Chest-focused upper/lower split: 4 days a week

The plan, week 1

Week 1 is calibration: pick a weight for the bottom of each range with one more rep in reserve than later. The RIR column shows week 1 → week 2 onwards; the grid below shows what changes in weeks 2-8.

Tempo 3-0-1-0: 3 s lowering, 0 s pause in the stretch, 1 s lifting, 0 s pause in the squeeze. X: lift as fast as you can while staying in control.

What RIR means →How to read tempo →How supersets work →

B3fx4×6–10 · RIR 2

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Tempo	Rest	Notes
2	WUWarm-up sets	2 × 5	–	–	1:00
3	ABarbell Bench Press	4 × 6–10	3 → 2	2-0-X-0	3:00	Shoulder blades pulled back and down, feet planted; touch the lower chest and press up and slightly back.
4	BSeated Cable Row	3 × 8–12	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	2:00
5	CCable Middle Chest Fly	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	3-0-1-1	1:00	Three seconds out with your arms slightly bent, then squeeze for a second with your hands together.
6	DCable Lat Pulldown	3 × 8–12	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	2:00
7	EDumbbell Lateral Raise	3 × 12–20	2 → 1	2-0-1-0	1:00
8	FDumbbell Biceps Curl	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-0	1:00

19 working sets · ≈50 min · → Superset: go straight to the next exercise, rest after the pair

B3fx3×6–10 · RIR 2

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Tempo	Rest	Notes
2	WUWarm-up sets	2 × 5	–	–	1:00
3	ABarbell Squat	3 × 6–10	3 → 2	2-0-X-0	3:00
4	BRomanian Deadlift	3 × 8–12	3 → 2	3-0-1-0	2:30
5	CSeated Leg Curl	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	1:30
6	DCalf Leg Press	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-2-1-0	1:00
7	EKneeling Cable Abs Crunches	2 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	1:00

14 working sets · ≈40 min · → Superset: go straight to the next exercise, rest after the pair

B3fx4×8–12 · RIR 2

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Tempo	Rest	Notes
2	WUWarm-up sets	2 × 8	–	–	1:00
3	AIncline Dumbbell Bench Press	4 × 8–12	3 → 2	2-0-X-0	2:00	Bench at about 30 degrees; lower the dumbbells to the sides of your upper chest.
4	BCable Neutral Grip Lat Pulldown	3 × 8–12	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	2:00
5	CMachine Chest Press	3 × 8–12	2 → 1	2-0-1-0	2:00
6	DChest Supported Machine Row	2 × 8–12	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	2:00
7	E1Cable Lateral Raise	3 × 12–20	2 → 1	2-0-1-0	→
8	E2Cable Rear Delt Fly	3 × 12–20	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	1:00
9	F1Cable Overhead Triceps Extension	2 × 10–15	2 → 1	3-0-1-0	→
10	F2Seated Incline Biceps Curl	2 × 10–15	2 → 1	3-0-1-0	1:00

22 working sets · ≈50 min · → Superset: go straight to the next exercise, rest after the pair

B3fx3×8–12 · RIR 1

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Exercise	Sets × reps	RIR	Tempo	Rest	Notes
2	WUWarm-up sets	2 × 8	–	–	1:00
3	AMachine Hack Squat	3 × 8–12	2 → 1	3-0-1-0	2:30
4	BSeated Leg Curl	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	1:30
5	CSeated Leg Extension Machine	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	1:30
6	DSeated Calf Raise	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-2-1-0	1:00
7	EDumbbell Chest Fly	3 × 10–15	2 → 1	3-1-1-0	1:00	It comes at the end of a leg day, so the chest is fresh. Lower slowly and pause in the stretch for a second.
8	FKneeling Cable Abs Crunches	2 × 10–15	2 → 1	2-0-1-1	1:00

17 working sets · ≈40 min · → Superset: go straight to the next exercise, rest after the pair

Upper ALower AUpper BLower B

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Week by week

Week 8 is a deload: about 60% of the sets (4→2, 3→2, 2→1), the same weights and rest, stop at RIR 4. Why a deload helps →

Saved only in this browser. The app keeps your weights and reps.

How to progress on this plan

The simplest method that works on any plan: double progression. Keep the weight and add reps while you finish your sets with the reserve in the RIR column. When every set reaches the top of the range, add one step and build the reps up again.

• Barbell Bench Press 4 × 6–10 at RIR 2: when all 4 sets reach 10 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
• Seated Cable Row 3 × 8–12 at RIR 1: when all 3 sets reach 12 reps at RIR 1 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
• Cable Lat Pulldown 3 × 8–12 at RIR 1: when all 3 sets reach 12 reps at RIR 1 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
• Barbell Squat 3 × 6–10 at RIR 2: when all 3 sets reach 10 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
• Romanian Deadlift 3 × 8–12 at RIR 2: when all 3 sets reach 12 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2.5 kg next session.
• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4 × 8–12 at RIR 2: when all 4 sets reach 12 reps at RIR 2 or easier, add 2 kg next session.
• Isolation exercises (10–20 reps) follow the same rule. With light dumbbells, the next pair can be too big a jump: use the in-between weight, or stay and go 1-2 reps above the range for a week or two.
• The barbell bench press leads Monday with 4 sets of 6-10 at RIR 2. It comes once a week, so expect about a rep a week and the first 2.5 kg step late in the block.
• The incline dumbbell press leads Thursday with 4 × 8-12. Dumbbell steps are big for a press: right after a step your reps drop back toward 8, which is normal.
• The flyes are done slowly, three seconds down, and the dumbbell flyes pause for a second in the stretch. Keep that tempo when you add weight: the stretch is where flyes work the chest hardest.
• Free-weight compounds (both presses, squat, Romanian deadlift) stop at RIR 2; machines, cables and isolation exercises at RIR 1.

The full guide: how to progress →

Your starting weights

Enter a recent set of the exercise: weight, reps and how many reps you had left. You get the week-1 weight for the bottom of the range with one rep more in reserve, from the widely used RPE chart (RTS).

1RM calculator →

Weekly volume per muscle

Working sets per muscle in a regular week, counted the way the app counts them: a set is 1 for a muscle the exercise trains directly and 0.5 for one it trains indirectly. Warm-ups don't count.

Abs and calves are optional. From 10 sets a week the app labels a muscle "High volume": above its default target and still productive.

Count your own sets →

Substitutions

Choose your substitute in week 1 and keep it for all 8 weeks: the app tracks progress per exercise. Each substitute trains the same muscles directly, so the volume above stays the same.

Adapt the plan

Short on time

Drop the crunches on the lower days, the calf raises, the curl on Upper A or the arm superset on Upper B: each saves about 4-6 minutes. Keep every chest exercise.

Bulking or cutting

Keep the plan as it is in both. On a cut, aim to hold your weights: reps that drop by one or two are normal, and you can skip the last set of the isolation exercises if recovery suffers.

Bringing up one muscle

The chest already gets 17 sets a week. To bring up a second muscle, add 2-3 weekly sets for it on an upper day, for example lateral raises for the side delts.

Over 40

Warm up a little longer, keep one more rep in reserve on the heavy barbell lifts and take the full rest. Joints decide the pace, not the calendar.

Training at home

This plan needs a gym. At home with dumbbells and a bench, take the 4-day dumbbell upper/lower plan and add 2 sets of dumbbell flyes on each upper day.

The same plan in the app

The app opens exactly this plan: all 8 weeks, the same targets, week 1 calibration included. Its description in the app:

An upper/lower split for intermediates with chest priority: Upper A, Lower A, Upper B, Lower B (Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat). Chest gets 17 sets a week over 3 workouts: bench press and cable fly on Upper A, incline dumbbell press and machine chest press on Upper B, dumbbell fly after Lower B. Back stays at 11 sets; legs, shoulders and arms get fewer. 8 weeks: week 1 is calibration (one more rep in reserve than the target), weeks 2-7 at RIR 2 on free-weight compounds and RIR 1 on the rest, week 8: deload, about half the sets, RIR 4. Progression: add reps first, then weight once every set reaches the top of its range at the target RIR.

Free: the plan, logging weight, reps and RIR, the rest timer, history, previous results and the calculators.

This page teaches the manual method. With Premium, the app suggests the weight and reps for every set after each workout, from the weights, reps and RIR you logged, including week-1 calibration and the deload. Its suggestions can differ from this simple rule because it uses more of your data.

Track this plan for free in SmartWorkout

The same exercises, sets, reps and RIR, ready in the app. Logging, rest timer and history are free. Automatic progression suggestions: Premium.

In the app: Plans → Upper/Lower · 4 days · Chest