Protein
Fat Loss
Pre-Workout
BCAAs
Creatine
Protein Bars
Clothing
Vitamins
Accessories
Workout Summary
Download WorkoutWorkout Description
Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower (PHUL) Workout
The PHUL workout is based around the basic principles of strength and size. This 4 day program will allow you to maximize results on both fronts in an easy adaptable routine built off the following principles:
Frequency. Studies have shown muscle protein synthesis (MPS) to be elevated for up to 48 hours after training. That would make it ideal for you to hit each muscle more frequently than a typical once per week split. The PHUL program is designed to hit each muscle group twice within a week.
Compounds. The PHUL program focuses on the big compound movements for optimal progression. While isolation movements are included in this program as well, the main goal is to increase performance on the main lifts, as well as pack on pounds of muscle.
Power. This program uses 2 of it's 4 working days to focus on pure strength training. The key to getting stronger and bigger is to utilize progressive overload and time under tension. These 2 days will see that you'll be able to use more weight on your hypertrophy days.
Hypertrophy. In addition to 2 power days, your other 2 days on the PHUL program will focus on hypertrophy (bodybuilding) style training. This way, not only will you be seeing strength increases but you'll be building size as well.
PHUL Notes:
- Sets and Reps - When first beginning this program it is suggested to start with a lower amount of total volume until you become accustomed to the workload.
- Failure - Failure is a tool that should not be abused. All sets should be completed with at least 1 rep "left in the tank." Meaning you should struggle to complete your heavier sets, but not to the point where you're unable to get your goal reps.
- Exercise Selection - Main compounds should remain unchanged, however substitutions can be made for like exercises if desired.
- Abdominals - Ab work can be done at the end of training or on off days.
PHUL Schedule:
- Day 1: Upper Power
- Day 2: Lower Power
- Day 3: Off
- Day 4: Upper Hypertrophy
- Day 5: Lower Hypertrophy
- Day 6: Off
- Day 7: Off
| Day 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Upper Power | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Barbell Bench Press | 3-4 | 3-5 |
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 3-4 | 6-10 |
| Bent Over Row | 3-4 | 3-5 |
| Lat Pull Down | 3-4 | 6-10 |
| Overhead Press | 2-3 | 5-8 |
| Barbell Curl | 2-3 | 6-10 |
| Skullcrusher | 2-3 | 6-10 |
| Day 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lower Power | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Squat | 3-4 | 3-5 |
| Deadlift | 3-4 | 3-5 |
| Leg Press | 3-5 | 10-15 |
| Leg Curl | 3-4 | 6-10 |
| Calf Exercise | 4 | 6-10 |
| Day 4 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Upper Hypertrophy | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Incline Barbell Bench Press | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Flat Bench Dumbbell Flye | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Seated Cable Row | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| One Arm Dumbbell Row | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Seated Incline Dumbbell Curl | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Cable Tricep Extension | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Day 5 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lower Hypertrophy | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Front Squat | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Barbell Lunge | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Leg Extension | 3-4 | 10-15 |
| Leg Curl | 3-4 | 10-15 |
| Seated Calf Raise | 3-4 | 8-12 |
| Calf Press | 3-4 | 8-12 |
697 Comments+ Post Comment
Are one of the exercises of the upper body workouts activating the rear delt ?, because seems that there are none
Hi Josh,
In this program, increase the weight each set (example: barbell beanch press: 30lbs x 5rep, 35lbs x 4rep, 40lbs x 3rep) or keep the weight on all set (example: 40lbs x 3rep x 3 set), which is better?
Thanks.
Hi Hades,
You can do either or to be honest. I'd experiment with both and see which form you prefer and then try to progress on your big lifts from there.
Hope this helps!
Hi I'm 16 ,5ft 8' and weigh 149lb with a body fat around 14-15% ive been training about 9 month and I've seen a lot of improvement ive just completed the first week of this promgramme and it's great but would adding a extra arm day not be wise and do you have any advice in general
Hello, I'm 15, 171cm, 67kg, 19.4% bf, 30.5kg muscle mass and 13kg fat mass (6.7kg in my belly), I've been training for 3 months 5 day split but I'm actually not satisfied with training my muscles once a week and I wanna try twice a week, will this program work for me? Because the gym coaches are demotivating me in order to pay for PT and it's expensive here, they're saying that I won't build muscle without PT and that I won't build muscle by myself and they're giving me basic workouts that they give for everyone.
If this program fits me, can I add 1 or two more exercises for triceps because I feel like they're not enough, thanks in advance.
Hi Anwar,
I believe I answered your question on another workout article. If you have any further questions, please feel free to let us know.
Best of luck!
Hello,
This might have been asked already, but how do i know what weight to be using. i was going to go by percentages of my 1RM. if that is recommended what percentage would the first two day be compared to the second two. any help would be great in determining where i need to be per weight i can lift. im hoping if i can narrow it down it will save me a week of trial and error. thanks and take care.
Hi Jason,
85-100% of your 1RM for lifts in the lower rep ranges.
75-85% of your 1RM for lifts in the hypertrophy rep ranges.
Hope this helps!
It does that's perfect. I am determining my 1RM this week and will start the program next week. Thanks for your help. im excited to get started.
Hi Josh,
I have got a few questions for you.
I'm about 5'10" and weigh around 147 lbs. I would say I'm skinny and starting to see some gains. I have been following your program and its been great so far.
I care about strength and aesthetics. So I chose your program.
1. How much should I be squatting ? I could only squat about 70 lbs (back) and 35 lbs (front). I have not done squats before. So, I wanted to focus more on the form to prevent injury. But I am wondering if these weights do anything to the body. Do these qualify as anabolic and contribute to muscle growth at all ?
2. I would like to have bigger triceps and shoulders. In your program, I see OHP on a strength day and dumbell lateral raise on a hypertrophy day. Would you suggest incorporating some more exercises that focus on building shoulders quicker ? If yes, can you suggest some shoulder workouts for hypertrophy day ?
Hi Sangy,
1. Everyone has different levels of strength and different starting points. As long as you continue progressing in the weight you choose to use over time, you should be fine.
2. You can, although it is not necessary. Both those muscle groups are small and will experience muscle growth with your level of level of experience and the frequency listed within the program.
Building muscle is a slow and long process. It take time and consistency. You'll get there.
Hope this helps!
Hi Sangy,
This is a good way to split up your training routine. If it is working for you, I'd recommend sticking with it.
Hope this helps!
Thanks Josh for your response.
My current routine is like this :
Upper Power
Off
Lower Power
Off
Upper Hypertrophy
Off
Lower Hypertrophy
There is no specific reason for following this routine. I missed doing LP on Day 2 so from then on, I have been working out alternate days.
My question is, does this routine affect the gains? Is it too much of a rest ?
For the power days can I do 5x5 for the compound exercises such as bench press, bent over row, OHP, squat and deadlift ?
In addition, can I add in one more workout day to train my weak muscle groups. I will train 2 muscle groups and 2 exercises for each muscle group, 3x8-12 each. Is it ok
Hi Vinh,
Sure, if you feel it will help you accomplish your individual goals. This program is simply a template. Alter it how you see fit.
Although, I'd be weary of altering this program too much personally. There is already a good amount of intensity and volume for most individuals.
Hope this helps!
Hi Brandon, thanks for this program. Love this workout plan so much!
But, i want to ask something.. Can i adds one more day to focus train bicep and tricep?
Thanks..
Hi Aji,
Sure, if you feel it will help you accomplish your individual goals. This program is simply a template. Alter it how you see fit.
Hope this helps!
Great program, i have been doing upper lower split for 3 months now, not this one a different one, training age is also 3 months for your information. Would you recommend this phul program to me.
Thank you
Hi Brandon,
This routine is lack of shoulder work. So can I put on 1 more shoulder exercises such as front raise, or bent over lateral raise, bla bla.. for both the power and hypertrophy day.
Thanks
This is a 45-60 minute workout program, yet Upper Power has 51 minutes of rest, at the minimum 3 minute rest period between minimum number of sets. Lower Power has 48. To be fair, Upper Hyp has only 10 mins rest at minimum 30 seconds between sets, while Lower Hyp has 9. Not shitposting, just trying to actually fit this into my schedule in the right way, and I need the real time (probably 2 hours on Power days, with warmup lifts) in order to do that. I imagine other folks do too.
Might I suggest adjusting the time in the Summary block, and adding details about rest time between sets directly in the article instead of having folks hunt them down in a comment?
Hi Sean,
Rest periods are going to be highly individualized. The recommended ones I've given in the comments section are based off of basic training principles. I've ran this program and been able to finish all of my workouts in under an hour. Power days tend to be closer to an hour, hypertrophy days closer to 45 mins.
You're not wrong, at the high end of things the power workouts may go upwards of 90 mins, but the time duration is simply an estimate. Different paces will result in different time totals. It is important to take them with a grain of salt.
I'll see what I can do about adding in those rest times.
Thank you for the feedback!
Thanks Josh. I agree that the ultimate amount of rest is best left to the individual, however I also believe we can attempt to optimize - if only to make sure more people are lifting regularly because we give them less of an excuse to say "I don't have time for it!"
So doing a little math here, at a pretty standard time-under-tension (TUT) of 4012 for the power lifts like the bench press and squat, or a 1240 for the dumbbell work, we're looking at 7 seconds per rep and just over 22 minutes total lifting time, assuming no rest of course.
So if you go off time that as a starting point, you can work backwards to rest periods. Or you can go off total lifting time and work forwards to how much time the program takes each day.
Hi Brandon,
I have got a few questions for you.
I'm about 5'10" and weigh around 147 lbs. I would say I'm skinny and starting to see some gains. I have been following your program and its been great so far.
I care about strength and aesthetics. So I chose your program.
1. How much should I be squatting ? I could only squat about 70 lbs (back) and 35 lbs (front). I have not done squats before. So, I wanted to focus more on the form to prevent injury. But I am wondering if these weights do anything to the body. Do these qualify as anabolic and contribute to muscle growth at all ?
2. I would like to have bigger triceps and shoulders. In your program, I see OHP on a strength day and dumbell lateral raise on a hypertrophy day. Would you suggest incorporating some more exercises that focus on building shoulders quicker ? If yes, can you suggest some shoulder workouts for hypertrophy day ?
Hi! I'm planning on trying the upper-lower body split (I've been training for 3 years with the classic split - each muscle group trained on separate days) but I don't train chest (I've got implants and my doc didn't recommend me doing chest exercises). What should I do instead of the exercises aimed for chest on the upper body day? Thank you!
Hi! Should I also have a high calorie diet while doing this? Like should I increase my diet to 2500-3000 calories a day when doing this? Because currently Im on a 1800 calories a day.
Hi Eric,
That depends on your goals and individual calorie needs.
Find your daily calorie needs here: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/tools/bmr-calculator
If your goal is to build muscle add ~250-500 calories to that number.
If it is to lose fat, subtract ~250-500 calories from that number.
Hope this helps!
Hi Eric,
Take a week to deload after the 12 weeks. Check out this article: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/how-to-deload
After you deload, you're more than welcome to perform another 12 weeks of this program if your goals havent change and you are still seeing progress.
Hope this helps!
Question again Josh! This is a 12 week program right? Well what should I do after 12 weeks? Should I still with this program? Or there is another program after this? Thanks!
Should the weight on hypertrophy days also be set at one rep short of failure? About what percentage of one rep max would hypertrophy sets of 8-12 be?
Hi Gary,
Yes, perform each set leaving one rep left in the tank before taking a rest period. You'll want to use about 75-85% of your 1rm for hypertrophy based lifts.
Hope this helps!
hi josh
should i use the same weight or increase the weight on each set ?
Hi Arman,
Everyone is going to be slightly different. You could keep the weights the same each week and try to move up in weight weekly or biweekly. Or you could pyramid your sets (especially on the power days) to start off with lighter weight and go heavier as the workout progress.
Find what works best for you and keep at it. So long as you're consistently going up in weight over time, you should keep making gains.
Hope this helps!
thanks for your answer
Very nice program!
Can I add some dropset or superset in this program?
Hi Nathan,
Sure you can. But depending on your goals, it might not be necessary.
Hope this helps!
am just asking if it's ok to use this routine if am in my 1st 2 months of training .. thanks in advance
Hi amr,
Sure, if you feel you are able to handle the volume this workout requires and are familiar with all of the exercises.
If not, you can check out some of our beginner programs here;
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/beginner?t=a
Hope this helps!
I was wondering, would it be OK to replace dumbbell flyes with dips? I dont have much dumbbels in my gym :(
Hi Aurimas,
While it's not a perfect substitution for the movement pattern involved, you should be ok making this switch.
Hope this helps!
Hi Sangy,
Yes, that is fine.
Hope this helps!
Hey Brandon, I've a shoulder issue and I'm doing Cable chest fly instead of dumbbell fly . Is this okay?
Hello!
How to use progressive overload? For example, bench press-starting with weight with which we can do 3 reps and when we can do 5 with the same weight we get back with heavier and again with 3 reps?
Hi Valeri,
That is an excellent example of progressive overload and the form I would personally go with for this program.
Hope this helps!
Thanks!One more question-Can i start cutting with this workout?
Hi Valeri,
You can cut with any workout program to be honest, although some styles of training are smarter to cut with than others based on your goals.
Cutting is much more about being in a calorie deficit. So long as you are in a calorie deficit, any program can be used as a "cutting" program.
Hope this helps!
Hi,
I really have problems with front squats. What could be a good substitution?
Thanks
Hi JD,
You could sub in heavy goblet squat or landmine squats.
Hope this helps!
heu.. can i add more exercises for arms in upper power and upper hypertrophy? thank you
Hi Renaldy,
Sure, if you feel it will help you better accomplish your individual goals, I don't see why not.
Hope this helps!
I just have 4 days to the gym in the evening. It is saturday, sunday, monday, tuesday and maybe i can try to spend 20-30 minutes for my body on thursday days.
I want to follow Upper/lower and have a day for HIIT, so i decide to train like this:
7: Lower (deadlift heavy, squat hyper)
8: Upper (stregth)
2: Lower (squat heavy, no deadlift ? should i because my back and lats are tired after the upper day.
3: Upper (hyper)
4:
5: HIIT
6:
or
7: Upper (stregth)
8: Lower (deadlift heavy, squat hyper)
2: Upper (hyper)
3: Lower (Squat heavy, deadlift hyper)
4:
5: HIIT
6:
I don't know should i do deadlift so many time in 4 days consecutive ? can i overtrain my back and lat.
Does anyone have the same situaion ?
Any advices for me ?