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PHUL Workout: The Full 4-Day Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower Routine
By Nadia Popescu, Strength & Conditioning Writer · Updated 12 November 2026
PHUL (Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower) is a 4-day routine that trains your upper body and lower body twice a week each: one heavy "power" session built on sets of 3 to 5 reps, and one "hypertrophy" session of 8 to 12 reps. Brandon Campbell popularised the template, and it has stuck around for more than a decade because it gets you stronger and bigger on four sessions a week without asking you to live in the gym. The full plan is below, followed by how to progress it, who should run it and how to do it in a garage.
The PHUL workout: all four days
These tables follow Campbell's original template. Where he gives a set range, start at the bottom of it; you can add a set later once recovery is clearly fine.
Day 1: Upper power
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell bench press | 3 to 4 | 3 to 5 |
| Incline dumbbell press | 3 to 4 | 6 to 10 |
| Bent-over row | 3 to 4 | 3 to 5 |
| Lat pulldown | 3 to 4 | 6 to 10 |
| Overhead press | 2 to 3 | 5 to 8 |
| Barbell curl | 2 to 3 | 6 to 10 |
| Skull crushers | 2 to 3 | 6 to 10 |
Day 2: Lower power
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Back squat | 3 to 4 | 3 to 5 |
| Deadlift | 3 to 4 | 3 to 5 |
| Leg press | 3 to 5 | 10 to 15 |
| Leg curl | 3 to 4 | 6 to 10 |
| Calf raise (any variation) | 4 | 6 to 10 |
Day 3: Upper hypertrophy
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Incline barbell bench press | 3 to 4 | 8 to 12 |
| Flat dumbbell fly | 3 to 4 | 8 to 12 |
| Seated cable row | 3 to 4 | 8 to 12 |
| One-arm dumbbell row | 3 to 4 | 8 to 12 |
| Dumbbell lateral raise | 3 to 4 | 8 to 12 |
| Incline dumbbell curl | 3 to 4 | 8 to 12 |
| Cable triceps extension | 3 to 4 | 8 to 12 |
Day 4: Lower hypertrophy
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Front squat | 3 to 4 | 8 to 12 |
| Barbell lunge | 3 to 4 | 8 to 12 |
| Leg extension | 3 to 4 | 10 to 15 |
| Leg curl | 3 to 4 | 10 to 15 |
| Seated calf raise | 3 to 4 | 8 to 12 |
| Calf press on the leg press | 3 to 4 | 8 to 12 |
Rest 2 to 3 minutes between the heavy 3 to 5 rep sets, because cutting that short costs you reps on the lifts that matter most. Everything else gets 60 to 90 seconds.
Squats and deadlifts on the same day?
Yes, and it's the hardest part of the programme. Lower power puts heavy squats and heavy deadlifts back to back, so start both at 3 sets and keep a rep in reserve on every set. If your deadlift form falls apart after squats, drop the deadlift to 2 heavy sets before you drop the weight.
The weekly schedule
Campbell's layout is two days on, one off, two on, two off:
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Monday | Upper power |
| Tuesday | Lower power |
| Wednesday | Rest |
| Thursday | Upper hypertrophy |
| Friday | Lower hypertrophy |
| Saturday and Sunday | Rest |
The exact days don't matter. What does matter is keeping the power sessions at the front of the week when you're freshest, and leaving at least 48 hours between the two upper days. If you can only train on alternating days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday), the order still works; the "week" just stretches to eight days.
Why the power and hypertrophy mix works
Two bits of research explain the design. A 2016 meta-analysis by Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger pooled ten studies and found that training a muscle twice a week produced more growth than once a week when total volume was matched. PHUL hits everything twice. The same group's larger 2019 follow-up found frequency made no meaningful difference once volume was equal, so the honest reading is that twice a week is a convenient way to fit enough quality volume in, and there's nothing magic about the number itself.
The rep ranges have firmer backing. In a meta-analysis of 21 studies comparing heavy and light loads, 1RM strength improved significantly more with heavy loads, while muscle growth came out similar across loading ranges. A later review of the "repetition continuum" from the same lab reached the same conclusion: muscle grows across a wide spread of rep ranges, but maximal strength wants heavy weight. So the power days are there for your squat, bench and deadlift numbers, and the 8 to 15 rep work piles up volume without the joint stress of doing all of it heavy.
Who PHUL suits
It suits an intermediate lifter who can train four days a week and wants to get stronger and look like it. You should already be comfortable with the big barbell lifts, since the programme opens with heavy triples on day one and doesn't teach them.
It's a poor fit in a few cases. Complete beginners don't need this much volume and will add weight faster on three full-body sessions. Anyone chasing a powerlifting total will want more specific work (and more than one heavy squat exposure a week). And if you can only make three sessions, don't run PHUL with a day missing; pick a three-day plan instead.
How to progress
Use double progression. Pick a weight you can lift for the bottom of the rep range on every set with one rep left in the tank, then add reps session by session. Once every set reaches the top of the range, add weight and start again at the bottom.
- Power lifts (3 to 5 reps): when you hit 5 reps on all sets, add 2.5kg to upper-body lifts and 5kg to squats and deadlifts.
- Hypertrophy lifts (8 to 12 or 10 to 15): when all sets hit the top number, add the smallest jump available, usually 1kg to 2.5kg per dumbbell or 2.5kg on a bar.
- Stalls: if a lift hasn't gained a rep in three sessions, take 10% off and build back up.
Bench and overhead press stall first, because 2.5kg is a big jump on a 50kg press. A pair of fractional plates lets you add 0.5kg or 1kg instead.
Stay a rep or two short of failure on the power work. Grinding a failed triple on Monday wrecks Thursday's session; save true failure for the last set of curls, lateral raises and calf work, where the recovery cost is small.
How long to run it
Run PHUL for 12 to 16 weeks. Four weeks tells you nothing, since the first fortnight is mostly finding your starting weights. Plan a deload week around weeks 6 to 8, or sooner if several lifts stall together and your sleep or appetite dips. After 16 weeks, either swap a few accessories and go again or move to a five-day plan such as the PPLUL split if you've got an extra day to give.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Trains every muscle twice a week on four sessions
- Heavy and moderate rep work in the same week, so strength and size both move
- Three rest days make it realistic alongside a job, family or a sport
- Simple double progression with no percentages or spreadsheets needed
Cons
- Heavy squats and deadlifts share a session, which is brutal once the weights climb
- Sessions run 60 to 75 minutes, longer in a busy gym
- The original template leans on machines and cables that most home gyms lack
- Little direct work for rear delts and abs unless you add it
PHUL vs PHAT, upper/lower and PPL
| Routine | Days a week | How it differs from PHUL |
|---|---|---|
| PHUL | 4 | Two power days, two hypertrophy days |
| PHAT | 5 | Layne Norton's version: two power days, then three hypertrophy days with speed work, and far more total volume |
| Upper/lower split | 4 | Same layout, but usually moderate reps on all four days |
| Push pull legs | 3 or 6 | Splits upper body into push and pull; needs six days to hit everything twice |
| Bro split | 5 | One muscle group a day, once a week each |
PHUL vs PHAT. PHAT is PHUL's bigger, more tiring cousin. Its three hypertrophy days stack a lot of sets on top of two heavy days, and many people can't recover from it for more than a couple of months. Choose PHAT only if you have five days and several years of training behind you.
PHUL vs a standard upper/lower. PHUL is an upper/lower split with the rep ranges separated out. A generic upper/lower plan in the 6 to 12 range builds as much muscle; PHUL will move your one-rep maxes faster because of the dedicated heavy days.
PHUL vs PPL. A push day is shorter and more focused than a PHUL upper session, but PPL run three days a week only trains each muscle once. Run six days and it beats PHUL on volume, provided you recover. The six-day Arnold split carries the same trade-off.
My position: for anyone training four days, PHUL is the better default.
PHUL in a home gym
You need four things: a power rack or squat rack with safety bars (non-negotiable for heavy solo bench and squat triples), an Olympic barbell with around 100kg to 140kg of plates, an adjustable bench and a pair of adjustable dumbbells. A rack with a pull-up bar covers the pulldowns.
Swap the machine work like this:
| Original exercise | Home swap |
|---|---|
| Lat pulldown | Pull-ups or chin-ups, band-assisted if needed |
| Seated cable row | Chest-supported dumbbell row |
| Leg press | Bulgarian split squat |
| Leg curl | Romanian deadlift |
| Leg extension | Heels-elevated goblet squat |
| Cable triceps extension | Overhead dumbbell triceps extension |
| Seated calf raise and calf press | Single-leg standing calf raises holding a dumbbell |
Keep the sets and reps from the original tables. The one change worth making is on lower power: Romanian deadlifts straight after heavy conventional deadlifts hammer your lower back, so do 2 sets there instead of 3 and keep the weight modest.
If your rack takes a pulley, a lat pulldown attachment restores the pulldowns, cable rows and triceps work in one go, and it's the first upgrade I'd make for this programme.
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Frequently asked questions
What does PHUL stand for?
PHUL stands for Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower. It's a 4-day routine popularised by Brandon Campbell that trains your upper and lower body twice a week each: once heavy in the 3 to 5 rep range for strength, and once lighter in the 8 to 12 range for muscle size.
Is PHUL good for beginners?
It works best for people with at least 6 to 12 months of consistent lifting who can already squat, bench, deadlift and row with solid form. A true beginner will progress faster on a simpler full-body plan three days a week, because the power days assume you can handle heavy sets of 3 to 5 safely.
How long should I run PHUL?
Give it 12 to 16 weeks before you judge it. That's long enough to add meaningful weight to your main lifts and see a visible change. Take a lighter deload week when your lifts stall across the board or your joints start complaining, which for most people lands somewhere between week 6 and week 8.
Is PHUL or PPL better?
PHUL is better if you can train four days a week and want strength and size together. A six-day push pull legs split gives you more weekly volume per muscle and shorter sessions, but it only pays off if you can recover from six days and actually turn up for all of them. Most people with a job and a family stick to four days more reliably.
Can I do PHUL at home?
Yes, if you have a power rack, a barbell with plates, an adjustable bench and a pair of adjustable dumbbells. The machine exercises (leg press, leg curl, lat pulldown, cable row) all have free-weight swaps such as Bulgarian split squats, Romanian deadlifts, pull-ups and dumbbell rows.
How long does a PHUL session take?
Expect 60 to 75 minutes. The power days run longer than they look on paper because heavy sets of 3 to 5 need 2 to 3 minutes of rest; the hypertrophy days have more exercises but move faster on 60 to 90 seconds of rest.
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