I remember when I was just starting out, one of the most difficult questions to answer was what type of split I should do. I remember wondering if an upper lower split is any good for beginners. Now that I have a lot of experience with different types of training routines, I can answer that question.
An upper lower split is ideal for beginning weight lifters. It allows them to hit each muscle group twice a week, builds a strong technical foundation, and provides the right ratio of compound to isolation exercises. Using a body part split where the muscle is hit once a week is not ideal for beginners since they do not know how to fully exhaust their muscles yet. A full body training routine is not a bad alternative to an upper lower split, but working so many compound lifts so often has the potential to wear a newbie lifter out.
Let’s take a closer look at exactly what makes an upper lower split so good for beginners.
What Does a Beginners Upper Lower Split Look Like?
Before diving into why an upper lower split is an awesome choice for beginners, let’s first make sure we have a proper understanding of what a beginners upper lower split might look like.
Here is a sample template I would use:
Sunday – Off
Monday – Upper Body
Tuesday – Off
Wednesday – Lower Body
Thursday – Off
Friday – Upper Body
Saturday – Lower Body
Upper Body:
- Pull Ups
- Barbell Military Press
- Barbell Row
- Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
- Barbell Curl
- Skull Crusher
Lower Body:
- Back Squat
- Romanian Deadlift
- Standing Calf Raise
- Weighted Crunches
For the first month or so, I would have them perform each upper body and each lower body workout twice per week. Depending on overall activity level, I may reduce it to one day on, one day off, which would be 3-4 days of training per week. The exercises remain the same each day. The reason for this is to quickly fast track the muscular and neurological adaptations which take place early in training. After this first month, I may or may not have them switch up the exercises on the second upper body and lower body workout, depending on how well they have adapted so far.
We also want to keep the weights light and focus almost solely on form in the first month. Developing good habits early will go a long way. An upper lower split designed in this way allows the newbie weight lifter to build a proper foundation of technique.
Upper lower splits are generally four days a week. This seems to be a good amount for a beginner because it allows for three days of rest, while also getting plenty of experience in the gym.
Why An Upper Lower Split is Ideal for Beginners
There are a few primary reasons why I prefer an upper lower split for beginners:
Frequency of Working Each Muscle Group
A lot has been made recently in the lifting world of the importance of training frequency for strength and growth. It is popular now to think the higher the frequency, the more you are maximizing muscle growth. Despite this, there is some data to suggest that training frequency is not all that important for maximizing muscle growth.
That being said, for a beginning weight lifter, there are a couple significant benefits to working each muscle group more than once per week:
Allows for quick adaptation and motor learning
One of the hardest modalities to adjust to when beginning to lift weights is the physiological and neurological adaptations that take place in the first month or so. Prior to lifting weights, the average human body is not well suited to lifting heavy objects efficiently. It takes time for muscle groups to become efficient at recruiting muscle fibers and becoming stronger. There is scientific reason to believe that muscular and neurological adaptations make their greatest impact in the early stages of weight training.
Using my upper lower split routine, adaptation occurs quickly because training using the same compound movement twice weekly will recruit muscle fibers more quickly. The more you do something (generally speaking), the more quickly you will become efficient at it.
Summary
• It takes time for muscular and neurological adaptations to occur, and these occur the most in the early stages of training
• Upper lower split provides a quick adaptation
No need to struggle to “destroy” each muscle group
When performing a body part split where you only workout each muscle once per week, there is an added emphasis on thoroughly working each muscle group. If you’re not hitting it more than once per week, it is necessary to hit the muscle more completely.
The problem is when a newbie weight lifter decides to do this. They don’t know how to lift properly yet. Their muscle fibers are not efficient yet, nor do they have the necessary neurological adaptations which allow them to lift heavier weights.
It takes time to develop adaptations, technique, and the ‘mind-muscle connection’ required to know how to properly work a muscle which is only getting hit once per week. With an upper lower split, you bypass this problem since you have multiple opportunities each week to hit the same muscle group.
Summary
• Newbies cannot effectively exhaust muscle groups
• Upper lower split provides multiple opportunities each week to hit muscle groups
Builds a technical foundation
The foundation of strength and muscle gains lies in the technical aspect of training. It’s really important to start off the right way, because if you don’t you may end up injuring yourself early on or developing muscle imbalances. Technique is never something that’s wrapped up and done. You should always be honing your craft.
With proper form, you can add weight to your lifts and progress more quickly. This means the beginning weight lifter will have more motivation to continue if they focus on technique first. Build your foundation first, and then add layers. The beginners upper lower split I recommend allows you to build this foundation quickly since you are performing the same lift multiple times per week and focusing almost solely on improving technique.
Summary
• Strength and muscle gains depend on good technique
• Because you perform each lift twice per week, an upper lower split encourages proper technique development
Provides a Good Mix of Compound and Isolation Exercises
An upper lower split provides just the right ratio of compound to isolation exercises. As a beginning weight lifter, you want most of your exercises to be big, compound movements like squats and overhead presses. But, you don’t want all of your exercises to be like that. For a few reasons:
- It’s just fun to mix it up and include exercises like curls and pushdowns, especially as a beginner
- Doing too many compound movements can hamper your ability to recover, especially if you are a newbie lifter and don’t know how to regulate your weight training properly
- Even a newbie lifter will benefit in terms of size and strength from a small amount of isolation exercises
With full body training, you may be risking doing too many compound movements per week as a beginner. Using a body part split, you are doing too many isolation exercises. That many isolation exercises just isn’t optimal for a beginner.
The sample upper lower split I outlined above has four compound exercises and two isolation exercises per upper body workout, striking the right balance. For the lower body, there are two compound exercises and two isolation exercises, but that’s only because there are simply less ways to hit calves and abs as opposed to upper body muscles like biceps and triceps, which are hit directly on many compound movements.
Summary
• Beginners should do mostly compound exercises, but not only compound exercises
• Upper lower split provides mostly compound exercises, but also has some isolation exercises
Any Split CAN Work for Beginners
If you choose to disregard the advice to use an upper lower split as a beginner, no worries. The truth is you can make progress as a beginner using almost any standard split or full body routine. The keys, as I went over in this article are:
- Aiming to hit each muscle group and main exercises multiple times per week
- Building a strong technical foundation, using light weight and focusing on form early on
- Finding the right ratio of compound to isolation exercises
Now that you know what a beginners upper lower split looks like and why it’s effective, you can stop reading and start training!
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