine", "rows": [ "Push / pull / legs is the split people copy when they can train most days." ] }, { "field": "whyLine", "rows": [ "Push / pull / legs is the split people copy when they can train most days." ] } ] }