Push, pull, legs: the 3-day split that fits an Indian work week
A full push, pull, legs plan for beginners: which days to train, the exact exercises, sets and reps for each day, and what to do when you miss a session.
Key takeaways
- Three sessions a week, one each for push, pull and legs, is enough for a beginner to grow for at least a year.
- Train Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Saturday, and simply continue the sequence if you miss a day, do not skip ahead.
- Each session is 6 exercises, 3 working sets each, done in about 55 minutes.
Most people who join a gym in India train after office, somewhere between 6.30 and 9 pm, when every bench is taken and the Smith machine has a queue. A plan that asks for five or six sessions a week does not survive that. Push, pull, legs on three days does.
Here is the whole thing, with the exact exercises, the numbers, and the rules for the weeks that go wrong.
What push, pull and legs actually means
You split the body by movement, not by muscle name.
- Push day is chest, shoulders and triceps. Everything where you press weight away from you.
- Pull day is back and biceps. Everything where you pull weight towards you.
- Leg day is quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves.
The muscles that work together get trained together, so your triceps are not already tired when you reach the bench press. Each muscle group then gets a full six days of rest before it is loaded again, which is more than enough for recovery at beginner weights.
Which days to train
Monday, Wednesday and Friday is the classic pattern. If Friday evenings are for family or you leave office late, use Saturday morning instead. The gaps do not need to be equal. What matters is that you do all three sessions inside seven days.
Sunday is a rest day in this plan, on purpose. Most gyms are either shut or half-staffed on Sunday, and most people use it for family and food. Plan around that rather than fighting it.
The three sessions
Every exercise is 3 working sets. Pick a weight where the last 2 reps of each set feel hard but your form does not change. Rest 90 seconds between sets on the big lifts and 60 seconds on the rest.
| Push day | Sets x reps |
|---|---|
| Barbell or dumbbell bench press | 3 x 6 to 8 |
| Seated dumbbell shoulder press | 3 x 8 to 10 |
| Incline dumbbell press | 3 x 10 to 12 |
| Cable lateral raise | 3 x 12 to 15 |
| Rope triceps pushdown | 3 x 12 to 15 |
| Push-ups to failure | 2 sets |
| Pull day | Sets x reps |
|---|---|
| Lat pulldown (or assisted pull-up) | 3 x 8 to 10 |
| Seated cable row | 3 x 10 to 12 |
| One-arm dumbbell row | 3 x 10 to 12 each side |
| Face pull | 3 x 15 |
| Dumbbell biceps curl | 3 x 10 to 12 |
| Hammer curl | 2 x 12 |
| Leg day | Sets x reps |
|---|---|
| Goblet squat (first 4 weeks), then back squat | 3 x 8 to 10 |
| Romanian deadlift with dumbbells | 3 x 10 |
| Leg press | 3 x 12 |
| Walking lunges | 2 x 10 each leg |
| Lying or seated leg curl | 3 x 12 |
| Standing calf raise | 3 x 15 |
That is 6 exercises and roughly 17 working sets a session. With a 6-minute warm-up it takes 50 to 55 minutes, even on a busy evening. If the bench is taken, do the shoulder press first and come back. Order within a day is not sacred.
How to make it progress
Write down the weight and reps for every set. When you hit the top of the rep range on all 3 sets, add 2.5 kg on upper body lifts and 5 kg on leg press and squat the next week. If you cannot add weight, add one rep. Repyra shows you last session's numbers and nudges you when it is time to go up, which saves you keeping a notebook.
A realistic first month on the bench press for a 70 kg man who has never trained: 30 kg for 3 x 8 in week 1, 32.5 kg in week 2, 35 kg in week 3, and 35 kg again in week 4 but for 3 x 9 or 10. Slow, boring, and it works.
What to do when you miss a day
You will miss days. Monsoon traffic, a late client call, a cousin's wedding. The rule is simple: never skip a session in the sequence. If you missed Wednesday's pull day, do pull on Friday and legs on Saturday, or push the whole week forward by one day. Legs is the session people quietly drop, and it is the one that changes how you look the most.
If you miss a full week, go back to the weights you used two weeks earlier and work up again. Do not try to make up for lost time with two sessions in one evening.
Eating enough to make it worth it
Three hard sessions a week need roughly 1.6 g of protein per kg of bodyweight. For a 65 kg person that is about 105 g a day. Four eggs, 200 g paneer and a bowl of dal gets you most of the way. Two rotis with sabzi and dal at lunch is fine, just add the protein.
Start this coming Monday. Three days, six exercises each, write everything down. Give it twelve weeks before you judge it.
Questions people ask
Is 3 days a week enough to build muscle?
Yes, for the first one to two years of training. Each muscle gets one hard session and six days of recovery, which is enough for steady beginner progress when you eat enough protein.
Can I do push, pull, legs on consecutive days?
You can, for example Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Different muscles are used each day, so recovery is fine. Most people find a gap day helps their energy, but it is a preference, not a rule.
Should I add cardio to this split?
If you want, add 15 to 20 minutes of brisk walking or cycling after a session, or on a rest day. Keep it light enough that it does not hurt your leg day.
