Workout Routine

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3 Day Push Pull Legs – Beginner PPL Routine

by Hardy

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3 day push pull legs routine with one push, one pull and one leg day a week. Each day starts with a heavy barbell lift and adds four smaller exercises.

Each muscle gets one hard session a week, so every session has plenty of sets. Hardy tracks every set and works out your next weight from the rules below.

Weekly structure

Train Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the order push, pull, legs.

  • Push: bench press 3×5, overhead press 3×8–12, incline dumbbell press 3×8–12, lateral raise 3×12–15, triceps pushdown 3×10–12
  • Pull: deadlift 3×5, lat pulldown 3×8–12, seated cable row 3×8–12, face pull 3×15–20, dumbbell curl 3×8–12
  • Legs: squat 3×5, leg press 3×10–12, leg curl 3×10–12, leg extension 3×12–15, calf raise 3×10–15

Rest about 3 minutes on the first lift of each day and 90 seconds on the rest.

Progression

Bench press, deadlift and squat use a working weight. Finish every set with all 5 reps and the weight goes up next session. Miss reps three sessions in a row and Hardy suggests a 10% drop for you to review.

Bench press goes up 5 lbs (2.5 kg). Deadlift and squat go up 10 lbs (4.5 kg).

Everything else uses double progression. Add reps each session until every set reaches the top of the range. Hardy then adds weight and you start again from the bottom.

Tips

Starting TM is 90% of 1RM.

Targeted muscles
front
back
Click a muscle to see how much a workout targets it
Unaffected
Light
Moderate
High
Very High

Workouts

Push

bench press

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
WW
120 lbs
5
180 sec
2
WW
120 lbs
5
180 sec
3
WW
120 lbs
5
180 sec

Overload: Working weight +5 lbs after every successful session.

Deload: Working weight drops 10% after 3 failed sessions in a row.

bench press

3×5

overhead press

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
–
–
8-12
120 sec
2
–
–
8-12
120 sec
3
–
–
8-12
120 sec

Double Progression: Work within 8-12 reps, adding one rep per successful session. At the top of the range, weight increases by 5 lbs; failing at the bottom decreases it by 5 lbs.

overhead press

3×8

incline bench press

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
–
–
8-12
90 sec
2
–
–
8-12
90 sec
3
–
–
8-12
90 sec

Double Progression: Work within 8-12 reps, adding one rep per successful session. At the top of the range, weight increases by 5 lbs; failing at the bottom decreases it by 5 lbs.

incline bench press

3×8

lateral raise

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
–
–
12-15
60 sec
2
–
–
12-15
60 sec
3
–
–
12-15
60 sec

Double Progression: Work within 12-15 reps, adding one rep per successful session. At the top of the range, weight increases by 5 lbs; failing at the bottom decreases it by 5 lbs.

lateral raise

3×12

tricep pushdown

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
–
–
10-12
60 sec
2
–
–
10-12
60 sec
3
–
–
10-12
60 sec

Double Progression: Work within 10-12 reps, adding one rep per successful session. At the top of the range, weight increases by 5 lbs; failing at the bottom decreases it by 5 lbs.

tricep pushdown

3×10

Pull

deadlift

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
WW
120 lbs
5
180 sec
2
WW
120 lbs
5
180 sec
3
WW
120 lbs
5
180 sec

Overload: Working weight +10 lbs after every successful session.

Deload: Working weight drops 10% after 3 failed sessions in a row.

deadlift

3×5

lat pulldown

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
–
–
8-12
90 sec
2
–
–
8-12
90 sec
3
–
–
8-12
90 sec

Double Progression: Work within 8-12 reps, adding one rep per successful session. At the top of the range, weight increases by 5 lbs; failing at the bottom decreases it by 5 lbs.

lat pulldown

3×8

seated cable row

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
–
–
8-12
90 sec
2
–
–
8-12
90 sec
3
–
–
8-12
90 sec

Double Progression: Work within 8-12 reps, adding one rep per successful session. At the top of the range, weight increases by 5 lbs; failing at the bottom decreases it by 5 lbs.

seated cable row

3×8

face pull

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
–
–
15-20
60 sec
2
–
–
15-20
60 sec
3
–
–
15-20
60 sec

Double Progression: Work within 15-20 reps, adding one rep per successful session. At the top of the range, weight increases by 5 lbs; failing at the bottom decreases it by 5 lbs.

face pull

3×15

curl

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
–
–
8-12
60 sec
2
–
–
8-12
60 sec
3
–
–
8-12
60 sec

Double Progression: Work within 8-12 reps, adding one rep per successful session. At the top of the range, weight increases by 5 lbs; failing at the bottom decreases it by 5 lbs.

curl

3×8

Legs

squat

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
WW
120 lbs
5
180 sec
2
WW
120 lbs
5
180 sec
3
WW
120 lbs
5
180 sec

Overload: Working weight +10 lbs after every successful session.

Deload: Working weight drops 10% after 3 failed sessions in a row.

squat

3×5

leg press

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
–
–
10-12
120 sec
2
–
–
10-12
120 sec
3
–
–
10-12
120 sec

Double Progression: Work within 10-12 reps, adding one rep per successful session. At the top of the range, weight increases by 10 lbs; failing at the bottom decreases it by 10 lbs.

leg press

3×10

leg curl

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
–
–
10-12
60 sec
2
–
–
10-12
60 sec
3
–
–
10-12
60 sec

Double Progression: Work within 10-12 reps, adding one rep per successful session. At the top of the range, weight increases by 5 lbs; failing at the bottom decreases it by 5 lbs.

leg curl

3×10

leg extension

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
–
–
12-15
60 sec
2
–
–
12-15
60 sec
3
–
–
12-15
60 sec

Double Progression: Work within 12-15 reps, adding one rep per successful session. At the top of the range, weight increases by 5 lbs; failing at the bottom decreases it by 5 lbs.

leg extension

3×12

calf raise

Set
Intensity
Weight
Reps
Rest time
1
–
–
10-15
60 sec
2
–
–
10-15
60 sec
3
–
–
10-15
60 sec

Double Progression: Work within 10-15 reps, adding one rep per successful session. At the top of the range, weight increases by 10 lbs; failing at the bottom decreases it by 10 lbs.

calf raise

3×10