Push Pull Legs (PPL): Dumbbell-Only Workout Routine

All you need for this push/pull/legs routine is a couple of adjustable dumbbells and a bench. It’s ideal if you train at home, or travel a lot and don’t always have access to a well-equipped gym.

There are six workouts in total – 2 upper body push workouts, 2 upper body pull workouts, and 2 leg workouts.

You train 5 days a week on set days – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Thursday and Sunday are rest days.

Here’s what it looks like over a three-week period. After three weeks, the program repeats itself and the push workout ends up back on Monday. 

Push Pull Legs (PPL) Dumbbell-Only Workout Routine

PPL Workout Schedule: Week 1

• Monday: Push A
• Tuesday: Pull A
• Wednesday: Legs A
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Push B
• Saturday: Pull B
• Sunday: Off

PPL Workout Schedule: Week 2

• Monday: Legs B
• Tuesday: Push A
• Wednesday: Pull A
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Legs A
• Saturday: Push B
• Sunday: Off

PPL Workout Schedule: Week 3

• Monday: Pull B
• Tuesday: Legs B
• Wednesday: Push A
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Pull A
• Saturday: Legs A
• Sunday: Off

Keep on rotating the workouts in the same order – push, pull, legs – making sure to insert rest days where appropriate. 

Push Day Dumbbell Workout A

• Low Incline Dumbbell Press 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 4 sets x 10-15 reps
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Lateral Raise 3 sets x 15-20 reps
• Triceps Kickback 2 sets x 15-20 reps
• Overhead Triceps Extension 2 sets x 10-15 reps

Pull Day Dumbbell Workout A

• Incline High Row 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell Pullover 4 sets x 12-15 reps
• Bent Over Lateral Raise 3 sets x 12-15 reps
• Dumbbell Preacher Curl 2 sets x 12-15 reps
• Hammer Curl 2 sets x 8-12 reps
• Weighted Crunch 3 sets x 20-25 reps

Legs Day Dumbbell Workout A

• Bulgarian Split Squat 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 4 sets x 10-15 reps
• Dumbbell Leg Extension 4 sets x 10-15 reps
• Sliding Leg Curl 4 sets x 10-15 reps
• Single Leg Calf Raise 3 sets x 12-15 reps

Push Day Dumbbell Workout B

• Push Ups 4 sets x As Many Good Reps As Possible
• Dumbbell Flyes 4 sets x 12-15 reps
• Single Arm Dumbbell Press 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Lateral Raise 3 sets x 15-20 reps
• Triceps Kickback 2 sets x 15-20 reps
• Overhead Triceps Extension 2 sets x 10-15 reps

Pull Day Dumbbell Workout B

• Single-Arm Dumbbell Row 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell Pullover 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Rear Delt Row 3 sets x 12-15 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Curl 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Reverse Crunch 3 sets x 15-20 reps

Legs Day Dumbbell Workout B

• Goblet Squat 4 sets x 10-15 reps
• Deficit Reverse Lunge 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Hip Thrust 4 sets x 10-15 reps
• Dumbbell Leg Curl 4 sets x 12-15 reps
• Single Leg Calf Raise 3 sets x 12-15 reps

How to Train for Muscle Growth

Any training program designed for muscle growth should be based on these six key principles.

1. Use a variety of exercises. Using different exercises for the same muscle group leads to more complete development compared to doing the same exercise all the time. If all you do is a handful of compound lifts, you’re almost certainly leaving gains on the table

2. Do enough sets per week. For maximum muscle growth, aim for 10-20 sets per muscle group per week, spread across 2-6 training sessions. Beginners can make impressive gains with less, while more advanced lifters may well need even more work to keep the gains coming.

3. Train in the hypertrophy rep range. To build muscle, most of your training should be done in the 5-20 rep range. That’s heavy enough to put plenty of tension on the muscle, but not so heavy that you can’t control the weight.

4. Get sufficient rest between sets. To recover properly from one set to the next requires upwards of 2 minutes rest. Without enough rest from one set to the other, you won’t be able to do as many reps, which has the knock on effect of reducing the stimulus for growth.

5. Train often enough. To gain muscle as fast as humanly possible, train each muscle 2-4 times every seven days. A muscle will still grow with less frequent training, but for optimal results you want to hit each muscle group at least twice every seven days.

6. Train hard. The last 1-2 reps of every work set should be extremely difficult. Those are reps that take a muscle out of its comfort zone and make the largest contribution to muscle growth. You don’t need to take each to failure, or the point where you’re unable to complete another rep, but you want to get close.

How to Warm Up

The number of sets listed are the actual work sets only, and don’t include warm-up sets.

It’s always a good idea, especially if you’re using heavy weights, to do several progressively heavier warm-up sets. This will prepare the joints, the muscles and the nervous system that controls those muscles for the heavy work to come.

In most cases, somewhere between 1-3 warm-up sets will do the job. However, the exact number of warm-up sets you do will vary depending on a number of factors, including the temperature of the gym you’re training in, how your joints feel, the amount of weight you’re lifting, and where that exercise is placed in the workout.

There have been times when I’ve been training in a cold gym, it’s early in the morning and my joints are feeling a bit stiff, where I’ve ended up doing 7-8 warm-up sets before getting into the heavy stuff.

On the flip side, with some of the exercises that come later in the workout, the muscles being worked are already warm, so you won’t need many, if any, warm-up sets.

What about stretching?

In most cases, there’s very little benefit in stretching, be it dynamic or static, as part of a warm-up.

While the adverse effects of stretching on strength and power have been exaggerated, most studies show that pre-exercise stretching does little for injury prevention and has no beneficial effects on lifting performance.

Can you stretch as part of your warm up? Yes. Do you have to? No. It’s certainly not mandatory, and many people will do just as well without it.

You can read more about how to warm up for weight training here.

How To Progress a Dumbbell PPL Routine

You’ll notice that the workouts use rep ranges, such as 5-8 or 8-12, rather than a fixed number of reps in each set.

For example, let’s say that the prescription for a particular exercise is 4 sets of 8-12 reps.

The idea is that you select a weight that allows you to perform at least 8 reps in each set, but no more than 12.

Every time you go to the gym, you try to do more reps than you did the workout before. Once you’re able to do 12 reps in every set, increase the weight for the following workout. This is a form of progression known as the double progression method. 

I’m not saying you’ll make progress every time you go to the gym. To do so indefinitely would be impossible, and there’ll be times when you end up lifting the same amount of weight, for the same number of sets and reps you did before.

However, you should be pushing yourself to increase the amount of work your muscles are doing in the gym, whether that’s lifting heavier weights, doing more reps with the same weight, or doing more sets.

You need to give your muscles a reason to get bigger, or you’ll remain stuck at the same size you are right now.

Nutrition for Muscle Growth

When it comes to building muscle and gaining weight, what you do in the gym is only part of the story. Without the right diet, much of your hard work will go to waste. 

What should your diet look like if you want to build muscle?

Calories

First, make sure you’re getting enough food. Your daily calorie intake should provide somewhere between 250-500 calories over and above your maintenance calorie requirements.

That is, if you’re maintaining your weight on 2500 calories per day, you’d aim for somewhere between 2750 and 3000 calories per day.

It is possible to gain muscle while in a calorie deficit, but it tends to happen more slowly compared to being in a calorie surplus.

That’s because one of the things that slows muscle protein synthesis – the key driving force behind muscle growth – is a restriction in the availability of energy.

Once you’ve calculated what your daily calorie intake should be, the next step is to calculate your macros, the first and most important of which is protein.

Protein

Set your daily protein intake at roughly 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. That will do the job for most people. 

Someone weighing 180 pounds, for instance, would aim for a daily protein intake of around 126 grams of protein per day (180 x 0.7 = 126). If you prefer metric, multiply your bodyweight in kilograms by 1.6.

Rather than getting all your protein in one or two large meals, it should be spread out throughout the day. Aim for a minimum of 3 protein-rich meals each day, with each meal containing somewhere between 20 and 40 grams of protein.

Ideally, you’ll get some protein within the first few hours after getting out of bed, before a workout, after a workout, and before going to bed.

As far as protein supplements are concerned, they’re not strictly necessary for building muscle. They do make it a lot easier to hit your protein targets for the day which is why I use them myself. But think of them as an optional extra, rather than a strict requirement.

Fat

Your fat intake can vary from 20 to 40 percent of total calories. Some days it might be a little higher, others a little lower. But on average, your fat intake should be set at around 30% of your total calorie intake.

Carbohydrate

Once protein and fat are taken care of, the rest of your calories will come from carbohydrate.

As fat intake goes up, carbohydrate intake will go down and vice versa. Some days you might eat a little more fat and less carbohydrate. Other days you might eat more carbohydrate and less fat. 

As long as total calories and protein are set at the right level, it doesn’t matter too much.

Using these numbers, here’s an example of what a daily diet might look like for a guy weighing 175 pounds (79.5kg), with a maintenance calorie intake of 2500 calories per day.

• Calories: 2800 calories
• Protein: 123 grams
• Fat: 93 grams
• Carbohydrate: 368 grams

These numbers aren’t set in stone, but they do give you some ballpark numbers to aim for. The two most important numbers are calories and protein. As long as you’re hitting those targets, the carbs and fat can vary from day to day.

The Benefits of Dumbbells

Dumbbells have a lot of things going for them. They’re relatively cheap, don’t take up a lot of space, and can be used for dozens of different exercises that work your entire body.

With nothing more than a couple of adjustable dumbbells, you get a highly effective workout for all the major muscle groups without the need for lots of expensive equipment.

The fact dumbbells don’t require a lot of space makes them ideal if there’s no room in your house for a lot of gym equipment. 

Not only does training at home save you money on gym fees, it’s also very convenient. 

You just pull the dumbbells out from under your bed, or wherever they’re stored, and start training.

Even if you only have 10 or 15 minutes to spare, you can do a few exercises for this or that muscle group.

Then, later in the day, when you get another 10 or 15 minutes to spare, you can focus on another muscle group. 

For some people, doing a bit of weight training here and there is a more practical way to fit weight training into their day, which means the workouts are far more likely to get done.

Dumbbells can also be an effective way to work around injuries, mainly because they give you a lot more freedom of movement.

If you find that certain free weight exercises cause your joints to flare up, doing the same exercise with a dumbbell may actually feel better, allowing you to work around any dings or dents that have built up over the years.

Pulling and pushing exercises performed with a barbell, for example, put your shoulders and arms in a fixed position, which can sometimes lead to pain in your shoulders, elbows or wrists. 

But doing the same exercise with dumbbells gives you a lot more flexibility about how the exercise is done. 

By that, I mean you’re able to make small adjustments to the movement pattern, altering the position of your arms in such a way that any joint pain is significantly reduced, or even eliminated completely. 

You’re still working the same muscles, but you’re doing so in a way that’s a lot easier on your joints.

Let’s take the overhead press as an example.

When you press a barbell over your head, your palms will naturally face forward, known as a pronated grip.

But with dumbbells, you have the option of using a neutral grip, where your palms face each other.

For many people, switching to a neutral grip, and bringing your elbows in (rather than flared out to the side) will often make the overhead press feel easier on your joints.

With a dumbbell, you can also perform the exercise one arm at a time. Doing so makes it easier to adjust the path of the dumbbell, the position of your elbows and range of motion in such a way that it doesn’t cause you any pain or discomfort.

It’s also easier on your back as well. Pressing a 40-pound dumbbell over your head will impose less compressive load on your spine than an 80-pound barbell.

Some people have one side of their body that’s weaker than the other, which dumbbells can help to correct.

A small difference in strength between your left and right side is perfectly normal, and isn’t something that most people to worry about.

But if there’s a large imbalance in strength, the stronger side tends to dominate during bilateral movements, which can set you up for injury further down the line.

Unilateral training with dumbbells can help to identify and eliminate any strength imbalances that might exist, creating a better balance of strength.

Dumbbells also offer some benefits in terms of safety, especially if you’re training alone. It’s far better to drop a couple of dumbbells and damage the floor than get crushed by a heavy barbell and damage yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a push pull legs split good for bulking or cutting?

A push pull legs routine isn’t inherently good or bad for bulking or cutting. You can alter the frequency and volume of a push pull legs split in such a way that it’s suitable for either bulking or cutting. A 6-day PPL workout routine, for example, might be suitable for intermediate and advanced lifters on a bulk. But the same volume of training might be too much for lifters on a cut, who would be better off lifting weights 4-5 days a week.

Is a 3 day split enough to build muscle?

A 3 day split is enough to build muscle, but a PPL workout routine wouldn’t be the split I’d use, mainly because you’re hitting the major muscle groups just once a week. Instead, go with a full-body workout routine, where you work the whole body three times a week, or something like an upper/lower/full-body split, which involves a training frequency of twice a week.

How do you structure a push day workout?

On a push pull legs routine, here’s what a typical push day workout might look like:

• Chest: 2-3 exercises
• Shoulders: 1-2 exercises
• Triceps: 1-2 exercises

How do you structure a pull day workout?

On a push pull legs routine, here’s what a typical pull day workout might look like:

• Lat-Focused: 1-2 exercises
• Upper Back-Focused: 1-2 exercises
• Biceps: 1-2 exercises

How do you structure a leg day workout?

• Quadriceps: 1-2 exercises
• Hamstrings: 1-2 exercises
• Calves: 1-2 exercises

While exercises like squats, split squats, lunges and deadlifts will work the glutes, a leg day workout might also include 1-2 exercises that hit the glutes directly (such as hip thrusts).

Is a dumbbell row a push or pull?

The dumbbell row is a pulling movement. That’s because it involves pulling a weight towards your torso. Pushing movements (as opposed to pushing muscles, which don’t exist, as all muscles generate movement by pulling) such as the shoulder press or bench press, involve pushing a weight away from your torso.

How heavy should my dumbbells be to build muscle?

To build muscle, you want a pair of adjustable dumbbells that allow you to alter the weight depending on the muscle groups you’re working in each exercise. A dumbbell that’s heavy enough to challenge the large muscle groups in your thighs and hips in an exercise like the Bulgarian split squat will likely be too heavy for an exercise like the lateral raise.