This comprehensive push pull legs routine combines a full week of training into a single, accessible plan. It adapts workouts from a power building program, alternating between strength-focused full body weeks and hypertrophy-focused push pull legs weeks like the one detailed here.
The first leg day emphasizes quads. After a brief dynamic stretching warm-up and a pyramid warm-up scheme, the workout begins with squats. Sets of three reps at 80% of one-rep max are recommended, focusing on driving the knees out to bring the hips closer to the bar, improving leverage and power.
Next, Romanian deadlifts target the hamstrings. Keep the weight manageable in the first week to prioritize form and minimize muscle damage. Focus on pushing the hips back and maintaining a straight bar path.
Unilateral leg presses further challenge the quads and glutes. Push these sets closer to failure than the squats and RDLs. Eccentric accentuated leg extensions isolate the rectus femoris, the quad head that crosses both the hip and knee joints. Moving the seat back enhances rectus femoris activation.
Seated hamstring curls further work the hamstrings. The seated variation offers a greater stretch at long muscle lengths, potentially maximizing hypertrophy. A drop set on the final set pushes the hamstrings to their limit.
Standing calf raises complete the lower body work, with additional unilateral reps for any imbalances. The workout concludes with direct ab work, such as plate-weighted decline crunches and long lever pelvic tilt planks.
Day two is a push day, targeting chest, delts, and triceps. Bench press starts the workout, aiming for sets of eight at 72.5% of one-rep max. A machine shoulder press follows, minimizing stress on joints and stabilizers while maximizing hypertrophy.
Dips provide a deep pec stretch, complementing the powerlifting-style bench press. Eccentric accentuated skull crushers isolate the triceps with a controlled lowering phase.
Egyptian cable lateral raises, with a myorep intensity technique on the final set, prioritize side delt development. Cable tricep kickbacks, performed with strict tempo, finish the workout.
Day three focuses on the lats and other pulling muscles. Weighted pull-ups, with an upright posture, emphasize shoulder adduction, effectively targeting lats and teres muscles. Seated cable rows, performed with elbows tucked, further engage the lats and mid-back.
Constant tension kneeling cable pullovers isolate the lats. Hammer curls, performed with a controlled swing, provide a stimulating break from strict form. Incline dumbbell curls, performed strictly, isolate the biceps after fatiguing the forearms.
Day four is the second leg day, emphasizing the posterior chain. Deadlifts build overall strength and target the glutes and hamstrings. Machine hack squats, with exaggerated forward knee travel, provide high-rep quad work.
Unilateral hip thrusts isolate the glutes, while a superset of Nordic ham curls and prisoner back extensions targets the hamstrings and glutes. Unilateral leg press calf raises finish the lower body work. Weighted L-sit holds provide a challenging core finisher.
The second push day of the week focuses on shoulders. Overhead presses, performed with a tight core and glutes, maximize pressing power. Close-grip bench press targets the triceps. Low to high cable crossovers emphasize the upper pecs, with a drop set on the last set.
Overhead tricep extensions, using cables for consistent tension, further isolate the triceps. Dumbbell lateral raises, performed with 21s, provide a novel approach to delt training. Direct neck work, using a specialized machine or alternative exercises, completes the workout.
The final pull day prioritizes the mid-back. Omni-grip lat pulldowns, using varying grips, maximize lat activation as fatigue sets in. Chest-supported rows, performed with exaggerated scapular protraction, target the mid-back.
Rope face pulls focus on rear delts and external rotators. Incline dumbbell shrugs provide optional upper trap work. Rear delt flyes, with varying scapular positioning, further isolate the rear delts. A superset of pronated and supinated easy bar curls completes the workout, fatiguing the forearms before isolating the biceps.
