Mountain Dog PPL
John Meadows' Mountain Dog Training in a 6-day PPL format. Signature techniques: pre-exhaust isolation before compounds (e.g., cable laterals before pressing), Meadows Row (landmine single-arm) on Pull days, and finish every muscle with high-rep pump work. Moderate rest times (60–90s) keep intensity high. The original is autoregulated (add weight by feel when reps are clean); this version uses automatic double-progression so the app can suggest and track loads. Run 6–12 weeks for best results.
Free during beta · auto progression, rest timers & PR tracking built in
What is Mountain Dog PPL?
Mountain Dog PPL packages John Meadows' training philosophy into a six-day push pull legs week, and it feels different from every other PPL the moment you look at exercise order. Push days start with cable lateral raises for 4×15–20 — before any pressing. Leg days start with 4×20–25 on the leg extension — before the hack squat. That pre-exhaust sequencing is pure Meadows: warm the joint, pre-fatigue the target muscle, and let a lighter compound load do a heavier compound's work.
The rest of the Mountain Dog signature is here too. Pull days are anchored by the Meadows row — the single-arm landmine row he made famous — at 4×10–12, followed by chest-supported rows and 4×20–25 face pulls. Pressing lives mostly on dumbbells, machines and cables rather than a straight bar, a deliberate choice for shoulder and elbow longevity from a coach who trained pro bodybuilders into their forties. Every muscle finishes with high-rep pump work, rests are capped at 60–90 seconds, and both push days, both pull days and both leg days repeat identically, so week over week comparisons are clean.
Is Mountain Dog PPL right for you?
This routine is for the hypertrophy-focused lifter whose joints have started billing for years of heavy barbell PPL — or who simply responds better to feeling a muscle work than to watching a bar-weight number. Six days is the commitment, but individual sessions are less systemically draining than heavy barbell training, since the loads are moderate and the barbell squat, bench and overhead press are absent by design. Do not run it to build a powerlifting total; there is nothing here to peak. Meadows suggested blocks of this style run 6–12 weeks before rotating emphasis, which is good advice for this template too.
How progression works
Meadows programmed by feel, adding load whenever reps were crisp. To make that trackable, this version converts his autoregulation into double progression at three tempos: 10–12 on the primary movements like the Meadows row, hack squat and incline dumbbell press; 12–15 on the secondary work; 15–20 or 20–25 on the pre-exhausts and pump finishers. Own the top of the range on every set, add a small increment, rebuild. Two things deserve discipline: log honest reps on the high-rep sets rather than counting the sloppy ones, and respect the short rest periods, because they are half the stimulus — Durata enforces both, with per-exercise rest timers preloaded at the prescribed 60–90 seconds and automatic weight bumps when a rep ceiling falls.
Durata runs this progression for you — every session's weights are computed automatically from your training maxes and logged AMRAP sets.
Mountain Dog PPL — every set, every session
Percentages are of your training max (TM). AMRAP = as many reps as possible on the final set.
Push — Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Lateral Raise (Cable) | 4×15–20 | 1:00 |
| Incline Bench Press (Dumbbell) | 4×10–12 | 1:30 |
| Bench Press (Dumbbell) | 3×12–15 | 1:30 |
| Cable Fly Crossovers | 3×15–20 | 1:00 |
| Shoulder Press (Machine Plates) | 3×12–15 | 1:30 |
| Lateral Raise (Dumbbell) | 3×15–20 | 1:00 |
| Triceps Extension (Dumbbell) | 3×12–15 | 1:15 |
| Triceps Pushdown | 3×15–20 | 1:00 |
Push — Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Lateral Raise (Cable) | 4×15–20 | 1:00 |
| Incline Bench Press (Dumbbell) | 4×10–12 | 1:30 |
| Bench Press (Dumbbell) | 3×12–15 | 1:30 |
| Cable Fly Crossovers | 3×15–20 | 1:00 |
| Shoulder Press (Machine Plates) | 3×12–15 | 1:30 |
| Lateral Raise (Dumbbell) | 3×15–20 | 1:00 |
| Triceps Extension (Dumbbell) | 3×12–15 | 1:15 |
| Triceps Pushdown | 3×15–20 | 1:00 |
Pull — Back, Biceps & Rear Delts
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Meadows Rows (Barbell) | 4×10–12 | 1:30 |
| Chest Supported Incline Row (Dumbbell) | 4×12–15 | 1:30 |
| Lat Pulldown (Cable) | 4×10–12 | 1:30 |
| Seated Cable Row - V Grip (Cable) | 3×12–15 | 1:15 |
| Face Pull | 4×20–25 | 1:00 |
| Bicep Curl (Dumbbell) | 3×12–15 | 1:15 |
| Hammer Curl (Dumbbell) | 3×12–15 | 1:15 |
Pull — Back, Biceps & Rear Delts
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Meadows Rows (Barbell) | 4×10–12 | 1:30 |
| Chest Supported Incline Row (Dumbbell) | 4×12–15 | 1:30 |
| Lat Pulldown (Cable) | 4×10–12 | 1:30 |
| Seated Cable Row - V Grip (Cable) | 3×12–15 | 1:15 |
| Face Pull | 4×20–25 | 1:00 |
| Bicep Curl (Dumbbell) | 3×12–15 | 1:15 |
| Hammer Curl (Dumbbell) | 3×12–15 | 1:15 |
Legs — Quads, Hamstrings & Calves
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Leg Extension (Machine) | 4×20–25 | 1:00 |
| Hack Squat (Machine) | 4×10–12 | 1:30 |
| Leg Press (Machine) | 3×12–15 | 1:30 |
| Romanian Deadlift (Barbell) | 4×10–12 | 1:30 |
| Lying Leg Curl (Machine) | 4×12–15 | 1:30 |
| Glute Ham Raise | 3×10 | 1:15 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 3×15–20 | 1:00 |
| Seated Calf Raise | 3×15–20 | 1:00 |
Legs — Quads, Hamstrings & Calves
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Leg Extension (Machine) | 4×20–25 | 1:00 |
| Hack Squat (Machine) | 4×10–12 | 1:30 |
| Leg Press (Machine) | 3×12–15 | 1:30 |
| Romanian Deadlift (Barbell) | 4×10–12 | 1:30 |
| Lying Leg Curl (Machine) | 4×12–15 | 1:30 |
| Glute Ham Raise | 3×10 | 1:15 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 3×15–20 | 1:00 |
| Seated Calf Raise | 3×15–20 | 1:00 |
Mountain Dog PPL — common questions
What exactly is a Meadows row?
A single-arm row on a landmine (a barbell anchored at one end), gripping the sleeve with an overhand hold, elbow flared, pulling into the upper back. The fat sleeve and strict elbow path hit the lats, rhomboids and rear delts with less bicep takeover than a dumbbell row. Programmed here at 4×10–12 opening every pull day.
Why do isolation exercises come before the compounds?
Pre-exhaust. Twenty-plus reps of leg extensions before hack squats means the quads, not your lower back or hips, are the limiting factor when you squat — so a moderate load produces near-maximal quad stimulus. Expect your compound numbers to be well below normal; that is the mechanism working, not strength lost.
Where are the barbell squat and bench press?
Intentionally absent. Meadows built this style around hack squats, leg presses, dumbbells, machines and cables because they load the muscle while sparing the shoulders and spine over long training careers. If watching a barbell total climb is what motivates you, run a powerbuilding split instead — this program measures progress in rep-range ceilings.
How long are the sessions with all this volume?
Surprisingly manageable — 55–70 minutes. Seven or eight exercises sounds long, but nothing rests more than 90 seconds and the pump work moves on 60, so density stays high from the first pre-exhaust set to the last calf raise.
How many weeks should I run Mountain Dog PPL?
Six to twelve, per Meadows' own block structure. When the double progression stops advancing on most lifts — or the pre-exhaust sets stop producing that distinctive full-muscle pump — rotate to a different stimulus for a block, then come back to it fresh.
Source: John Meadows — Mountain Dog Training, T-Nation
Durata is not affiliated with or endorsed by the program's author. The program structure (sets, reps, exercise selection) is presented as published methodology.
Run Mountain Dog PPL in Durata
Training-max calculation, AMRAP tracking, automatic progression, plate calculator and rest timers — the whole program, ready to log.
