4 Day Push Pull Workout Routine (with PDF)

Fitness enthusiasts typically divide their workout routine into different training splits. One of the most effective splits is the push-pull workout program.

The push-pull workout routine is perfect for beginners, intermediate, and even advanced-level bodybuilders. It’s simple, easy to keep track of, and highly effective. In the push-pull split, you work out your muscles based on their mechanics.

For instance, you target the muscle groups responsible for pulling the weights during the first workout session. On the next day, you target the different sets of muscles that help the body carry out the “pushing” movement.

A healthy blend of push and pull workouts can keep your muscles engaged and challenged, providing optimum results at the end of your workout sessions.

But to achieve that, you must have a great gym workout schedule. Typically, a 4-day push/pull workout routine is the most effective. Such a workout program will allow you to engage your muscles at least twice a week.

It’s a scientific fact that working on a muscle group at least twice a week will promote greater muscle hypertrophy. So, with a wholesome 4-day push-pull workout routine, you can gain larger muscles in a productive timespan.

To help you, we’ve got the most time-efficient 4-day workout plan for your push-pull training split.

Push Pull Workout Principles

Before we move on to our comprehensive push-pull gym workout schedule, you should understand the mechanics and science behind such a training split.

Firstly, it’s essential to understand that high-frequency training splits yield better results. And as per studies, a higher volume of repetitions at the gym promotes great muscle hypertrophy.

The push-pull workout program is best suited for a 4-day routine. It divides the targeted muscle groups into two categories – the pushing muscles and the pulling muscles.

The training focuses on eccentric and concentric movements equally, allowing gymgoers to gain strength effectively.

In pulling exercises, the muscle contracts during the concentric phase of the movement, when you pull the weight toward your body. Afterward, the muscle relaxes (lengthens) when the weight pulls itself away. These are called eccentric movements.

In pushing exercises, the muscle contracts when you push the weight away from the body and relaxes when the weight comes back to its natural position.

Moreover, in a 4-day push-pull split regime, one can easily take enough rests between workout sessions. The basic principle is that you won’t use the same muscle groups two days in a row.

In a push-pull workout split, you shall be training related muscle groups during one session and opposing muscle groups during the other. The program will provide optimal recovery while allowing a higher frequency training.

Here are the muscle groups involved in the push and pull exercises:

Push Muscle Groups

1. Chest
2. Shoulder
3. Triceps
4. Quads
5. Calf

Pull Muscle Groups

1. Back
2. Biceps
3. Forearms
4. Traps
5. Glutes
6. Hamstring

4 Day Push Pull Workout Schedule

The advantages and scientific benefits of a 4-day workout split between push and pull muscle groups are clear. Now, we can move on to the actual workout schedule.

The best part about dividing the schedule into four active days is that you won’t have to overstress any muscles. You can have proper rests in between every active days, and still attain the high frequency and volume required for maximum muscle hypertrophy.

Now, let’s move straight to our 4-day split push pull workout schedule:

1. Day 1: Push
2. Day 2: Rest
3. Day 3: Pull + Abs
4. Day 4: Rest
5. Day 5: Push
6. Day 6: Rest
7. Day 7: Pull + Abs

The inclusion of abdominal workouts is vital for the overall strengthening of your body. As you might know, abs make up a large chunk of your body’s “core” muscles. Having a well-built core is similar to having a strong foundation.

Every other muscle group will perform better if you have an enhanced core. These muscles provide stability to the body and help in proper movement, balance, and so on. The exclusion of abs workout from this pull-pull split training program could hinder the progress.

With a proper 4-day workout program, the main advantage is that you can be flexible with your time at the gym. You’ll have three days for rest and recovery. During the other four days, you can manage intense workouts without breaking your body.

The overlapping strains on your “pull” and “push” muscle groups can also be avoided, resulting in lesser injuries. This is usually not the case if you’re focusing on separate muscle groups each day (chest, biceps, etcetera). In such a program, you’re more likely to strain muscles as the extent of overlapping is much higher.

For instance, compound exercises focus on several muscle groups at the same time. So, if you’re engaging muscles that already worked the other day, you might cause an injury.

That is something that you can avoid with our push-pull workout routine as it ensures minimal overlapping.

4 Day Push Pull Workout Routine

To get benefits from a training program, you need to have a proper routine. If you mess up your schedule, especially in a push-pull split, you might undo the advantages of this specific regime.

To make your job easier, and to prevent any lasting errors, we’ve come up with the ideal 4-day push/pull workout routine for you.

The exercises that we’ve mentioned are not complicated. Grouping them together, in this sequence, however is the key to achieving maximum hypertrophy.

Day 1: Push A

1. Push ups- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
2. Squat- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
3. Barbell bench press- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
4. Leg extension- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
5. Incline bench press- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
6. Shoulder press- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
7. Cable triceps pushdowns- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
8. Cable lateral raise- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
9. Cable behind head tricep extension- 3 sets of 10-15 reps

Day 2: Rest

Day 3: Pull A + Abs A

1. Pull ups- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
2. Deadlift- 3 sets of 6-8 reps
3. Barbell row- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
4. Lying leg curl- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
5. Barbell curl- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
6. Barbell shrugs- 3 sets of 10 reps
7. Incline dumbbell curl- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
8. Decline crunches- 3 AMRAP sets
9. Lying leg raises- 3 AMRAP sets

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Push B

1. Parallel bar dips- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
2. Squat- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
3. Barbell bench press- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
4. Lunges- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
5. Decline bench press- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
6. Arnold press- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
7. Single arm dumbbell extension- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
8. Cable lateral raise- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
9. Skull crushers- 3 sets of 10-15 reps

Day 6: Rest

Day 7: Pull B + Abs B

1. Chin ups- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
2. Deadlift- 3 sets of 6-8 reps
3. Cable row- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
4. Lying leg curl- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
5. Dumbbell curl- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
6. Dumbbell shrugs- 3 sets of 10 reps
7. Preacher curl machine- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
8. V crunches- 3 AMRAP sets
9. Lying leg raises- 3 AMRAP sets

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For all gym enthusiasts, it’s important to recognize the “mental aspect” of working out as well. If the schedule is getting too monotonous, or if you’ve hit a plateau, you’ll need to find some solutions.

Tweaking the exercises, increasing the frequency and weights, or even taking a short break from the gym can help. The push-pull workout program, while effective, might take a toll on you if you’re not ready for it.

Another good way to get out of a rut or a slump is to engage in what people often call “microcycles”. The primary advantage of the push-pull exercise routine is that you can create short cycles of different kinds of workouts to get maximum effectiveness.

Using the microcycle technique, you can plan one workout session with heavier weights and less reps. This will replicate an intense strength-based training session.

During the next session of the same muscle group, you can complete more repetitions with lighter weights. This will allow you to gain more muscle hypertrophy due to increased volume and frequency.

Thus, with such a push-pull split, you’ll be able to get the best of both – strength-based and size-based workouts.

4-Day Push Pull Workout Plan PDF

You can download the PDF version of our workout plan as well. A better news for gym rats is that we have a printable PDF. So it’ll be easier for you to carry the schedule around and use it as a reference point for your workout sessions.

You can access the printable 4-day workout plan from here.

Now, you can enjoy an uninterrupted gymming session.

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Final Thoughts

4-day push-pull split training programs can be highly effective if you plan on achieving the perfect balance of muscle hypertrophy and strength gain.

What’s the best part about this? That you don’t have to break your body to achieve such results. You will have plenty of time to take guilt-free rests.