Strengthara

Upper Lower

Two heavy days and two volume days a week, split by upper and lower body, with a rep range for every lift.

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Written by Strengthara (Zenta AB) · Updated

Lifters with a year or more of training who want strength and size on four days a week.

Upper Lower program cover

How to rotate the workouts

Follow Upper Strength, Lower Strength, Upper Volume, Lower Volume, then repeat. Four training days with a rest day after the first upper/lower pair is one example. If you train less often, carry the same rotation across weeks.

  1. Upper Strength
  2. Lower Strength
  3. Upper Volume
  4. Lower Volume

Take rest days between workouts as you need them. If you miss a day, continue with the next workout in the rotation rather than restarting. Strengthara lets you choose each workout; it does not schedule or advance the rotation for you.

Read the prescription

Sets are working sets. Reps show a fixed number, a range, or a duration; per side means repeat on each side. RIR means reps in reserve: 2 RIR means stopping when you judge you could do about two more clean reps. Rest is between working sets, or the easy interval in interval work. An empty value means that field is not prescribed.

Warm up before the working sets: practise the movement and build toward your working load with easier sets. The tables do not prescribe a starting weight. Choose one that lets you finish the reps with the stated RIR and controlled technique.

Upper Strength

Heavy bench, row and press in low reps.

ExerciseSetsRepsRIRRestNotes
Bench Press44–62180 s
Barbell Row44–62150 s
Overhead Press36–82150 s
Lat Pulldown36–10290 sWeighted chin-ups are fine. Log them as Chin-ups.
Biceps Curl210–15160 s
Triceps Pushdown210–15160 s

Lower Strength

Heavy squat and deadlift, then leg press and hamstrings.

ExerciseSetsRepsRIRRestNotes
Back Squat44–62180 s
Deadlift33–52180 s
Leg Press38–122120 s
Leg Curl310–15160 s
Calf Raise410–15160 s

Upper Volume

Higher reps for chest, back, shoulders and arms.

ExerciseSetsRepsRIRRestNotes
Incline Dumbbell Press48–12290 s
Seated Cable Row48–12290 s
Lateral Raise312–20160 s
Face Pull315–20160 s
Biceps Curl310–15160 s
Triceps Pushdown310–15160 s

Lower Volume

Hinge, single-leg work and higher-rep legs.

ExerciseSetsRepsRIRRestNotes
Romanian Deadlift38–122120 s
Leg Press312–152120 s
Dumbbell Split Squat38–12 per side290 sRegular split squat, rear foot on the floor.
Leg Curl310–15160 s
Calf Raise410–15160 s
Hanging Leg Raise38–15260 sKnees bent is fine; straighten the legs as you get stronger.

Choose your next load using Last time

Strengthara shows what you logged Last time. You decide the load and reps today. For exercises with a rep range, this is one way to use double progression:

  1. Begin with a load that lets every working set reach the bottom of the rep range at the prescribed RIR.
  2. Keep that load and add reps over later sessions while keeping the RIR and technique. Log each set as performed, even when sets differ.
  3. Once every working set reaches the top of the range at the prescribed RIR, try the smallest load increase your equipment allows next time. Work up through the range again.
  4. If you cannot reach the lower end with the intended RIR, keep or reduce the load. If progress stalls across several sessions, review rest, recovery and technique before adding more work.

Example: for 3 sets of 8–12 at 2 RIR, Last time might show 12, 11, 10 reps. Keep the load and work toward 12, 12, 12. When all three reach 12 with about two reps left, try a small increase next time. No fixed load jump is required.

For fixed-rep lifts, keep the prescribed reps and use RIR to judge whether a small increase is manageable. For timed, bodyweight and conditioning work, follow the exercise notes. The app neither progresses loads nor changes the written prescription automatically.

Sources: ACSM (2009) supports gradual resistance progression; Zourdos et al. (2016) describes the RIR scale. The exact double-progression rule and rotation examples here are our practical guidance, not a claim that either study tested these five programs.

Follow it free in Strengthara

Open the block picker, choose this block template and sign in to create your block. Make it active, then choose a workout in the iOS app. Log the sets you actually do. The Logbook and Last time are included in Free. Editing the program or creating your own needs Pro.

Follow a program free

Method

Checked

Workout names, exercises, prescriptions, coaching notes and audience come from the anonymous block templates endpoint during the site build. They are a build-time edition of the catalogue; an existing block keeps its own copy. The rotation and progression guidance below are editorial instructions you apply yourself.