PrupPush pull legs routine
A push day (chest, shoulders, triceps), a pull day (back, biceps) and a leg day. Every muscle gets one thorough session a week in the three-day version, and two if you repeat it Monday to Saturday. It is one of the three routines in Prup onboarding.
The whole week
| Day | Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday — Push | Bench press | 4 | 5–8 | 2–3 min |
| Dumbbell shoulder press | 3 | 8–10 | 2 min | |
| Machine incline press | 3 | 10–12 | 90 s | |
| Lateral raise | 4 | 12–15 | 60 s | |
| Cable triceps extension | 3 | 10–12 | 60 s | |
| Dips | 2 | 8–12 | 90 s | |
| Wednesday — Pull | Deadlift | 3 | 4–6 | 3 min |
| Pull-up | 3 | 6–10 | 2 min | |
| Barbell row | 3 | 8–10 | 2 min | |
| Neutral-grip lat pulldown | 3 | 10–12 | 90 s | |
| Face pull | 3 | 15 | 60 s | |
| Dumbbell curl | 3 | 10–12 | 60 s | |
| Friday — Legs | Barbell back squat | 4 | 5–8 | 3 min |
| Romanian deadlift | 3 | 8–10 | 2 min | |
| Leg press | 3 | 10–12 | 2 min | |
| Leg curl | 3 | 10–12 | 90 s | |
| Standing calf raise | 4 | 12–15 | 60 s |
Why it is grouped this way
Pushing exercises share muscles: the bench press already loads the shoulder and triceps. Putting them on one day stops a muscle arriving tired at its main lift on another day, and leaves 48 clean hours to recover before it is hit again.
For the same reason the deadlift goes on pull day, not leg day: it is more back than it looks, and putting it on the same day as the squat usually sacrifices one of the two.
From 3 to 6 days
The six-day version repeats the cycle: push, pull, legs, push, pull, legs, rest. Drop one set from each main lift on the second pass and swap the variant: incline press for flat, pulldown for pull-ups, front squat for back squat. That gives every muscle 10–16 weekly sets, which is where hypertrophy pays off.
- When to move to 6: when you have trained six months or more, sleep seven hours, and the three-day version no longer leaves you sore.
- When not to: if three days is hard to keep, six only gives you a half-done week. Staying at three with more intensity works better.
How to progress
Double progression on everything: first fill the rep range on every set, then add weight. On the main lifts (bench, deadlift, squat) the jump is 2.5 to 5 kg; on accessories, the next plate or pin. Leave one or two reps in reserve except on the last set of accessories, where you can go to failure.
Inside Prup the coach reads every exercise in this routine and prescribes the next session with your numbers: you do not have to keep count.
Questions about this routine
01Does push pull legs work for beginners?
It works, but it pays less than full body: each muscle is hit once a week and a beginner learns faster with three. We recommend starting with the 3-day full body routine and moving to PPL at six months.
02Can I do PPL 4 or 5 days?
Yes: on four days, push, pull, legs, push one week and pull, legs, push, pull the next. On five, the continuous cycle with no fixed week. What matters is at least 48 hours between two sessions of the same group.
03Where do abs go?
At the end of legs or pull, two or three sets of plank, ab wheel or leg raises. They do not need their own day.
Adapt it to you
Tell the generator your days, your equipment and what hurts, and get this structure adjusted for you.
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