Separate upper- and lower-body work across four gym visits. A machine-focused pair starts the week and a dumbbell-focused pair finishes it, giving each body area recovery time before it comes round again.
An example weekly split for adults who already manage regular strength training. Four visits let you distribute upper- and lower-body sessions across the week.
No scheduled lifting; choose other activity to suit recovery.
Sunday
Rest or easy activity
Keep this as recovery space or move a session here if it preserves sensible spacing.
Open each session for its exercises, sets, rest periods and individual download. Review and adapt it before training.
When four visits make sense
Choose this split when shorter, focused visits fit better than full-body sessions and four days are realistic. Expect about 40–45 minutes per visit plus any extra setup time.
If you regularly miss sessions or are still adapting to two weekly workouts, keep the simpler schedule. Adding days is not automatically an improvement.
How the split is arranged
Monday uses upper-body machines and cables, followed by lower-body machines on Tuesday. Thursday changes the upper-body session to dumbbells; Friday uses dumbbell squats, hinges, split squats and calves.
The linked templates include their own warm-up guidance and working-set targets. Treat those sets as the whole planned lifting session rather than a starting point before adding another routine.
Ease into the second pair
The two upper-body workouts share pressing and rowing patterns, and the two lower-body workouts share leg muscles. In your first week of this split, use one fewer set per exercise on Thursday and Friday if needed.
Keep the accessory work modest. If your arms are already tired after presses and pulls, omit a curl rather than forcing it to finish the list. Use a supported bodyweight split squat while learning that movement.
Adjust around fatigue and missed visits
A day off between the two pairs is built into the example. If Tuesday legs make walking or the next session unusually difficult, reduce the lower-body sets and allow longer before the next leg workout.
If you miss an upper session, move it to the next suitable day and continue the sequence. Avoid fitting four visits into the remaining three days just to keep the weekday labels.
Measure progress by repeatable sessions
Compare each exercise with its own previous session: controlled reps, a manageable load and the same setup. Do not compare machine kilos directly with dumbbell kilos.
Public activity guidance recommends strengthening the major muscle groups at least twice weekly. This upper/lower arrangement is our scheduling example; the sources do not endorse the specific split or prescribe four visits.
Neither structure is automatically best. Upper/lower divides the work into focused visits; full-body training needs fewer visits. Choose the structure you can repeat and recover from.
Can I do all four days in a row?
This example does not do that. The midweek break creates recovery space and makes it easier to adjust when a session is demanding. Move the days if needed rather than compressing them.
Do I need an extra arm or glute day?
This schedule already contains direct arm work and several lower-body movements. Start with the planned sessions and assess the total workload before adding more days.
Keep the plan. Track the progress.
Pick your training space. Your sets, weights and rest times belong together.
MyLifts
A focused workout tracker for your lifts and routines. Explore the next chapter for iPhone and iPad.
MyLifts