How to Choose a Workout Split: PPL, Full Body, Upper/Lower

The best workout split is the one you will actually run

I once spent a week reading about which workout split was "optimal." I ended up trying to cram a six-day plan into a schedule where I realistically trained three times a week. A month later, half my sessions were getting skipped and I was convinced something was wrong with me.

The problem was not the split. It was the fit. A six-day plan is excellent for someone who genuinely walks into the gym six times a week. For me, with three real sessions, Full Body worked far better.

That is the heart of choosing a workout split. It is not about which one is "best" in theory, but which one fits the number of days you actually have, your training experience, and how you want to spread volume across each muscle group. This guide walks you through the three most popular splits - Full Body, Upper/Lower, and PPL - and shows who each one makes sense for.

What a workout split actually is

A workout split is how you divide whole-body training across your training days. Instead of asking "which exercises should I do," you ask "which muscle groups do I train on which day, and how often do I come back to each one."

Two variables drive everything. The first is the number of training days per week - this is what most sharply narrows your realistic options. The second is frequency, meaning how many times per week you train a given muscle group. Together, these determine how much weekly volume you can reasonably distribute.

Here is the key point a lot of people miss: the split itself does not build muscle. It is a tool for organizing volume and frequency, and those are what drive adaptation. Two splits that deliver the same weekly sets per muscle at a similar intensity produce very similar results. So choosing a split is mostly a logistics question: the most convenient way to fit the volume you need into the days you have.

Full Body - the whole body every session

In a Full Body split, every session works the entire body: legs, back, chest, shoulders, and arms. You typically train 2-4 times a week, and each muscle group comes back in nearly every session.

Who it suits. This is the first choice for people training 2-3 times a week and a great starting point for beginners. Since you train back three times a week instead of once, frequency stays high even with few days - more chances to practice technique and progress.

Pros. Missing one session does not blow up the week, because every muscle group comes back several times anyway. High frequency helps you master compound movements faster, and it is easy to spread reasonable weekly volume even on three days.

Cons. Sessions can run long because you touch everything in one day. It is harder to give any single muscle very high volume in one session, so volume gets spread across the week instead. At 5-6 days, Full Body becomes impractical because it leaves muscles no time to recover.

Upper/Lower - top and bottom split apart

Upper/Lower divides training into upper days (chest, back, shoulders, arms) and lower days (legs, glutes, calves, abs). The classic setup is 4 days a week - two upper, two lower - which gives a frequency of 2x per muscle group.

Who it suits. This is the natural pick for people with four training days and for intermediates whose single Full Body session is getting too long. You can also run a three-day version with rotation (upper/lower/upper, then lower/upper/lower the following week).

Pros. You keep a solid 2x frequency per muscle while focusing each session on half the body, so you can fit more sets per muscle group in one day than in Full Body. A great balance between frequency and per-session volume.

Cons. With only two days a week, this split falls apart - stick with Full Body. Lower days can be conditioning-heavy, since legs are large muscles carrying a lot of volume in one session.

PPL - push, pull, legs

PPL divides training into three day types: push (chest, shoulders, triceps), pull (back, biceps), and legs. At three days a week, each muscle comes back once per week. At six days (PPL x2), twice.

Who it suits. PPL shines at 6 training days - that is when it combines high per-session volume with 2x frequency. The three-day version is simple and enjoyable, but a 1x frequency per muscle is its weaker variant. You will find a full breakdown of both versions in the PPL program guide.

Pros. Grouping muscles by movement pattern is logical and lets you give a lot of volume to one group within a single session. The six-day version is one of the best setups for intermediates with plenty of time.

Cons. At three days, frequency drops to 1x per muscle, which for many people is less effective than Upper/Lower at 2x with the same number of days. Six days is also a big ask - missing two sessions can throw off the whole week.

How frequency ties into volume

This is the piece that is easiest to overlook but ties the whole decision together. Volume is the total number of working sets per muscle group per week. Frequency is the number of sessions you train that muscle. The split is simply how you distribute volume across sessions at a given frequency.

Say you want 12 sets for back per week. On 3-day PPL (1x frequency), you cram all 12 into one pull day - a lot for one session, and the last sets will be noticeably weaker from fatigue. On Upper/Lower (2x frequency), you split it into 6 and 6, so each set is fresher and more productive. On Full Body (3x frequency), you do 4 sets three times a week.

Same volume, three different splits, but spreading it across more sessions usually delivers higher-quality sets. That is why, with few training days, frequency is often a stronger argument than the split pattern itself. To dial in specific set counts per muscle, start with the guide on sets per muscle per week, and for the wider picture of volume, see the training volume guide.

How to match a split to 3, 4, 5, and 6 days

Instead of picking a split and then hunting for days, do the reverse - start from the number of days you will realistically keep.

3 days. Full Body three times a week is the best fit - it gives 3x frequency per muscle and forgives a skipped session. The alternative is 3-day PPL if you prefer longer, focused days but accept a 1x frequency. A 3-day Upper/Lower with rotation also works, though the number of sessions per muscle varies week to week.

4 days. Upper/Lower is the default, proven choice - two upper days, two lower days, 2x frequency per muscle, and a reasonable session length. For many people, this is the best ratio of results to commitment.

5 days. A hybrid works well here, for example Upper/Lower across four days plus a fifth day for lagging muscles. Five days rarely divides perfectly, so treat the fifth day as bonus volume where you need it most.

6 days. PPL x2 is the classic - push/pull/legs twice a week, 2x frequency, and plenty of room for volume. It is a big time commitment, so choose it only if six sessions are realistic for you, not aspirational.

If you are torn between two options, pick the one with fewer days and run it well. It is easier to add a day later than to bounce off a plan you keep failing to finish. For more on choosing the movement pattern and progression, see the 5/3/1 program guide, which shows how a specific progression system layers onto whatever split you pick.

How to build any of these splits in Pully

Choosing a split is one thing - running it without chaos is another. Pully is built so you can mirror any of these setups exactly as planned.

One-to-one plans. You build a plan with days you name however you like - Push, Pull, Legs or Upper, Lower. Each day holds its own exercises with targets: rep range, set count, and rest time per exercise. The plan mirrors what is in your head, with no simplifying.

Variants instead of clutter. If your pull day has overhand rows and another day has underhand rows, each variant keeps its own weight history and auto-fill. You do not have to duplicate exercises or remember by hand what you last lifted.

Frequency visible in the data. Weekly volume is free, so after every session you see how many sets have piled up for each muscle - and whether your split is actually delivering the frequency you planned.

The free tier lets you run one active plan, with the 350+ exercise library, up to 8 templates for extra sessions, a timer, a barbell calculator, auto-fill, and CSV/JSON export. That is plenty to run one split properly - PPL, Upper/Lower, or Full Body.

If you run several splits in parallel - say a six-day PPL for a volume season and a fallback Full Body for busy weeks - Pully lets you keep multiple active plans side by side. It also gives you weekly sets per muscle group, a full muscle map with a radar, and per-exercise progression charts - the data that tells you whether a chosen split works over the long run. See the full overview on the features page.

Bottom line - days first, then the split

There is no single best workout split. There is the split best matched to the number of days you will realistically keep and the volume you want to give each muscle group.

• 3 days - start with Full Body, for high frequency and resilience to skipped sessions.
• 4 days - Upper/Lower is the safest pick, 2x frequency and reasonable sessions.
• 6 days - PPL x2, if six sessions are realistic rather than just ambitious.
• Frequency before pattern - spreading the same volume across more sessions usually means higher-quality sets.

Pick a split that fits your week, build it in Pully with targets and variants, and give it a few weeks before you change anything. Consistency on a well-matched split beats a theoretically perfect plan you never finish.