The Best Workout Plans to Build Muscle: PPL, Upper/Lower & Full Body
PPL, Upper/Lower, or Full Body? The right workout plan to build muscle depends on your experience, schedule, and recovery. Here's how to pick the one that works for you.
Every "best workout plan to build muscle" article on the internet pretends there's one perfect program. There isn't. The best workout plan for muscle growth depends on three things: your training experience, your weekly schedule, and your recovery capacity.
I'm Pasha, founder of 1RM.fit. I've trained for over a decade and helped thousands of lifters program their training. Here's the honest breakdown of the three workout plans that actually build muscle — and how to pick the right one for you.
The 3 Universal Rules
Before picking a plan, understand the rules any workout plan to build muscle has to follow or it simply won't work:
- 10-20 hard sets per muscle group per week. Research-backed sweet spot for hypertrophy — below 10 and you're under-stimulating, above 20 and you're usually just adding junk volume.
- Progressive overload tracked weekly. Numbers must move up — weight, reps, or sets — or you're not building muscle, you're maintaining.
- Each muscle hit 2-3x per week. Hitting a muscle once a week (the classic "bro split") is measurably less effective for natural lifters than spreading the same volume across 2-3 sessions.
The Three Workout Plans That Actually Build Muscle
Forget split-by-bodypart programs (Mon = chest, Tue = back, etc.). Modern research is clear: hitting each muscle group 2x per week is significantly better for hypertrophy than hitting it once. That leaves three viable splits:
- Push Pull Legs (PPL) — 6 days per week, each muscle hit twice
- Upper/Lower — 4 days per week, each muscle hit twice
- Full Body — 3 days per week, each muscle hit three times
Pick wrong and you'll either burn out from over-training or never accumulate enough volume to grow. Let me walk through each one honestly.
Plan 1: Push Pull Legs (PPL) — For Intermediate to Advanced Lifters
The Structure
- Monday: Push (chest, shoulders, triceps)
- Tuesday: Pull (back, biceps)
- Wednesday: Legs
- Thursday: Push
- Friday: Pull
- Saturday: Legs
- Sunday: Rest
When PPL Works
PPL is the king of high-volume training. If you can train 6 days a week consistently, recover well, and you have at least 1-2 years of solid training behind you, this is the highest-output plan you can run. The double-frequency hits each muscle group twice per week, and the high volume per session drives serious hypertrophy.
When PPL Fails
PPL fails for beginners, anyone with a stressful job, anyone who can't commit to 6 days a week, and anyone with poor recovery (bad sleep, high stress, inconsistent nutrition). If you skip days and only train 4 of the 6, you'll create lopsided volume — one push but only one pull, for example. That's worse than just running a 4-day plan from the start.
Sample PPL Push Day
- Barbell Bench Press — 4 sets × 6-8 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Press — 3 sets × 8-10 reps
- Seated Overhead Press — 3 sets × 8-10 reps
- Lateral Raises — 4 sets × 12-15 reps
- Cable Triceps Pushdown — 3 sets × 10-12 reps
- Overhead Triceps Extension — 3 sets × 10-12 reps
Plan 2: Upper/Lower — The Best All-Around Split
The Structure
- Monday: Upper
- Tuesday: Lower
- Wednesday: Rest
- Thursday: Upper
- Friday: Lower
- Saturday & Sunday: Rest
When Upper/Lower Works
Upper/Lower is the best general-purpose hypertrophy split. It hits everything twice per week, leaves you with 3 rest days, fits any normal life schedule, and works for everyone from late-beginner to advanced. If I could only recommend one workout plan to build muscle for the average lifter — this is it.
It's also the easiest to recover from. The volume per session is moderate (not crushing like PPL), so you can train hard without falling apart.
When Upper/Lower Fails
It rarely does. The only real failure mode is for advanced lifters who genuinely need more volume than 4 sessions a week can provide — they outgrow Upper/Lower and move to PPL or 5-day splits.
Sample Upper Day
- Barbell Bench Press — 4 sets × 6-8 reps
- Barbell Row — 4 sets × 6-8 reps
- Overhead Press — 3 sets × 8-10 reps
- Pull-Ups or Lat Pulldown — 3 sets × 8-10 reps
- Dumbbell Curl — 3 sets × 10-12 reps
- Triceps Dip or Pushdown — 3 sets × 10-12 reps
Sample Lower Day
- Back Squat — 4 sets × 6-8 reps
- Romanian Deadlift — 4 sets × 8-10 reps
- Leg Press — 3 sets × 10-12 reps
- Walking Lunges — 3 sets × 10 reps per leg
- Leg Curl — 3 sets × 12-15 reps
- Standing Calf Raise — 4 sets × 12-15 reps
Plan 3: Full Body — Best for Beginners
The Structure
- Monday: Full Body A
- Wednesday: Full Body B
- Friday: Full Body A or C
- Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday: Rest
When Full Body Works
If you have less than a year of consistent lifting experience, full body is mathematically the best workout plan to build muscle. You hit every muscle three times per week, the volume per session is manageable, and you build the fundamental movement patterns (squat, hinge, press, pull) every single session.
Full body also works great for busy professionals who can only commit to 3 sessions per week. You won't maximize muscle growth like a 5-6 day program, but you'll out-grow people doing nothing or doing inconsistent splits.
When Full Body Fails
Once you're intermediate, full body sessions get brutal. Squatting, deadlifting, and pressing in the same session at meaningful intensity will crush your recovery. Most intermediates outgrow full body within 18-24 months.
Sample Full Body Day A
- Back Squat — 3 sets × 5-8 reps
- Bench Press — 3 sets × 5-8 reps
- Barbell Row — 3 sets × 6-8 reps
- Overhead Press — 3 sets × 8-10 reps
- Romanian Deadlift — 2 sets × 8-10 reps
- Plank — 3 × 60 seconds
Which Workout Plan Should YOU Pick?
Use this decision tree:
- Beginner (less than 1 year of consistent training): Full Body, 3 days/week.
- Intermediate (1-3 years), can train 4 days/week: Upper/Lower. Best ROI for your time.
- Intermediate to Advanced, can train 6 days/week with full recovery: Push Pull Legs.
- Busy schedule, only 3 days/week, intermediate lifter: Full Body B (a more advanced full body variation).
- Advanced (3+ years), need maximum volume: PPL or 5-day Bro Split (yes, even though Reddit hates them).
The Mistake That Kills Every Workout Plan
The best workout plan to build muscle is the one you actually follow consistently for 6+ months. Switching plans every 4 weeks is the #1 reason people don't grow.
Whichever plan you pick, run it for at least 12 weeks before considering a switch. Most people abandon programs in weeks 3-4 because they don't feel results yet. Muscle growth is slow — visible changes take 8-16 weeks of consistent training. Stick with it.
Progression Rules That Apply to All Three Plans
- Compound lifts: Add 2.5kg (5lbs) when you hit the top of the rep range for all sets. Drop back to the bottom of the range with the new weight.
- Accessory lifts: Add 1 rep per set per week. When you max the range, add weight and restart from the bottom.
- Isolation lifts (12-20 reps): Focus on muscle feel and rep increases rather than chasing heavier weight every week.
- Deload every 6-8 weeks. Drop to 60-70% load for one week, then start a new training block.
- Track every workout. If you can't prove your numbers moved week over week, you can't prove the plan is working.
Track Your Workout Plan Free
The single biggest difference between lifters who grow on these plans and lifters who plateau isn't the plan they pick. It's whether they actually track every set.
If you're running any of these workout plans to build muscle, download 1RM.fit free and load your chosen program as a routine. The app tracks every PR automatically, alerts you when it's time to add weight, and shows your progression curve over weeks and months so you can prove the plan is working.
Pick one of these workout plans to build muscle. Run it for 12 weeks. Track everything. The results will speak louder than any article.
Already locked in on hypertrophy as your goal? Get the full breakdown in our best bodybuilding workout plan for muscle mass guide.
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