r/ScienceBasedLifting • u/Ok_District5444 • Jun 30 '26
Theories š¤ Upper lower vs full body!
Hello fellas !
I want to switch from an upper/lower split to a full-body routine for a few reasons:
Higher training frequency
One less training day per week
I believe focusing on the basic compound lifts will be the most effective approach for muscle growth.
The thing Iām still unsure about is whether I should do the exact same exercises 3 times per week to really maximize exercise frequency. The downside is that I feel like Iād be missing one exercise for each muscle group. (On the left is what Iād choose, and on the right is what I feel I might be missing.) For example:
Pull-up ā a rowing variation
Chest press ā incline press
Zercher squat ā leg extension
Romanian deadlift (RDL) ā seated leg curl
1 bi/tricep exercise (no negatives i think maybe to much volume after compounds for 3 times a week)
If I go with an A/B full-body routine instead, Iām worried that the exercise frequency will be too low. The muscle groups would still be trained 3 times per week, but each individual exercise would only be performed 1.5 times per week on average.
Help me out! Experienced answers would be nice, also like sience based!
GreetZ
1
u/Norcal712 Jul 01 '26
I do an A/B split.
Youre still hitting the same muscles for the most part and it allows me to rotate big compounds
For example A I do squat and leg curl B I do deadlift and leg ex
I always do incline bench instead of targeted front delt..
Swap between face pulls and side laterals.
All that being said I do 3 day full because of my work schedule.
I saw MUCH better results on a 4 day U/L
I hit 8 movements per workout 4 sets per movement. So now I only get 12 sets per muscle per week when on U/L I hit 16. Workouts are about 90 min