I lift five days a week on a push pull legs upper lower split while training for races, and it’s given me more visible muscle and strength than anything else I’ve tried. Every session is five or six exercises and capped at 40 minutes, with runs in the morning and lifting in the afternoon. I add weight on a fixed schedule instead of waiting to hit the top of a rep range, then back off for a recovery week. When long runs get long, the leg days are the first thing to go.
Every guide to this split assumes lifting is the only thing you’re training for. None of them mention running. That’s a problem if you also have a long run on the weekend and a race on the calendar.
This is the version I actually run alongside race training. The full week, every workout, how I progress, and what I change when the long runs start eating my legs.
What a Push Pull Legs Upper Lower Split Is
A push pull legs upper lower split (PPLUL) is five lifting days a week. Three days train by movement: push (chest, shoulders, triceps), pull (back, biceps) and legs. Two more days train by body half: upper and lower. Everything gets hit twice a week without any single session running long.
Here’s my week:
| Day | Morning | Afternoon |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Run, 30 min max | Push |
| Tuesday | Faster run, 30 min max | Pull |
| Wednesday | No run | Legs |
| Thursday | Faster run, 30 min max | Upper |
| Friday | Run, 30 min max | Lower |
| Saturday or Sunday | Long run, 2 hours max | No lifting |
Wednesday has no run on purpose. That’s the heavy squat day. The long run lands on Saturday or Sunday, whichever fits around the kids’ recitals and games that weekend, and the weekend stays free of the gym.
The Five Workouts
Five or six exercises a day. The first lift is the heavy one, with warm-up sets before it. Everything after that supports it.
Monday: Push
- Bench press (barbell): 4 x 6, after a warm-up set
- Incline bench press (dumbbell): 3 x 10
- Lateral raise (dumbbell): 3 x 12
- Tricep pushdown (cable): 3 x 12
- Chest press (machine): 3 x 12
Tuesday: Pull
- Bent over row (barbell): 4 x 8, after a warm-up set
- Lat pulldown: 3 x 10
- Face pull (cable): 3 x 15
- Bicep curl (dumbbell): 3 x 12
- Chest supported incline row (dumbbell): 3 x 10
Wednesday: Legs
- Back squat (barbell): 4 x 6, after two warm-up sets
- Leg press: 3 x 10
- Seated leg curl: 3 x 12
- Leg extension: 3 x 12
- Seated calf raise: 4 x 12
Thursday: Upper
- Seated shoulder press (dumbbell): 4 x 6, after a warm-up set
- Bench press (dumbbell): 3 x 12
- Dumbbell row: 3 x 10
- Lat pulldown: 3 x 10
- Bicep curl (EZ bar): 3 x 12
- Tricep pushdown (cable): 3 x 12
Friday: Lower
- Deadlift (barbell): 4 x 5, after two warm-up sets
- Romanian deadlift: 3 x 10
- Seated leg curl: 3 x 12
- Hip thrust (Smith machine): 3 x 10
- Seated calf raise: 4 x 12
Why Only Five Exercises a Day
Forty minutes is the cap. Five exercises fit in forty minutes. Seven don’t, at least not without rushing every rest period.
The version of this routine I first posted here had seven or eight exercises a day. I cut it to five or six so every session fits the cap, with the heavy compound lift first while I’m fresh.
How I Progress: Weight on a Schedule, Not a Rep Target
Most guides to this split, including the ones ranking above this post, tell you to use double progression: hit the top of the rep range on every set, then add weight. It’s the standard advice. It didn’t work for me.
What works for me is adding weight over time on a fixed cadence, whether or not I completed every set the week before. Then I back off for a recovery week. Coming out of that easy week, I find I can lift a lot more than I could going in.
The plan lives in Bevel. I told it how I want weights to progress, and its AI coach recalibrates the plan as I go, including when life gets in the way and a week falls apart. I log every set on my Apple Watch while I lift, so I’m not standing around with my phone working out what’s next.
I thrive on the same routine every week with the weights creeping up. That’s the only way I’ve ever made progress. If you need variety to stay interested, this split will bore you.
When the Long Run Passes 7 Miles
This is the part none of the standard PPLUL guides cover.
Early in a race buildup I don’t touch the gym routine. Same five days, same split. The long runs are short enough that leg day and lower day don’t get in the way.
Once long runs pass roughly 7 miles, I’ve historically pulled leg day and lower day out completely. I learned that one by trial and error. I used to keep adding miles without changing the gym schedule, and past about 7 miles the leg days left me hurt, or so fatigued I couldn’t do anything else that day.
When legs and lower come out, the gym week goes upper body only. I don’t fill those slots with more upper body work, because that overworks the same muscles. Instead I swim laps, walk or get on the stair stepper. I still go to the gym at the same times, though. Keeping the habit matters more than what I do while I’m there.
This season I’m testing whether I can ignore that rule and keep leg days through the buildup. If it starts causing problems, I’ll replan.
Taper Week
Before a marathon I go upper body only to give my legs a break. Upper days stay roughly the same, cut back a little, mostly so I don’t get hurt right before race day.
The week before the race I skip the gym entirely. It’s a deliberately lazy week. Saving that energy for race day is the whole point. I break the full taper down in marathon taper for lifters.
Who This Split Is For (and Who It Isn’t)
This works if you can get to a gym five weekdays a week and you’d rather have short sessions than long ones. It works if you like the same routine every week. And it works if you’re running alongside it and willing to give up leg days when the mileage climbs.
It’s a bad fit if you can only lift three days a week. A 3 day push pull legs or a full body routine makes more sense there. It’s also a bad fit if running is your priority and lifting is an afterthought. Five lifting days is a lot to recover from on top of a training plan. And if you want to chase a strength peak and a race PR at the same time, this won’t save you. Something has to be the priority.
If you want the principles behind mixing the two, I cover those in how to combine running and lifting without losing muscle.
Push Pull Legs Upper Lower FAQ
How long are the workouts?
Forty minutes max. Five or six exercises, with the first lift heavy and everything after it lighter.
Does running kill your gains on this split?
Not at the mileage most people with a job run. Sequencing and recovery matter more than whether you do both. My mornings are short runs and my afternoons are lifts, which keeps them apart.
What do you do on the weekends?
One long run, on whichever day fits the family schedule. No lifting.
What happens to the split when long runs get long?
Leg day and lower day come out once long runs pass about 7 miles, and the gym week goes upper body only. Those slots become swimming, walking or the stair stepper.
Try It for One Training Block
Pick your five exercises a day, set a 40 minute cap, and decide how often the weight goes up before you start. Not after you see how the first week feels. Then run it through one full training block and write down the week the long run passes 7 miles, and what your legs feel like the day after leg day.
Take what’s useful. Leave the rest.
