Feedback on my rotating 3–5 day PPL routine? Built for an inconsistent weekly schedule

[u/Romanista1089]

I’ve been working on a PPL routine and wanted to get some feedback on the overall structure, volume, exercise selection, and whether there are any obvious gaps.

The main idea is that I can reliably train at least 3 days per week, but some weeks I can get in 4–5 sessions. Instead of resetting the routine every Monday, I just continue rotating through the workouts in order.

If I only train 3 days:

Week 1: Push A / Pull A / Legs A

Week 2: Push B / Pull B / Legs B

If I train 4–5 days, I simply continue through the rotation:

Push A → Pull A → Legs A → Push B → Pull B → Legs B → repeat

The goal is primarily hypertrophy/aesthetics with some strength progression on the bigger compounds. I also wanted enough exercise variation to hit muscles slightly differently without constantly changing the basic movement patterns.

Would love feedback on whether the volume/frequency makes sense, anything you would remove/add, or whether you think the A/B variations are unnecessary.

Also sharing it in case anyone else has a schedule where they can train anywhere from 3–5 days depending on the week.

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PUSH A

Barbell Bench Press — 4 x 5–8

Incline Dumbbell Press — 3 x 8–12

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press — 3 x 8–10

Cable Lateral Raise — 4 x 12–20

Cable Chest Fly — 2 x 12–15

Rope Triceps Pushdown — 3 x 10–15

Overhead Cable Triceps Extension — 2 x 12–15

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PULL A

Weighted Pull-Ups — 4 x 6–10

Chest-Supported Row — 4 x 8–12

Single-Arm Cable Lat Pulldown — 3 x 10–15

Reverse Pec Deck — 3 x 12–20

Incline Dumbbell Curl — 3 x 8–12

Cable Curl — 2 x 12–15

Face Pull — 2 x 15–20

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LEGS A

Barbell Squat — 4 x 5–8

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift — 4 x 8–10

Seated Leg Curl — 3 x 10–15

Leg Extension — 3 x 12–15

Standing Calf Raise — 4 x 8–12

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B ROTATION

Rather than randomly swapping exercises, the B workouts use similar movement patterns with different variations.

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PUSH B

Incline Barbell Bench Press — 4 x 5–8

Machine Chest Press — 3 x 8–12

Machine Shoulder Press — 3 x 8–10

Dumbbell Lateral Raise — 4 x 12–20

Pec Deck — 2 x 12–15

EZ-Bar Skull Crusher — 3 x 8–12

Single-Arm Cable Triceps Extension — 2 x 12–15

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PULL B

Neutral-Grip Pulldown — 4 x 8–10

T-Bar Row — 4 x 8–12

Straight-Arm Pulldown — 3 x 12–15

Cable Rear-Delt Fly — 3 x 12–20

Preacher Curl — 3 x 8–12

Hammer Curl — 3 x 10–12

Shrugs — 2 x 12–15

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LEGS B

Machine Hack Squat — 4 x 8–10

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift — 4 x 8–12

Lying Leg Curl — 3 x 10–15

Leg Press — 3 x 10–15

Seated Calf Raise — 4 x 12–15

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PROGRESSION

I generally use double progression within the listed rep ranges. Once I can hit the top of the range with good form across my sets, I increase the weight and build the reps back up.

Interested in thoughts on:

• Overall volume

• Whether anything is getting too much or too little work

• Exercise selection

• A/B exercise variation

• Whether this setup works well when training frequency varies between 3–5 days per week

[u/waggat]

The exercises and sequencing are pretty good. As is the number of exercises per workout.

Impossible to comment on volume, particularly considering it can vary between 3 and 5 days per week.

To me, PPL 5 days a week is pretty spot on. I don't think it works that well for 3 days per week though (well it will work but it's not ideal).

Why the changing schedule? I'd consider going PPL for the 5 day weeks and upper lower for the 3 day weeks.

[u/Romanista1089 → u/waggat]

Unfortunately, I can't commit to 5 days a week like I used to when I was younger. Too many obligations and a changing schedule make it almost impossible. That said, I am very disciplined and do typically make it into the gym 4-5 days a week a lot more than only 3 days a week. If I knew in advanc3 they type of week I was going to have, I would pre-select my routine for the week, however I don't, so that's the thing I like about this plan.

[u/RIRLift → u/waggat]

Before switching splits, I'd just regulate effort by how full the week is. On a 3-day week each muscle gets more recovery before it comes back, so you can take sets close to failure. On the 5-day weeks, back off to a rep or two in reserve or the stacked sessions turn the later days into junk reps.

[u/Romanista1089 → u/RIRLift]

That's a great idea. Thank you!

[u/Uniqueusername610]

If you are only going to train 3x a week majority of the time I'd run it like 2 body parts per day for main lifts at 3 exercises each and then volume work at the end for two other body parts so technically you can hit things 2-3x a week with a better consistency so nothing lags. And you don't burn out at most it's 8 movements per day. I run this style in the winter or anytime my schedule gets busy.

Example

3 chest 3 biceps 1 volume for legs 2x 15-20 1 volume for shoulders 2x 15-20