6-Day Push Pull Legs Plan
The classic high-frequency push/pull/legs split run six days a week. Each muscle group trained twice, high volume, built for advanced lifters with the recovery capacity to handle it. Progressive overload across two phases.
Program Overview
This is a high-frequency, high-volume hypertrophy program built around the push/pull/legs split. Six training days per week, each muscle group trained twice, with enough total volume to drive growth in an advanced lifter who has earned the recovery capacity to handle it.
The structure divides your body into three sessions. Push covers chest, shoulders, and triceps. Pull covers back, rear delts, and biceps. Legs covers quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. You run each session twice per week, with the A and B versions using different exercises and rep ranges to hit each muscle from multiple angles.
Each session takes roughly 60 to 75 minutes. This is a demanding schedule. Six days of training only works if your sleep, nutrition, and recovery are dialled in. If they are not, a four-day split will out-perform this every time.
Six days a week with this volume is only appropriate for advanced lifters with years of consistent training and excellent recovery habits. If your sleep is inconsistent, your nutrition is not locked in, or you have under two to three years of serious training behind you, you will grow faster on a four-day program. More training is not better; more training you can recover from is better.
Who Is This For?
This program is for advanced lifters who want maximum training frequency and volume for muscle growth.
This plan is right for you if:
- You have at least two to three years of consistent, structured training
- You can commit to six gym sessions per week for 8 weeks
- Your sleep and nutrition are genuinely dialled in
- You recover well and rarely feel run down from training
- You want high frequency and high volume, not minimal effective dose
If you have under two to three years of serious training, or your recovery is not rock solid, start with our 4-day muscle gain plans. You will make faster progress on volume you can actually recover from, and you can return to a 6-day split once you have built the base and the habits to support it.
Weekly Schedule
Phase 1: Accumulate Volume (Weeks 1-4)
Six sessions per week. The A sessions lead with heavier compound work at moderate rep ranges. The B sessions use different exercises at higher rep ranges to accumulate volume from new angles. Rest periods run 2 to 3 minutes on compounds and 60 to 90 seconds on isolation work. Manage your fatigue carefully; this is a lot of weekly volume.
Start with 2 to 3 reps in reserve on compounds and 1 to 2 on isolation work. Across six sessions the fatigue adds up fast, so do not chase failure early. Add weight the next session whenever you hit the top of the rep range on all sets. If you feel your performance sliding across the week, you are running ahead of your recovery; hold your weights before you push again.
Flat bench, grip slightly wider than shoulder width. Lower to your chest under control, press to lockout. The primary horizontal push.
Seated with back support, dumbbells at shoulder height. Press overhead to lockout, lower with control.
Bench at 30 to 45 degrees, dumbbells at shoulder level. Press up, lower to a deep stretch. Emphasises the upper chest.
Dumbbells at your sides, slight elbow bend. Raise to shoulder height with a slight elbow bend, lower with control.
Face away from a low cable, rope overhead. Extend your arms by pressing the rope forward and up.
Hinge at the hips with a flat back. Row the bar to your lower chest, squeeze, lower with control. Your primary back thickness builder.
Grip slightly wider than shoulder width. Pull to your upper chest, driving your elbows down and back. One-second squeeze at the bottom.
Sit tall, pull the handle to your lower chest, one-second squeeze at peak contraction on every rep.
Hinge forward slightly holding dumbbells, pull them toward your face with elbows high and wide, squeezing your rear delts, then lower with control.
Incline bench at 45 degrees, dumbbells hanging at full extension. Curl up without swinging, lower with a three-second descent.
Bar on your upper back, feet shoulder width. Brace, squat to at least parallel, drive up through your mid-foot. The primary quad and glute builder.
Feet hip width, bar in front of your thighs. Push your hips back with a soft knee bend, lower to a deep hamstring stretch, drive hips forward to return.
Upper back on a bench, barbell across your hips with a pad. Drive up to a straight line from shoulders to knees, hold two seconds at the top.
Rear foot on a bench, dumbbells at your sides. Lower straight down, drive through the front heel. The video shows the bodyweight version; add dumbbells for load.
Standing on a step, lower your heels for a full stretch, drive onto your toes, hold at the top.
Barbell on an incline bench at 30 degrees. Lower to your upper chest, press to lockout.
Seated with back support, dumbbells at shoulder height. Press to lockout, lower with control.
Between cable columns, handles at chest height. Bring your hands together with a slight elbow bend, return with control.
Dumbbells at your sides, slight elbow bend. Raise to shoulder height with a slight elbow bend, lower with control.
Rope on a high cable. Push down and spread the rope at the bottom, squeeze your triceps, return with control.
Hang from a bar, pull your chin over the bar driving your elbows down, lower with control. Add weight with a belt if bodyweight is easy.
Chest-down on an incline bench, dumbbells hanging. Row both to your hips, squeeze, lower with control.
High cable, straight arms, bar or rope. Pull down to your thighs by driving through your lats, keeping your arms straight.
Hinge forward slightly holding dumbbells, pull them toward your face with elbows high and wide, squeezing your rear delts, then lower with control.
Rope on a low cable, neutral grip (palms facing each other). Curl up, squeeze, lower with control.
Front foot on a small step or plate, rear foot behind. Lower straight down; the elevation extends the range and increases the glute stretch. The video shows the bodyweight version; add dumbbells for load.
Facing away from a low cable, rope between your legs. Hinge at the hips, then drive them forward and squeeze your glutes at lockout.
Sit in the machine, pad on your shins. Extend to full lockout, squeeze your quads, lower with control.
Face down in the machine, pad on your lower calves. Curl your heels toward your glutes, squeeze, lower with control.
Same as Legs A. Two sessions per week at this volume is the minimum for meaningful calf development.
Phase 2: Intensify (Weeks 5-8)
Phase 2 adds a set to the primary compound in each A session and pushes the rep ranges down slightly to allow heavier loading. The B sessions hold their volume but drop reps for heavier weights. The sessions get harder through load, not through more exercises. Watch your fatigue carefully across six days.
By Week 5 you know your working weights. Phase 2 adds volume to the primary compounds and pushes intensity through heavier loads. On a six-day split, accumulated fatigue is the biggest risk. If your performance declines for more than one to two weeks in a row, take a deload: reduce all working sets by 30 to 40%, keep the same exercises, and focus on movement quality for one week. One lighter week resets the fatigue and lets you push again.
One extra set, lower reps, heavier weight.
One extra set, lower reps, heavier dumbbells.
Lower reps, heavier dumbbells. Deep stretch.
Same reps. Small weight increase only if form stays strict.
Lower reps, heavier weight.
One extra set, lower reps, heavier weight. Match your row volume to your bench volume.
One extra set, lower reps, heavier weight.
Lower reps, heavier weight. One-second squeeze at the top.
Hinge forward slightly holding dumbbells, pull them toward your face with elbows high and wide, squeezing your rear delts, then lower with control.
Lower reps, heavier dumbbells. Three-second descent stays.
One extra set, lower reps, heavier weight. Every rep deliberate.
One extra set, lower reps, heavier weight.
One extra set, lower reps, heavier weight. Two-second hold stays.
Lower reps, heavier dumbbells. The video shows the bodyweight version; add dumbbells for load.
Lower reps, heavier load. Hold a dumbbell or use a machine.
One extra set, lower reps, heavier weight.
Lower reps, heavier dumbbells.
Lower reps, heavier weight. Full stretch, full squeeze.
Small weight increase only if form stays strict.
Lower reps, heavier weight. Full spread at the bottom.
Add weight with a belt, lower reps. Full range on every rep.
One extra set, lower reps, heavier weight.
Same reps, small load increase. Keep your arms straight.
Hinge forward slightly holding dumbbells, pull them toward your face with elbows high and wide, squeezing your rear delts, then lower with control.
Lower reps, heavier weight. Neutral grip, squeeze at the top.
Lower reps, heavier dumbbells. The video shows the bodyweight version; add dumbbells for load.
Lower reps, heavier weight. Two-second squeeze at lockout.
Lower reps, heavier weight. One-second hold at lockout.
Lower reps, heavier weight. Control the lowering phase.
Lower reps, heavier load. Same slow tempo.
Nutrition Guidance
A six-day training week places huge demands on recovery, and recovery is built in the kitchen. Whether you run this in a surplus to build or at maintenance to recomp, your calories and protein have to support the workload or the volume will bury you.
Our macro calculator sets your targets, and our guide on bulking successfully covers the surplus strategy in detail.
The Basics
- Calories: A surplus of 200 to 400 calories per day builds muscle while minimising fat gain. If you are maintaining, eat at least at maintenance; this volume cannot be recovered from in a meaningful deficit. Our macro calculator sets your starting point.
- Protein: 1.6 to 2.2g per kg of bodyweight daily. With this much training volume, protein is non-negotiable for recovery and growth. Browse our high protein recipes for ideas.
- Carbohydrates: Fill most of your remaining calories with carbs. Six sessions a week burns through glycogen fast, and carbs fuel your training and recovery.
- Sleep: Eight to nine hours per night, non-negotiable. On a six-day split, sleep is the single biggest recovery variable. If you cannot sleep well, drop to a four-day program.
On a six-day split, your ability to recover, not your ability to train, decides your results. Track your bodyweight and your session performance. If both are trending up, your recovery is keeping pace. If your lifts stall or slide for more than a week or two, your nutrition or sleep is falling short, and no amount of extra training will fix that.
