Upper/Lower Split Gets Detailed Breakdown
Legion athlete Karl Matt Button shared a beginner-friendly 4x/week upper/lower split: 3 sets per exercise, 6-12 reps, 3-minute rests, complete with exercise videos. The post earned 26 likes, 3 reposts, and 39 bookmarks from 3,173 views.
The upper/lower split is a highly efficient training method that divides workouts into upper and lower body days, allowing each muscle group to be trained twice a week. This training frequency is considered optimal for maximizing muscle growth (hypertrophy), according to accumulating research. A common four-day schedule involves training Monday (upper), Tuesday (lower), resting Wednesday, and then repeating with upper body on Thursday and lower body on Friday. This structure allows for focused, shorter workout sessions while ensuring adequate recovery for each half of the body. The 6-12 repetition range is widely recognized as the "sweet spot" for building muscle size. This specific workload creates significant mechanical tension and metabolic stress, which are key drivers for stimulating hypertrophy. Longer rest periods are crucial for strength and muscle gains. Research published in the *Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research* found that three-minute rests between sets led to significantly more muscle growth and strength than one-minute
