The Perfect Push, Pull, Leg Kettlebell Workout for Hypertrophy (5-Day Program)

The push, pull, leg training system is effective for beginners and intermediate gym goers. Dividing your workout into different ways that can test your body is the best way to get fitter, more athletic, strong and lose weight.

Whatever your goal is, chances are, the push, pull, leg workout methodology most likely will benefit you.

In this article, you will see the perfect push, pull, leg kettlebell workout. If you love the kettlebell, or maybe have access to one and not much else for your training sessions, then this is exactly what you’ve been looking for.

Push, Pull, Leg Methodology

If you don’t know what is the push, pull, leg training methodology, it isn’t difficult to understand.

In simple terms, you will be dividing your exercises depending on what type of movement they are and what area of your body it targets.

Exercises that have you pushing away an object from your body will be in the “push” category. In the other direction, if you are pulling the handle of a machine or dumbbell towards your body, these exercises would be categorised as “pull.” Both of these nomenclatures are, for the purpose of push, pull, leg workout, only described for upper-body exercises. Any exercise that focuses on your lower body, be it pushing or pulling, is in the “leg” category.

In other words, push exercises typically focuses on your chest, shoulder and triceps, while pulling exercises target your back, biceps and forearms. What about the abs? These exercises are typically added to leg training sessions, but you can do them any time you want, as long as you take at least 24 hours of recovery between training days. You can also reserve a specific day to do only core exercises, instead of push, pull, or leg.

The Perfect Push, Pull, Leg Kettlebell Workout

This workout will be split into five days and you need only kettlebells for your weight training. Follow this workout for 6-8 weeks and switch to a different workout after so that your body doesn’t get accustomed to it and you spend time not evolving athletically in the gym.

The workout is divided into the following:

• Day 1 – Push
• Day 2 – Pull
• Day 3 – Leg and Abs
• Day 4 – Push and Abs
• Day 5 – Pull and Leg

As you are about to see, the push, pull, leg kettlebell workout is designed for hypertrophy. If you want to increase your endurance or lean mass, increase the number of reps, but choose a lighter kettlebell than you normally would.

Day 1 – Push

Rest 30 seconds between sets and 1-2 minutes between exercises.

Day 2 – Pull

Rest 30 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between exercises.

Day 3 – Leg and Abs

Rest 30-60 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between exercises.

Day 4 – Push and Abs

Rest 30-60 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between exercises.

Day 5 – Pull and Leg

Rest 30-60 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between exercises.

Who Should Do This Push, Pull, Leg Kettlebell Workout?

Although it might sound sophisticated, the push, pull, leg kettlebell workout can benefit any person.

Beginners will be taxing their bodies the right amount, as long as they leave enough time to recover from one training session to the other. The best thing about the push, pull, leg methodology is that you can perform exercises on two days in a row, as the exercises complement each other and train different muscles.

Intermediate lifters can also improve their fitness level with this push, pull, leg kettlebell workout by shifting away their focus on full-body workouts and targeting specifically their muscles more regularly.

How Heavy Should Your Kettlebells Be?

That is the 1 million dollar question. In general, how heavy should you lift? The answer depends on what is your goal. As mentioned previously, the workout above was set with hypertrophy in mind, for people looking to build muscle and get stronger. To be fair, if you want to lose weight, building muscle is also the best approach.

However, some people want to improve their endurance, which in that case they should be performing more reps with a lighter weight compared to those who want to build muscle mass. But how heavy is too heavy?

There are two ways to test if you are choosing a weight that is too heavy, or not heavy enough.

One quick test is, when holding the kettlebell, perform the exercise as you normally would, but try to stop and hold the kettlebell in any given position of the movement. If you are not able to hold the kettlebell in that position, it means the kettlebell is too heavy for you and you should choose a lighter one.

If you choose that heavy kettlebell, you will likely cheat your way during the reps, probably using momentum to get the kettlebell to a certain position. While it might look impressive, it won’t help you get stronger.

Another way, if you want to know if the weight is too light, is through trial and error. Pick up the kettlebell and perform the first set of any given exercise mentioned above. For example, the kettlebell push press for 12 reps. On your first set, perform the exercise with proper form and get a feeling, after you finish the 12 reps, how many more reps you could have done until exhausted. If the answer is 5 or more, probably you could choose a heavier kettlebell.

Again, this last test is more like a trial and error, and also more like a feeling rather than scientifically measuring if the weight is too light. You just have to trust your instincts on this.

Check out more content from BOXROX:

How to Build Muscle – A Beginner’s Guide to Hypertrophy

The Smartest Push Pull Legs Routine

The 20 Single Most Important Kettlebell Exercises

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