# Upper / lower split, four days

> phase.fitness writes upper/lower as the four-day split the frequency document recommends for intermediates: every muscle twice a week, a strength day and a hypertrophy day for each half, and two blocks — volume, then intensity — with a deload between them.

phase.fitness · Strength & physique · Updated 22 September 2026 · HTML version: https://www.phase.fitness/training-programs/upper-lower-split-program

## Quick facts

- Level: intermediate
- Length: 8 weeks
- Days per week: 4
- Modalities: Strength
- Equipment: A rack, a barbell, a bench and dumbbells; machines optional
- Sessions go to: Hevy, Liftosaur, Garmin

## The short answer

An upper/lower program in phase.fitness is four days a week — upper, lower, upper, lower — with each muscle trained twice, the layout the frequency document lists for a 2× frequency. The official template, Upper / Lower 4× — 8 weeks, runs an accumulation block that builds weekly set volume toward the top of the adaptive range with a deload in week 4, then an intensification block with fewer sets and heavier loads where the strength sessions lead and the hypertrophy sessions hold volume. Loads are 65–85% for 6–12 reps on the hypertrophy days and 75–90% for 3–6 on the strength days, regulated by RPE.

## Four days, two exposures, two jobs

The frequency document phase.fitness reads gives upper/lower four days a week as the balanced 2× frequency for intermediates: every muscle twice, a clear structure, manageable recovery. What makes it more than a schedule is giving the two exposures different jobs — a strength day at 75–90% for 3–6 reps and a hypertrophy day at 65–85% for 6–12 — so the week trains both qualities without either session becoming a marathon.

The blocks come from the block-periodization document: accumulation first, where weekly sets climb toward the adaptive range and the fourth week deloads; then intensification, where the sets fall and the loads rise, the strength sessions lead and the hypertrophy sessions hold volume rather than chasing it.

## How many days a week is an upper lower split?

Four in a phase.fitness program: upper, lower, upper, lower, so every muscle is trained twice a week. That is the same 2× frequency a three-day full-body plan reaches; the split is about how many days you have and how much you want to fit in each one.

## What loads should you use on upper lower days?

Two ranges, by the job of the day. phase.fitness writes the hypertrophy sessions at 65–85% for 6–12 reps and the strength sessions at 75–90% for 3–6, both regulated by RPE rather than by a fixed percentage of a maximum you may not have tested recently.

## What phase.fitness builds

| Phase | Weeks | Job | Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accumulation | 4 | Build weekly set volume toward the top of the adaptive range | Large muscles toward 12–20 sets, medium 10–16; hypertrophy days 6–12 reps at 65–85%; week 4 is a deload |
| Intensification | 4 | Fewer sets, heavier loads | Strength days 3–6 reps at 75–90%, RPE 8–8.5; hypertrophy days hold volume; deload in the final week |

Template to start from, importable without AI credits: **Upper / Lower 4× — 8 weeks**.

## A sample week

| Day | Modality | Session |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Strength | Upper A — strength: bench 5 × 4, weighted pull-up 4 × 5, overhead press 3 × 6, row 3 × 8 |
| Tue | Strength | Lower A — strength: squat 5 × 4, RDL 3 × 6, split squat 3 × 8, calves |
| Wed | Rest | — |
| Thu | Strength | Upper B — hypertrophy: incline dumbbell 4 × 10, pulldown 4 × 10, dips 3 × 12, face pull, curls, triceps |
| Fri | Strength | Lower B — hypertrophy: leg press 4 × 12, leg curl 3 × 12, hip thrust 3 × 12, lunges, abs |
| Sat | Rest | — |
| Sun | Rest | — |

## How it adapts when a phase ends

phase.fitness reads the sets from Hevy, Liftosaur or the watch and counts weekly volume per muscle against the landmarks; each week's targets are planned when the block is written, and the fourth week of each block is a deload by construction. When the accumulation block ends, the intensification percentages are written from the estimated 1RMs the logs produced, not from the numbers you typed at the start; a lift that stalled gets the variation the exercise document lists for it.

## Where the sessions go

- **Hevy** — Strength routines are written to Hevy; logged workouts return to phase.fitness. Cardio and calisthenics do not travel here.
- **Liftosaur** — Strength programs are pushed as Liftoscript; workout history comes back.
- **Garmin** — Write it here, train it on your Garmin: strength and cardio sessions are sent to Garmin Connect and appear on the watch, and the activities you finish come back to mark the plan done.

## The evidence

The knowledge-base documents this page is built from (The phase.fitness generator reads them for this case):

- [Training Frequency Guidelines](https://www.phase.fitness/methodology/frequency-guidelines) — updated 2025-01-18
- [Block Periodization Guide](https://www.phase.fitness/methodology/block-periodization) — updated 2025-01-18
- [Volume Landmarks for Hypertrophy](https://www.phase.fitness/methodology/volume-landmarks-hypertrophy) — updated 2025-01-18

Read more in the knowledge base:

- [Training frequency: how often to train each muscle](https://www.phase.fitness/learn/posts/training-frequency-how-often-each-muscle)
- [Block periodization: a guide for natural athletes](https://www.phase.fitness/learn/posts/block-periodization-guide-natural-athletes)
- [Progressive overload methods beyond adding weight](https://www.phase.fitness/learn/posts/progressive-overload-methods-beyond-weight)

## Frequently asked questions

### Who is an upper/lower split for?

Intermediate lifters who can train four days a week. The frequency document phase.fitness reads recommends full-body work for beginners and lists upper/lower as the balanced 2× frequency once weekly progression is the realistic rate.

### What are the two blocks?

In the phase.fitness template, accumulation for four weeks, building weekly sets toward the top of the adaptive range with a deload in week four; then intensification for four weeks with fewer sets and heavier loads, where the strength sessions lead and the hypertrophy sessions hold volume.

### Is there a template?

Yes: Upper / Lower 4× — 8 weeks in the phase.fitness template library, importable into a program without AI credits. A generated program uses the same structure with your equipment and your logged loads.

## The only app that plans strength, cardio and calisthenics together

On an upper/lower split the calisthenics day is the straight-arm and scapular work the pressing and pulling days skip — support holds, L-sits, lever steps — and it fits on a rest day without touching leg recovery.

Right now, phase.fitness is the only training app that writes strength, cardio and calisthenics into one periodized program — same calendar, same phases, same recovery budget.

You choose the mix. A calisthenics-only plan, a cardio-only block, strength plus cardio, or all three: the phases, the end-of-phase analysis and the sync work the same way with one modality or three.

**Why calisthenics is in the plan.** Bodyweight skill work is strength training in a different shape. Straight-arm work, levers and handstands build scapular control, tendon capacity and relative strength that barbell and machine work leave untouched, and they transfer because they are closed-chain, whole-body patterns. Treated as a modality rather than a warm-up, they get sets, holds and progressions like a squat does.

No exercise catalogue on the market contains a tuck front lever, so those sessions run in the phase.fitness built-in player; strength goes to Hevy, Liftosaur or a Garmin watch, cardio to Garmin and Intervals.icu.

## Keep reading

- [Strength training program, periodized](https://www.phase.fitness/training-programs/strength-training-program)
- [Hypertrophy program built on volume landmarks](https://www.phase.fitness/training-programs/hypertrophy-program)
- [Push / pull / legs program, six days](https://www.phase.fitness/training-programs/push-pull-legs-program)
- [phase.fitness for bodybuilders and physique athletes](https://www.phase.fitness/for/bodybuilders)
- [phase.fitness for people with three hours a week](https://www.phase.fitness/for/busy-professionals)
- [phase.fitness for Hevy users](https://www.phase.fitness/for/hevy-users)

Build this program: https://www.phase.fitness/signup