Push/Pull 4-Day Split With Legs: Where Quads and Hamstrings Go

Yes, you can run a push pull split 4 day with legs and never schedule a “leg day”. Quads and calves go on push days. Hamstrings and glutes go on pull days. Every muscle gets trained twice a week, which makes it easy to spread enough weekly sets for growth.

This guide is a practical branch of our workout splits and session architecture guide. We will cover how to assign leg muscles to each day, what order to lift in, how many sets to aim for, and a sample week you can copy.

Does a push pull split 4 day with legs actually work?

It works if the numbers add up. Two numbers matter: how often you hit each muscle, and how many hard sets you do per week.

A 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis of 10 studies found higher training frequency was associated with a greater hypertrophy effect size than lower frequency (0.49 vs 0.30). Its conclusion was that major muscle groups should probably be trained at least twice a week, while it remained unclear whether three times beats twice (Schoenfeld et al., 2016).

A 4-day push/pull week gives you exactly two exposures per muscle. Chest, quads, hamstrings, all of it.

Here is the honest caveat. Newer analysis suggests frequency may matter less than total volume. A 2026 meta-regression of 67 studies found muscle growth increased with weekly set volume, with diminishing returns, while frequency’s effect on hypertrophy was compatible with negligible effects (Pelland et al., 2026). For strength, frequency showed a more consistent effect.

So the cautious reading is this. Twice a week is a sensible default, mostly because it lets you spread your sets across more sessions. The split itself is not magic.

Quads on push day, hamstrings on pull day: why this assignment

Think about movement patterns, not body parts.

Push day already trains muscles that press and extend. Squats, leg presses and leg extensions all work the quads by extending the knee, so they sit naturally with chest, shoulders and triceps. Calf raises are a small add-on that fits anywhere.

Pull day trains muscles that pull and hinge. Deadlift variations, leg curls and hip thrusts load the hamstrings and glutes, so they sit with back, rear delts and biceps.

Day	Upper body	Lower body
Push	Chest, front and side delts, triceps	Quads, calves
Pull	Lats, upper back, rear delts, biceps	Hamstrings, glutes

Squats still hit your glutes and hamstrings a bit, and hinges still load your quads a little. That is fine. Nothing here needs to be perfect.

How should you order exercises on each day?

Lead with the lift you most want to improve. That is the simple rule.

A 2021 meta-analysis of 11 studies found strength gains were largest in the exercises performed at the beginning of a session. For muscle growth, exercise order did not make a significant difference, so multi-joint first or single-joint first produced similar results (Nunes et al., 2021).

What this means for your week:

• Push day: squat first, then presses. Your shoulders and triceps are fresh for the bar on your back, and your legs are not wrecked before the bench.
• Pull day: hinge first (stiff-leg deadlift or similar), then rows and pulldowns, then leg curls and hip thrusts.
• Lower back caution: if you row heavily before a hinge, your spinal erectors may be tired. A chest-supported row keeps your back out of the equation.

The most common mistake here is stacking a heavy bench session before a heavy squat and then wondering why the squat stalls. You do not need to pre-exhaust anything. Put the big leg lift first and let the rest follow. For more on this principle, see our deep dive on exercise order and compounds before isolations.

A sample 4-day push/pull week with legs

Four days, two push and two pull. Call them A and B.

The A days are heavier, with lower reps. The B days use more single-joint or machine work with higher reps, which tends to be easier on your joints and recovery.

Push A (heavy quads, chest focus)

1. Barbell back squat: 3 sets of 5-8
2. Incline dumbbell press: 3 sets of 6-10
3. Dumbbell shoulder press: 2 sets of 8-12
4. Dumbbell lateral raise: 3 sets of 12-20
5. Overhead tricep extension: 2-3 sets of 10-15
6. Standing calf raise: 3 sets of 8-15

Pull A (hinge focus)

1. Stiff-leg deadlift: 3 sets of 6-10
2. Wide-grip lat pulldown: 3 sets of 8-12
3. Chest-supported T-bar row: 3 sets of 8-12
4. Reverse pec dec fly: 2-3 sets of 12-20
5. Hammer curl: 2-3 sets of 8-12
6. Hip thrust: 2-3 sets of 8-12

Push B (volume, machines and single-joint)

1. Leg press or hack squat: 3 sets of 8-12
2. Single-leg extension: 3 sets of 10-15
3. Pec dec fly or cable fly: 3 sets of 10-15
4. Dumbbell shoulder press or machine press: 2-3 sets of 8-12
5. Tricep pushdown: 3 sets of 10-15
6. Standing calf raise: 3 sets of 10-20

Pull B (curl focus)

1. Seated leg curl: 3-4 sets of 8-12
2. Close-grip seated row: 3 sets of 8-12
3. Wide-grip pulldown or pull-up: 2-3 sets of 8-12
4. Kelso shrug: 2 sets of 10-15
5. Preacher curl: 2-3 sets of 8-12
6. Hip thrust or glute bridge: 2-3 sets of 10-15

Count the weekly total. Quads get about 9 hard sets between squats, leg press and extensions. Hamstrings get about 6-7 between the stiff-leg deadlift and leg curl, plus some work from hip thrusts and squats. Adjust depending on how you recover.

Why include a seated leg curl for hamstrings?

Not every hamstring exercise is equal. In a 12-week trial, 20 healthy adults trained one leg with seated leg curls and the other with prone curls, 5 sets of 10 reps at 70% of 1RM, twice a week. MRI showed whole-hamstring volume rose more in the seated leg (+14%) than in the prone leg (+9%). The authors suggest training at long muscle lengths promotes more growth (Maeo et al., 2021).

Treat that as a nudge, not gospel. It was a small trial of healthy adults, using a within-person design, and it only tests one comparison. But it supports putting a seated curl and a hip hinge on pull day, rather than relying on hinges alone.

How many sets of quads and hamstrings per week?

A 2017 meta-analysis of 15 studies found a graded dose-response relationship: more weekly sets were associated with more muscle growth. Each additional set was linked to a 0.37% greater gain, though when sets were grouped into categories (fewer than 5, 5-9, 10+ per muscle) the trend was weaker (P = 0.074) (Schoenfeld et al., 2017).

And again, the 2026 meta-regression found diminishing returns (Pelland et al., 2026). More is not always better, and the sweet spot depends on how well you recover.

A reasonable plan:

• Weeks 1-4: run the sample week as written (about 9 quad sets and 6-7 hamstring sets). If that is a big jump from what you do now, start with 2 sets per leg exercise.
• Weeks 5-8: add a set to one exercise per day if your reps and sleep are holding up.
• After that: hold a volume that keeps progress moving. Use the training volume calculator to tally your weekly sets.

Evidence is limited for exact numbers, and most studies use young adults over weeks, not years. Your own logbook is the tiebreaker.

What about strength on this split?

If you also care about squat or deadlift numbers, a meta-analysis of 22 studies found strength gains were higher with higher frequency, but when volume was equated, frequency made no significant difference (Grgic et al., 2018). The authors noted most data came from untrained participants.

In resistance-trained men, a 6-week trial compared 3 versus 6 sessions a week with volume equated and found similar strength and thickness changes in rectus femoris and vastus intermedius (Saric et al., 2019). That was 27 men over 6 weeks, so it is short and small.

Takeaway: two squat or hinge exposures a week is plenty for most lifters. If your priority is a maximal squat, put your hardest squat on Push A and keep Push B lighter.

Mistakes that wreck a push/pull split with legs

• Skipping the lower-body half. When time is short, people drop leg sets first. Cut upper-body accessories instead.
• Doing all legs hard, every session. Make A heavy and B easier. Two killer leg sessions in one week stack fatigue.
• No warm-up before the first squat. Do 2-3 ramp-up sets rather than loading straight to working weight.
• Training legs twice in a row. Keep a rest day between Push A and Push B sessions, which the layout above does.
• Ignoring calves. They respond to direct work on push day, and take about ten minutes.

Practical notes for Indian lifters

Leg days feel harder in summer heat, and two leg-loaded days a week will raise your appetite. Add an extra roti or a bowl of rice, and keep protein steady with dal, paneer, curd, eggs or soya. Drink water through the session. If you train in a crowded gym with one squat rack, start with leg press or goblet squats on B day.

Session length matters too. With 6 exercises and around 15-19 sets, most sessions land in the 50-70 minute range. If you run longer, read our piece on managing workout duration and trim accessories first.

Push/pull vs other 4-day options

Option	Leg handling	Best for
Push/pull 4-day	Legs split across push and pull	Lifters who dislike leg days
Upper/lower 4-day	Legs share lower days	Strength and simple structure (guide)
PPL variations	Dedicated leg day	More weekly volume (guide)

If you are still choosing, our overview of full-body vs upper-lower vs PPL splits walks through the trade-offs. You can also see a ready-made leg day session for ideas on leg exercise selection.

When to see a doctor

Muscle soreness is normal. Sharp knee pain, pain that travels down the leg, numbness, or a sudden pop in the back of the thigh is not. See a doctor or physiotherapist if pain persists beyond a few days, worsens with loading, or limits walking. This article is general education and does not diagnose or replace medical advice.

The bottom line

A push pull split 4 day with legs is a workable way to train every muscle twice a week without a dedicated leg day. Put quads on push days, hamstrings and glutes on pull days, lead each session with the lift that matters most, and keep one rest day between the pairs.

Do not obsess over the label. Hard sets, steady progression, enough protein and sleep decide most of the outcome. Start with the sample week, keep notes for 6-8 weeks, and adjust sets up or down from your own results.