The upper/lower workout split trains your upper body and lower body on separate days, 4 times a week, so each muscle gets worked twice. Here is the week, both workouts with sets and reps, how to add weight and what to do when a lift stalls.
Who the upper/lower split is for
The upper/lower split sits between a 3-day full-body plan and a 6-day split. You train your upper body twice and your lower body twice, so each muscle gets 2 sessions a week. That rhythm works well for building muscle and strength, and each session stays focused and manageable.
Four days fits most working weeks. Matching sessions sit 3 or 4 days apart, which suits newer and intermediate lifters alike.
How the week looks
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Monday | Upper A (strength focus) |
| Tuesday | Lower A (squat focus) |
| Wednesday | Rest |
| Thursday | Upper B (hypertrophy focus) |
| Friday | Lower B (deadlift focus) |
| Saturday | Rest |
| Sunday | Rest |
The workouts
Upper A and Upper B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell bench press | 4 | 5-8 |
| Barbell or pendlay row | 4 | 6-8 |
| Overhead press | 3 | 8-10 |
| Lat pulldown | 3 | 8-12 |
| Lateral raise | 3 | 12-15 |
| Biceps curl | 2 | 10-12 |
| Triceps pushdown | 2 | 10-12 |
Upper B leans towards hypertrophy, which means muscle growth. Make the overhead press your main lift for 4 sets of 6 to 8, run the bench in the 8 to 12 range, and swap the barbell row for a chest-supported row. Want a clearly heavy day and a clearly lighter day for each half of the body? The PHUL workout plan runs the first upper and lower days at 3 to 5 reps and the second pair at 8 to 12.
Lower A and Lower B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell back squat | 4 | 5-8 |
| Romanian deadlift | 3 | 8-10 |
| Leg press or walking lunge | 3 | 10-12 |
| Leg curl | 3 | 10-15 |
| Standing calf raise | 4 | 12-15 |
On Lower B, start with the conventional deadlift for 3 to 4 sets of 4 to 6. Then do a front squat or hack squat for 3 sets of 8 to 10. The 2 lower days then cover each other’s gaps.
Rest about 2 to 3 minutes after heavy compound lifts and 60 to 90 seconds after isolation work.
How to add weight
Use double progression. Stay in the rep range, and once you hit the top of it on every set with solid form, add weight next time. Then build back up from the bottom of the range.
On the heavy lifts in the 5 to 8 range, add 2.5 to 5 kg on lower-body lifts and 1 to 2.5 kg on upper-body lifts when you hit your reps. Squat 100 kg for 4 sets of 8 this Tuesday, and next Tuesday it is 102.5 kg for 5s.
Leave 1 to 3 reps in reserve on most working sets. Reps in reserve means how many more clean reps you could have done. That margin is what lets you recover across 4 sessions a week.
What to do when you stall
If one lift stalls for 2 weeks, keep the weight until you clear all the reps. If several lifts stall at once, take a deload week. A deload is a lighter week: same weights, about 60% of the sets. Some lifters prefer to drop the weight by about 10% instead.
Run this split in Trackist
Ask Trackist for 4 training days and it writes the plan, with the sets, rep targets and rest decided for you. A plan of 6 weeks or more ends with a deload week at about 60% of the sets.
Each set logs weight, reps and RPE. RPE is how hard the set felt, on a scale of 1 to 10. Last session’s numbers sit under the sets you did then, and from your second session of an exercise, a line above it suggests what to try today. Double progression then comes down to beating the number on the screen.
Report a week that ran too hard and Trackist notes it. Report it again in a later week and Trackist rebuilds the remaining weeks. If a joint hurts on an exercise, Trackist swaps it, usually for one that trains the same muscle. The body weight and measurement charts show the trend. More guides to training splits are on the Trackist blog.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is the upper/lower split better than PPL?
Neither is better for everyone. Upper/lower trains each muscle twice in 4 days a week, while push pull legs usually needs 6 days to do the same. Choose upper/lower if you want fewer sessions, and PPL if you want more work spread over more days.
How many days a week is the upper/lower split?
This plan runs 4 days a week: 2 upper-body days and 2 lower-body days. The rest days keep matching sessions about 3 to 4 days apart, so you recover before you train the same muscles again.
Can beginners do an upper/lower split?
Yes, if you have a few months of training behind you and can commit to 4 sessions a week. If you are brand new to lifting, start with a 3-day full-body plan and move to this split later.
Can Trackist build an upper/lower plan?
Yes. Ask for 4 training days and Trackist writes the plan. You can edit every exercise, so you can lay it out as 2 upper days and 2 lower days. The suggested weight follows what you log, and the coach changes the plan when you report the same problem again in a later week.
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Let Trackist write your plan
Answer 14 questions and Trackist writes a plan around your gym and your week, ready for a first session today. Log your sets, and the next session suggests the weight to lift. On the App Store now. Android is coming.
