Blog · 5 November 2026 · 6 min read

Push pull legs vs upper lower: which split should you pick?

What a split is

A split is how you divide your training across the week. Instead of working every muscle in every session, you spread muscle groups across different days. Two of the most popular choices are push/pull/legs and upper/lower.

Push pull legs (PPL)

You group movements by their action:

• Push: chest, shoulders and triceps (bench press, overhead press, dips).
• Pull: back and biceps (rows, pull-ups, curls).
• Legs: quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves (squats, Romanian deadlifts, lunges).

Run it once through for three days a week, or twice for six days. With six days, each muscle is trained about twice a week.

Good for: people who can train five or six days and like focused sessions with plenty of exercises per muscle group.

Watch out for: the six-day version is a big time and recovery commitment. Miss a few days and the weekly pattern gets messy.

Upper lower

You alternate between upper-body days and lower-body days, usually four days a week: upper, lower, rest, upper, lower.

Good for: people who can train four days, want each muscle hit about twice a week and prefer a schedule with built-in rest days.

Watch out for: upper days cover a lot of muscles, so sessions can run long if you pile on exercises.

Side by side

• Days per week: PPL works at 3 or 6 (or 5 with a rotation). Upper/lower works at 4, and can stretch to 2 or 3.
• Frequency per muscle: six-day PPL and four-day upper/lower both train most muscles about twice a week. Three-day PPL trains each once.
• Session length: PPL sessions are more focused. Upper/lower sessions cover more ground each day.
• Flexibility: upper/lower copes better when life gets in the way, because skipping one day does not remove a whole muscle group for the week.

How to choose

1. Count the days you can realistically train every week for the next two months, not your best-case week.
2. If that is three days, try three-day PPL or a full-body plan.
3. If it is four, upper/lower is a solid default.
4. If it is five or six and you recover well, PPL is a natural fit.

Whatever you choose, give it at least a month and track your lifts so you can see if it is working. Our progressive overload guide explains how to make each week build on the last.

Following a split from a video

Many creators post their split in a series of short clips. FollowSet can turn those saved videos into workouts and group them into a program. You repeat two to four saved workouts across four to eight weeks with set targets, and the app logs every set so you can see the trend. See how to turn Reels into a gym log.