A 4 day upper lower split: two upper body days and two lower body days a week, so every muscle
is trained twice. Day 1 of each is heavier and barbell led; day 2 uses dumbbells, cables and
machines with a little more volume.
Below is the full program with every exercise, set, rep range and rest time, the weekly
schedule and the weekly sets for each muscle.
How to progress
Start each exercise with a weight you can lift for the bottom of its rep range with two or three
reps to spare. Keep that weight until you reach the top of the range on every set, then add the
smallest jump you can (about 2.5 kg or 5 lb) and build the reps back up. This is double
progression: reps first, then weight.
Rest the full time on the big lifts, and stop a set when your form breaks down. If a lift stalls
for three or four sessions in a row, take a lighter week or swap the exercise for a close
variation.
Who it is for
Upper lower is the usual next step after a beginner full body program, roughly three months
in. Full body sessions start to get long once the weights get heavy, and splitting the body in
two keeps each session around an hour while still training everything twice.
Supersets
The arm exercises at the end of each upper day are a superset: one set of the first exercise,
then one set of the second, then rest. Biceps and triceps rest while the other works, so you
get the same work done in less time.
Questions
Is an upper lower split good for building muscle?
Yes. It trains every muscle twice a week, which research suggests is better for growth than once, and four sessions leave three full rest days for recovery. It is one of the most popular splits for intermediate lifters for that reason.
Upper lower or push pull legs?
On 4 days a week, upper lower is the better fit: every muscle is trained twice. Push pull legs needs 6 days to do the same. If you can only train 3 days, full body or a 3 day push pull legs makes more sense.
Can beginners do an upper lower split?
Yes, though most beginners do well on full body first. Upper lower is the natural next step after about three months, when full body sessions start to get too long to recover from.
Can I do upper lower 3 days a week?
You can alternate the four workouts across three days (upper, lower, upper one week; lower, upper, lower the next). Each muscle then gets trained about 1.5 times a week, which still works.