Sample Workout for Upper Body/Lower Body Split

This workout is ideal for either a beginner to weight training or an experienced athlete who wants to add variety to his/her workout. Instead of training specific muscle groups, you will switch to upper body/lower body splits for a period of eight to 12 weeks. The sample workout below spans a two week period in order to show how the days are split. You will train your upper body twice (lower body once) the first week and lower body twice (upper body once) the second week, as follows. Always take at least one day off strength training between workouts (you may do cardio only, or rest). Ideally take a rest day after lower body weights, as shown below:

Week One

Week Two

Monday

Upper Body Workout

Lower Body Workout

Tuesday

Cardio only

Rest Day

Wednesday

Lower Body workout

Upper Body Workout

Thursday

Rest day

Cardio only

Friday

Upper Body Workout

Lower Body Workout

Saturday

Cardio

Rest Day

Sunday

Rest or cardio

Cardio only

Upper Body Workout Days

These training days work the entire upper body; including chest, shoulders, back, biceps & triceps. The aim is to choose one exercise for each muscle group, however it’s important to not do the same exercises over & over as your body will adapt and you’ll not achieve lean muscle gain. Below are three examples of exercises for each muscle group, so you can add variety to your workouts. Feel free to add your favorites too; as long as they’re training the particular muscle you’re aiming for.

Chest - Incline Dumbbell Flye, Flat Bench press, Press-ups
Back - Hyper-extensions, Lat Pulldown, Bent over Dumbbell Rows
Shoulders - Cable shoulder press, Dumbbell Lateral Raise, Reverse lateral raise
Biceps - Dumbbell Hammer Curls, Barbell Curls, Concentration Curls Triceps - Overhead extension, Rope Pulldowns, Close Gripped Bench press

Lower Body Workout Days

The aim of the lower body workout is to incorporate exercises for the different muscles in the lower body - gluteals, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. Choose four exercises on each workout day and pick one from each group, bear in mind that some exercises isolate that particular muscle, whereas others work all the lower body:

Gluteals - Cable Kick-backs, Reverse Lunges, Dumbbell Step-ups onto a bench
Quadriceps - Leg press, Smith Machine Squats, Walking lunges
Hamstrings - Stiff Legged Deadlift, Straight Legged Deadlift, Hamstring CurlCalves - Smith Machine Calf raises, Barbell Seated Calf Raises, Leg press Calf press