4-Day Upper Lower Workout Plan (Full Week With Sets and Reps)

5 min read

A 4-day upper lower plan trains your upper body twice and lower body twice each week, for example Monday upper, Tuesday lower, Thursday upper, Friday lower. Each session uses 5 to 6 exercises, 3 to 4 sets each. Day one leans heavy at 5 to 8 reps, day two moderate at 8 to 12 reps.

Upper/lower is one of the most practical ways to train four days a week. Every muscle gets worked twice, sessions stay a reasonable length, and the schedule leaves recovery days built in. This guide skips the theory and gives you the full week, ready to run.

The weekly schedule

The classic layout puts two days on, one day off, two days on, then the weekend off. That gives each half of your body at least 48 hours before you train it again.

If weekends suit you better, any layout works as long as you avoid training the same half on back-to-back days. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday is another good option.

▸Monday: Upper A (heavier)
▸Tuesday: Lower A (heavier)
▸Wednesday: Rest or a walk
▸Thursday: Upper B (moderate)
▸Friday: Lower B (moderate)
▸Saturday and Sunday: Rest

Upper A: heavy press and pull

Start with the two big lifts while you are fresh. Rest 2 to 3 minutes between sets of the first two exercises, and 60 to 90 seconds on the rest. Pick weights that leave one or two good reps in the tank on your last set.

▸Bench press: 4 sets of 5 to 8
▸Barbell or chest-supported row: 4 sets of 6 to 8
▸Seated dumbbell overhead press: 3 sets of 8 to 10
▸Lat pulldown or pull-ups: 3 sets of 8 to 10
▸Triceps pushdown: 2 sets of 10 to 12
▸Dumbbell curl: 2 sets of 10 to 12

Lower A: heavy squat day

Squats lead, hinges follow. Keep your rest long on the squat, since a rushed set of heavy squats is where form slips. The plank at the end covers your core without a separate ab day.

▸Back squat: 4 sets of 5 to 8
▸Romanian deadlift: 3 sets of 8
▸Walking lunge or split squat: 3 sets of 10 per leg
▸Leg curl: 3 sets of 10 to 12
▸Standing calf raise: 3 sets of 12 to 15
▸Plank: 3 sets of 30 to 45 seconds

Upper B and Lower B: moderate volume days

The second pair of sessions uses different exercise variations and slightly higher reps. That spreads the stress across your joints and builds muscle from a different angle. Rest 60 to 90 seconds on most sets and up to two minutes on the first lift.

Upper B: incline dumbbell press 4 sets of 8 to 12, seated cable row 4 sets of 10 to 12, pull-ups or assisted pull-ups 3 sets of as many good reps as you can up to 10, lateral raises 3 sets of 12 to 15, face pulls 2 sets of 15, and hammer curls paired with overhead triceps extensions for 2 sets of 12 each.

Lower B: deadlift or trap bar deadlift 3 sets of 5, leg press 3 sets of 10 to 12, hip thrust 3 sets of 10, leg extension 2 sets of 12 to 15, seated calf raise 3 sets of 15, and hanging knee raises 3 sets of 10 to 12.

Warm-up and session flow

Before each session, spend five minutes on easy cardio, then do a few mobility drills for the joints you are about to train. On upper days, arm circles, band pull-aparts and light push-ups work well. On lower days, try leg swings, bodyweight squats and glute bridges.

Then build up to your first working set with two or three lighter ramp-up sets. For a 100 kg squat, that might be the empty bar for 10, then 60 kg for 5 and 80 kg for 3. Smaller exercises later in the session need no extra warm-up because you are already warm.

Keep the order as written: heavy compound lifts first, smaller isolation work last. That way your freshest energy goes to the lifts that move the needle most.

How to progress week to week

Use a simple double progression. Each exercise has a rep range. When you hit the top of the range on every set with clean form, add the smallest weight jump available next session, usually 2.5 kg on upper body lifts and 2.5 to 5 kg on lower body lifts, and work back up.

Write every set down. Without a log you will guess, and guessing usually means repeating the same weights for months. Every six to eight weeks, if you feel run down, take a lighter week with fewer sets before pushing again.

Swaps for home, dumbbells or a generated plan

No barbell? Use goblet squats or dumbbell split squats for squats, dumbbell Romanian deadlifts for hinges, dumbbell bench or floor press for pressing, and one-arm rows for rows. With no equipment at all, push-ups, single-leg squats, glute bridges and band rows cover the same patterns.

If you would rather not build this by hand, SSS Workout Assistant generates an upper/lower split automatically when you choose four days a week, filtered to your equipment, with default sets and reps set by your goal, for example 4 sets of 10 with 90 seconds rest for building muscle. You can then swap any exercise for one from this plan.

FAQ

Is a 4-day upper lower split good for beginners?

It can be, once you have a few months of steady training behind you. Complete beginners often do well on three full body days first, then move to upper/lower when they want more volume per muscle.

How long should each upper lower workout take?

Most sessions in this plan take 50 to 70 minutes including warm-up. Supersetting the arm exercises and the smaller lower body moves trims it closer to 45 minutes.

Can I do upper lower for fat loss?

Yes. Keep lifting heavy to hold on to muscle and create the calorie deficit through your diet. You can shorten rest on the accessory exercises and add walking on rest days.

Where do abs fit in a 4-day upper lower split?

Add two or three sets of a core exercise at the end of each lower day, as this plan does with planks and hanging knee raises. Heavy squats and deadlifts also train your core hard.

What if I can only make three days some weeks?

Run the sessions in order and let the week roll over. Do Upper A, Lower A, Upper B one week, then start the next week with Lower B. You keep the rotation instead of skipping a session.

Put it into practice

SSS Workout Assistant turns these principles into a free weekly routine built around you — then tracks every set and reminds you to train so you actually keep it.

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