What Is Push Pull Legs?

Push, pull, legs is a resistance training program that divides your training into workouts focused on pushing, pulling, and lower body movements.

On push days, you perform exercises like chest/shoulder presses and tricep extensions. Pull days involve rows, pulldowns, and bicep curls, while leg days concentrate on squats, hip hinge movements, and isolation exercises for the quads, hamstrings, and calves.

The traditional push, pull, legs workout is a 3-day per week routine, and you have the option of working out on consecutive days or taking rest days in between. More advanced lifters may opt for the 6-day version of this program, in which they perform each workout twice per week.

Push, Pull, Legs Splits:

• 3-Day Beginner/Intermediate = Push, Pull, Legs
• 6-Day Advanced = Push, Pull, Legs, Repeat

Why Chris Bumstead Uses 6-Day Push Pull Legs

Professional bodybuilders, including CBum, often use a training routine called the bro split workout. This method involves training one or two muscle groups per workout, five to six days per week.

With the bro split, the target muscle gets worked to complete fatigue during workouts. And that emphasis and intensity help generate maximum hypertrophy, especially for experienced athletes.

However, Chris Bumstead likes the 6-day push, pull, legs split because it allows him to train each muscle group twice weekly. Some studies suggest that this frequency leads to the fastest increases in muscle growth¹.

In addition, the push, pull, leg split is more straightforward to program and follow than more complex bro splits. It enables combining similar muscle groups to reduce soreness or overtraining when working the chest one day and triceps the next, for example.

Plus, Chris finds that the reduced volume for a particular muscle group in any given workout makes it easier to stay motivated while training hard. He says he enjoys going to the gym when using the push, pull, and split legs.

Benefits of Chris Bumstead’s Push Pull Legs Split

• Hit muscle groups twice per week.
• Optimal hypertrophy for advanced lifters.
• Less doubling up on muscle groups and joints.
• Fewer sets for each muscle group in a workout.
• Able to push harder for those sets.
• Simple concept and easy to follow.
• He enjoys it, and it keeps him motivated!

Chris Bumstead Push Pull Legs Split

Some 6-day push, pull, legs routines are a copy and paste of the first three days. So, you would essentially do the same three workouts twice per week.

However, Chris Bumstead prefers to do six unique workouts to incorporate various exercises, angles, and rep ranges to work every fiber of each muscle group.

Even the reigning Mr. Olympia has areas that he can improve. And Bumstead’s push, pull, legs split is designed to work on weak points while avoiding injuries.

For CBum, the muscle groups he gets critiqued most are his biceps and calves. So, special attention and intensity techniques are built-in on those days.

Now let’s dive into a more detailed look at the workouts.

Push Workout 1: Chest, Shoulders, Tris (Pec Heavy)

• Barbell Bench Press (incline or flat)
  • 2 heavy sets 5-8 reps
  • 1 back off set 10-12 reps
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press
  • 3 sets 10-12 reps
• Chest Flies
  • 3 sets 10-12 reps
• Tricep Extensions (superset with flies)
  • 4 sets 7-10 reps
• Lateral Raises (rest time <1 min)
  • 4 sets 10-12 reps
• Dips (more upright to hit triceps over chest)
  • 3 sets to failure

Pull Workout 1: Back, Bis (Upper Lat Focus)

• Lat Pulldowns
  • 2 warm-up sets
  • 3 working sets 8-10 (drop set last set)
• Bent Over Barbell Rows
  • 2 warm-up sets
  • 2 heavy sets 6-8 reps
  • 1 back off set 10-12 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Curls
  • 4 sets 10-12 reps
• Pull Ups
  • 3 sets to failure
• EZ Bar Curls
  • 2 sets 8-10 reps
  • 2 sets 40-second duration

Leg Workout 1: Glute & Hamstring Focus

• Walking Lunges
  • 3 warm-up sets with bodyweight
  • 3 working sets weighted 12-15 steps, each leg
• RDLs or Deadlift
  • 2 warm-up sets
  • 3 working sets 10-12 reps RDLs (6-8 reps if deadlift)
• Hip Thrusts or Glute Kick Backs
  • 3 sets 10-12 reps
• Seated Calf Raises
  • 6 sets 10-12 reps
• Hamstring Curls (superset with last 4 sets of calf raises)
  • 2 sets 10 reps
  • 2 sets 40 seconds duration

Push Workout 2: Shoulders, Chest, Tris (Delt Heavy)

• Close Grip Bench Press
  • 3 sets 8-10 reps
• Standing Barbell Press
  • 3 sets 10-12 reps
• Pec Deck Flies
  • 1 set 8-10 reps
  • 2 sets 40 seconds duration
• Overhead Triceps Extension
  • 3 sets 10-12 reps
• Lateral Raises
  • 4 sets 10-12 reps
• Push Ups (superset with last 3 sets of lateral raises)
  • 3 sets to failure

Complete Push Day Exercises List

Pull Workout 2: Back, Bis (Lower Lat Focus)

• Pull Ups
  • 3 warm-up sets (while warming up for rack pulls)
• Rack Pulls
  • 3 warm-up sets
  • 2 working sets 8-10 reps
• Hammer Curls
  • 3 sets 10-12 reps
• Reverse Grip Row OR Supinated Lat Pulldown
  • 3 sets 10-12 reps
• Cable Curls
  • 3 sets 10-12 reps
• Cable Rows
  • 2 drop sets (total of 20 reps each)
• Dumbbell Curl
  • Run the rack to failure

Complete Pull Day Exercises List

Leg Workout 2: Quad Focus

• Barbell Squats
  • 3 warm-up sets
  • 3 sets 8-12 reps
  • 1 set 4-6 reps
• Leg Press
  • 2 sets 40 seconds duration
• Leg Press Calf Raise (superset with leg press)
  • 2 sets to failure (at least 10 reps)
• Hip Adductors
  • 4 sets 10-12 reps
• Standing Calf Raises
  • 4 sets 10-12 reps (then bounce reps to failure)
• Leg Extensions
  • 2 sets 10-12 reps
  • 2 triple drop sets

More Chris Bumstead Stuff

Chris Bumstead has gotten great results from the push, pull, legs split. However, he doesn’t use that workout routine all the time, so I’ve included some examples of his other workouts below.

Check out these additional articles on Chris Bumstead’s workouts and news.

Chris Bumstead Arm Workouts

Chris Bumstead Leg Workouts

Chris Bumstead Height, Weight, & Measurements

Chris Bumstead’s Mullet, Mustache, & Hair Motivation

Chris Bumstead Gets Hair Transplant After Olympia Win