October 17, 2026
Upper/Lower Split: A Complete Programming Guide for Trainers
How to structure, select exercises and manage volume in an upper/lower split that works for intermediate clients with four days to train.
The upper/lower split is one of the most balanced and versatile splits you can program. The logic is simple: one day trains the upper body, the next the lower body. With four sessions a week, every muscle group gets two sessions, which fits well with current guidance on training frequency for hypertrophy.
This guide walks through how to design an effective upper/lower split, from exercise selection and volume to how it compares with other popular splits, for trainers who program for real clients with real schedules.
What the upper/lower split is
The upper/lower split divides training into two types of session: one for the upper body (chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps) and one for the lower body (quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves).
The classic structure spreads them over four days a week, alternating upper and lower with rest days in between, for example:
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper A | Lower A | Rest | Upper B | Lower B | Rest | Rest |
A and B are not just different exercises
The difference between Upper A/B and Lower A/B is the emphasis. One session can prioritize heavy compound lifts (strength-hypertrophy focus) and the other accessories with more volume. That covers different stimuli without repeating the same session twice.
Who this split is for
Intermediates with four days available
The sweet spot. The client already knows the basic patterns, tolerates moderate volume and genuinely has four days to train. With fewer days, full body usually makes more sense; with five or six, splits such as push/pull/legs become an option.
Clients coming from full body who need more volume
When a beginner has progressed with full body for several months and needs more sets per muscle to keep improving, upper/lower is a natural next step. It allows more volume per session without two-hour workouts.
People with inconsistent schedules
If the client can’t train on Thursday, the session moves to Saturday. As long as upper and lower keep alternating, the exact weekly layout is secondary.
When it isn’t the best choice
Absolute beginners (three full body days usually work better), people with only two or three days (full body or a reduced version), and advanced lifters who need very high, specialized volume across five or six days.
Our full body routine guide covers the alternative for beginners and three-day schedules.
How to structure an upper/lower split
Principle 1: compounds first
Each session starts with two or three multi-joint exercises while fatigue is low. Isolation work goes at the end. Our guide to ordering exercises in a session explains the logic.
Principle 2: alternate push and pull
In upper sessions, alternating a press with a row or pulldown lets one muscle group rest while the other works, improving the quality of each set and shortening the session. See our agonist and antagonist muscles guide.
Principle 3: differentiate A and B days
Day A: strength emphasis
Heavy compounds 3–4 × 6–8, moderate accessories 3 × 10–12, RPE 8–9, 2–3 minutes rest on compounds.
Day B: volume emphasis
Moderate compounds 3–4 × 10–12, isolation 3 × 12–20, RPE 7–8, 90–120 seconds rest.
Principle 4: control session length
A well-designed upper or lower session usually takes 50 to 70 minutes. If sessions run well past 75 minutes, there are probably too many exercises or too much volume for one session. Cut isolation work before cutting compounds.
Exercise selection by muscle group
You don’t need five chest exercises per session. You need the right exercises in the right place. A practical guide:
Upper sessions
| Muscle group | Compound exercises | Isolation exercises |
|---|---|---|
| Chest | Bench press, incline press, dips | Dumbbell flies, cable crossovers |
| Back | Pull-ups, barbell row, cable row | Pullover, face pull |
| Shoulders | Overhead press, dumbbell press | Lateral raises, rear-delt flies |
| Biceps | Trained in pulls | Barbell curl, hammer curl, incline curl |
| Triceps | Trained in presses | Cable extension, skull crushers |
Lower sessions
| Muscle group | Compound exercises | Isolation exercises |
|---|---|---|
| Quadriceps | Squat, leg press, Bulgarian split squat | Leg extension |
| Hamstrings | Romanian deadlift, good morning | Lying leg curl, seated leg curl |
| Glutes | Hip thrust, deep squat, lunges | Cable kickback, glute bridge |
| Calves | Worked partly in standing compounds | Standing and seated calf raises |
Selection criterion
Pick one or two exercises per muscle group per session. With two upper and two lower sessions a week, each muscle ends up with two to four different exercises across the week, which is enough to cover different angles and stimuli.
Weekly volume
Weekly hard sets per muscle group are the key volume measure for hypertrophy. The ranges below are indicative starting points for intermediate clients in an upper/lower split; our hypertrophy programming guide explains where they come from.
| Muscle group | Starting point (sets/week) | Typical range (sets/week) | Per session |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | 10 | 12–16 | 5–8 × 2 sessions |
| Back | 10 | 14–18 | 7–9 × 2 sessions |
| Side delts | 8 | 12–16 | 4–8 × 2 sessions |
| Biceps | 6 | 10–14 | 3–7 × 2 sessions |
| Triceps | 6 | 10–14 | 3–7 × 2 sessions |
| Quadriceps | 10 | 12–18 | 6–9 × 2 sessions |
| Hamstrings | 8 | 10–14 | 5–7 × 2 sessions |
| Glutes | 6 | 10–16 | 3–8 × 2 sessions |
| Calves | 6 | 8–12 | 3–6 × 2 sessions |
Recovery is the real limit
Start at the low end and add two to four sets per muscle from one block to the next. If a client doesn’t recover well between sessions, reduce volume before adding more. Remember that compound lifts also add indirect volume to the arms and shoulders.
One advantage of upper/lower over full body is that it fits more volume per muscle without endless sessions: 16 weekly chest sets become 8 per upper session instead of 5 or 6 in each of three full body sessions on top of everything else.
Four session templates
These templates are illustrative starting points to adapt to each client. Rep ranges and RPE are guidelines; adjust them to level and individual response.
Upper A (strength emphasis)
| Exercise | Sets × reps | RPE | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell bench press | 4 × 6–8 | 8–9 | 2–3 min |
| Barbell row | 4 × 6–8 | 8–9 | 2–3 min |
| Dumbbell overhead press | 3 × 8–10 | 8 | 2 min |
| Lat pulldown | 3 × 10–12 | 7–8 | 90 s |
| Barbell curl | 3 × 10–12 | 8 | 90 s |
| Cable triceps extension | 3 × 10–12 | 8 | 90 s |
Lower A (quadriceps emphasis)
| Exercise | Sets × reps | RPE | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell back squat | 4 × 6–8 | 8–9 | 3 min |
| Romanian deadlift | 3 × 8–10 | 8 | 2–3 min |
| Leg press | 3 × 10–12 | 8 | 2 min |
| Lying leg curl | 3 × 10–12 | 8 | 90 s |
| Leg extension | 3 × 12–15 | 7–8 | 90 s |
| Standing calf raise | 4 × 12–15 | 8 | 60 s |
Upper B (volume emphasis)
| Exercise | Sets × reps | RPE | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incline dumbbell press | 3 × 10–12 | 7–8 | 2 min |
| Pull-ups (or neutral-grip pulldown) | 3 × 8–12 | 7–8 | 2 min |
| Close-grip cable row | 3 × 10–12 | 7–8 | 90 s |
| Cable crossover | 3 × 12–15 | 8 | 60 s |
| Lateral raises | 4 × 15–20 | 7–8 | 60 s |
| Hammer curl + skull crusher (superset) | 3 × 12–15 each | 8 | 60 s |
Lower B (posterior chain emphasis)
| Exercise | Sets × reps | RPE | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell hip thrust | 4 × 8–10 | 8–9 | 2–3 min |
| Bulgarian split squat | 3 × 10–12 per leg | 8 | 2 min |
| Seated leg curl | 3 × 10–12 | 8 | 90 s |
| Walking lunges | 3 × 12 per leg | 7–8 | 90 s |
| Machine hip abduction | 3 × 15–20 | 7–8 | 60 s |
| Seated calf raise | 4 × 15–20 | 8 | 60 s |
How to adjust
Each session has roughly 20 working sets. If the client progresses well, stay there. If they stall, add two to four weekly sets for the priority muscles in the next block, or take a lighter week first; see our deload week guide.
Upper/lower vs other splits
The right split depends on the client’s context. No split is universally superior, but each one shines in some situations:
| Criterion | Full body | Upper/lower | Push/pull/legs | Bro split |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical days | 3 | 4 | 3 or 6 | 5–6 |
| Frequency per muscle | 2–3 × week | 2 × week | 1–2 × week | 1 × week |
| Volume per session | Low to moderate | Moderate | Moderate to high | Very high per muscle |
| Best level | Beginner | Intermediate | Intermediate to advanced | Advanced |
| Schedule flexibility | High | High | Medium | Low |
| Typical session length | 60–75 min | 50–70 min | 50–65 min | 45–60 min |
Full body vs upper/lower
Full body is usually better for beginners because it means more practice of the basic patterns. As clients need more volume per muscle, full body sessions get long; upper/lower splits the work into two session types while keeping twice-weekly frequency.
Upper/lower vs push/pull/legs
PPL works well for clients who can train six days (PPL twice). It needs a lot of consistency: miss a day and a whole set of muscles loses a session that week. Upper/lower gets twice-weekly frequency with only four days, which is more realistic for most clients with work and family commitments.
Upper/lower vs bro split
The bro split trains each muscle once a week. When volume is equal, frequency itself seems to matter less than once thought, but spreading the volume over two sessions usually improves the quality of the later sets. The bro split mainly makes sense for advanced lifters who prefer a lot of volume for one muscle in a single session.
Programming splits with TrainerStudio
A/B days, volume and progression
In TrainerStudio each session (Upper A, Lower A, Upper B, Lower B) is its own day in the client’s plan, with sets, reps, RPE or RIR and notes for every exercise, so the client opens the app and sees exactly what to do. Save the split as a template and duplicate it for each new client, adjusting exercises, loads and volume. The workload view groups exercises (for example, all back exercises) to compare planned and completed sets week by week, and load history shows when a lift such as the bench press has stalled.
Conclusion: the best split is the one your client can follow
The upper/lower split isn’t magic or the only valid option. But for most intermediate clients with four days available, it is probably the most balanced split you can program: good frequency, enough volume, manageable sessions and a flexible calendar. Your value lies in adapting the principles to each person and choosing the split they will actually follow week after week.
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