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Exercise 

Can any gym rats rate my upper/lower 4 day split?

Just trying to find the best workout with what I have in my gym. I started upper/lower 4 day split today after transitioning from full-body 3 day split.

Here is the list:

Upper 1:
  • Bench Press
  • Barbell Row
  • Incline Dumbell Press
  • Lat Pulldown
  • Shoulder Press Machine
  • EZ Barbell Curl
  • Triceps Pushdowns

Upper 2:
  • Incline Bench Press Machine
  • Pull ups
  • Machine Chest Fly
  • T Bar Row (Although I might do Facepulls here)
  • Lateral Raises
  • Hammer Curls
  • Overhead Triceps Extensions

Lower 1:
  • Back Squat
  • Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts
  • Leg Press
  • Lying Leg Curl
  • Hip Thrust
  • Standing Calf Raises

Lower 2:
  • Smith Front Squats
  • Bulgarian Split Squat
  • Hack Squat
  • Seated Leg Curl
  • Cable Pull Through
  • Seated Calf Raises

What do you think?
Volume is solid in a upper/lower split.
But imo, weakness relies on the lower frequency and lower volume compared to a 4 or 5 day full-body split.

Why did you feel like moving away from a full-body split?
(Nov 11, 2024 08:33 AM)Oxyd Wrote:  Volume is solid in a upper/lower split.
But imo, weakness relies on the lower frequency and lower volume compared to a 4 or 5 day full-body split.

Why did you feel like moving away from a full-body split?

3 days per week just felt too underwhelming for me, especially for the legs. Time is not really a big problem for me so after a bit of research I found that upper/lower 4 days per week would be perfect to hit everything twice a week and get nice rest in between as well

My concern is only the exercises themselves and if I'm hitting every muscle group with them
(Nov 11, 2024 09:23 AM)Cyam Wrote:  3 days per week just felt too underwhelming for me, especially for the legs. Time is not really a big problem for me so after a bit of research I found that upper/lower 4 days per week would be perfect to hit everything twice a week and get nice rest in between as well

My concern is only the exercises themselves and if I'm hitting every muscle group with them

Exercise selection is solid.
Nothing lacking here, good research.
Honestly, I think that's a great list. I don't really think you're missing anything; it looks pretty good. One suggestion though, maybe consider adding regular deadlifts into your workout as well. I saw that you already had dumbbell Romanian deadlifts, but standard deadlifts have a slightly different range of motion, and it's been a great workout for me personally.
(Nov 11, 2024 05:22 PM)SuseGD Wrote:  Honestly, I think that's a great list. I don't really think you're missing anything; it looks pretty good. One suggestion though, maybe consider adding regular deadlifts into your workout as well. I saw that you already had dumbbell Romanian deadlifts, but standard deadlifts have a slightly different range of motion, and it's been a great workout for me personally.

I 100% agree with you! I did some changing:

Lower 1:
  • Back Squats: 6-8 reps
  • Romanian Deadlift Dumbbells: 6-8 reps
  • Leg Extension: 10-12 reps
  • Hamstring Leg Curl: 10-12 reps
  • Hip Thrust: 10-12 reps
  • Standing Calf Raise: 10-12 reps

Lower 2:
  • Deadlifts: 6-8 reps
  • Good Mornings: 6-8 reps
  • Leg Press: 10-12 reps
  • Nordic Ham Curls: 10-12 reps
  • Cable Pull Through: 10-12 reps
  • Seated Calf Raise: 10-12 reps

I'll most likely rotate to include split squats as well from time to time, does this look solid now? I like it personally but we'll see :D
(Nov 12, 2024 07:41 AM)Cyam Wrote:  I 100% agree with you! I did some changing:

Lower 1:
  • Back Squats: 6-8 reps
  • Romanian Deadlift Dumbbells: 6-8 reps
  • Leg Extension: 10-12 reps
  • Hamstring Leg Curl: 10-12 reps
  • Hip Thrust: 10-12 reps
  • Standing Calf Raise: 10-12 reps

Lower 2:
  • Deadlifts: 6-8 reps
  • Good Mornings: 6-8 reps
  • Leg Press: 10-12 reps
  • Nordic Ham Curls: 10-12 reps
  • Cable Pull Through: 10-12 reps
  • Seated Calf Raise: 10-12 reps

I'll most likely rotate to include split squats as well from time to time, does this look solid now? I like it personally but we'll see :D

That looks great now, thanks for taking my suggestion! Split squats are a great exercise, they are great for strength and flexibility in your lower legs. If you really want to push yourself, though, look into Bulgarian split squats. They're a lot tougher, but it's well worth it!
Upper 1: Barbell bench press, lying row machine, incline dumbbell press, lat pulldown, shoulder press machine, ez barbell curl, triceps pushdown
Upper 2: Incline bench press machine, pull up, cable fly, seated cable row, dumbbell lateral raise, biceps cable curl, overheard triceps extensions
Lower 1 (quad focus) : back squat, hack squat, leg extensions, walking lunges, standing calf raise
Lower 2 (hamstring, glutes focus): Romanian deadlifts, hip thrust, hamstring leg curl, bulgarian split squat, seated calf raise

This is my final workout plan for now! I can already see it's working perfectly as my whole upper body is sore 😂


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