6 Day Gym Workout Schedule (Push / Pull / Legs)
The six-day version of a push, pull, legs split: every muscle group trained twice a week with 48 to 72 hours of recovery between sessions. Here is the full weekly layout, the exercises, and how to tell when six days has become too many.
The weekly layout
| Day | Session | Exercises |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Push A (chest focus) | Bench press · Incline dumbbell press · Lateral raise · Triceps pushdown |
| Tue | Pull A (width) | Pull-up · Barbell row · Lat pulldown · Biceps curl |
| Wed | Legs A (quad focus) | Back squat · Leg press · Leg curl · Standing calf raise |
| Thu | Push B (shoulder focus) | Overhead press · Dumbbell shoulder press · Cable fly · Skull crusher |
| Fri | Pull B (thickness) | Deadlift · Seated cable row · Face pull · Hammer curl |
| Sat | Legs B (hip focus) | Romanian deadlift · Hip thrust · Leg extension · Seated calf raise |
| Sun | Rest | Easy walking, stretching, sleep |
Sets and reps: 3–4 working sets per exercise. Heavy compounds 5–8 reps, secondary movements 8–12, isolation 12–15. Leave one or two reps in reserve on every set except the last.
Why push, pull, legs beats other 6 day splits
The alternative to this schedule is the body-part split — chest day, back day, shoulder day and so on — which leaves a muscle group untouched for a full week. Research and decades of gym practice both point the same way: training a muscle twice a week with moderate volume builds more than training it once with high volume. Push, pull, legs gets you that frequency in six sessions while grouping muscles that work together, so the shoulder and the triceps are not wrecked on the day you need them fresh.
The other benefit is legibility. Six named sessions with clear jobs make it obvious when you have skipped legs for two weeks, and obvious where volume should go if your bench stalls while your squat climbs.
How to run it week to week
Keep the A and B sessions the same exercises for at least six weeks so you can actually measure progress. Use double progression: hold the weight until you hit the top of the rep range on all sets, then add the smallest increment the gym allows. Log every set. On a six-day schedule you are training the same pattern again in 72 hours, and the difference between a good week and a wasted one is usually five pounds on one lift.
If you would rather train Sunday to Friday, just shift the block — the order push, pull, legs, push, pull, legs, rest is what matters, not the weekday names. Some lifters put the rest day in the middle instead, which is fine too as long as no muscle group is trained on back-to-back days.
Recovery rules that make six days work
Six sessions a week only works if the other 22 hours support it. Aim for 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight, seven to nine hours of sleep, and enough calories that you are not losing weight unintentionally. Keep hard cardio to two or three short sessions and put them after lifting or on the rest day. Deload every sixth to eighth week by cutting sets by half while keeping the weights — this is the single most skipped step and the most common reason people burn out on a 6 day plan.
Drop to four or five days if your top sets get heavier week over week is happening alongside worse sleep and aching joints. Fewer, better sessions beat six sloppy ones every time.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good 6 day gym workout schedule?
Push, pull, legs run twice a week, training Monday to Saturday with Sunday off. Every muscle group gets trained twice with 48–72 hours of recovery.
Is a 6 day gym workout schedule too much?
Not if you sleep, eat enough protein and have six months of training behind you. Beginners should stay at three or four days.
What split is best for 6 days a week?
Push, pull, legs. It gives each muscle two weekly sessions without the week-long gap of a body-part split.
How long should a 6 day plan session take?
60 to 75 minutes. Four to six exercises with two to three minutes of rest on the compounds fits easily.