4 Day Push Pull Split: Workout Routine for Muscle Gain

In this post, I’m going to show you a highly effective 4 day push pull split you can use to build muscle.

First, I want to talk briefly about what a push pull workout plan involves.

Then I’ll show you the workout split in full, so you can see all the exercises, sets and reps.

Finally, I’ll explain why the program is set up the way it is, as well as how to adjust it so that it’s a close fit for you and your goals.

What Is a Push/Pull Workout Routine?

A push pull workout plan involves training the major muscle groups in two different workouts:

• Push workout
• Pull workout

The push workout is focused on the pushing movements for the upper body, which involve the chest, shoulders and triceps, along with the quads.

The pull workout is based around pulling movements for the upper body, which involve the back and biceps, as well as the hamstrings.

Push Muscle Groups

• Quadriceps
• Glutes
• Chest
• Shoulders
• Triceps

Pull Muscle Groups

• Hamstrings
• Back
• Biceps
• Abs

4 Day Push Pull Split

With the standard version of the 4-day routine, you do the push workout on Monday, the pull workout on Tuesday, then have a rest day.

On Thursday it’s back to the push workout, with the second pull workout of the week on Friday. Then you have the weekend off. Each muscle group is trained directly twice a week.

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

The program is flexible, and you can move the training days around if you miss a workout. If, for example, you’re not able to make it to the gym on Friday, you can just push that workout back to Saturday.

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

Or, if you prefer to train at the weekends, your week might look like this.

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

With all that out of the way, here’s what the 4-day push-pull workout routine looks like. You can throw in some ab work at the end of each pull workout.

Push Day Workout A

• Squat 3 sets x 5-8 reps
• Bench Press 3 sets x 5-8 reps
• Leg Press 3 sets x 10-15 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Press 3 sets x 10-15 reps
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Lying EZ Bar Triceps Extension 3 sets x 10-15 reps

Squat 

Sets 3 Reps 5-8

The main areas targeted by the back squat are your quads, glutes and lower back. In terms of depth, squatting to the point where your knees hit 90 degrees, which is slightly above parallel, is still deep enough to stimulate growth in your quads. If you can’t do back squats for whatever reason, the front squat and split squat are both viable alternatives. More alternatives to the barbell squat are covered here.

Bench Press 

Sets 3 Reps 5-8

Next up is the bench press, which is a highly effective way to build size in your chest, shoulders and triceps. Because this is your first upper body exercise, and you’re training in the 5-8 rep range, make sure to do several progressively heavier warm-up sets before your first work set. To save time, you can do your warm-up sets in between sets of squats.

Leg Press

Sets 3 Reps 10-15

Exercise number three is the leg press. Like the squat, the leg press hits the quads and glutes, but with less involvement from the muscles in the lower back. If you don’t have access to a leg press machine, there are some effective leg press replacements listed here.

Incline Dumbbell Press

Sets 3 Reps 10-15

With the incline dumbbell press, set the angle of the bench at around 30 degrees. You’re still targeting the chest, shoulders and triceps, but going from a flat to an incline bench shifts the emphasis to the upper part of the chest.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Sets 3 Reps 8-12

The dumbbell shoulder press targets the triceps and shoulders, with most of the work being done by the front part of the shoulder, known as the anterior deltoid. You can also do this exercise with a barbell if you prefer, or even a shoulder press machine.

Lying EZ Bar Triceps Extension

Sets 3 Reps 10-15

The final exercise on push day is the lying EZ bar triceps extension. While you can do these with a straight bar, the EZ bar is a little easier on your elbows. Instead of lowering the bar to your forehead, you can work your triceps a little harder by bringing the bar down behind your head.

Pull Day Workout A

• Seated Leg Curl 3 sets x 10-15 reps
• Wide Grip Front Lat Pulldown 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Romanian Deadlift 3 sets x 10-15 reps
• Seated Cable Row 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Face Pull 3 sets x 15-20 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Curl 3 sets x 8-12 reps

Seated Leg Curl

Sets 3 Reps 10-15

First up is the seated leg curl, which targets your hamstrings. Research shows that the seated leg curl works better than the lying leg curl for hamstring growth. However, both are still very effective, so just use whatever machine is available. If you don’t have access to a leg curl machine, try one of these leg curl alternatives.

Wide Grip Front Lat Pulldown

Sets 3 Reps 8-12

The lat pulldown, done with a wider overhand grip (palms facing forwards) and pulled to the front rather than behind your head, works your back and biceps. Very few people are able to crank out multiple sets of pull-ups with their own body weight, which is why I normally recommend pulldowns instead. But if you’d rather do pull-ups, and you’re able to do four sets of 5-10 pull-ups using good form, do pull-ups instead.

Romanian Deadlift

Sets 3 Reps 10-15

The Romanian deadlift targets the hamstrings, glutes and lower back. Normally, you do Romanian deadlifts with a barbell, but you can also use dumbbells. More advice on how to do the Romanian deadlift is here.

Seated Cable Row 

Sets 3 Reps 8-12

The seated cable row is a horizontal pulling exercise that targets your back and biceps. Keep your elbows close to your body, and pull your hands towards the lower part of the stomach, near the belly button. If you don’t have access to a cable machine, there are several alternatives to the seated cable row listed here.

Cable Face Pulls

Sets 3 Reps 15-20

The cable face pull hits both the lateral and posterior delts, as well as various upper back muscles.

Incline Dumbbell Curl 

Sets 3 Reps 8-12

The first pull day ends with an isolation exercise for your biceps. Because the incline curl positions your elbows behind your back, it involves the long head of the biceps to a greater extent than curls done with your arms at your side.

Push Day Workout B

• Leg Press 3 sets x 10-15 reps
• Push-ups 3 sets x 20-40 reps
• Bulgarian Split Squat 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Cable Crossover 3 sets x 10-15 reps
• Lateral Raise 3 sets x 10-15 reps
• Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension 3 sets x 10-15 reps

Leg Press

Sets 3 Reps 10-15

Like the squat, the leg press targets the thighs and hips, but with less involvement from the core muscles, the spinal erectors in particular. If you’re training at home without a leg press machine, go with one of these leg press alternatives.

Push-Ups

Sets 3 Reps 20-40

Research shows that the push-up does a great job of stimulating growth in the chest and triceps. In one study, four weeks of push-ups delivered gains in muscle size that were no different to those seen with the bench press. In another, eight weeks of training with the bench press or push-up delivered similar gains in muscle thickness in both the chest and triceps.

Bulgarian Split Squat

Sets 3 Reps 8-12

The Bulgarian split squat targets the quads, glutes, and even hamstrings to some degree. Compared with the squat, you get less spinal loading, which makes it ideal if a bad back stops you squatting as often as you’d like. Both sides of the body are worked independently, which helps even out any strength imbalances from one side to the other.

Cable Crossover

Sets 3 Reps 15-20

One of the functions of the pecs is to draw the arms across the body in a hugging-type movement, which is exactly what you get with the cable crossover. If you don’t have access to a cable machine, you can use a pec deck machine or do dumbbell flyes.

Lateral Raise

Sets 3 Reps 10-15

The lateral raise targets the side delts, helping to make your shoulders broader. The anterior delts have been worked earlier in the workout, while the rear delts are targeted on pull day, so the lateral raise ensures that your side delts don’t miss out. Use a relatively light dumbbell, light enough that you can pause briefly at the top of the exercise.

Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension

Sets 3 Reps 10-15

The overhead triceps extension is one of my favorite exercises for the triceps, mainly because it subjects the triceps to high levels of tension in a stretched position. Research shows that training the triceps in a lengthened position with the arm in an overhead position leads to faster muscle growth compared to the same amount of training done with the arm in a neutral position.

Pull Day Workout B

• Romanian Deadlift 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Single-Arm Dumbbell Row 3 sets x 5-8 reps
• Lying OR Seated Leg Curl 3 sets x 10-15 reps
• Close-Grip Underhand Lat Pulldown 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Seated Bent-Over Lateral Raise 3 sets x 10-15 reps
• Dumbbell Preacher Curl 3 sets x 10-15 reps

Romanian Deadlift

Sets 3 Reps 8-12

The Romanian deadlift is initiated with a backward movement of the hips, the barbell is kept close to the body, and the movement stops roughly at the midpoint of the shin (or at the point where you reach the end of your hamstring flexibility). If your hamstrings are very tight, and you can only lower the bar just below the level of your knees, that’s fine.

Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

Sets 3 Reps 5-8

The single-arm dumbbell row is one of my favorite horizontal pulling exercises for training the back. Because your body weight is supported on the bench, you won’t end up having to terminate a set because of fatigue in the spinal erectors, which can sometimes happen with the bent-over barbell row.

Lying OR Seated Leg Curl

Sets 3 Reps 10-15

Although the seated leg curl has been shown to work better than the lying leg curl for building hamstring size, both are still very effective, so just use whatever machine is available. If you don’t have access to either a seated or lying leg curl machine, take a look at these leg curl alternatives.

Close Grip Underhand Lat Pulldown

Sets 3 Reps 8-12

The second back exercise is the close grip underhand lat pulldown. This targets the lats, biceps and various other back muscles. If you prefer chin-ups (which are done with an underhand grip and your palms facing you), and you’re able to do 3 sets of 5-10 reps using good technique, go with chin-ups instead.

Seated Bent-Over Lateral Raise

Sets 3 Reps 10-15

The bent-over lateral raise is an isolation exercise for the shoulders, focusing mainly on the rear, or posterior head of the deltoid. Do this exercise in a bent over position while sitting on the edge of the bench to make it easier on your lower back

Dumbbell Preacher Curl

Sets 3 Reps 10-15

Unlike the incline curl, which emphasizes the long head of the biceps, the preacher curl works better for recruiting the short head of the muscle. If you don’t have access to a preacher bench, you can also do preacher curls using a regular incline bench.

If you do want to train your calves, exercises like the standing and seated calf raise can be done on either a push or pull day.

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 to prepare your body for the heavy work to come.

Push Pull Workout PDF

Click here to download the 4-day push pull workout PDF.

How To Progress a Push Pull Split

No matter how your training split is set up, it’s important to train hard and focus on improving your performance in the gym over time.

Do the same exercises, for the same number of sets and reps, while lifting the same amount of weight, for the next five years. Nothing much is going to happen.

That’s because the training you’re doing is a challenge your body has already adapted to. As a result, no new muscle mass will be gained.

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.

So make sure to keep a training journal, write down your numbers, and always try to beat your previous workout in some way.

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 3 sets of 5-8 reps.

The idea is that you select a weight that allows you to perform at least 5 reps in each set, but no more than 8.

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 8 reps in every set, increase the weight for the following workout.

It’s a form of progression known as the double progression method. Here’s an example of how it might look in practice:

Workout 1

• Set 1: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 2: 100 pounds x 7 reps
• Set 3: 100 pounds x 5 reps

Workout 2

• Set 1: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 2: 100 pounds x 7 reps
• Set 3: 100 pounds x 7 reps

Workout 3

• Set 1: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 2: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 3: 100 pounds x 7 reps

Workout 4

• Set 1: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 2: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 3: 100 pounds x 8 reps

Workout 5

• Set 1: 105 pounds x 7 reps
• Set 2: 105 pounds x 6 reps
• Set 3: 105 pounds x 5 reps

As you can see, in workout four, once you’re able to do 8 reps in all 3 sets, you add weight in the fifth workout and repeat the cycle. 

This simple double progression method can work well for most exercises, and will produce decent gains in muscle mass over several months, just as long as you stay consistent and work hard.

It’s also important to make sure that your technique remains solid from one workout to the next. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that you’ve gotten stronger, when all you’re doing is cheating on those last few reps to get the weight up.

The exact number of workouts it takes to reach this point will vary from person to person, and from exercise to exercise.

It might take 10 workouts or it might take 5. But wait until you can do 3 sets of 8 reps before adding weight.

The Benefits of a Push/Pull Split

One of the main benefits of a push pull split is that muscle groups that work together are trained together in the same workout.

Take the example of a pulling movement like the lat pulldown. This exercise works not only the lats, but the biceps as well. Or a pushing exercise like the bench press, which hits the chest and shoulders along with the triceps.

Training the muscles that work together in the same session has a number of benefits:

1. Starting a workout with the bench press, for instance, gets your shoulders and triceps warm, which helps to prepare them for the exercises that come later in the workout. As a result, you don’t need to do as many warm-up sets to prepare for those exercises.

Not only does this save time, it can also reduce the risk of an injury caused by skipping warm-up sets and going straight into the heavy stuff.

2. If you run out of time, you can skip the last couple of exercises, as they’re often hitting muscle groups that have been worked already. A push workout, for example, will typically start off with compound lifts for the chest and shoulders, before moving on to some isolation exercises for the triceps.

However, those same compound lifts will still have stimulated some growth in the triceps, albeit not as much had you trained the triceps directly. So if you’re pushed for time, you can always leave out some of the isolation exercises and stick with the compound movements.

3. Your muscles get plenty of time to recover between workouts. On the pull days, your quads, chest, shoulders and triceps are getting the chance to recover and grow.

Likewise, when you’re training your hamstrings, back and biceps, the muscles involved on push day can rest and rebuild.

A push pull split is also ideal for people who don’t like leg workouts. Rather than devote an entire workout to your lower body (as you would do with a push/pull/legs split and upper/lower split), you do a little bit of leg work every time you train.

That is, the push day workouts involve some exercises that focus on your quads, such as the back squat, while the pull day workouts will include some work for your hamstrings, like the leg curl.

You can use the push-pull split to train anywhere between two and six days per week, with each training frequency having its own advantages and drawbacks.

The 4-day version of the program is the one I think will work best for most people, most of the time. You get a balance between effectiveness and practicality.

That is, it’s more effective than the 2- and 3-day versions, but more practical than training 5 or 6 days a week.

Lifting weights 5-6 days a week may, in some cases at least, work better than training four days a week. But not everyone can make it to the gym five or six days a week. Four days a week is a more realistic goal for most people.

Other Workout Splits

• 4 Day Dumbbell Workout – Push/Pull Routine
• Full Body/Push/Pull Split: 3-Day Workout Routine
• 4-Day Upper/Lower Split