upper: A Detailed Guide To Upper-Lower Splits

In recent years, upper-lower splits seem to have gone out of fashion somewhat. Increasing preference towards higher volume and frequency can be a possible reason, along with a few others. However, upper-lower is a split that is highly effective and great for quite a few reasons.

First, an upper-lower split provides greater flexibility compared to 5-day or 6-day splits. You get a three-day break. This means that, even if you miss the gym one day for some reason, you can still get in all the workouts for the week. For those who are busy, an upper-lower split is the best option.

Second, there is ample time for recovery. Three rest days a week are more than enough for your muscles to recover properly and avoid injury. Third, you still hit every muscle group twice a week and probably avoid a lot of junk volume. One con of this split is that the workouts are going to be longer compared to 5-day or 6-day splits.

Before we delve into how we will structure the individual workouts, let's make a few things clear. First, there will be two different upper-body workouts and two different lower-body workouts quite similar to what we have seen in A Detailed Guide to Push-Pull-Legs. Second, we are not going to be too strict with the division of the exercises. There are muscle groups that can take more volume and frequency than others (for example, the upper back), and we will incorporate exercises accordingly.

Finally, in each workout, the biggest compound movements will be done first, and the first 2-4 exercises will hit pretty much all the target muscle groups for the day. If you are pressed for time, just doing these exercises can be enough, depending on your goals.

Overview of the Upper Workout

As mentioned earlier, there will be two upper body workouts: Upper 1 and Upper 2. Both workouts will have a simple pattern: the first four exercises of each will be one vertical push, one vertical pull, one horizontal push, and one horizontal pull. This will be followed by an optional push and an optional pull in case you want extra volume.

Next, we will have a side delt isolation and a rear delt isolation. The workout will end with exercises for the biceps, triceps, and forearms. This is roughly how the workout will be organized:

Primary Push
Primary Pull
Secondary Push and Secondary Pull(Superset to save time)
Optional Push/Chest isolation and optional pull(Superset)
Side delt isolation and rear delt isolation(Superset)
Biceps and Triceps(Superset)
Forearms and Calves(Optional Superset)

Because the upper body days will be long, you can do the movements one after the other to save time. It's completely fine if it's not possible to superset the movements or if you just don't want to.

Overview of the Lower Workout

Lower days will have a comparatively lesser number of movements. However, the intensity is going to be just as high, if not higher. A lower day will consist of a lot of heavy knee flexion and a lot of heavy hip hinge.

On one day, you begin with knee flexion, and on the other, you begin with hip hinge. The knee flexion can be any squat variation that loads the quads sufficiently. The hip hinge can be a pull from the floor like a conventional or sumo deadlift or a movement that will eccentrically train the hamstrings like the Romanian deadlift or the Good Morning.

There will be a secondary movement for the quads and a secondary movement for the posterior chain. Another knee flexion exercise of lower intensity, such as a split squat, leg press, goblet squat, or even an isolation exercise like a leg extension, can be used as the secondary quad exercise. The posterior chain movement will usually be an exercise that isolates the glutes or hamstrings, like a hamstring curl. The last two exercises will work the calves and abs.

As mentioned earlier, we are not going to be overly strict with the division. The upper back and lats are muscle groups that can endure much more volume and frequency than other muscles. Hence, it will be a good idea to add one or two upper back/lat movements to the lower body days. Any barbell rowing variation that you want to incorporate into your routine should preferably be on a lower body day. The structure of a lower body will look something like the image below.

Lastly, it is a good idea to end a lower-body day with a dead hang. Heavy squats and deadlifts compress the spine, and dead hangs are a good way to decompress it.

Primary Knee Flexion
Primary Hip Hinge
Upper Back/Lat movement
Secondary quad movement/quad isolation
Secondary posterior chain movement/hamstring or glute isolation
Calves
Abs

Importance of Rest/Isolation Days

An upper-lower split will usually give us three rest days in a week. This is great for recovery and performance in the gym on the four main days. However, with the sessions being long, it is possible that you may not be able to target the smaller muscle groups with the same intensity. Or, you may just want some extra volume for some of the smaller muscles, like the back or calves. In this case, it is absolutely fine to get in a small workout on 1 or 2 of the 3 rest days.

You can perform additional mobility exercises. It is absolutely fine if you can afford the time, as long as it does not affect your main workouts. If the gym is far from your home or if you are tired, then it is advisable to not push it and concentrate on the days that matter. Having said that, try to get in some mobility and stretching work at home for 15-20 minutes even on your rest days.

We'll leave you with a sample routine to get you started. This is just an example of how to structure your routine. Focus less on the movements and more on the movement patterns.

UPPER 1	LOWER 1	UPPER 2	LOWER 2
1) Barbell Bench Press - 4 x 6-8	1)Barbell Back Squats 4 x 4-8	1) Barbell Overhead Press 3 x 5	1) Deadlift 3 x 3
2) One Arm Row - 4 x 6-12	2) Romanian Deadlifts 3 x 6-10	2) Pull-Ups 4-5 x 6-8	2) Bulgarian Split Squats - 3 x 6-10
3) Lat Pulldown 4 x 8-12	3) Barbell Row 3 x 8-12	3) Incline Dumbbell Press 4 x 6-10	3) Glute Ham Raise/Back Extensions 3 x 8-12
4) Seated Dumbbell Press 3 x 8-12	4) Leg Extensions 4 x 12-15	4) Seal Rows 4 x 8-12	4) Hack Squats 3 x 8-12
5) Cable/ Machine Row 3 x 10-15	5) Lying Hamstring Curls 4 x 12-15	5) Bodyweight Dips 3 x Failure	5) Chin- Ups 3 x Failure
6) Cable Flies 3 x 12-15	6) Calf Raises 3 x 12-15	6) Cable/ Machine Rows 3 x 12-15	6) Calf Raises 3 x 12-15
7) Dumbbell Lateral Raises 3 x 12-15	7) Hanging Leg Raise 3 x Failure	7) Dumbbell Lateral Raises 3 x 12-15	7) Hanging Leg Raise 3 x Failure
8) Rear Delt Flies 3 x 12-15	8) Dead Hangs	8) Rear Delt Flies 3 x 12-15	8) Dead Hangs
9) Triceps Overhead Extension 3 x 12-15		9) Triceps Overhead Extension 3 x 12-15
10) Dumbbell Curls 3 x 12-15		10) Dumbbell Curls 3 x 12-15
Note: Barring exercises 1 and 2, the rest of the movements can be combined into supersets of two antagonistic movements.		Note: Barring exercises 1 and 2, the rest of the movements can be combined into supersets of two antagonistic movements.

Also, here's a rough template to follow.

1) Primary Push	1) Squat Variation	1) Primary Push	1) Hip Hinge/Deadlift Variation
2) Primary Pull	2) Hip Hinge/Deadlift Variation	2) Primary Pull	2) Squat Variation
3) Secondary Push	3) Back movement(Barbell Row/Pull Up Variation)	3) Secondary Push	3) Back movement(Barbell Row/Pull Up Variation)
4) Secondary Pull	4) Secondary Quad Movement	4) Secondary Pull	4) Secondary Quad Movement
5) Optional Push/Chest Isolation	5) Secondary Glutes/Hamstrings Movement	5) Optional Push/Chest Isolation	5) Secondary Glutes/Hamstrings Movement
6) Optional Pull	6) Calves	6) Optional Pull	6) Calves
7) Side delts	7) Abs	7) Side delts	7) Abs
8) Rear Delts	8) Spinal Decompression/Grip Work	8) Rear Delts	8) Spinal Decompression/Grip Work
9) Biceps		9) Biceps
10) Triceps		10) Triceps

Takeaway

This was a guide on how to structure your upper-lower splits. Formulate your plan using this, but be flexible when required. For example, if growing your chest is a priority for you, feel free to have two horizontal pushing movements at the top and a shoulder movement as your third, optional press. Experiment, make mistakes, and find out what's best for you. Do not forget to train hard and implement progressive overload. Let the muscle gains begin!