For lifters just starting out, there are two great ways to split your workouts: the full-body split and the top-down split.
Each has its advantages and each has its disadvantages. So it's important to know the differences when determining which split best suits you and your goals.
So what are the differences between a Full Body vs. an Upper Lower split?The full-body split hits the muscles all over the body within one workout and targets 3-4 muscle groups per session. to work out. The upper and lower portions divide your muscles into two groups, allowing the lifter to focus only on the upper or lower body in one workout. On an upper or lower day, 2-3 muscle groups are involved.
By the end of this article you can decide whether Full Body or Upper Lower suits you best.
This is what we will cover:
- What Full Body and Upper Lower split are
- 3 differences between Full Body and Upper Lower
- Advantages and disadvantages of Full Body and Upper Lower
- How to choose the right division for you
- Training examples for every split
Table of contents
What is a full body split?
With a Full Body split you train the muscles of your entire body in one workout.
The Full Body split allows the lifter to train a little bit of everything every time they train. Although you do not have to train every possible muscle in your body every workout, the lifter is encouraged to choose exercises that cover as much of the body as possible.
Because you're trying to hit as many muscles as possible, the full body split usually relies on compound movements, such as squats, bench presses, deadlifts, overhead presses and pull-ups, which use multiple muscles to perform the movement.
For example, with a deadlift you not only train your quads, hamstrings and glutes, but also your abdominal muscles, lower, middle and upper back muscles.
The Full Body split is generally performed three times a week, with a rest day between each workout to allow your body to recover from the previous workout.
However, it offers the flexibility of doing it just once a week or as often as you can manage.
Because you're working the same muscles with each workout, a full-body split is typically not feasible for multiple consecutive days (i.e. 5 days in a row). Alternatively, training just once a week isn't enough to make a real impact, so three or four workouts a week are ideal.
A typical week at Full Body split could look like this:
- Monday – Full body
- Tuesday – Rest
- Wednesday – Full body
- Thursday – Rest
- Friday - Full body
- Saturday – Rest
- Sunday – Rest
What is the top bottom split?
Upper Lower split trains 2-3 muscle groups per workout in the upper or lower body. By dividing your body into two groups, you can work your muscles harder with each workout than if you split your time by training a little bit of each.
Typically, after the Upper Lower split, a lifter trains four times a week, with two training sessions for each group.
For example, in an over-under split you can perform 4-6 different leg and/or glute exercises.
With this split your legs are much more tired than with a full body split, but you do have a few days to rest before training these muscle groups again. This is because your next workout will be upper body.
In practice, the Upper Lower split can look like this
- Monday – Upstairs
- Tuesday – Lower
- Wednesday – Rest
- Thursday – Upstairs
- Friday – Lower
- Saturday – Rest
- Sunday – Rest
If you find that you have few days to train effectively, try doing one upper and one lower session per week for a total of two weekly workouts.
I would only recommend this as a short-term scenario, as two workouts per week are unlikely to produce enough total volume to make any change in your body (for intermediate and advanced lifters).
See our articles on how many times a week you should do the powerlifting movements:
- How many times a week should you squat?
- How many times a week should you bench press?
- How many times a week should you deadlift?
Do you want advice about programming, technology or competition? Talk to one of our trainers.
Let us help you train successfully for powerlifting
Full body vs. top-bottom: 3 differences
There are 3 main differences between the Full Body and Upper Lower splits:
- The total volume performed per muscle group
- The ability to train consecutive days
- The efficiency of the distribution based on your lifting time
1. The total volume performed per muscle group
The upper and lower split allows a lifter to accumulate more training volume each week than the full body split.
The factor to consider is your time and energy per working out.
If you train the entire body, you have, for example, 60 minutes for a workout. You should do 4-5 exercises in that time, 3-4 sets each to cover your entire body.
You can work fast, but as you get stronger you will need to do heavier sets and these will be heavier, making your workout last longer. Or if you don't have time, limit the amount of work you can do at a time. By the end of your third workout, you'll probably have done a total of 9-20 sets of lower body work.
When you divide your body into parts, you can spend the entire hour hitting your legs in five or six different exercises. By training your lower body twice a week, you will have done 10-12 lower body exercises, probably 3-4 sets each, and gained more volume than a lifter trying to do lifts that do a little bit of each.
By the end of the week, you'll probably have done a total of 30-48 lower body sets.
2. The ability to train on consecutive days
The Full Body split generally requires more rest days, which means the Upper Lower split allows you to train for days in a row and get more volume.
Think of sore muscles after a workout. Trying to retrain these muscles while they are still sore will not be as effective as training them fresh.
When you train full-body splits, your entire body tires with each workout. This means you'll find it harder to workout on consecutive days, limiting the total number of workouts you can complete in a week.
By training the Upper Lower split, you can exhaust one muscle group and show up the next day and train a completely different part of your body without too many setbacks to your ability to train this new muscle group.
Because this split allows you to train consecutive days over a long period of time, you can get more training days per week, giving you more opportunities to train and grow than with the Full Body split.
3. The efficiency of the distribution based on your lifting time
Beginners will benefit more from the Full Body Split than modified or intermediate lifters. Over time, the effectiveness of the Full Body workout decreases, whether you like it or not.
It is a scientific fact that beginners progress much faster than those who have been doing it for a while.
This is caused byAdaptation speed, which explains that new lifters adapt very quickly to new stimuli on their body.
By starting with resistance training, the body responds quickly and visibly to the new stimulus, which leads to rapid muscle growth and strength gains. Bodies that adapt quickly can also rest and recover quickly, so they can train the same muscles over and over again and still make progress.
This makes it especially effective for new lifters to train a small area of the entire body each time they train. Their bodies adapt quickly to the weights, they recover quickly and can make a lot of progress from a small start.
As you progress, your ability to adapt decreases exponentially. The more you train, the harder it is for your body to adapt to the stimulus you introduce. You need to introduce heavier loads, higher reps, and more total volume (reps x weight) for your muscles to change as a result.
For that reason, lifters who once saw great benefits from the Full Body Split will need to make changes to continue to see those benefits grow.
Full body vs. top-bottom: pros and cons
Benefits for the entire body
Full body splits allow for flexible planning
With a full body split you can train your muscles often without having to worry about missing a muscle group if you miss a day. Every time you come to train, your program will ensure you cover all the basics, whether you come twice a week or four times a week.
By training everything every time you train, all you have to worry about is showing up consistently and working hard, and the program will take care of the rest. Now you can train any day you want every week without having to worry about getting everything done.
It trains the muscles twice a week
Studies have been conducted to determine how often muscles should be trained to achieve maximum growth results. The answer was definitively foundTraining a muscle twice a week is ideal.
With this in mind, the Full Body split is a great way to grow your muscles. If you train hard and efficiently, you can train your entire body even as little as twice a week and see amazing results if you're a beginner.
Full body cons
It loses its effectiveness over time
Your ability to adapt decreases, it becomes increasingly difficult to change your body. It takes some serious stimulation to grow a muscle, and you just can't give it the stimulation it needs if you train the same muscles every time and you don't give it enough volume.
For this reason, you will likely only be able to enjoy the benefits of a full body split for a short period of time before you outgrow it.
It requires several days of rest
An important phase in building muscle is allowing your muscles to recover. Although it is possible to do consecutive training days here and there on the same muscle groups, this is not sustainable in the long term. And long-term success is what resistance training is all about.
Because you're working your entire body every time you exercise, you should rest before your next exercise.
Top bottom benefits
You train your muscles twice a week
We have the same advantage here as with the Full Body Split. Training a muscle group twice a week is more effective than once a week. So Upper Lower split can definitely check that box for you.
It accumulates more total volume
With the Upper Lower split we take half of our body out of focus and just hit the other half hard. If you follow the math I outlined above, you will gain much more total volume each week if you divide your body into parts than if you try to do it all each time.
Again, for beginners you don't need as much volume, so Full Body works great. But once you get over the initial phase, it's time to split things up and the Upper Lower split is a great way to get more volume every week.
Top bottom cons
The training schedule is stricter
You really shouldn't skip a workout if you follow the Upper Lower split. To get the required two workouts per muscle per week, you'll need to show up for this split four times a week.
Think about it this way. If you train Full Body and miss a day, that is no problem, because you train your entire body every time you train, so nothing is left behind. As long as you train two or three more times that week, you will be fine.
With a split like Upper Lower, if you miss an Upper day, you've missed half your upper body volume for an entire week. That would be like skipping arms, back, chest and abs for two of your four Full Body workouts.
It requires a broader knowledge of exercises
If you train Full Body, you can get away with just knowing a handful of compound exercises and doing them over and over every time you train.
When you switch to the Upper Lower split, you now need to do five or six different exercises in two separate workouts each week. Suddenly you need a larger library of exercises to get the most out of those workouts.
Should you do a full body split or an upper lower split?
Whatever you choose, I'd like to make a few recommendations.
Do a full body split like
You need time
The Full Body split offers much more flexibility than many other splits. Since every muscle is worked every time you train, all you have to worry about is showing up 3-4 times a week and working hard.
If your work schedule is constantly changing and you don't know when you can train, follow the Full Body split and don't worry! If you travel often but still want to stay in shape, the Full Body Split allows you to move and never have to worry about whether you have trained all your muscle groups.
Finally, by training compound movements to hit as many muscles as possible, you can get a lot of work done in less time, making the Full Body split a great option for those who don't have more than 45-60 minutes to train . at a time.
You've only just started
There's no denying it – Full Body splits are best suited for beginners. It only takes a little stimulation to make some big changes for beginners, and the Full Body Split encompasses all of these benefits.
You can come often (3-4 days a week), work hard, train every muscle and initially see progress in every muscle.
Take advantage of the stage you are at and make the most of it with the Full Body split if you are a true beginner.
Make a top bottom split like
You've been lifting for a while
The degree of adaptation we talked about is decreasing rapidly. You'll probably notice it after three to six months because you just won't lose pounds, gain size, or get stronger as quickly as you did in the beginning. If you're at this stage and haven't adjusted your split yet, take a closer look.
The Upper Lower split is the first split I would recommend if you want to change your program. It's simple yet effective at helping lifters get more work done during every workout and every week in general.
Ultimately, you'll probably find that your leg days aren't as effective and you'll need to split them into quad days and hamstring days. If so, check out the other splits we discussed to find your next move.
You have more time to train
If you can train hard 4 or 6 days a week, I would definitely recommend the Upper Lower split (or another split) over the Full Body split.
There's so much more you can do by focusing on one muscle group at a time and repeating again later in the week.
Additionally, if you have more than an hour to train on the days you train, a split like Upper Lower allows you to train that day's muscle group harder and longer to really get the volume you need to make a change. to implement.
Whole body example
Here's an example of what a full-body workout might look like:
Monday – full body workout
- Barbell Squat – 3 sets van 8
- Pull-ups – 3 sets van 10
- BB Shoulder Press – 3 sets of 10
- Bench press – 3 sets of 8
- DB Biceps Curls – 3 sets van 12
- DB Floor Press – 3 sets of 12
- Planks – 4 rounds
- DB Romanian Deadlift – 3 sets of 8
Wednesday – full body workout
- Sumo Deadlift – 3 sets van 8
- Underhand BB Rows – 3 sets of 10
- BB Overheadpers – 3 sets van 8
- Reject chest thrusts – 3 sets of 10
- EZ Bar BB Curls – 3 sets go 10
- Skull Crusher – 3 sets of 10 pieces
- Decline sit-ups – 3 sets of AMRAP
- Calf Raises – 3 sets van 15
Friday – full body workout
- Legpressmachine – 3 sets van 10
- Incline bench press – 3 sets of 8
- Close Grip Bench Press – 3 sets of 10
- Single Arm Cable Curlers – 3 sets of 10
- Lat Pull Downs – 3 sets van 10
- Leg raises – 3 sets of 12-15
- DB Stiff Leg Deadlift – 3 sets van 10
Top bottom example
Here's an example of what a week's worth of PPL training might look like:
Monday – Upstairs
- Bench press – 4 sets of 10
- DB Overheadpers – 4 sets van 10
- Lat Pull Down – 4 sets van 10
- Curved BB Row – 4 sets of 8
- DB curls – 4 sets of 10
- Top Cable Extension – 4 sets of 10
Tuesday – Lower
- Squats – 4 sets van 8
- BB Lunges – 4 sets van 10
- Good morning – 4 sets out of 10
- Legpress – 4 sets van 10
- Sit bone extension – 4 sets of 10
- Calf Raises – 4 sets van 12
Wednesday – Rest
Thursday – Upstairs
- Incline bench press – 4 sets of 8
- Incline DB Fly – 4 sets van 10
- BB Upright Row – 4 sets van 10
- Front lift plate – 4 sets of 10
- Seated cable rows – 4 sets of 10
- BB shrugs – 4 sets of 12
Friday – Lower
- Deadlift – 4 sets of 8
- DB Stiff Leg Deadlift – 4 sets van 10
- Good morning – 4 sets out of 10
- Lying hamstring curls – 4 sets of 10
- Seated adductor machine – 4 sets of 12
- Seated Abduction Machine – 4 sets of 12
Saturday – Rest
Sunday – Rest
Check out our other articles on training splits
- Bridge Split vs Upper Lower: Pros and Cons, Which is Best?
- Push-Pull Legs vs. Over-Down: Pros, Cons and Which is Better?
- Texas Method vs. 531: Differences, Pros and Cons
- Texas Method vs. Madcow: Differences, Pros and Cons
Over by author
Adam Gardner is proud of Utah, where he lives with his wife and two children. He has been competing in powerlifting in both the USPA and APF since 2016. For the past three years, he and his wife Merrili have been training aspiring lifters to learn the basics of powerlifting and compete in their first powerlifting competitions.
