PPL is NOT Complicated

Or at least it shouldn't be.

Pull, push, leg – or push, pull, leg – splits are not complicated. There's this idea that "bodybuilding splits are confusing and complex."

That certainly shouldn't be the case.

Sure, there are a bunch of dorks out there overcomplicating these splits and mindlessly pairing many – mostly redundant – exercises together, with unnecessary amounts of volume into sessions and acting like it takes advanced education to come up with such foolish plans.

But honestly, the reason that I like using a PPL program structure is because:

1. It's simple

2. It's sensible

3. It manages fatigue well

4. It allows me to train with positive stimulus to fatigue ratio 

5. Sessions can be brief

6. It allows me to train frequently

7. I'm able to get a lot of localized muscular stimulus without taxing the central nervous system

Here's the basic needs in PPL sessions.

Pull day

1. Vertical pull/back

2. Horizontal pull/back 

3. Bicep

Push day

1. Vertical push/shoulder exercise 

2. Horizontal push/chest exercise

3. Triceps 

Leg day

1. Squat/quad exercise

2. Hinge/hamstring exercise

3. Calf exercise

That's the basics.

From there, you can add a mild amount of complexity by offering another isolation exercise or 2. Pull day might have a forearm or rear delt exercise added. Push day might have a side delt isolation or a chest isolation exercise added. Leg day may have another quad or hamstring isolation added.

That's it. As you can see, it's incredibly simple.

Stop allowing yourself to make uncomplicated things complicated. Please.