About this workout
Push/pull/legs run twice a week is the most efficient high-frequency split there is: every muscle gets trained twice, every session has a clear job, and nothing overlaps badly enough to wreck your recovery. This is a 12-week version with the progression written out, which is the part that is always missing.
Who This Program Is For
- You can genuinely train six days a week. Not 'I'd like to.' Six.
- At least a year of consistent lifting behind you.
- You want maximum muscle in a training week, and you have the recovery capacity to earn it.
Who this is NOT for: anyone with a demanding physical job, a newborn, or a sleep schedule they do not control. Six days of hard lifting on six hours of sleep is a fast route to nowhere. Run the 5 Day Muscle Building Split instead; it is not a lesser program; it is a different recovery budget.
Beginners should not be here either. You do not need six days to grow in year one. You need three good ones.
What You'll Need
- Full gym access
- Barbell, rack, bench
- Dumbbells, cables, pull-up bar
- Leg press or hack squat
- A training log. Non-negotiable on a program this long.
The Program
Run it Push / Pull / Legs / Push / Pull / Legs, then a rest day. The second rotation of the week uses different primary lifts and slightly higher reps; that is deliberate, not a typo.
| Day 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Push (Heavy) | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Barbell Bench Press | 4 | 5-7 | 3 min |
| Military Press (Overhead Shoulder Press) | 3 | 6-8 | 2-3 min |
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 3 | 8-10 | 2 min |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3 | 12-15 | 60 sec |
| Tricep Pushdown | 3 | 10-12 | 60 sec |
| Cable Rope Overhead Tricep Extensions | 2 | 12-15 | 60 sec |
| Day 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pull (Heavy) | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Bent Over Row | 4 | 6-8 | 3 min |
| Pull-up | 3 | 5-8 | 2-3 min |
| Seated Cable Rows | 3 | 8-10 | 2 min |
| Face Pulls | 3 | 15-20 | 60 sec |
| Barbell Curl | 3 | 8-10 | 60 sec |
| Hammer Curls | 2 | 10-12 | 60 sec |
| Day 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Legs (Heavy) | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Barbell Squat | 4 | 5-7 | 3 min |
| Romanian Deadlift | 3 | 6-8 | 2-3 min |
| Leg Press | 3 | 10-12 | 2 min |
| Lying Leg Curl | 3 | 10-12 | 90 sec |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4 | 10-12 | 60 sec |
| Day 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Push (Volume) | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 4 | 8-10 | 2 min |
| Incline Barbell Bench Press | 3 | 8-10 | 2 min |
| Machine Chest Press | 3 | 12-15 | 90 sec |
| Cable Lateral Raise | 4 | 15-20 | 45 sec |
| Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension | 3 | 10-12 | 60 sec |
| Tricep Pushdown | 2 | 15-20 | 45 sec |
| Day 5 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pull (Volume) | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Lat Pulldown | 4 | 10-12 | 90 sec |
| Chest Supported Row | 3 | 10-12 | 90 sec |
| Straight Arm Pulldown | 3 | 12-15 | 60 sec |
| Reverse Flyes | 3 | 15-20 | 45 sec |
| Incline Dumbbell Curls | 3 | 10-12 | 60 sec |
| Standing Cable Curl | 2 | 15-20 | 45 sec |
| Day 6 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Legs (Volume) | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Barbell Front Squat | 3 | 8-10 | 2-3 min |
| Hip Thrust (Weighted Hip Extension) | 3 | 10-12 | 2 min |
| Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 | 10-12 each leg | 90 sec |
| Seated Leg Curl | 3 | 12-15 | 90 sec |
| Leg Extension | 3 | 15-20 | 60 sec |
| Seated Calf Raise | 4 | 15-20 | 45 sec |
How to Progress
Twelve weeks, three blocks of four.
Weeks 1-4. Establish loads. Add reps within the range on every exercise. When all sets hit the top of the range, add weight next session and reset to the bottom.
Weeks 5-8. Same progression, but add one set to the first exercise of each heavy day (Days 1, 2, 3). Your heavy pressing, rowing and squatting goes from 4 sets to 5.
Weeks 9-11. Drop the extra set back off. Instead, take the last set of each day's first two exercises to one rep short of failure. This is the hardest block. It should be.
Week 12 — deload. Cut every set count in half and use 60% of your week 11 loads. Six days still, but easy days. Then reset and start over heavier, or rotate to a different split.
On adherence: twelve weeks is long. You will get bored around week 7. Swap accessory exercises freely — same movement pattern, same rep range. Do not swap the first two exercises of any day, because those are what you are tracking progress on. A program you enjoy and finish beats a perfect program you quit in week 5.
Warm-Up and Recovery Notes
Ramp the first heavy lift: 40% x 5, 60% x 3, 80% x 1. Nothing else needs a formal warm-up.
Because this program runs longer than 8 weeks, the week 12 deload is mandatory, not optional. If you feel beat up before then sleep quality dropping, joints aching, strength going backwards two sessions in a row- take an unscheduled easy week. Losing a week is nothing. Losing a month to an injury is something.
One full rest day per week. Walking is fine. Another training session is not.
Nutrition and Supplementation
Six training days a week means real food demand. Eat at maintenance or slightly above, 0.8-1g protein per pound of bodyweight, and do not try to run this in an aggressive cut; you will not recover, and you will lose the muscle you are training for.
Protein powder makes the intake target realistic. Creatine at 5g daily is the most well-supported supplement in this category. A pre-workout helps on days five and six when motivation is low. That is the honest list.
FAQ
Can I run this five days a week? Yes, run the six days in rotation and take rest days whenever they fall, so a 'week' becomes 7 days of training across 8 calendar days. It works fine; it just shifts the calendar.
Is twice a week enough frequency per muscle? Yes. The research on training frequency is fairly consistent that twice a week per muscle group is where most of the benefit sits, provided total volume is matched.
Why are the second push/pull/legs days higher rep? Because loading heavy twice in one week on the same pattern beats you up more than it grows you. The second rotation gets the volume and the metabolic work; the first gets the load.
Do I need to deadlift? Romanian deadlifts are in the program. If you want conventional deadlifts, swap them in on Day 3 in place of Romanian deadlifts and drop leg press to 2 sets.
What if I miss a day? Continue the rotation from where you left off. Do not double up.