The push pull legs and higher decrease splits are two of the most well-liked coaching routines—and for good purpose. Each are extremely efficient for constructing muscle and power.
However they’re not with out flaws.
Critics of push pull legs argue it doesn’t prepare muscle tissues usually sufficient for optimum development, whereas the higher decrease cut up falls quick if you wish to prepare greater than 4 days per week.
Happily, you don’t have to select one or the opposite.
Enter the “push pull legs higher decrease” (PPLUL) cut up—a 5-day program that mixes the most effective of each routines whereas eliminating their downsides.
On this article, you’ll be taught what the PPLUL cut up is, why it really works, and easy methods to use it to construct muscle and power.
Key Takeaways:
- The “push pull legs higher decrease” (PPLUL) cut up is a 5-day exercise routine that mixes the push pull legs and higher decrease splits.
- PPLUL organizes exercises by motion patterns or the areas of the physique being educated, with push, pull, legs, higher, and decrease exercises.
- Its principal advantages embody serving to you construct balanced muscle, coaching every main muscle group often sufficient to optimize development, conserving your exercises easy, and balancing quantity and frequency to make sure your coaching is top of the range.
- When you dislike the PPLUL schedule, the higher decrease push pull legs (ULPPL) cut up is a superb various.
What Is the Push Pull Legs Higher Decrease (PPLUL) Break up?
The push pull legs higher decrease cut up (usually shortened to “PPLUP cut up” or just “PPLUP”) is a 5-day power coaching routine combining the push pull legs and higher decrease splits.
PPLUL organizes exercises primarily based on the motion sample or space of the physique you prepare. The 5 several types of exercises within the PPLUL cut up are:
- Push exercises: These prepare all of your higher physique muscle tissues that push issues away out of your torso, equivalent to your chest, shoulders, and triceps
- Pull exercises: These prepare all of the muscle tissues concerned in pulling issues off the ground or towards your torso, equivalent to your lats, traps, erector spinae (decrease again), and biceps.
- Leg exercises: Leg exercises prepare all of the decrease physique muscle tissues, such because the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
- Higher physique exercises: You prepare all of the muscle tissues above your waist in an higher physique exercise.
- Decrease physique exercises: Decrease physique exercises are the identical as leg exercises.
Instance Push Pull Legs Higher Decrease 5-Day Break up Schedule
Most often, folks schedule the push pull legs higher decrease 5 day cut up like this:
- Monday: Push
- Tuesday: Pull
- Wednesday: Legs
- Thursday: Relaxation
- Friday: Higher
- Saturday: Decrease
- Sunday: Relaxation
Advantages of the PPLUL Break up
Let’s break down the important thing advantages that make the PPLUP cut up an impressive choice for gaining muscle and power.
Balanced Improvement
You give each main muscle group equal consideration with the PPLUL cut up. By dividing your exercises into push, pull, and leg days, adopted by upper- and lower-body classes, you keep away from overworking one space and neglecting one other.
This stability helps you construct proportional power and an aesthetic physique.
Optimum Frequency
You prepare every muscle group twice per week on PPLUL, which research shows is more practical for gaining mass and power than coaching them much less usually.
You additionally prepare completely different muscle teams on completely different days, giving every no less than two days to get better whilst you work on others. This minimizes your danger of struggling repetitive pressure accidents and ensures you can provide maximal effort in your exercises, which helps with progressive tension overload—the first driver of muscle development.
Easy Construction
The PPLUL cut up retains issues easy by focusing your exercises on motion patterns and concentrating on massive areas of your physique. An easy routine like this makes coaching extra pleasing, and while you take pleasure in your exercises, you’re much more more likely to keep on with them (and see outcomes!).
Permits for Excessive-High quality Coaching
While you prepare only one muscle group per exercise, its efficiency sometimes plummets earlier than your exercise finishes. To compensate, you often must elevate lighter weights or do fewer reps in your later units, which stymies your progress over time.
With the push pull legs higher decrease cut up, you by no means prepare anybody muscle group to the purpose of exhaustion. This lets you carry out high-quality reps with heavy weights all through all of your exercises, which is generally better for constructing muscle and gaining power.
The Greatest 5-Day PPLUL Break up for Mass & Power Achieve
Right here’s a superb 5-day PPLUL cut up for constructing muscle and getting sturdy.
It really works so properly as a result of it facilities round compound exercises that will let you elevate heavy weights and progress recurrently, in order that they’re splendid for gaining mass and power.
It additionally contains the right mixture of volume and intensity for getting greater and stronger with out sporting your self out.
Day 1: Push
Day 2: Pull
Day 3: Legs
Day 4: Higher
Day 5: Decrease
An Different to PPLUL: Higher Decrease Push Pull Legs (ULPPL)
The PPLUL cut up works exceptionally properly, but it surely’s not everybody’s favourite sequence. When you want a unique strategy, the ULPPL cut up is a strong various. It rearranges your coaching to start out with higher and decrease physique exercises, adopted by push, pull, and leg days.
There are two methods to prepare a ULPPL cut up:
- Rearrange the PPLUL exercises above to suit the ULPPL schedule.
- Alter the workouts barely to prioritize the most important, most taxing workouts earlier within the week while you’re freshest.
If the second choice appeals to you, right here’s an instance ULPPL exercise plan:
Day 1: Higher
- Flat Barbell Bench Press: 3 units | 4-to-6 reps | 3-to-5 min relaxation
- Pull-up: 3 units | 4-to-6 reps | 3-to-5 min relaxation
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 units | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-3 min relaxation
- Dumbbell Facet Lateral Increase: 3 units | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-3 min relaxation
Day 2: Decrease
- Again Squat: 3 units | 4-to-6 reps | 3-to-5 min relaxation
- Leg Press: 3 units | 4-to-6 reps | 3-to-5 min relaxation
- Bulgarian Break up Squat: 3 units | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-3 min relaxation
- Seated Calf Increase: 3 units | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-3 min relaxation
Day 3: Push
- Standing Overhead Press: 3 units | 4-to-6 reps | 3-to-5 min relaxation
- Incline Barbell Bench Press: 3 units | 4-to-6 reps | 3-to-5 min relaxation
- Dip: 3 units | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-3 min relaxation
- Overhead Triceps Extension: 3 units | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-3 min relaxation
Day 4: Pull
- Deadlift: 3 units | 4-to-6 reps | 3-to-5 min relaxation
- Seated Cable Row: 3 units | 4-to-6 reps | 3-to-5 min relaxation
- Lat Pulldown: 3 units | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-3 min relaxation
- Dumbbell Curl: 3 units | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-3 min relaxation
Day 5: Legs
- Entrance Squat: 3 units | 4-to-6 reps | 3-to-5 min relaxation
- Romanian Deadlift: 3 units | 4-to-6 reps | 3-to-5 min relaxation
- Lunge: 3 units | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-3 min relaxation
- Leg Curl: 3 units | 6-to-8 reps | 2-to-3 min relaxation
FAQ #1: Is the PPL higher decrease cut up good for freshmen?
Sure, PPLUL works exceptionally properly for freshmen. It’s an easy routine that balances quantity and restoration successfully, making it straightforward to observe and serving to you construct power and muscle with out overloading your self.
That stated, freshmen also can make glorious progress with fewer coaching days per week. If committing to 5 onerous coaching days weekly feels overwhelming, beginning with a much less frequent routine is perhaps a greater match.
RELATED: The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Weightlifting
FAQ #2: Is PPLUP higher than PPL?
It depends upon how usually you need to prepare. If you wish to prepare 5 days per week, the PPLUL cut up is superior to the normal 3-day PPL cut up as a result of it permits for extra frequency and quantity.
Then again, in the event you can solely prepare 3 days per week, the common PPL cut up is a more sensible choice.
That stated, you possibly can simply tweak PPL to make it a 5-day routine. In that case, the 2 applications are almost similar, so do whichever you favor.
RELATED: The Best Push Pull Legs Routines for Mass Gains
FAQ #3: Is PPLUP higher than the higher decrease cut up?
This depends upon your schedule and targets. An upper-lower cut up sometimes includes 4 coaching days per week, whereas PPLUL spreads your exercises over 5 days. The additional day of coaching permits for extra quantity, which ought to result in barely higher outcomes in the event you get better properly.
Nonetheless, in the event you can solely prepare 4 days per week, an upper-lower cut up is a superb various that may nonetheless ship spectacular outcomes.
RELATED: The Best 3-, 4- & 5-Day Upper Lower Workout Splits for Mass
Scientific References +
- “Comparison of 1 Day and 3 Days per Week of Equal-Volume… : The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research.” LWW, 2019, journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2000/08000/Comparison_of_1_Day_and_3_Days_Per_Week_of.6.aspx.
- Crewther, Blair, et al. “The Effects of Two Equal-Volume Training Protocols upon Strength, Body Composition and Salivary Hormones in Male Rugby Union Players.” Biology of Sport, vol. 33, no. 2, 6 Mar. 2016, pp. 111–116, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4885621/, https://doi.org/10.5604/20831862.1196511. Accessed 29 Apr. 2019.