Workout splits are essentially how you divide and organize a strength training program. What are you going to do each time you go to the gym? How often are you training each muscle group? What’s the best workout split?

There is a lot to consider.

There are an endless number of workout splits from bodybuilding-style splits that emphasize a specific muscle group per day to those that emphasize movements such as push, pull, squat, and hinge. Trainers and coaches will swear by one while slandering others.

Each split has its merits and advantages but there is anything you take from this post, it’s to just stick with one for long enough to make progress instead of hopping from one program to the next every week.

But let’s get to the one favored by athletes.

The Upper/Lower Workout Split

The workout split that is favored by athletes (and myself) is the upper body/lower body split. This prevents the body from being worked like a bunch of individual pieces and allows each muscle group/movement plane to be trained more than just once a week.

On upper body days, you will typically train with 5-6 exercises for 2-5 sets per exercise depending on intensities. The movements trained are as follows:

• Horizontal press (such as the bench press, incline press, floor press, push up, etc)
• Horizontal pull (such as the row, cable row, dumbbell row, chest supported row, just any kind of row)
• Vertical press (such as the overhead press, dumbbell press, push press, etc)
• Vertical pull (such as pull ups, chin ups, pull downs, etc)
• Arms (triceps and biceps. Must I elaborate?)

On lower body days, you will typically perform 4-5 exercises. The movements are as follows:

• Power movement (such as box jumps, depth jumps, cleans, snatches, etc)
• Squat or deadlift variation (barbell squats, deadlifts, trap bar deadlifts, box squats, etc)
• Assistance movement (One that complements the previous squat or deadlift such as a lunge, RDL, good morning, step up, Bulgarian split squat, pull through, etc)
• Abs (such as toe to bars, planks, etc)

I typically have two different upper body days and 2 different lower body days where I will focus on a different main movement. On the upper body 1 workout i may focus on a bench press variation as the main movement, the lower body 1 workout the squat, the upper body 2 the overhead press, and the lower body 2 the deadlift.

How often you should train

You can do this type of split with a 3 days/week and a 4 days/week plan.

If you train 3 days per week, it would look like this:

• Monday: Upper Body 1
• Wednesday: Lower Body 1
• Friday: Upper Body 2
• Monday: Lower Body 2
• Wednesday: Upper Body 1
• Friday: Lower Body 1

And so on.

If you train 4 days per week, it would look like this:

• Sunday: Upper Body 1
• Monday: Lower Body 1
• Wednesday: Upper Body 2
• Friday: Lower Body 2

Or any other days of the week you like to lift. There is good evidence to suggest that you should train each muscle group more than once a week, and this split allows for that.

Sample workout week

Here is how an upper body/lower body workout split comes together.

Day 1 – Upper body horizontal press emphasis

1. Incline bench press: 5×5
2. Barbell row: 3×5-8
3. Seated dumbbell Arnold press: 2-3×8-12
4. Lat pull down: 2-3×8-12
5. Overhead dumbbell triceps extension: 2×5-10
6. Dumbbell curl: 2×5-8

Day 2 – Lower body squat emphasis

1. Box jump: 5×3
2. Squat: 5×5
3. Romanian deadlift: 3×5-8
4. Step up: 2-3×8-12
5. Toe to bar: 2xAMAP

Day 3 – Upper body vertical press emphasis

1. Overhead press: 5×5
2. Parallel grip pull up: 3×5-8
3. Dumbbell bench press: 2-3×8-12
4. Seated cable row: 3×8-12
5. Cable tricep push down: 2×8-12
6. EZ bar curl: 2×8-12

Day 4 – Lower body deadlift emphsis

1. Broad jump: 5×3
2. Deadlift or trap bar deadlift: 5×5
3. Bulgarian split squat: 3×5-8
4. Hip thrust: 2×8-12
5. Ab roller: 2xAMAP

Conclusions

The upper body/lower body workout split is the one favored by most athletes. However, many body builders such as Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates have used this split extensively.

This workout split allows the individual to train movements and muscle groups with large, compound exercises, which are superior to isolation exercises for building strength and muscle.

It also allows the individual to train these movements and muscle groups more than once a week, which will be optimal for progress.

However, whatever workout split you use, make sure you stick with it long enough to make progress instead of continuously jumping from one program to the next.