Overview

Benefits

• Balanced Muscle Development: Ensures all major muscle groups are trained equally.
• Recovery Time: Provides sufficient recovery time for muscle groups between sessions.
• Flexibility: Suitable for different fitness levels and can be adjusted to fit various schedules.
• Focus: Allows for focused and intense workouts for each muscle group.

structure

• Upper Body Days: Focus is  on the chest, back, shoulders, and arms.
• Lower Body Days: Focus is on the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
• Rest Days: For Recovery
• Repeat: Do Upper Lower once, rest, then repeat with different exercises

Who Should Use This Split?

• All Levels: The Upper lLwer split works for all training advancement levels
• Beginners: It is suited to beginners because it is easy to follow and helps build a strong foundation.
• Intermediates: It is a great way for intermediates looking to increase training volume and intensity.
• Advanced Lifters: Can be adapted for higher frequency and volume for continued progress in even advanced lifters, as the Dorian Yates example shows.
• Best: This split is best suited for intermediates. Whilst it works for beginners, a 3-day full body workout might be better for them in terms of time investment considering beginners make excellent gains with almost all splits. For advanced people, while Upper/Lower works for them, there are better options for most advanced trainees.

Weekly Schedule

The Upper/ Lower Split can be run in sync with the week over 7 days or out of sync over 6 days:

* Day one can be any other weekday too.

The asynchronous approach will increase the weekly training volume by using only one rest day in between training days. Dorian Yates used an Upper/Lower asynchronous approach for much of his career and it took him to multiple Mr. Olympia titles.

Tips for Maximizing Results

• Proper Form: Focus on technique to avoid injuries and maximize effectiveness.
• Progressive Overload: Gradually increase the weight and intensity to continue making gains.
• Recovery: Ensure you get enough rest between workouts and sleep adequately.
• Nutrition: Follow a balanced diet with sufficient protein to support muscle growth and recovery.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Skipping Rest Days: You might think, if 6 days increases training volume, why not run the asyncronous approach in such a way where we train daily, without rest? Well, overtraining can lead to injuries due to a lack of recovery and injuries hinder progress. Proper recovery is a crutial aspect of intelligent training.
• Neglecting Form: Poor technique can result in injuries and reduced effectiveness.
• Imbalance in Training: Ensure equal focus on both upper and lower body workouts. All too often, people skip leg days or run legs less intensely compared to upper body training resulting in an imbalanced physique.
• Inadequate Nutrition: Not consuming enough nutrients can impede muscle growth and recovery. Eat enough calories and protein. To find your calorie needs, try our TDEE calcaulator