Upper lower workout for hypertrophy

[Tommygunn95]

Hi all never posted on here before. I've put together a upper lower workout focused on building muscle and would like people's opinion on whether the volume is good. I like upper lower workouts so I can train each muscle twice per week. Here it is:

Day 1 – upper body
Dumbbell bench press 4 x 8 reps –
One arm dumbbell row 4 x 8 reps –
Incline bench press 3 x 12 reps –
Lat pull down 3 x 12 reps –
Lateral raises/front raises 3 x 12 reps –
Barbell curl/tricep Push down 3 x 10 reps–

Day 2 – lower body
Deadlift 4 x 8 reps –
Leg press 3 x 12 reps –
Leg extension 2 x 12 reps –
Leg curl 3 x 12 reps –
Calf raises 4 x 10 reps –
Ab machine 3 x 10 reps –
Leg raises 3 x AMAP –

Day 3 – upper body
Pull ups 4 x 8 reps –
Shoulder press 4 x 8 reps –
Machine row 3 x 12 reps –
Dumbbell bench press 3 x 12 reps –
Cable flies/rear delts 2 x 12 reps –
Dumbbell curl/skullcrushers 3 x 10 reps –

Day 4 – Lower body
Squats 4 x 8 reps –
Split squat 3 x 12 reps –
Leg extension 2 x 12 reps –
Leg curl 3 x 12 reps –
Calf raises 4 x 10 reps –
Rope crunches 3 x 10 reps –
Decline sit up 3 x AMAP –

Exercises with a slash between are supersets. I was planning to do a drop set on the last set of every exercise. Any feedback would be great.

 

[TheMovement]

I def want to rework some things.

Are you doing Upper and Lower then rest, or 4 days straight the off 3?

The Day 4 led day seems too quad dominant and performance will suffer by the time you hit leg extensions after already completing 68 intensity worthy sets. Swap the machine rows and the pull-ups. Unless weighted or TUT is in play you want a Strength and hypertrophy builder. You can always use a HS machine one day and a cable row another day.

Day 2 Sup out the Ab crunch for a side plank or B.B. rollout.

Day one I would swap the incline bench press (assuming barbell) and the dB bench press. I almost want to say facepulls and upright rows belong but you have to watch total volume but find a place for them.

Drop sets are great imo every other week. It gives me something to work for. I don’t do it for every exercise but variety is the spice of life.

Honestly it doesn’t look bad but the real question is do you have all your bases covered and did you leave any weak spots. I think the glutes and hamstrings could use more love and I like dips and pull-ups superset together. Usually one weighted and the other not then flipping during the week.

Just offering my 12cents and I’m glad your putting a lot of thought into this.

 

[AntM1564]

Hi all never posted on here before. I've put together a upper lower workout focused on building muscle and would like people's opinion on whether the volume is good. I like upper lower workouts so I can train each muscle twice per week. Here it is:

Day 1 – upper body
Dumbbell bench press 4 x 8 reps –
One arm dumbbell row 4 x 8 reps –
Incline bench press 3 x 12 reps –
Lat pull down 3 x 12 reps –
Lateral raises/front raises 3 x 12 reps –
Barbell curl/tricep Push down 3 x 10 reps–

Day 2 – lower body
Deadlift 4 x 8 reps –
Leg press 3 x 12 reps –
Leg extension 2 x 12 reps –
Leg curl 3 x 12 reps –
Calf raises 4 x 10 reps –
Ab machine 3 x 10 reps –
Leg raises 3 x AMAP –

Day 3 – upper body
Pull ups 4 x 8 reps –
Shoulder press 4 x 8 reps –
Machine row 3 x 12 reps –
Dumbbell bench press 3 x 12 reps –
Cable flies/rear delts 2 x 12 reps –
Dumbbell curl/skullcrushers 3 x 10 reps –

Day 4 – Lower body
Squats 4 x 8 reps –
Split squat 3 x 12 reps –
Leg extension 2 x 12 reps –
Leg curl 3 x 12 reps –
Calf raises 4 x 10 reps –
Rope crunches 3 x 10 reps –
Decline sit up 3 x AMAP –

Exercises with a slash between are supersets. I was planning to do a drop set on the last set of every exercise. Any feedback would be great.

First, you should always pull more than push. Instead of having those set numbers even, favor pulling exercises. I would go for a 1.5-2:1 ratio pullush.

Second, don't limit yourself to those rep numbers. I know you want hypertrophy, but do not neglect the 8 rep range. Maybe instead of doing straight sets, aiming for 10 reps every set, try pyramids, reverse pyramids, etc.

 

[Tommygunn95]

The movement
Thanks for your advice

I do day 1 day 2 rest day 3 day 4.

Yes I agree about day 4 I will swap leg extensions for stiff leg deadlift.

I usually do weighted pull ups and prefer to finish off higher reps on machine/cable rows. No HS row unfortunately at my gym but have t bar cable and machine so can mix it up.

Day 2 I will swap the crunches for either side plank or dumbbell side bends.

Day 1 you are saying to do incline before flat bench? I only use dumbbells for bench press as I train alone and it's safer. As for upright rows I have been doing them a lot as I struggle with shoulder press as I get pain in my left shoulder. I know they very different exercises but they probably hit the most muscles out of all shoulder exercises.

Drop sets I was thinking just one on last set of each exercise just to stress the muscles more I'll see how it goes.

I will add in more glute and hamstring work. I like dips and pullovers but finding it hard to find space for them as the volume is pretty high already. Appreciate the advice

 

[Tommygunn95]

Hi ant.

I probably should start favouring pulling more than pushing as I'd say my lifts on chest shoulders and triceps are better than my back and biceps.

I know what you mean about pyramids. I just find it easier to keep track of everything doing straight sets. As one I can do so many reps for each set I increase the weight so I know I'm progressing. But i probably should using pyramids. I used to do reverse pyramids a lot start as heavy as possible, keeping the same weight but lower reps each set. Not sure how effective this way of training is or which is better for muscle building