Best Upper Lower Workout Split (2, 3, 4, & 5 Day Plans)

In the event you are considering running an upper lower split, you’ve come to the appropriate place. That is the last word guide to the upper lower split, which might be the preferred workout routine across the board, and surely some of the effective.

On this guide, you will learn all the things it is advisable know in regards to the upper lower split, including the professionals and cons, best frequency, best exercises, rep ranges, volume, and progression.

And, in fact, we’ve got a whole upper lower workout plan for two, 3, 4 and 5 day upper lower splits, so you may select the plan that most closely fits your schedule and fitness level. 

Table of Contents:

• What Is An Upper Lower Split?
• The Best Upper Lower Split Workout Plans
• Advantages Of An Upper Lower Split
• Pros & Cons Of two, 4, 5, & 6 Day Upper Lower Plans
• Who Is An Upper Lower Split Good For?
• Best Exercises For An Upper-Lower Workout Split
• Programming Suggestions
• How To Progress Your Upper Lower Plan
• FAQs 

WHAT IS AN UPPER LOWER SPLIT?

To begin with, a “split” is a way of organizing muscle groups or body parts into separate training days. This makes planning workouts strategic so you may stay on the right track and reach long run goals. Moreover, split will help you mitigate fatigue and optimize recovery, as you may let certain muscles rest as you train other areas of your body. 

So, an upper lower routine is just a split that divides your workouts into upper body workout days and lower body workout days. 

Upper body workouts will train your whole upper body muscles (chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps). 

Lower body workouts will train your whole lower body muscles (glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves). 

As for core, because it will likely be worked with many big compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, and renegade rows, you is not going to need much additional accessory work, and since upper body days would require more volume resulting from more muscles needing to be hit, you may opt to simply do one or two core specific exercises on lower body days. 

What number of days per week is an upper lower split?

The fantastic thing about an upper lower split is that it’s so versatile, meaning it may be adjusted to your schedule and fitness level.

You possibly can do a 2, 3, 4, 5, and even 6 day upper lower split, and we will likely be providing you with a plan for every after we run through the entire pertinent details about upper lower workout splits. 

But, to quickly show you the way it really works…

Select any two days in the course of the week, with no less than one rest day between sessions.

Then the next week on Monday, you’ll start with lower, and proceed like this. So, one week can have two upper body days, then the following week can have two lower body days, and so forth. 

That is the preferred upper lower split option. As with the previous upper lower frequency options, you may alter the working days, but it surely’s best to have a rest day between the primary upper and lower workouts and the second. But you possibly can also do something like M-Upper, Tu-Lower, Friday-Upper, Saturday-Lower.

This is good if you wish to have the weekends off, to present yourself slightly work-life balance. You may add your two rest days where needed, and every week you should have yet one more upper or lower body workout, setting out where you left the previous week. 

This isn’t technically a 6 day split, because it relies on 8 days, but for all intents and purposes, it’s. It’s essentially the most advanced upper lower routine, together with a 5 day upper lower split.

What number of days per week for an upper lower split is best? 

4 days is the preferred and standard upper lower split routine because it optimizes frequency, volume, and rest.

Nevertheless, which is best will rely upon your schedule and fitness level. We will’t determine what one of the best schedule is for you, so you should have to make a decision on that for yourself (and remember, you may mess around with the remainder days and dealing days). 

By way of fitness level, a 2 day or 3 day upper lower split will likely be best for beginners to begin, although some beginners can go for the more common and popular 4 day upper lower split straight away, as long as they’re able to get better well enough. 

As for everybody else, the 4 day upper lower split is one of the best alternative. Yet, some advanced lifters, or those attempting to get cut, can go for a 5 or 6 day option in the event that they feel as much as it. With a 5 and 6 day split, workouts are going to be programmed with less recovery days in mind, so that they won’t be as intense as a 4 day split. 

THE BEST UPPER LOWER WORKOUT SPLIT: 2, 3, 4, & 5 DAY PLANS

Let’s get right to why you are here, and that is to see one of the best upper lower split options. 4 days is the classic and commonest/popular option for an upper lower split, so we’re going to begin with it, but after we’ll provide sample workout plans for two, 3, and 5 days upper lower splits as well.

And don’t fret, after we go over each of the workouts, we’ll discuss how one can progress them, pros and cons of every, in addition to one of the best exercises to incorporate on this split.

4 DAY UPPER LOWER SPLIT WORKOUT PLAN 

For a 4 day upper lower split, you may organize it nonetheless you see fit on your schedule, but upper body days should all the time be followed by a lower body day. This implies start along with your first upper body workout, followed by your first lower body workout, rest, after which move on to your upper workout 2.

Most individuals do a schedule as such:

Day 1: Upper Workout #1
Day 2: Lower Workout #1
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Upper Workout #2
Day 5: Lower Workout #2
Day 6-7: Rest

This is ideal for recovery. Which actual days of the week those are is as much as you (i.e. it may very well be M, Tu, Th, F or W, Th, Sa, Su). Either way, this spacing of sessions is good.

Workout #1 – Upper Body

Workout #2 – Lower Body 

Workout #3 – Upper Body

Workout #4 – Lower Body

Notes:

• The variety of sets relies in your working weight sets, not warm up sets. The fundamental lifts would require some warm up sets before you get into your working weight. Use low reps for warm up sets and work as much as your working weight. 
• For exercises which are unilateral or one direction, do the rep count on all sides (i.e. lunges for 3 sets x 12-20 reps all sides)
• Take a deload week every 6-12 weeks (see deload info further below).
• Be at liberty to change up accessory exercises as you see fit, especially in the event that they are showing diminishing returns.
  
• For progression, one of the best option is to extend weight load (see the progression info further below).
• Supersets might be done to hurry up your workouts (this will likely make sense for no less than some exercises on upper body days).
• For rest times, see the remainder time section further above. Rest time will vary based on the rep range/load.

Related Programs:

• The PHUL workout program is sort of interesting for many who wish to do a 4 day upper lower body split as well. Mainly, it’s a workout plan just like the above, but the primary two upper lower workouts of the week are strength focused and the second two upper lower workout are hypertrophy focused. Here is the total workout plan for PHUL if you happen to’d like to envision that out. But a heads up, it’s for more advanced trainees. 

2 DAY UPPER LOWER WORKOUT PLAN 

The two day option has you doing one upper body workout and one lower body workout each week. Ideally, it would be best to schedule them with a pair days of rest between the 2 sessions.

For instance…

Day 1: Upper
Day 2-3: Rest
Day 4: Lower
Day 5-7: Rest 

Which actual days of the week those are is as much as you (i.e. it may very well be M, Thu or W, Sa).

All in all, the scheduling is actually flexible with the two day split so you may line it up as your schedule demands. We just recommend no less than at some point of rest between the upper and lower body workouts so you may really bring the intensity.

Workouts:

As you might be only doing 2 workouts per week, for variety purposes, you should have a workout A and workout B for each upper and lower body days. This may help you alternate the order of the fundamental lifts and have more variety in your movement practice. 

With that, we want to look on a biweekly timescale. So, the workout plan below is bi-weekly, which is able to start back at week 1 every two weeks. 

Simply to be clear:

Week 1 = A workouts
Week 2 = B workouts
Week 3 = A workouts
Week 4 = B workouts

And so forth…So, you could have a workout A & B that you just do biweekly.

Upper Body Workout A

Lower Body Workout A

Upper Body Workout B 

Lower Body Workout B

3 DAY UPPER LOWER WORKOUT PLAN

A 3 day upper lower split would require that you just start where you left off each week. So, week 1 can have two upper body days and one lower body day, and week 2 can have two lower body days and one upper body day, and it should proceed like this throughout the plan. 

As for scheduling, it is strongly recommended that you could have no less than one rest day between workouts. 

i.e. 

Day 1: Upper
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Lower
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Upper
Day 6-7: Rest

Then on the next week you begin Day 1 with Lower and proceed on.

Workouts:

For this 3 day upper lower split, you should have a workout A and a workout B for each upper and lower body workout days. This may ensure you can alternate which fundamental lift comes first to maintain your training balanced. 

Here’s how this looks… 

Week 1:

• Upper Body A
• Lower Body A
• Upper Body B 

Week 2:

• Lower Body B
• Upper Body A
• Lower Body A 

Week 3:

• Upper Body B
• Lower Body B
• Upper Body A

Week 4:

• Lower Body A
• Upper Body B
• Lower Body B

Then on week 5 you might be full circle back to week 1. As such, it is best to keep with this plan in 4 week increments. So, do that upper lower split for 4, 8, 12, or 16 weeks to maintain things balanced (even though it’s not an enormous deal either way and a deload week might be added in on any week needed).

Upper Body A

Lower Body A 

Upper Body B 

Lower Body B 

5 DAY UPPER LOWER WORKOUT PLAN 

The 5 day option will likely be just like the three day in that you’ll have to begin where you left off each week.

Schedule:

Day 1: Upper
Day 2: Lower
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Upper
Day 5: Lower
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Upper

With a scheduling just like the above, for every week the actual days (i.e. Monday-Sunday) of rest will differ.

or…

You possibly can do a schedule like this..

Day 1: Upper
Day 2: Lower
Day 3: Upper
Day 4: Lower
Day 5: Upper
Day 6-7: Rest 

Then start on Day 1 where you left off, all the time leaving 2 days of rest together. This may keep your weekly days of figuring out the identical.

In any case, do what works for you.

Workouts:

As for workouts, you should have a Workout A and Workout B, identical to the three day workout split. So, with a workout A and workout B, it’ll appear like this. 

Week 1:

• Upper Body A
• Lower Body A
• Upper Body B
• Lower Body B
• Upper Body A

Week 2:

• Lower Body A
• Upper Body B
• Lower Body B
• Upper Body A
• Lower Body A 

Week 3:

• Upper Body B
• Lower Body B
• Upper Body A
• Lower Body A
• Upper Body B 

Week 4:

• Lower Body B
• Upper Body A
• Lower Body A
• Upper Body B
• Lower Body B 

Then you definitely are back full circle on Week 5. 

Upper Body A 

Lower Body A 

Upper Body B

Lower Body B

Can I do a 6 day upper lower split?

We actually don’t recommend a 6 day upper lower split unless you might be advanced, wherein case, you almost certainly don’t need us to stipulate a plan for you. 

In the event you do determine to do a 6 day upper lower split, it should be structured just like your 3 day split, with an upper and lower body A workout and an upper and lower body B workout. But with 6 days, you might be doing each A and B workouts each week.

e.g.

Day 1: Upper A
Day 2: Lower A
Day 3: Upper B
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Lower B
Day 6: Upper A
Day 7: Lower A

You possibly can also do an A, B, C workout.

e.g.

Day 1: Upper A
Day 2: Lower A
Day 3: Upper B
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Lower B
Day 6: Upper C
Day 7: Lower C 

This gives you much more variety. Each options will work high-quality. There’s numerous flexibility with this type of routine when it comes to exercises, order, volume, intensity, and so forth. You possibly can have A workouts for Power, B workouts for Hypertrophy and C workouts for Strength (or in whatever order).

4 BENEFITS OF UPPER LOWER SPLIT

The conventional upper lower plan is a 4 day split, which is ideal for bodybuilders and powerlifters alike. So, many of the following advantages are based on the classic 4 day upper lower split. After we undergo the overall advantages of an upper lower split, we’ll make note of the precise pros and cons for the two, 3, 5 and 6 day options.

1. Versatile: 

The upper lower split is incredibly versatile. It’s going to work for all fitness levels and all schedules. You may do 2, 3, 4, 5 and even 6 day splits. You may tailor your training toward strength and hypertrophy or fat loss.

Most upper lower splits are no less than 3 days and frequently 4 or 5 days, so you should have different upper body and lower body workouts each week, allowing you to have amount of variety in regards to exercise selection and rep ranges.

You may really mess around with progression and several types of periodization. For instance, you possibly can have one upper body and lower body day for hypertrophy where you do high volume with lower intensity and one upper body and lower body day for strength with low volume and high intensity.

2. Perfect Mixture of High Frequency & High Volume:

A body part split (or “bro split”) maximizes volume on the sacrifice of frequency. A full body routine maximizes frequency on the sacrifice of volume. An upper lower split gives you the proper amount of each.

Note: Volume = sets x reps x load for every muscle group, and frequency being the variety of times you hit your muscle groups each week. 

Studies show that training each muscle group twice every week is best for hypertrophy and strength. But, in fact, volume is a vital part. Without adequate volume, your muscles can’t grow (i.e. if you happen to did only one set of 10 reps multiple times every week, that’s obviously not enough). So, the upper lower split optimizes each, making it an ideal alternative for many who wish to construct muscle and strength in essentially the most efficient manner. 

More to the purpose of volume…Because you won’t be placing all of your total weekly volume into one workout such as you will with a body part split, your muscles will get better faster and DOMS will likely be less severe. 

3. Efficient & Effective (Big Lifts Without Much Fluff):

Upper lower splits are highly efficient. You will likely be specializing in one of the best and best exercises, as if you happen to didn’t, you’d be within the gym for hours on end, being that it is advisable hit multiple muscle groups each workout. 

So, you will likely be sticking to one of the best compound exercises after which adding in some assistance and accessory exercises where needed to make sure you are giving each muscle group enough attention.

Mainly, you’ll construct your workouts around the large 4 – bench press, overhead press, squats, deadlifts – plus pull ups and rows. Anything additional is a bonus.

These big compound exercises will provide you the most important bang on your buck. They’re one of the best for constructing overall strength, muscle mass, burning calories, and boosting androgenic hormones.

Quite simple, very efficient, very effective.

What’s more, you may work antagonistic muscle groups together. For instance, you possibly can superset a back exercise with a chest exercise (for considered one of the help/accessory exercises) to get your volume up without wasting time. You’d still give you the option to present each exercise good force as they’re opposing actions. They work well together, as there’s no conflict, so you may keep moving throughout your workout if you wish to speed things up and keep calorie burn high. 

4. Reduces Overlap For Best Recovery:

You won’t have any overlap within the muscles you might be training with an upper lower split. Your entire upper body push and pull muscles will likely be working on the identical day, slightly than doing shoulders at some point and chest one other day, where in case your shoulders are sore, your chest workout will likely be less productive.

With an upper lower split, the muscles that work together (agonist) will likely be resting together. Other splits normally have an even bigger overlap, especially a body part split, as agonist muscles are plentiful (i.e. your lats are literally an agonist to your pec major). 

By way of recovery, with a 4 day split, you could have loads of time to let your muscles get back to 100%. Generally speaking, you’ll have 72-96 hours of rest between training the identical muscle again.

Give it some thought, if you happen to do a workout on Monday for upper body, then you definitely won’t be doing one other workout on your upper body until on the earliest Thursday, which is loads of time on your muscles to get better, especially since the entire weekly volume is unfolded between the 2 workouts, not all in at some point. Again, this keeps DOMS to a minimum (which doesn’t make it any less effective for constructing muscle based on studies). 

Beyond all that, the upper lower split has other notable advantages for specific individuals and demographics too. The upper lower split is the preferred split for athletes because it is perfectly geared towards that variety of fitness and allows time for other more sport specific training. Big compound exercises train your body to work as a single unit, which functional training, strength, and sports is all about.

Downfall of an Upper Lower Split:

All training splits have some downfalls. Nothing is ideal. The upper lower split is not any exception.

There are really only two cons of an upper/lower split.

1. Upper body workouts might be on the longer side as you could have many muscles to coach. On one hand, big compound lifts like bent over rows, bench press, and overhead press can care for that. But however, these take numerous energy, so it’ll be hard to do all of them at your best, which suggests you’ll need to emphasize certain lifts at some point and the others on the second upper body session of the week.
2. This point form of pertains to the purpose above, and it could be a professional slightly than a con for you. With an upper lower split, you’re going to get loads of volume on your legs, but you might find yourself slightly short in your upper body. That is great for somebody who’s legs are lagging behind, but not a lot for somebody who’s upper body is lagging behind. All in all, this isn’t an enormous deal if you happen to program appropriately, which we’ll do for you below once we get to the workout plan. For essentially the most part, you’re going to get the quantity you wish on your upper body just high-quality, especially if you happen to are a beginner to intermediate. 

Generally speaking, due to point number 2, advanced bodybuilders won’t use an upper lower split. Nevertheless, for everybody else, the upper lower split is often far simpler than a body part split. 

WHO IS AN UPPER LOWER SPLIT GOOD FOR? 

An upper lower split is sweet for literally anybody and everybody. Due to its versatility, it really works for all schedules and fitness levels. A beginner can do a 2, 3 or 4 day upper lower split with an appropriate workout structure and an intermediate lifter can do a 3, 4 or 5 day upper lower split with an appropriate workout programming tailored to their goals.

As for advance lifters, they know exactly how one can use an upper lower split to their advantage, so we don’t need to tell them. There are plenty advanced powerlifters and bodybuilders who use an upper lower split.

The one demographic that won’t do well with an upper lower split is a sophisticated bodybuilder who needs more volume for every muscle group of the upper body.

Overall, the upper lower split is a unbelievable option for constructing muscle, getting stronger and losing fat. Again, it’s versatile so you may adjust the workouts exactly to your demand. 

Pros and Cons of two, 3, 4, 5 and 6 Day Upper Lower Splits

Attempting to determine which upper lower split is best for you? Try the professionals and cons of every!

Necessary Notes Before Picking Your Split 

Essentially, a 2 day split is barely good for those just starting out or individuals who simply want to take care of and produce other fitness activities happening of their life (akin to a sport).

A 3 day Upper Lower Split is smart for late-beginners and folks with busy schedules or those that produce other physical activities that they wish to do, akin to HIIT training or a sport. Due to the latter, even some more advanced fitness enthusiasts select a 3 day upper lower split. 

We don’t recommend 6 day upper lower splits, but they might be done. The one time we expect this type of split is smart is if you happen to are on a cutting phase or if you happen to are a sophisticated lifter with a strategic plan (wherein case you already know exactly how one can formulate your workouts to your goals).

Note: You may as well mess around with 5 and 6 day upper lower splits where they’re essentially a 4 day upper lower split with one or two additional days for other things like a full body workout routine, low intensity long duration cardio or HIIT, as seen on this 7 day workout plan guide.

HOW LONG SHOULD & CAN YOU DO AN UPPER LOWER SPLIT FOR? 

You may do an upper lower split indefinitely. Some people stay on an upper lower split for 12+ months, with deload weeks and slight re-programming every couple months.

So, there really is not any maximum period of time for staying on an upper lower split. If it’s working, you may stick to it. As for a minimum period of time, we’d say 4-6 weeks could be an absolute minimum, but a greater bottom line could be to present it a go for 8-12 week after which assess. This must be enough time to see the way it’s working on your specific goal and schedule.

Most individuals like to vary up workout plans and splits. With an upper lower split, you may all the time switch up variables (i.e. exercises, volume, intensity) every 4-12 weeks yet you might be still sticking with an upper lower split. 

In the event you’d like to vary up splits completely, say to something like a PPL, you may accomplish that just as easy. Lots of trainees like to change between splits every few months. You may all the time come back to the upper lower split after doing a distinct training split for a number of months.

BEST EXERCISES FOR UPPER LOWER SPLITS

Now that we’ve got a transparent understanding of what an upper lower split is and reviewed the actual plans, let’s discuss exercise selection and exercise hierarchy. 

While lots of the exercises below involve barbells, dumbbells, and cables (all of that are essentially the most common gym equipment), if you happen to are a beginner or wish to train at home, you may easily perform these movements with resistance bands (try our round-up of one of the best resistance bands to snag a pair that is been thoroughly tested).

Just do not forget that in case your goal is serious mass and strength, you will need heavier loads.

What exercises should I do for an upper lower split?

Although you may select any exercises you want, we highly recommend that you just construct your upper lower split around several big compound lifts.

Compound exercises gives you the most important bang on your buck. You may goal multiple muscle groups at the identical time and use heavier weights, which provides every kind of advantages akin to constructing higher overall strength, muscle, and athleticism.

So, our upper lower splits will likely be based around six fundamental body movements… 

The Big Six Movements:

• Horizontal Push
• Horizontal Pull
• Vertical Push
• Vertical Pull
• Quad Dominant Movements (Squats & Lunges)
• Hip Dominant Movements (Deadlifts & Hip Thrusts) 

The Big Six will help you goal all of the muscles groups in your body through all essentially the most fundamental movement patterns.

Note: Rotation & Core based exercises will likely be included as well.

So, with The Big Six, you’ll select essentially the most effective and efficient exercises for every and base your workouts around them. 

The next are an important compound exercises categorized by The Big Six. 

Horizontal Push:

Horizontal pushing exercises involve pressing a weight straight out in front of you. So, you’ll be moving the load away out of your torso horizontally. 

In rating order we’ve got:

1. Bench Press
2. Incline Bench Press
3. Decline Bench Press
4. Flat/Incline/Decline Flyes

Every good upper lower plan will involve the bench press. Beginners can go for dumbbell bench press and even push ups (which is the body weight version of a bench press). 

Note: There are numerous grips that might be done to vary the dynamics of the exercise as well. For instance, a detailed grip bench press will goal your triceps more. But, let’s not worry an excessive amount of about this as these big compound lifts will do well of hitting all the first movers effectively as is, especially if you happen to are a beginner-to-intermediate. 

If you could have some limitation resulting from shoulder injuries, you may opt for various variations of bench press or push ups that feel higher for you.

Horizontal Pull:

A horizontal pulling exercise involves pulling a weight toward your body. So, you’ll be moving a weight toward your torso horizontally.

Horizontal pulls are mainly rows, and the rating order for strength & hypertrophy training is as follows:

1. Bent Over Row
2. T-Bar Row
3. Single Arm Row
4. Seated Cable Row
5. Reverse Flys

With rows, you could have different grip options as well. You could use underhand, overhand or neutral grips depending on the equipment getting used. It’s good to coach with different grip positions as it should affect the muscles which are being emphasized. As we lay out our upper lower workout plan, we’ll make sure to have the appropriate variety to hit your back from all angles as to make sure very best development of all of your muscles. 

Vertical Push:

A vertical pushing exercise involves moving a weight up vertically in relation to your torso. So, pressing a weight overhead or within the upward direction. 

In rating order we’ve got:

1. Overhand Shoulder Press
2. Chest Dips
3. Lateral Raises
4. Front Raises

Different grips and body poisonings apply, but we won’t get into this an excessive amount of. In the event you stick to the usual lifts, they will likely be effective for strength and hypertrophy goals as a beginner or intermediate lifter.

Vertical Pull:

A vertical pulling exercise involves moving a weight down vertically in relation to your torso (or pulling yourself up). Essentially, it’s any exercise where you might be knocking down from overhead. 

In rating order we’ve got:

1. Pull Ups/Chin Ups (weighted pull ups/chin ups for more advanced)
2. Lat Pulldowns
3. Lat Pushdowns & Pullovers

Like with horizontal pulls, there are different grip positioning in addition to grip width which may change the emphasis of the muscles worked. Crucial are wider overhand pulls and underhand close grip pulls.  We’ll accommodate our upper lower splits for this.

Quad Dominant Exercises:

Quad dominant exercise are exactly as they sound – exercises which have your quads as the first mover. Your glutes will even be a primary mover for many of those as well.

In rating order:

1. Barbell Back Squats
2. Front Squats
3. Split Squats
4. Lunges
5. Leg Press
6. Leg Extensions

Beginners can go for exercises like dumbbell or kettlebell goblet squats until they learn how one can do barbell back squats appropriately.

Hip Dominant Exercises:

Hip dominant exercises are based on hip hinging exercises, akin to deadlifts and hip thrusts. Hip dominant exercises might be vertical (deadlifts) or horizontal (hip thrusts) as well. In either case, the first movers will likely be your hamstrings, glutes, erector spinae, and posterior chain as a complete.

In rating order:

1. Deadlifts (and variations)
2. Hip Thrusts/Glute Ham Raises
3. Good Mornings
4. Hyperextensions

For reference, exercises like leg curls will fall into this category since they’re hamstring focused even through they don’t act on the hips. 

In Summary… 

In the event you were to only do all of the bolded exercise in each of the Big Six sections, it will be enough. This is very true for beginners and even most intermediate lifters.

Nevertheless, to make sure each muscle group is getting enough attention, we’ll consider the bolded exercises above your MAIN LIFTS and we’ll include other assistance/accessory exercises with them in our upper lower split workout routines. 

MAIN LIFTS

You’ll begin your workouts along with your fundamental lifts.

Your fundamental lifts are big-bang-for-your-buck compound exercises that require your energy to be high, so that they must be done first.

Your fundamental lifts will likely be:

• Bench Press
• Bent Over Row (Underhand/Overhand)
• Overhead Press
• Pull Ups/Chin Ups (do each, switch between)
• Back Squats
• Deadlifts

Anything is an adjunct lift and will likely be done after your fundamental lifts.

If certain exercises won’t be just right for you resulting from some limitation, this might be altered, but we recommend selecting an analogous big compound exercise.

For those of you who wish to do body weight training, your six fundamental lifts might be push ups, inverted rows, pike push ups, pull ups, jump squats, and glute bridges/thrusts.

You will notice how your fundamental lifts should fit into the upper lower workout plan appropriately soon. 

ASSISTANCE & ACCESSORY LIFTS

Assistance lifts are exercises that show you how to to construct strength on your fundamental lifts. Nevertheless, if you happen to are training only for the aim of constructing muscle and stepping into good condition, then they’re simply accessory lifts, that are exercises done to fill out the remainder of your work to make sure each muscle gets the eye it must grow and get stronger. 

Accessory exercises are more flexible. You may switch them up every month or so (and even weekly) if you happen to wanted, but for the aim of simplicity, we’ll keep the identical accessory exercises throughout our upper lower workout plans.

Your fundamental lifts will stay consistent so you may progress in strength, and thus size. You may keep the identical fundamental lifts perpetually just about, but your assistance and accessory lifts are changeable. Ideally, you wish to stick to an adjunct exercise until you see diminishing returns, at which era you turn it up and take a look at a latest one.

A few of one of the best accessory exercises are the non-bolded exercises within the Big Six section. There are others as well. 

Listed below are one of the best assistance/accessory exercises categorized just by upper and lower body.

Upper:

• Incline Bench (BB or DB)
• Flyes
• Dips
• Close Grip Bench Press
• Reverse Grip Incline Bench Press
• Arnold Press
• Lateral/Front Raises
• T-Bar Rows
• Rack Pulls
• Seated Rows
• Upright Rows
• Yates/Pendlay Rows (might be replaced by Bent Over Rows for advanced athletes)
• Lat Pulldowns (and variations)
• Lat Pushdowns/Pullovers
• Bicep Curls
• Tricep Extensions & Pushdowns

Lower:

• Front Squats
• Split Squats (and variations like Bulgarian split squats)
• Lunges (and variations)
• Leg Press
• Hack Squats
• Stiff-Leg Deadlift & RDL
• Good Mornings
• BB Hip Thrusts
• Hyperextensions
• Leg Curls

While there are such a lot of worthy accessory exercises, we’ll pick those that provide essentially the most well rounded workout plan for our upper lower splits. You may change them up as you see fit (i.e. if you wish to put more attention on a lagging muscle group or movement pattern).

EXERCISE HEIRARCHY

As mentioned, your fundamental lifts must be done first as they require essentially the most energy. Essentially, you do your biggest compound exercises first, which hit the main muscle groups, then isolation (or more isolated) exercises after at the top.

The hierarchy of your workouts should all the time be:

1. Most important Lift(s)
2. Assistance Lifts (Compound Accessory Exercises)
3. Isolation Exercises 

Here’s an example of how it should look on a leg day:

1. Squat
2. Deadlift
3. Split Squat
4. Hip Thrust
5. Leg Curl
6. Core Exercise

CORE:

As for core, it is best to aim to do some core work 2-4 times every week. Depending in your upper lower split frequency, you possibly can simply do one core exercise every day or one or two core exercises every other day. 

With regards to your core, it will be worked heavily for stability demands along with your fundamental lifts, so it won’t actually need an excessive amount of additional work. You core plays a significant role in so many big exercises.

For this reason, it is best to select core exercises that make sense based on movement strength patterns which are missing, akin to rotational core exercises and anti-lateral core exercises.

The most effective core exercises for an upper lower split are:

• Hanging Leg Raises (or Lying Leg Raises for beginners)
• Planks & Side Planks (or Single Arm Farmer’s Walks)
• Rotational Core Exercises (Woodchoppers, Med Ball Rotational Throws, Pallof Press, Resistance Band/Cable Ab Twists, Landmine 180s). 

We’ll select a number of core exercises and place them into the plans accordingly. Again, your core goes to get loads of work from the fundamental lifts as well. In the event you’re concerned about learning more about correct form for a number of of those moves, try our articles on leg lifts and the hanging leg raise.

BEST REP RANGES & LOADS, VOLUME, AND DIET

Now, the ultimate things to debate before we get into the workout plan are:

• Rep Ranges & Loads
• Rest Times
• Training Volume/Progression
• Food regimen & Recovery

1) Rep Ranges & Loads:

Unless you might be specifically training to be a bodybuilder or powerlifter, it is best to work out across the entire spectrum of reps, and thus, weight load. 

Even skilled lifters use a complete range as there may be a transparent relationship between hypertrophy (muscle growth) and strength or power development. A much bigger muscle allows for a stronger muscle and a stronger muscle allows for an even bigger muscle. Furthermore, pure size and strength might be achieved through all rep ranges. 

Mainly, you wish to be well-rounded and provides your muscles one of the best potential for strength and hypertrophy, so it is best to mess around in all rep ranges (which we’ll do in our U/L splits).

Below is a tenet for the repetition spectrum based on specific goals:

• Power: 1-3 reps using 70-95% 1RM
• Strength: 4-6 reps using 80-90% 1RM
• Hypertrophy: 8-15+ reps using 75-65% 1RM
• Endurance: 15+ reps using 50-60+% 1RM

It must also be noted that certain muscle groups do higher in specific ranges (when it comes to hypertrophy) simply due to muscle fibers slow and fast twitch ratio.

For instance, your calves and traps have more slow twitch muscle fibers so for growth they need more time under tension (reps). Give it some thought, these muscles are working day in and day trip even if you aren’t lifting, so that they need more volume to grow.

Generally speaking, your pecs, glutes, quads, and hamstrings do best with heavier weight and moderate-to-lower reps and your deltoids, biceps, triceps, traps, and calves will do well with a spread of loads, but do require moderate loads for higher reps to succeed in full exhaustion and overload. 

As such, we’ll consider the rep ranges based on the muscle group targeted as well. 

WHAT LIFTS SHOULD YOU USE FOR EACH REP RANGE? 

Each workout it is best to use the several rep ranges.

While you should utilize light weight for each exercise, not every exercise goes to be suitable for heavy weight.

For instance, isolation exercises aren’t normally meant to be done with heavy weight. Essentially, your whole fundamental lifts will likely be suitable for heavy weight (with exception to tug ups, although weight might be added to extend difficulty). 

Amongst your fundamental lifts, some lifts will do best within the 3-5 or 3-8 range, while others higher within the 6-10 rep range, still with heavy weight relative to the movement.

For instance, deadlifts and squats might be effective within the 1-8 rep range, but bent over rows will likely be higher within the 6-12 rep range. Again, with heavy weight relative to the lift.

As such, heavy lifts should go at the highest, which require essentially the most intensity/energy. And, for certain fundamental lifts, the rep range for “heavy” will likely be different. 

Generally speaking, squats and deadlifts will likely be your heaviest lift, followed by bench press, after which bent over rows, overhead press and pull ups. So, squats and deadlifts rep ranges will likely be barely lower than bench press, which might be barely lower than the remainder. That said, we will even goal the upper body with higher rep ranges as well (e.g. BB bench press for 6-10 reps but DB bench press for 10-15 reps).

HOW MANY EXERCISES SHOULD YOU DO IN EACH REP RANGE?

For most individuals, simply sticking to the strength and hypertrophy range is sufficient to get all the outcomes you possibly can want.

Typically speaking, rule of thumb is to have:

• 2-3 Exercises: 4-6 rep range
• 1-3 Exercises: 8 rep range
• 1-4 exercises: 12+ rep range

You may alter this a bit based in your goals, but just make sure to have no less than 1 exercise in each rep range.

Power sets (1-3 reps) are optional. 

You will notice how we do it in our workout plan below. 

By way of exercises for every workout, here’s a quick example of how one can structure your entire upper body and lower body workouts:

Upper Body Workout Days:

• 1-2 Horizontal Push Exercises (Chest & Triceps)
• 1-2 Horizontal Pull Exercises (Back & Biceps)
• 1-2 Vertical Push Exercise (Shoulders & Triceps)
• 1-2 Vertical Pull Exercises (Back/Lats & Biceps)

Lower Body Workout Days:

• 1-3 Quad Dominant Exercises (Quads & Glutes)
• 1-3 Hip Dominant Exercise (Hamstrings & Glutes)
• 1 Calves (Calves)
• 1 Core (Abs, Obliques, Low Back, etc)

You could find that lower body days are inclined to go faster as you are working fewer muscle groups, which is why adding core to this routine is idea.

HOW MUCH REST TIME BETWEEN SETS?

The remainder time you are taking between sets will rely upon the rep range/intensity. You’ll need more rest time with lower rep ranges because they involve heavier loads.

• 4-5 Rep Range: Use 4-5 sets with 2:00 of rest
• 6 Rep Range: Use 4 sets with 2:00 of rest
• 8 Rep Range: Use 3 sets with 1:30-2:00 of rest
• 12+: Use 2-3 sets with :30-1:00 of rest

2) TOTAL WEEKLY VOLUME:

Volume = reps x sets x load. 

If you wish to construct muscle, then having an upward trend of total volume for the muscle group is what you would like.

The best strategy to increase the entire volume of your workouts (and thus progress) is to first reach the highest of the given rep range, then add weight.

So, if we list an exercise at 3 sets x 10-15 rep, when you’re capable of do all 3 sets for 15 reps, add weight the following week. Ideally, you wish to add an amount that puts your back around 10 reps, nevertheless start working as much as the highest of the given range.

As for sets, you may add sets if you happen to want as a strategy to increase volume, but this implies your workouts will take longer and longer, so use this tactic smartly or just just deal with maximizing the rep range and increasing load.

Generally speaking, you wish to have around 12-24 sets per muscle group per week, which our programs below have. We all know 12 to 24 sets is a wide range, but it’s because it’ll rely upon the frequency of coaching you select (2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 days per week).

Since you will be doing numerous compound lifts, it’s going to be fairly easy to succeed in the baseline. Remember, compound lift sets will count to multiple muscle groups. 

Note: In the event you are a beginner to intermediate lifter, by specializing in increasing volume, you will even construct strength. This program is for constructing each strength and hypertrophy. In the event you want something strength specific, then adjustments will must be made, which a sophisticated lifter should know exactly how one can do.

3) DIET & RECOVERY:

We won’t go into an excessive amount of details on eating regimen, but in case your goal is to construct muscle and strength, then you will want to eat in a calorie surplus, and in case your goal is to lose fat, then you will want to eat in a calorie deficit.

For beginners, you might also give you the option to “body recomp” which is body recomposition. With the appropriate eating regimen and training, studies show that beginners can actually lose fat and construct muscle at the identical time.

All in all, don’t expect to lose fat or gain muscle without eating right. The identical goes with sleeping. In the event you are training hard 4-5 days every week, you will want 7-9 hours of sleep (aim for the upper end) to make sure your muscles are efficiently recovering.

What About Cardio?

Cardio is optional. Unless you are attempting to lose fat wherein case you wish more calorie burn, consider cardio as a strategy to improve your cardiovascular health. In the event you do determine so as to add cardio to considered one of the routines below, you may do 30-40 minutes 1-3 times per week.

HOW TO PROGRESS

Progressive overload is just the technique of increasing the problem of your workouts over time so that you just are continually overloading your muscles with adequate stress to force them to adapt (or in other words, get greater and stronger).

In case your workouts are getting easier, you usually are not doing progressive overload appropriately.

Progression won’t be perfectly linear in any respect times, especially as you change into more advanced (gains are harder to make!). Nevertheless, in the long term, you’ll make big improvements to size and strength.

The most effective strategy to employ progressive overload with this upper lower workout program is so as to add weight. You don’t need to add weight each week, but it is best to continuously be working on it.

For many, you’ll make incredible strength and muscle gains by simply increasing the load load once you might be hitting the highest of your rep range for all of the sets for any given exercise.

In the event you are a more advanced lifter and specifically wish to get stronger, then having some type of periodization like DUP (every day undulating periodization) is best.

Also, for progression to proceed it’s necessary to take a deload week every once and some time to permit your body to completely get better. You’ll know when you really want one. 

After you come back from a deload week, you may do things like swapping out exercises, changing the order of your exercises, and altering your rep schemes. This may help you provide your muscles with latest stimulus.

Note: In case your efforts are mainly for fat loss, that just comes all the way down to eating a slight caloric deficit. But it surely’s necessary to also attempt progressive overload so that you just minimize muscle loss during your deficit.

CAN I ALTER THE UPPER LOWER TRAINING PLANS AT ALL? 

Absolutely. You may alter the exercises, rep ranges & loads, and total volume in your work schedule. You’ll need to use your best judgement on this. 

1. Exercise Selection: In the event you alter exercise selection, it is best to still fill your training out based on the Big Six and deal with big compound lifts if you happen to can. In case your workouts are all isolation exercises, you won’t see great results and your workouts will likely take for much longer.
2. Rep Range & Load: You don’t need to lift heavy loads if you happen to are fearful about injury. Sometimes, the high risk isn’t well worth the high reward. In the event you determine to make use of moderate to light loads, stick with the upper rep ranges and all the time use a full range of motion. Light weight with a full range of motion might be just as effective for constructing muscle. You may as well stick with lower rep ranges and use lighter loads with a really slow tempo. 
3. Total Workout Volume: If doing 6-7 exercises is simply too much for you each weight training workout (or too little), you may adjust the variety of exercises OR you may do less or more sets per exercise. In the long run, just aim for at least 12 sets per muscle group per week (remember, muscles like your triceps are working during presses and biceps during pulls). There really is not any max, but you don’t wish to overtrain, so hearken to your body fastidiously. In case your progress is beginning to stall and your are feeling drained, then take a deload week and possibly consider lowering your total weekly volume after which slowly increasing it from there. 

FAQS

Before we get into the nitty gritty of the upper lower split, where we actually teach you how one can select exercises and structure the workouts, allow us to answer a number of common questions, as this will likely show you how to determine whether following a U/L plan is true for you at the present time. 

Should Beginners Follow An Upper Lower split? 

In the event you are an absolute beginner, you may start with a month or two of full body workouts. Then from there, the upper lower split is definitely one of the best option. The training frequency and volume will help you really maximize in your newbie gains, while hitting the entire body.

Is an upper lower split good for constructing muscle and gaining strength? 

The upper lower split is great for constructing muscle and gaining strength. Studies show that training muscles group twice every week is best for hypertrophy. Protein synthesis, which is a process for constructing muscle, occurs for as much as 48 hours after a workout, so if you happen to wait every week (which is 168 hours), you might be missing out on growth potential. In other words, a frequency of two times per week is more efficient for constructing muscle in addition to strength progression. 

The one way an upper lower split wouldn’t be good for constructing muscle (specifically), is if you happen to are advanced and your muscles are already quite big, as you’d need more volume to overload your muscle and greater muscles take longer to get better. But for beginners and intermediate trainees, it most actually is effective for constructing muscle. 

Is upper lower split good for fat loss?

An upper lower split might be good for fat loss depending in your workouts and rest time. Most individuals’s upper lower workout routines revolve around big compound exercises, that are one of the best at burning calories. So, if you happen to mix that with lower rest times and/or supersets, you may help maximize fat loss through increased calorie burn (but you could have to eat right in fact!).

Essentially, in case your goal is fat loss, an upper lower split might be structured perfectly for that goal (much better than a body part split). 

Do bodybuilders use upper lower split?

There are many bodybuilders who use an upper lower split (no less than certain times of the 12 months or their profession). Bodybuilders know the good thing about higher frequency programs, which the upper lower split is, so that they use it to their advantage to construct muscle. 

So, briefly, yes, bodybuilders also use upper lower splits.

As for elite strength athletes and athletes in pro sports, the upper lower split is the hottest training split. It’s geared perfectly towards athletes and powerlifters. 

How do I do an Upper Lower Split from home? 

If you wish to do an upper lower workout routine from home and also you don’t wish to spend numerous money on big equipment, body weight exercises plus a set of resistance bands will help you mimic the entire exercises above. In the event you can, it is best to also get a kettlebell or two as they’ll turn out to be useful when you wish to do “heavy sets”. 

For progressive overload, deal with increasing reps, volume, range of motion & tempo (slow and fast) and decreasing rest time if you happen to can’t increase weight load appropriately. Try the 11 Best Resistance Bands and the 11 Best Kettlebells to be sure your at home workouts are still yielding major gains!

Get Began On Your Upper Lower Weight Training Program

That is all it is advisable know in regards to the highly effective upper/lower workout schedule. In the event you don’t follow our plan, on the very least use the information above as a baseline while specifying your plan to suit your needs. So long as you retain the elemental ideas of the upper lower split, you will notice unbelievable results.