Is A-B required for PPL?

@revbillw I experimented with this for a while, I also searched the internet for experiences and didn't find much other than preferences.

I can conclude after trying both for almost 6 months each I have made far more progress on just repeating the A workout, and if I think I'm stalling only then will I swap the exercise. My progress was definitely slower rotating Push A then Push B etc.
 
@revbillw One of my favorite programs is a single day you run 3 times a week. Like the exact exercises, same reps, number of sets, everything. It’s an awesome program and proved to me that variety is not needed to make huge progress. If anything consistency and specificity can provide huge benefits.

So no I don’t think an A-B is required.
 
@bobwhite This is how I started lifting and made my initial gains in high school. This old school program I ran 3x/week for like 4 years with my dad. Worked perfectly and I progressed while learning all the basics before branching out into more advanced stuff. I still go back to it from time to time when I have stretches where I can’t work out as frequently. Underrated stuff for sure
 
@revbillw No. It was a full body program that you ran 3 times a week.

So shoulder, chest, back, legs, calves done. Then 2 days later you do the exact same thing but with more weight or more reps depending on the lift.
 
@revbillw Not trying to be a dick, but that's probably about the worst way you could train. Please don't try that.

You'd be killing a muscle without giving it a chance to recover. Then you'd go probably two weeks without training it (assuming you cycle through other muscles in the meantime) so you are on the verge of becoming detrained.

Generally speaking, you want to hit each muscle 2-3 times per week. If your program is "perfect" you would do just the right amount of volume in a workout so that you recover just when it's time to hit those muscles again. Some advanced trainees use a "full body" 6 days a week split-- they won't actually hit every muscle every day, but each day they'll hit anything that has recovered. But I've never taken it that far. Upper/lower 4 days per week, PPL 6 days, Arnold split 6 days a week, and occasionally full body (big compound movements) 3 days per week are what I've stuck to.
 
@livingme7 You're downvoted but you're right. PPL is more effective for people that can recover quickly (roiders), since many of the workouts overlap between push and pull. I didn't start growing until I did a 4 day split and upped my protein a bit.
 
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