Guide · training splits
PHUL: the four-day Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower split
PHUL stands for Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower. It is a four-day split with two upper-body and two lower-body sessions, where the first pair of the week is heavier and lower-rep and the second pair lighter and higher-rep. You get strength work and size work in the same week, and every muscle twice.
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Key takeaways
- Four days: Upper Power, Lower Power, Upper Hypertrophy, Lower Hypertrophy.
- Power days: fewer reps, heavier weight, longer rest. Hypertrophy days: more reps, more isolation, shorter rest.
- Every muscle is trained twice a week, once heavy and once for volume.
- Track the power days by weight and the hypertrophy days by reps and volume.
What PHUL is
PHUL was written by Brandon Campbell as an answer to a common problem: strength programmes leave you small and bodybuilding programmes leave you weak. It takes the four-day Upper Lower split and gives each half of the week a job. Monday and Tuesday are power days built around the big compound lifts; Thursday and Friday are hypertrophy days with more exercises, more reps and shorter rests.
The heavy days make the lighter days better: the strength you build on Monday's press lets you use more weight on Thursday's 12s, and the extra volume on Thursday builds the muscle that lifts more on Monday.
What goes on each day
These are the four days of IronBuddy's PHUL preset. The power days use 10 reps with 2-minute rests on the main lifts; the hypertrophy days 12 to 15 reps with 60 to 90 seconds. The original programme uses 3–5 reps on barbell lifts for the power days; see the questions below if you want to run it that way.
| Day | Exercises (sets × reps) |
|---|---|
| Upper PowerHeavier upper-body compounds | Machine Chest Press 3×10 · Chest-Supported Row 3×10 · Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 3×10 · Lat Pulldown 3×10 · Machine Shoulder Press 2×10 · EZ-Bar Curl 2×12 · Cable Triceps Pushdown 2×12 |
| Lower PowerHeavier leg compounds | Leg Press 3×10 · Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 3×10 · Hack Squat 2×10 · Seated Leg Curl 3×12 · Standing Calf Raise 3×12 |
| Upper HypertrophyMore reps, more isolation | Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 3×12 · Seated Cable Row 3×12 · Machine Chest Press 2×12 · Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown 3×12 · Dumbbell Lateral Raise 3×15 · Dumbbell Hammer Curl 2×15 · Overhead Cable Triceps Extension 2×15 |
| Lower HypertrophyQuads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, core | Hack Squat 3×12 · Hip Thrust 3×12 · Bulgarian Split Squat 2×12 per leg · Lying Leg Curl 3×15 · Leg Extension 2×15 · Seated Calf Raise 3×15 · Cable Crunch 2×15 |
Power days have fewer exercises on purpose. Spend the time on the first three: those are the lifts you are trying to make heavier from month to month.
How to lay out the week
The standard week
Week: Upper Power, Lower Power, rest, Upper Hypertrophy, Lower Hypertrophy, rest, rest (Mon / Tue / Thu / Fri)
Suits: The layout PHUL was written for. Power days early in the week while you are freshest, a rest day, then the higher-rep days.
Rest between every pair
Week: Upper Power, rest, Lower Power, rest, Upper Hypertrophy, rest, Lower Hypertrophy
Suits: Lifters who find two heavy days in a row too much. The cycle takes eight days, so it drifts across the calendar.
Three days, rotating
Week: Upper Power, Lower Power, Upper Hypertrophy, then next week Lower Hypertrophy, Upper Power, Lower Power
Suits: Weeks with only three slots. Keep the order and the four days still come round in turn.
Who it suits
- Intermediates who want both. If you care about the number on the bar and how you look, PHUL gives each a day.
- Lifters with a few months behind them. IronBuddy lists its machine-based version as Intermediate, as the program's author does; learn the lifts on a full body or Upper Lower plan first, and keep the heavy barbell version for later.
- Four days, not more. PHUL does its work in four sessions. If you have five and recover well, PHAT is the same idea with an extra hypertrophy day.
How to track PHUL
- Two different goals, two different numbers. On power days, watch the weight on the main lifts and the estimated 1RM chart. On hypertrophy days, watch reps and session volume. A week where the 1RM climbs and the volume climbs is a good week.
- Compare each day with itself. Upper Power against last Upper Power, Upper Hypertrophy against last Upper Hypertrophy. The same exercise appears on both (the chest press, the incline press), so compare per day, not per exercise across days. IronBuddy's summary compares each exercise with its previous session, which on PHUL means the same day last week.
- Add weight on power days, reps on hypertrophy days. When every power set hits 10 clean reps, add weight. When every hypertrophy set hits 15, add weight and drop back to 12. The progressive overload guide covers both.
- Watch recovery. If Thursday's numbers fall while Monday's rise, you are not recovering from the heavy days. Take a set off the power days before you take one off the hypertrophy days.
Running PHUL in IronBuddy
IronBuddy includes PHUL as one of its ten preset splits, with the exercises above, a rep range and a rest time on every exercise. It is listed as Intermediate and set to Mon / Tue / Thu / Fri. To run the heavier original, edit the power days to 5–6 reps; your copy is saved under My splits.
- Open Splits, filter the presets if you like, and open PHUL.
- Tap Set active. Home shows this week's days with their status, and Edit Week puts each day on the weekday you train.
- Swap any exercise for one your gym has. The first time you edit a preset, IronBuddy saves your version under My splits and leaves the preset as it was.
- Open each day from Home, enter reps and weight (and any drop sets or supersets), then tap Log workout. The summary compares every exercise with last time.
- Check Progress for best weight, estimated 1RM and volume per exercise, and Muscle Balance on Home for your weekly sets per muscle group.
The 7-day free trial includes the whole workout tracker: workout logging, progress charts, body metrics, the full library of 800+ exercises, every split and your own custom splits. Buying IronBuddy for €6.99 keeps everything unlocked after the trial, and adds export and import of your data, a local copy of your data kept on your phone, share cards, a customizable Home and accent colors. In both the trial and the full version, Android's own backup protects your data if Google backup is turned on. See training splits in IronBuddy for screenshots of the presets, filters and week editor.
PHUL questions
Why does this PHUL use 10 reps on power days, not 3 to 5?
Brandon Campbell's original PHUL puts the power days at 3–5 reps on barbell lifts. IronBuddy's preset is written for beginner-to-intermediate lifters on machines and dumbbells, so its power days use 10 reps with longer rest and heavier loads, and the hypertrophy days 12–15 with shorter rest. The structure is the same; if you are experienced with heavy barbell work, edit the power days down to 5–6 reps.
PHUL or a plain Upper Lower split?
They share the four-day shape. PHUL adds a rule: the first upper and lower day of the week are heavier and lower-rep, the second pair lighter and higher-rep. If you like a plan with a clear purpose for each day, use PHUL; if you prefer every day to feel the same, plain Upper Lower is simpler.
PHUL or PHAT?
PHAT is the five-day version of the same idea, with two power days and three hypertrophy days. It is more volume and more time. Start with PHUL; move to PHAT if four days leave you recovered and wanting more.
A note on safety
This guide is general training information, not medical advice. Choose loads and a weekly layout that suit your experience and recovery, and speak to a qualified professional if you have an injury or a health condition.
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