#028 Boats & Logs Upper/Lower Program

Welcome back to the 28th edition of the Boats & Logs Lifting Club. I really appreciate you being here. We are the based fitness community that focuses on mastering the basics instead of getting lost in the details.

And today, we are back with a much-requested topic, since we published the 3-day Full Body Program nearly 5 months ago: A 4 day Upper/Lower program.

But before we start, here is a quick overview on what’s coming next. And as you can see, we have very helpful posts lined up:

• May 5th: April Q&A Roundup

• May 12th: Mastering your Fat Loss Journey

• May 19th: A Based View on Hyped Supplements

• May 26th: Form vs. Overload

• June 2nd: May Q&A Roundup

• June 9th: Building your Home Gym

If you have any questions left, you can use the next weeks newsletter to ask me your question. Just submit them by either replying to this email or sending me a DM on Instagram.

But now, let’s get into the program!
I hope you like it.

Advantages of the Upper/Lower Program

Let me get started by saying this: Upper/Lower is a great (&fun) plan - actually, close to being my favorite.

A common myth is that there is a sort of hierarchy between plans: Full Body is for beginners, who “grow out” of it after 3-6 months, then do Upper/Lower for 3-6 months before “maturing” and running the classic Push/Pull/Legs.

But as the name “myth” says - that’s bs. Unless you are a VERY advanced lifter, I can assure you that your are NOT too advanced for Full Body or Upper/Lower.

The beauty of Upper/lower is that you can reduce your time in the gym to 4 sessions you should be able to do in <60 minutes. Most people also consider it more fun in contrast to a Full Body plan, where you train legs every session and usually are quite busy getting through all the sets.

And as we know: We should always maximize our workouts for fun if we want to make sustainable gains.

The Program

Upper Body 1

Incline Dumbbell Benchpress (3 sets: 1x 5-8 reps & 2x 10-12 reps)
Pull-ups (3 sets: until Failure; add weights if you can do 20+)
Pec Dec (3 sets: 8-10 reps; 12-15 reps; 15-20 reps)
T-Bar Rows (2 sets: 5-8 reps & 10-12 reps)
Shoulder Press (3 sets: 3x 10-12 reps)
Optional Accessories:
Triceps Overhead (3 sets: 10-12 reps each)
Concentration Curls (3 sets: 10-12 reps each)

Lower Body 1

Bulgarin Split Squats (3 sets: 6-8 reps each)
Romanian Deadlifts (3 sets: 8-12 reps each)
Leg Curls (2 sets: 10-15 reps & 15-20 reps)
Leg Extensions (2 sets: 10-15 reps & 15-20 reps)
Optional Accessories:
Calf Raises (4 sets: 12-15 reps each)
Leg Raises (3 sets: until failure)