Upper/Lower Body Split for Hypertrophy: 4-Day Workout

Of all the training programs I’ve used over the years, the upper lower split is one of my favorites.

It’s simple, it’s flexible, and can be used by beginner, intermediate or advanced lifters alike to achieve many different goals – building muscle, getting stronger, or even just retaining muscle while you drop fat.

Here’s what’s covered:

• What is an Upper/Lower Split?
• 4-Day Upper/Lower Split Routine
• Upper Body Workout 1
• Lower Body Workout 1
• Upper Body Workout 2
• Lower Body Workout 2
• 4-Day Upper/Lower Split: The Short Version
• 4-Day Upper/Lower Split for Strength
• 3, 5 & 6-Day Routines
• Frequently Asked Questions

What is an Upper Lower Split?

With an upper lower split, you train the muscles in your lower body and upper body on separate days.

An upper body workout will normally hit your chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps, while the lower body workout works your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves.

Technically, the lower back is part of your upper body. However, because the lower back is heavily involved in exercises like the squat and deadlift, which fall on lower body day, I’ve grouped the lower back in with the lower body.

Upper Body Lower Body Split: The Benefits

One of the reasons I like the upper body lower body split so much is its flexibility. You can set up your training week in various different ways, depending on your goals and the time you have available to train.

For example, on a typical 4-day upper lower split, you can train:

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
• Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday
• Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday

Maybe you have a demanding job that involves working lots of hours, and doesn’t leave you with much time and energy to train in the week. 

If so, you could crank out a couple of shorter, less demanding workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, and leave the longer, more taxing training sessions for the weekend.

You can also insert an extra recovery day in the week if you feel unusually frazzled after your first lower body workout of the week, and feel like you need an extra day of rest. 

That is, instead of doing your second upper body and lower body days on Thursday and Friday respectively, you do them on Friday and Saturday instead.

With a workout routine that involves training 5-6 days per week, you don’t have the same degree of flexibility to move a scheduled training session to another day.

The end result being that workouts are either missed altogether, or bleed into the following week. This has the knock-on effect of messing around with training frequency.

The occasional skipped training session here or there isn’t going to put the brakes on your progress. But if you’re missing workouts on a regular basis, your muscles aren’t going to grow as quickly as they otherwise would have done.

It also offers an effective training frequency for most lifters. On a standard upper lower split routine, you’ve got two upper days, and two lower days. This means each muscle group is hit twice every seven days, which tends to work well for muscle growth.

Training a muscle once a week can and will make that muscle bigger. However, for most people at least, it’s probably the least effective way to train.

The majority of research out there shows that the major muscles should be trained at least twice a week in order to maximize growth [1].

Why does training a muscle twice a week or more work better than training it once a week?

The key driving force behind muscle growth is muscle protein synthesis, which refers to the creation of new muscle protein. And it’s the gradual accumulation of these proteins that makes your muscles bigger [2].

After you train, your body gets busy synthesizing new muscle protein. However, this process doesn’t continue indefinitely, and the rate of protein synthesis soon drops back to normal [3].

More interesting still, the rise in protein synthesis after a workout peaks earlier and returns to normal more quickly the longer you’ve been training [4]. That’s one reason why working a muscle just once a week becomes less effective over time.

In other words, a muscle might spend a day or so “growing” after a workout. But leaving a full seven days before you train that muscle again (which is often what happens with a body part split routine) means that several additional opportunities to stimulate hypertrophy have passed you by.

Assuming you’re not overdoing it in the gym, eating the right food and recovering properly, your muscles don’t need a full week before they’re ready for action again.

It’s also effective for lifters of all levels, and can be adjusted based on how long you’ve been training. A complete beginner, for example, might start out with a 4-day routine, hitting the major muscle groups twice a week with a low-to-moderate volume of training.

Eventually, as you become more advanced, you can gradually ramp up the volume to the point where you’re doing six workouts each week, with each muscle group being exposed to a greater number of weekly sets.

4-Day Upper/Lower Split for Hypertrophy

The 4-day workout split is the default version of the upper lower split. You hit the upper body on Monday, lower body on Tuesday, then take Wednesday off.

Thursday is another upper day, Friday is a lower day and you have the weekend off. Each group of muscles is trained twice a week.

• Monday: Upper Body
• Tuesday: Lower Body
• Wednesday: Off
• Thursday: Upper Body
• Friday: Lower Body
• Saturday: Off
• Sunday: Off

Here’s what each training day looks like. The numbers in brackets tell you how long to rest between each set.

Upper Body Workout 1

• Bench Press 3 sets x 5-8 reps [3 mins]
• Wide Grip Lat Pulldown 3 sets x 12-15 reps [2 mins]
• Incline Dumbbell Press 3 sets x 8-12 reps [2 mins]
• Seated Row 3 sets x 8-12 reps [2 mins]
• Overhead Press 3 sets x 8-12 reps [2 mins]
• Incline Curl 3 sets x 8-12 reps [90 seconds]
• Triceps Pressdown 3 sets x 8-12 reps [90 seconds]

Lower Body Workout 1

• Squat 3 sets x 5-8 reps [3-5 mins]
• Romanian Deadlift 3 sets x 8-12 reps [2-3 mins]
• Leg Extension 3 sets x 12-15 reps [90 seconds]
• Seated Leg Curl 3 sets x 8-12 reps [2 mins]
• Standing Calf Raise 4 sets x 5-8 reps [2 mins]

Upper Body Workout 2

• Dumbbell Bench Press 3 sets x 8-12 reps [2 mins]
• Chin-up OR Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown 3 sets x 8-12 reps [2 mins] *
• Dumbbell Flyes 3 sets x 12-15 reps [90 seconds]
• Dumbell Row 3 sets x 5-8 reps [2 mins]
• Lateral Raise 3 sets x 12-15 reps [90 seconds]
• Standing Dumbbell Curl 3 sets x 12-15 reps [90 seconds]
• Lying EZ Bar Triceps Extension 3 sets x 12-15 reps [90 seconds]

* If you’re doing chin-ups rather than pulldowns, just aim for as many good reps as possible.

Lower Body Workout 2

• Deadlift 4 sets x 5-8 reps [3-5 mins]
• Leg Press 4 sets x 8-12 reps [2-3 mins]
• Bulgarian Split Squat 3 sets x 8-12 reps [2 mins]
• Lying/Seated Leg Curl 4 sets x 12-15 reps [2 mins]
• Seated Calf Raise 4 sets x 12-15 reps [2 mins]

The days that you train aren’t set in stone. If you miss a workout, you can move it to the following day. Skip the Friday lower body workout, for example, and you can just push it back to Saturday.

• Monday: Upper Body
• Tuesday: Lower Body
• Wednesday: Off
• Thursday: Upper Body
• Friday: Off
• Saturday: Lower Body
• Sunday: Off

Or, if you prefer to train at the weekends, your week might look like this.

• Monday: Off
• Tuesday: Upper Body
• Wednesday: Off
• Thursday: Lower Body
• Friday: Off
• Saturday: Upper Body
• Sunday: Lower Body

4-Day Upper/Lower Split: The Short Version

If you’re pushed for time, The Short Version of the 4-day upper lower split involves just three exercises in each workout. It’s the type of thing you should be able to get done in your lunch hour, or before you go to work in the morning.

There’s no direct arm work, as the biceps and triceps are involved when you train your back, chest and shoulders.

Your arms won’t grow as quickly had you trained them directly, but you should see some growth in the biceps and triceps nonetheless. You can throw in some work for the abs on your off days, or at the end of a workout you have the time.

Upper Body Workout 1

A1 – Bench Press 5 sets x 5-8 reps [2-3 mins]
A2 – Wide Grip Lat Pulldown 5 sets x 12-15 reps [2 mins]
Overhead Press 3 sets x 8-12 reps [2 mins]

Lower Body Workout 1

Squat 5 sets x 5-8 reps [3-5 mins]
A1 – Romanian Deadlift 4 sets x 8-12 reps [2-3 mins]
A2 – Standing Calf Raise 4 sets x 5-8 reps [2 mins]

Upper Body Workout 2

A1 – Incline Dumbbell Press 5 sets x 8-12 reps [2 mins]
A2 – Seated Cable Row 5 sets x 8-12 reps [2 mins]
Lateral Raise 3 sets x 12-15 reps [2 mins]

Lower Body Workout 2

Leg Press 5 sets x 8-12 reps [3-4 mins]
A1 – Lying/Seated Leg Curl 4 sets x 12-15 reps [2 mins]
A2 – Seated Calf Raise 4 sets x 12-15 reps [2 mins]

You’ll notice that some of the exercises are labelled with A1 and A2. That means you have the option of pairing those exercises, which in turn saves you time in the gym.

What does that mean exactly?

Normally when you’re lifting weights, you do a set… rest for a couple of minutes or so… do the next set… rest for a couple of minutes… do the next set…. rest… and so on.

But with paired sets, also known as supersets, instead of resting between sets, you do an exercise for another set of muscles.

For example, you’d do an exercise for your chest (like the Incline Dumbbell Press), rest for 30-60 seconds, do an exercise for your back (like the Seated Row), rest for 30-60 seconds, then go back to the Incline Dumbbell Press again, and so on.

Here’s an example of how it might look:

Set 1: Incline Dumbbell Press
Rest for 30-60 seconds
Set 1: Seated Row
Rest for 30-60 seconds
Set 2: Incline Dumbbell Press
Rest for 30-60 seconds
Set 2: Seated Row
Rest for 30-60 seconds
Set 3: Incline Dumbbell Press
Rest for 30-60 seconds
Set 3: Seated Row
Rest for 30-60 seconds
Set 4: Incline Dumbbell Press
Rest for 30-60 seconds
Set 4: Seated Row
Rest for 30-60 seconds
Set 5: Incline Dumbbell Press
Rest for 30-60 seconds
Set 5: Seated Row

You don’t need to rush from one exercise to the other. Give yourself a bit of time to catch your breath and set yourself up properly.

As well as saving time, antagonistic paired sets do have the potential to enhance your performance in the gym. In one study, a group of trained men was able to do significantly more reps on the leg extension when they did the leg curl beforehand [10].

In fact, the men were able to crank out, on average, three additional reps on the leg extension machine when they did leg curls immediately, 30 seconds or 60 seconds earlier.

If you end up resting longer between sets than the prescribed amount, that’s fine. In most cases, you’re better off with longer rest periods between sets, rather than not getting enough.

4-Day Upper/Lower Split for Strength

Powerlifters have long used upper/lower split routines to build strength, and it works very well for this purpose.

Pressing exercises (bench press and overhead press) are done on upper body days, as well as any assistance work for the upper back, shoulders and triceps.

On lower body days, it’s the deadlift and squat, along with any assistance exercises for the quads, hamstrings and abs.

Here’s what a 4-day workout split focused on building strength in the bench press, squat, press and deadlift might look like.

Monday

• Bench Press 5 sets x 3-5 reps [3-5 mins]
• Rack Press 4 sets x 6 reps [2-3 mins]
• + Assistance work for upper back/shoulders/triceps

Tuesday

• Squat 5 sets x 3-5 reps [3-5 mins]
• Romanian Deadlift 4 sets x 6 reps [2-3 mins]
• + Assistance work for quads/hamstrings/abs

Thursday

• Press 5 sets x 3-5 reps [3-5 mins]
• Close-Grip Bench Press 4 sets x 6 reps [2-3 mins]
• + Assistance work for upper back/shoulders/triceps

Friday

• Deadlift 4 sets x 3-5 reps [3-5 mins]
• Front Squat 4 sets x 6 reps [2-3 mins]
• + Assistance work for quads/hamstrings/abs

RELATED: The PHUL Workout: Power, Hypertrophy, Upper, Lower

3-Day Upper/Lower Split Routine

You can also take the standard 4-day upper lower split, insert an extra day of rest, and turn it into a 3-day routine.

This works well if you’re busy and don’t have the time for a 4-day workout split. Over the course of a month, each group of muscles is worked an average of 1.5 times per week rather than twice.

Week 1

• Monday: Upper Body
• Tuesday: Off
• Wednesday: Lower Body
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Upper Body
• Saturday: Off
• Sunday: Off

Week 2

• Monday: Lower Body
• Tuesday: Off
• Wednesday: Upper Body
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Lower Body
• Saturday: Off
• Sunday: Off

In week three, the upper body workout ends up back on Monday, and you start the cycle all over again.

5-Day Upper/Lower Split Routine

The 4-day version of the upper/lower split works well for a lot of people. Followed consistently, it can deliver gains in size and strength for many months, if not years.

However, let’s assume that you’ve been following an upper/lower split for some time, your progress has stalled, and you want to try ramping up your training volume to get things moving in the right direction.

Problem is, you don’t want to make the workouts last longer than they already do.

How do you do it?

The solution is to ramp up the training frequency, and add a fifth training day.

In the first week, you’d do three upper and two lower body workouts, then two upper and three lower body workouts the following week.

Week 1

• Monday: Upper Body
• Tuesday: Lower Body
• Wednesday: Off
• Thursday: Upper Body
• Friday: Lower Body
• Saturday: Upper Body
• Sunday: Off

Week 2

• Monday: Lower Body
• Tuesday: Upper Body
• Wednesday: Off
• Thursday: Lower Body
• Friday: Upper Body
• Saturday: Lower Body
• Sunday: Off

In week three, the upper body workout ends up back on Monday, and you start the cycle all over again.

The higher frequency of training works well if you have the capacity to recover from the stresses of training five days a week. But not everyone can do it, so approach with caution.

If the upper body is your priority, you can also use that fifth workout day to focus exclusively on your chest, back, shoulders and arms. That is, you’d train your upper body three times a week, while your lower body is hit twice.

On the flip side, if your lower body needs some extra work, that fifth training day can be devoted to your quads, hamstrings and calves.

Here’s what that extra fifth workout might look like.

Upper Body Workout 3

• Cable Decline Chest Press 4 sets x 12-15 reps [2 mins]
• Single-arm Cable Row 4 sets x 12-15 reps [2 mins]
• Face Pulls 3 sets x 15-20 reps [90 seconds]
• Concentration Curl 3 sets x 12-15 reps [90 seconds]
• Overhead Triceps Extension 3 x 12-15 reps [90 seconds]

Lower Body Workout 3

• Leg Press 2 sets x 12-15 reps [2-3 mins]
• Leg Extension 2 sets x 12-15 reps [90 seconds]
• Lying/Seated Leg Curl 2 sets x 12-15 reps [90 seconds]
• Romanian Deadlift 2 sets x 8-12 reps [2-3 mins]
• Standing Calf Raise 4 sets x 15-20 reps [2 mins]

The 5-day upper/lower split does involve training three days straight without a rest day. Although some folks can get away with it, I much prefer taking a day of rest for every two days of hard training.

One way around the problem is to use a modified version of the 5-day upper/lower split, where you train for two days followed by one day off, and keep repeating the process.

This way, you’d lift weights five days a week in weeks one and two, and four days a week in the third week. The upside with this version is that you don’t have to train three days in a row without getting a day off. Here’s what it looks like.

Week 1

• Monday: Upper Body
• Tuesday: Lower Body
• Wednesday: Off
• Thursday: Upper Body
• Friday: Lower Body
• Saturday: Off
• Sunday: Upper Body

Week 2

• Monday: Lower Body
• Tuesday: Off
• Wednesday: Upper Body
• Thursday: Lower Body
• Friday: Off
• Saturday: Upper Body
• Sunday: Lower Body

Week 3

• Monday: Off
• Tuesday: Upper Body
• Wednesday: Lower Body
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Upper Body
• Saturday: Lower Body
• Sunday: Off

Then in the fourth week, you’d start the cycle all over again. The main downside is that the workouts aren’t on set days, so you’ll need a flexible schedule to pull this one off.

NOTE: If you’re able to train five days a week, a well-designed body part split like the 5-day push/pull/legs routine is also worth looking into.

The Upper/Lower/Full Hybrid

If you want to train three times a week, but you still want to hit each muscle twice a week, you can also combine an upper lower split with a full-body workout to create an upper/lower/full-body hybrid.

You train your upper body on Monday and the lower body on Wednesday. Then, you do a full-body workout on Friday.

Here’s what it looks like:

• Monday: Upper Body
• Tuesday: Off
• Wednesday: Lower Body
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Full Body
• Saturday: Off
• Sunday: Off

Because you’re only training three days a week, the upper/lower/full hybrid gives you plenty of flexibility in terms of what days of week you train.

That is, you can move the workouts around to fit your schedule, just as long as you give yourself a day of rest both before and after the full-body workout.

For example, if you’ve got a busy week coming up, and you know you won’t make it to the gym on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, you can get the upper and lower body training sessions out of the way on Monday and Tuesday, then do the full-body workout at the weekend.

• Monday: Upper Body
• Tuesday: Lower Body
• Wednesday: Off
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Off
• Saturday: Full Body
• Sunday: Off

Or, if you prefer to do most of your training at the weekends, your week might look like this.

• Monday: Off
• Tuesday: Off
• Wednesday: Full Body
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Off
• Saturday: Upper Body
• Sunday: Lower Body

6-Day Upper/Lower Split Routine

With the 6-day upper lower split routine, you train six days a week on set days, Monday through Saturday, and take Sunday off. Each muscle is trained three times a week. Here’s what it looks like:

• Monday: Upper Body
• Tuesday: Lower Body
• Wednesday: Upper Body
• Thursday: Lower Body
• Friday: Upper Body
• Saturday: Lower Body
• Sunday: Off

If you’re someone who prefers shorter, more frequent training sessions, and you can make it to the gym on a consistent basis six times a week, the 6-day upper/lower split can work nicely.

However, it’s not ideal for beginners. If you’re just getting started, I’d recommend a 4-day upper lower or push/pull split.

Once you’ve moved past the novice stages of training, then you can think about progressing to program that involves lifting weights five or six times a week.

I talk more about the pros and cons of a 6-day split here.

How to Program an Upper/Lower Split

If you want to set up your own upper/lower split, here’s the basic template to use.

Upper Body Workout Routine

Here’s what a typical upper body workout might look like:

• Chest: 2 exercises (e.g bench press, incline dumbbell press)
• Back: 2 exercises (e.g. pull up, barbell row)
• Shoulders: 1-2 exercises (e.g. overhead press, lateral raise)
• Biceps: 1-2 exercises (e.g. incline curl, hammer curl)
• Triceps: 1-2 exercises (e.g. pressdown, overhead triceps extension)

Lower Body Workout Routine

Here’s what a typical lower body workout might involve:

• Quadriceps: 2 exercises (e.g. parallel squat, leg extension)
• Hamstrings: 2 exercises (e.g. Romanian deadlift, leg curls)
• Calves: 1-2 exercises (e.g. standing calf raise, seated calf raise)
• Abs: 1-2 exercises (e.g. rollouts, weighted crunch)

Exercises like squats, leg presses and split squats will hit the glutes as well as the quads. As such, it’s not strictly necessary to do additional exercises for the glutes. But if you do want to train the glutes directly, an exercise like the barbell or banded hip thrust will do the job.

Upper Body Exercises

The upper body workouts involve mainly pressing exercises, such as the bench press (both flat and incline) and overhead press (both barbell and dumbbell), pulling exercises like pulldowns and rows, along with some isolation exercises for the biceps and triceps.

• Bench Press
• Incline Dumbbell Press
• Dumbbell Flyes
• Lat Pulldown
• Pull-Ups
• Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
• T-Bar Row
• Overhead Dumbbell Press
• Lateral Raise
• Triceps Pressdown
• Overhead Triceps Extension
• Incline Curl
• Cross Body Hammer Curl

Lower Body Exercises

The lower body workouts involve exercises like the squat, leg press, leg extension, Bulgarian split squat, leg curl, Romanian deadlift and calf raise. You can throw in ab work whenever you want, normally I like to do it on lower body days.

• Squat
• Hack Squat
• Leg Press
• Bulgarian Split Squats
• Leg Extension
• Deadlift
• Romanian Deadlift
• Lying Leg Curl
• Seated Leg Curl
• Standing Calf Raise

Optimal Training Volume on an Upper/Lower Split

It is possible to build muscle with a relatively small number of sets. For some, as little as five sets per muscle group per week is enough to make your muscles grow [8].

However, if you want to maximize your rate of muscle growth, chances are you’re going to see better results with 10-20 sets per muscle group per week.

By “muscle group,” I’m not talking about an area of the body like the arms or the legs. Specifically, I’m talking about groups of muscles that work together to create movement at a joint, such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, biceps, triceps and so on.

For example, if you do four sets of squats, three sets of leg presses and three sets of leg curls over the course of a week, you’ve performed a total of 10 sets for the legs. But most of the work has been done by the quadriceps (the muscles on the front of your thigh).

Although the hamstrings are doing some work during the squat, for instance, it’s not equivalent to the work done by the quadriceps. That is, 10 sets of squats per week wouldn’t count as 10 sets for the quadriceps and 10 sets for the hamstrings.

As far as reps are concerned, anywhere between 5 and 30 reps will get the job done. You can go higher or lower and still build muscle, but I don’t think there’s much point in doing so.

Go too low and it can leave your joints sore and tender. On the flip side, high rep sets tend to last longer and be more painful than lower rep sets. But they haven’t been shown to deliver any additional benefits in the muscle growth department.

With the upper lower split, you can rotate between two different workouts for each set of muscles, rather than just repeat the same workout each time.

For example, the first upper body workout might be a heavy day, where you focus on compound lifts and heavy weights in the 5-8 rep range. The second upper body workout might involve lighter weights, higher reps and more single-joint exercises.

There’s some interesting research out there to show that this type of approach leads to a (slightly) faster rate of muscle growth compared to sticking with the same weight and reps [9].

The differences between the groups weren’t dramatic – a little extra muscle here and there. But, this study only lasted eight weeks. Over months and years, those small differences may well add up.

You can also alternate between different exercises for each muscle group. For example, if you do deadlifts in your first lower body workout, do something less taxing like leg curls in the second.

How to Progress With Upper/Lower Body Workouts

You’ll notice that the upper and lower body workouts use rep ranges, such as 5-8 or 8-12, rather than a fixed number of reps in each set.

For example, in the first upper body workout, the prescription for the bench press is 3 sets of 5-8 reps.

The idea is that you select a weight that allows you to perform at least 5 reps in each set, but no more than 8.

Every time you go to the gym, you try to do more reps than you did the workout before. Once you’re able to do 8 reps in every set, increase the weight for the following workout.

It’s a form of progression known as the double progression method, and looks like this:

Here’s an example of how it might look in practice:

Upper Body Workout 1

• Set 1: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 2: 100 pounds x 7 reps
• Set 3: 100 pounds x 5 reps

Upper Body Workout 2

• Set 1: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 2: 100 pounds x 7 reps
• Set 3: 100 pounds x 6 reps

Upper Body Workout 3

• Set 1: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 2: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 3: 100 pounds x 7 reps

Upper Body Workout 4

• Set 1: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 2: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 3: 100 pounds x 8 reps

Upper Body Workout 5

• Set 1: 105 pounds x 7 reps
• Set 2: 105 pounds x 6 reps
• Set 3: 105 pounds x 5 reps

As you can see, in workout four, once you’re able to do 8 reps in all 3 sets, you add weight in workout give and repeat the cycle. 

This simple double progression method can work well for most exercises, and will produce decent gains in muscle mass over several months, just as long as you stay consistent and work hard.

It’s also important to make sure that your technique remains solid from one workout to the next. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that you’ve gotten stronger, when all you’re doing is cheating on those last few reps to get the weight up.

The exact number of workouts it takes to reach this point will vary from person to person, and from exercise to exercise. It might take 10 workouts or it might take 5. But wait until you can do 3 sets of 8 reps before adding weight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I do upper body then lower body?

You can do it either way. There’s nothing to stop you switching the order of the workouts so that you train your lower body first, turning it into a lower/upper split.

In fact, I prefer doing my lower body workouts first. Training the legs is hard work, much harder than training the upper body. I like coming into a lower body workout fresh from a day or two of complete rest.

Is the upper/lower split good for beginners?

The upper/lower split is a great choice for beginners wanting to build muscle and get stronger.

In one Baylor University study, a group of beginners gained 12 pounds (5.6 kilograms) of muscle in just 10 weeks using a 4-day upper/lower split routine [7]. That’s an impressive rate of progress, even taking into account the fact they were beginners.

You’re not necessarily going to see the same kind of dramatic gains in muscle mass, especially if you’re not an untrained beginner in your late teens or early twenties.

However, the results do show that a simple upper/lower split can be used by beginners to achieve some impressive gains in muscle mass.

Which is better, a push/pull or upper/lower split?

Both the push/pull and upper/lower split do have a number of things in common. The default version of both routines involve training four days a week, with each muscle group being trained twice a week.

Where they differ is the way you split your body up. With the push/pull split, you have two different workouts: a push workout and a pull workout.

The push workout revolves around pushing movements for the upper body, which involve the chest, shoulders and triceps. The pull workout centers on pulling movements for the upper body, which involve the back and biceps.

In addition, the push workouts also involve exercises that focus on your quads, while the pull day workouts will include some work for your hamstrings.

This makes the push/pull split ideal if you don’t like leg days. Rather than devote an entire workout to your lower body, you do a little bit of leg work every time you train.

Both are also ideal for intermediate lifters looking to move on from a full-body workout done three days a week.

What splits do bodybuilders use?

While there’s no single training split used by all bodybuilders all of the time, most of their training programs do have a few things in common.

In a survey of competitive bodybuilders published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, results showed that most respondents trained 4–7 times per week, hitting the major muscles twice a week, with each workout lasting 60–90 minutes.

Off-season training sessions mostly comprised of targeting 2–3 muscle groups, 2–3 exercises per muscle group, 3–4 sets per exercise, 7–12 reps per set, and 1-3 minutes of recovery between sets and exercises.

Are upper/lower splits good for bodybuilding?

An upper/lower split can certainly be used to make your muscles grow, which is one of the main goals of bodybuilding. However, a 4-day upper/lower split is likely not going to be enough if you want to step on stage in a bodybuilding contest.

Bodybuilders need a relatively high volume of training to ensure that every muscle is developed to its full potential, hence the popularity of the so-called bro split in bodybuilding circles. But it’s difficult to do that if you’re working the whole of your upper body and lower body in a single workout.

It might be doable with a 6-day upper/lower split, where each workout is focused on a different set of muscles. For example, the first upper body workout might focus on the chest and shoulders, the second on the back and the third on the arms.

You’re still training the upper body three days a week, but each workout focuses more on certain regions with less work for the others.

You’d take the same approach to training your lower body. The first workout would focus on the quads, the second on the hamstrings, and the third on the calves.

Again, you’d still hit the whole of the lower body three times a week, but each workout would be different, with more sets and exercises for some muscles and fewer sets and exercises for others.

How many exercises should I do for each muscle group on an upper/lower split?

As a general rule, I’d suggest doing 2-3 exercises for the chest, back, quadriceps, and hamstrings in each workout. Muscles like the shoulders, biceps, and triceps don’t need quite as much work. In most cases, 1-2 exercises should be sufficient.

Can you do an upper/lower split 6 days a week?

Yes, an upper/lower split can be done six days a week. If you want results as fast as humanly possible, and you’ve got the discipline and mental grit to make sure that your training, nutrition and recovery are consistently on target, a 6-day upper/lower split is a viable option.

What’s the best time to do cardio on an upper/lower split?

The best time to do cardio on an upper/lower split depends on how intense that cardio is. If all you’re doing is going for a brisk walk outside, you can do it when you like.

Low-intensity steady state cardio (LISS), such as walking, has only a minor impact on your muscle-building efforts in the gym. As a result, it can be done on a much more regular basis – daily, if that’s what you want to do.

But with high-intensity cardio, such as HIIT, you need to be a lot more careful about how much you do and when you do it. That’s because HIIT has a much greater potential to interfere with your ability to recover from and adapt to your weight training sessions.

The best time to do more intense cardio on an upper/lower split would be on the days you’re not lifting weights. For example, if you trained your upper body on Monday and your lower body on Tuesday, you’d do some cardio on the Wednesday, and then again on the Saturday.

How much volume should you do per muscle group in a 4-day upper/lower split to experience growth when bulking?

Aim for 10-20 weekly sets for the major muscles – chest, back, quads and hamstrings – divided across two workouts. The shoulders and arms are worked alongside the chest and back, so won’t require as much work to stimulate growth.

Would an upper/lower split be better for fat loss than a full body workout?

Neither one is inherently better than the other when it comes to losing fat. What matters most when it comes to fat loss is making sure your diet is set up properly. For an identical volume of training, most people will see similar results with both training programs, and should pick the one they’re most likely to stay consistent with.

Is a 3-day upper/lower split effective?

It’s certainly effective in the sense that it will lead to muscle being gained. But overall, it’s going to be less effective than the 4-day upper/lower split, mainly because you’re only hitting each muscle group 1.5 times per week instead of twice.

Which is better, a full body or upper/lower split?

A lot depends on how often can train, and how much volume your muscles need to grow. If you’re only able to hit the gym 3 times a week, and relatively new to weight training, where volume requirements are typically on the low side, go with a full-body workout performed three days a week.

But if you’ve moved past the novice phase of training, and need more weekly sets to keep the gains coming, you’ll likely see faster muscle growth with an upper/lower split.

Where would ab workouts go in an upper/lower split?

Wherever you can fit them in. You can do them with the upper body workout, the lower body workout, or even on your rest days.