Max's Push Pull Legs: how it works
Max’s own plan: push, pull and legs on a one-day-on, one-day-off rotation, with plenty of direct arm, shoulder and core work.
Who it suits
Experienced lifters with a full gym who enjoy long sessions and can recover from a lot of hard sets. Expect eight to twelve exercises a session.
How the week runs
Train every other day: Push, rest, Pull, rest, Legs, rest, then start again. The days drift across the calendar, so some weeks have four sessions and some have three.
- Push: bench press, overhead press, pec deck, lateral raises, dips, triceps and abs, with optional pullovers.
- Pull: Bayesian curls, pull ups, barbell row, pulldowns, low row, rear delts, curls, forearms, shrugs, abs and dips.
- Legs: hack squat, calf raises, Romanian deadlift, leg extensions, leg curls, inner and outer hip work, and abs.
How to progress
Bench and the first leg exercise start with a warm-up set (the W row); everything else goes straight to working sets. Most sets aim for 10 reps: go past that and add weight next set; fall well short and drop it.
MaxLift suggests each set’s weight from your last session, and adjusts the next set after every set you log: short of the target reps, it drops; well over, it goes up.
Tips
- Short on time? Skip the pullovers first: they’re the optional one.
- Swapped to back squat or belt squat on leg day? The target shows the sets and reps for each.
Suggested weights are a guide only. Check with a doctor before starting a new program, and stop if something hurts.