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STUDfit · Lift

Upper / lower

Also known as

upper lower split · phul · 4 day split · upper lower 4 day

Community talk. May contain inaccuracies. Not medical, training, or diet advice. Sharp pain, fainting, or disordered-eating concerns need a clinician.

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In brief

An upper/lower split separates upper-body and lower-body strength work into different sessions.

The common picture
4 days: Upper / Lower / rest / Upper / LowerThe default week.
Or Upper / Lower / Upper / Lower with weekend offSame math, different rest.
Each muscle ~2× / weekThe reason people leave a bro-split.
Compounds firstBench and row on upper; squat and hinge on lower.
Session reports: 50–75 minutesThe exercise list, rest periods and equipment waits affect the length.

People compare weekly schedules, exercise coverage and session length, including how the same split fits changing work schedules or gaining and cutting phases.

Good to know. Turning every upper day into a second chest day. Copying a 6-day volume list onto 4 days.

What people say

  • The job: A split for people with a job and a second upper day.
  • PHUL (Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower) is the named Reddit cousin: one power upper, one hyper upper, same for lower.
  • Why it wins vs PPL: four days is a week many humans actually have.
  • Why it wins vs full body: they get more chest and arm room without living in the gym.
  • r/fitness 2020s often answers “4 days, what split?” with upper/lower.
  • The failure mode: Monday upper is a bro chest day; Thursday upper is the same chest day again.
  • Women’s rooms run the same split with more hinge / lunge / glute T2s. It is still upper/lower.
  • After 40: four days with real rest beats six days of junk fatigue.
  • It pairs with a cut better than 6-day PPL for a lot of diaries.
  • You can progressive-overload here. It is a split, not a vacation from adds.
  • 5/3/1 four-day is upper/lower in a percentage costume.

How people do it

  • Upper A: bench focus + row + accessories.
  • Upper B: press or incline focus + a second row/pull-up.
  • Lower A: squat focus + a hinge accessory.
  • Lower B: hinge / deadlift focus + a squat accessory.
  • They do not skip Lower B. That is the “I only squat” trap.
  • Rest days are between the pairs if sleep is thin.
  • If they miss a day: they do the next half, they do not stack two uppers.

Amounts people use

  • Days: 4. 3 means they are really on full body with extra steps.
  • Session: 50–75 minutes.
  • Main lifts: 3–5 sets.
  • Accessories: 3–5 after the mains, not nine.
  • Weekly: each big pattern about 2 times.

How people keep it

  • A repeating A/B card in the notes app.
  • A rest day after lower if the hinge wrecks them.
  • Same mains for a block. Accessories can rotate.
  • A life week: two days (one upper, one lower) still counts.
  • They stop adding a fifth “arms day.”

How it may feel

  • Week one: more sore than 3-day, less chaotic than 6-day.
  • Upper days: the fun ones for bench people.
  • Lower B: the character-building day.
  • A good month: they stop talking about splits.
  • A bad month: they turn it into PPL by sneaking in extra push days.
  • Vs PPL: weekends feel like weekends again.

How long

  • Months to years. It is a default adult split.
  • A block of 8–12 weeks before they change accessories is plenty.
  • They can stay here through a bulk and a cut.
  • Graduation is optional.

The longer notes

  • PHUL if they want a named power/hypertrophy twist.
  • PPL if they truly have 6 recoverable days.
  • Full body if 4 days is already a lie.
  • 5/3/1 4-day if they want percentages on the mains.
  • Self lift 2–4 is the habit wrapper.

More from the community

An upper/lower split does not fully specify a program. In a September 2026 Fitness thread, a lifter enjoying a four-day version wondered whether to keep it when moving from a cut to a bulk, while also asking about exercise coverage. Replies discussed continued progress and enjoyment rather than treating the nutrition-phase change as an automatic reason to replace the split. The example separates three decisions that otherwise get bundled together: which days divide the body, which exercises are included and what the person wants from the next phase.Source 1

Related

Good to know

  • Two identical chest days is not upper/lower.
  • Do not paste a 6-day accessory list into 4 days.
  • Skipping lower is a different split.
  • Four days of junk sleep is not a 4-day program.
  • Joint pain that repeats on the same day is a stop, not a new variation.

Also on this house

STUDself · lift 2–4 days
Earlier wording (updated)
  • 60–75 minutes Two body-halves still make a long session if accessories sprawl.

Checked sources

Selected links for the notes above, not a review of every historical claim.

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