An upper/lower split alternates upper-body days and lower-body days, usually four sessions a week. Every muscle gets trained twice, there are three full rest days, and no single session is long. For most people who lift four days a week, it is the best default there is.
The two upper days and two lower days are not copies of each other. Day A leans heavy, with low reps on the big lifts. Day B leans lighter, with more reps and different variations. You practise each main movement twice a week without repeating the exact same workout.
Who it’s for
Upper/lower is the natural next step once a beginner full-body program stops adding weight every session, usually somewhere between six months and a year in. It also suits experienced lifters who have a life: four sessions fit around work, and missing one barely dents the week.
It suits strength-focused lifters especially well, because squat, bench, deadlift and press each get a heavy day with plenty of recovery between them. If you want to train six days, look at push pull legs instead. If you can only train three, look at full body.
The week
| Day | Session | Main lifts |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Upper A (heavy) | Bench press, barbell row |
| Tuesday | Lower A (heavy) | Back squat, Romanian deadlift |
| Wednesday | Rest | — |
| Thursday | Upper B (volume) | Overhead press, pull-ups |
| Friday | Lower B (volume) | Deadlift, leg press |
| Saturday | Rest | — |
| Sunday | Rest | — |
A sample day
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell bench press | 4 × 5 | 3 min |
| Barbell row | 4 × 6–8 | 2–3 min |
| Seated dumbbell shoulder press | 3 × 8–10 | 2 min |
| Lat pulldown | 3 × 8–12 | 2 min |
| Dumbbell lateral raise | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| EZ-bar curl | 2 × 10–12 | 60 s |
| Triceps pushdown | 2 × 10–12 | 60 s |
Lower A runs the same way: back squat 4 × 5, Romanian deadlift 3 × 8, leg press 3 × 10–12, lying leg curl 3 × 10–12, standing calf raise 4 × 10–15 and hanging leg raises to finish. Expect about an hour per session.
Pair the arm work as a superset if time is short. Curls and pushdowns use different muscles, so alternating them with 60 seconds between costs you nothing.
How to progress
On the heavy days, run the main lifts on a simple linear progression: add 5 lb to bench and row, and 10 lb to squat, every week you complete all your sets. When you miss reps two weeks in a row, drop 10% and climb again. That reset usually buys another six to eight weeks.
On the volume days and for every accessory, use double progression. Work up through the rep range, then add weight when every set reaches the top. Track it honestly. The difference between 3 × 10 and 10, 9, 8 is the whole point.
Every six to eight weeks, take a lighter week with the same exercises, two-thirds of the sets and a little less weight. It looks like lost time; in practice it is what lets the next block start heavier.
Mistakes that stall it
Making A and B identical
If both upper days are bench 3 × 8, you lose the main advantage. Give each day a different main lift or a different rep range.
Stacking the lower days
Squatting heavy on Tuesday and deadlifting heavy on Wednesday leaves your lower back fried for both. Keep at least one rest day between lower sessions.
Cramming arms into the upper days
Ten sets of curls at the end of a 90-minute upper day get done badly. Two or three good sets twice a week is enough, because rows and presses already work your arms.
Skipping the hamstrings
Squats and leg presses train quads. Every lower day needs a hinge or a leg curl, ideally both.
Moving days at random
If you must shift a session, shift the whole sequence. Doing Upper A twice in a row because Monday fell through breaks the balance of the week.
Running it in Splyt
Make four templates in Splyt, Upper A, Lower A, Upper B and Lower B, and start the one that’s next. Each template remembers what you lifted last time and carries it forward, so the heavy days show you exactly what to beat. On Apple Watch, Splyt counts your reps from the wrist so you can leave the phone in your bag.
If you’d rather not build it by hand, ask the AI coach for a four-day upper/lower around your equipment and it will create and schedule the workouts.
Questions
Is upper lower better than push pull legs?
Neither is better in general. Upper/lower trains each muscle twice in four days; PPL needs six days to do the same. If you can train four days, upper/lower is more efficient. If you want to train six, PPL spreads the work more evenly.
Can I do upper lower three days a week?
Yes, by alternating: upper, lower, upper one week and lower, upper, lower the next. Each muscle gets three sessions every two weeks. It works, but the weeks are uneven, so track carefully.
Is upper lower good for building muscle?
Yes. Twice-weekly frequency with 10 to 20 hard sets per muscle per week is where most people grow, and upper/lower gets you there in four sessions. Push the accessories close to failure.
Where does cardio go on an upper lower split?
On rest days or after upper sessions. Hard cardio right before a lower day takes something out of your squat. Easy walking or cycling is fine any time.
How long should an upper lower workout be?
Fifty to seventy minutes for six or seven exercises. Lower days run shorter with fewer exercises, but the rests between heavy sets are longer.
Other splits
- Full body workout split — 2–4 days
- Push pull legs split — 3 or 6 days
- 4 day workout split — 4 days
- PPL upper lower split (PPLUL) — 5 days
- Every workout split, compared
Exercises by muscle
How to do every lift above, and the alternatives when a machine is taken: Chest · Shoulders · Triceps · Lats · Upper back · Biceps · Quads · Hamstrings · Glutes · Calves · Abs · The full exercise library
Ready-made workouts for each day
Sessions with sets, reps and rest you can drop into this split: Push day · Pull day · Leg day · Upper body · Lower body · Full body · At home · All workouts
Free tools for this split
- Workout split generator — Days, time and goal in; a week of training out.
- One-rep max calculator — Your best set in, a max and every percentage out.
- Strength standards calculator — Where your bench, squat, deadlift and press sit for your size.
- Training volume calculator — Hard sets per muscle against the ranges that build it.
Splyt is a workout tracker for iPhone and Apple Watch with templates that remember what you lifted. Get Splyt free on the App Store · How templates work