PHUL: Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower Explained

What is PHUL?

PHUL stands for Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower. It's a four-day training week built on a simple idea: instead of choosing between getting strong and getting big, you split the week so you do both. Two sessions emphasize power — heavier weight, lower reps on the main compound lifts — and two sessions emphasize hypertrophy — moderate weight, higher reps, and more isolation volume.

Because the week is organized as an upper/lower split, every muscle group gets trained twice: once in a heavy, strength-focused style and once in a higher-volume, muscle-focused style. That twice-a-week frequency plus the mix of rep ranges is what makes PHUL a popular size-and-strength template for lifters past the beginner stage.

How PHUL works

The whole program is four sessions built around two contrasting emphases. Here's the shape of it, step by step:

Train four days a week — a common layout is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, with power days early in the week and hypertrophy days later, and rest built in for recovery.
Upper Power day. Heavy compound presses and pulls in lower rep ranges — roughly 3 to 5 reps — to drive upper-body strength.
Lower Power day. Heavy squats and deadlifts in the same low rep ranges for leg and posterior-chain strength.
Upper Hypertrophy day. The upper body again, but with moderate weight, higher reps (roughly 8 to 15), and more isolation for chest, back, shoulders and arms.
Lower Hypertrophy day. The legs again with higher reps and added isolation for quads, hamstrings and calves.
Progress over time by adding weight or reps to the power lifts as you get stronger, and by chasing progressive overload on the hypertrophy days through added reps, sets or load.

This is a plain-English description of the PHUL structure, not a fixed prescription. Exact exercise choices, set counts and loading vary between versions of the program — treat the layout below as a map, not the only way to run it.

The 4-day PHUL layout

PHUL is two power days and two hypertrophy days, each split into upper and lower. Power days lean on heavy compounds in low rep ranges; hypertrophy days keep the same movement patterns but add reps, volume and isolation work.

Day	Focus	Emphasis
Day 1 — Upper Power	Heavy bench, rows, overhead press, pulls	Strength · ~3–5 reps
Day 2 — Lower Power	Heavy squat, deadlift, leg press	Strength · ~3–5 reps
Day 3 — Upper Hypertrophy	Moderate presses, rows + isolation (chest, back, delts, arms)	Size · ~8–15 reps
Day 4 — Lower Hypertrophy	Moderate squat/leg work + isolation (quads, hams, calves)	Size · ~8–15 reps

The power/hypertrophy contrast is the point: heavy low-rep work keeps you building strength on the big lifts, while the higher-rep days pile on the volume that drives muscle growth. Because it's an upper/lower structure, everything gets hit twice a week without any single session becoming overwhelming.

Rep ranges here are the usual conventions people run — the specific sets, reps and exercises differ across published versions. Adjust to your recovery and goals.

Who is it for?

PHUL is generally aimed at the intermediate lifter — someone who has moved past a pure beginner linear-progression program and wants to develop both strength and size rather than picking one. It's a well-known bridge between strength-first training and bodybuilding-style volume.

Great fit	Maybe look elsewhere
Intermediates who want strength and size together	True beginners who still progress every session
People who can commit to four training days a week	People limited to two or three days a week
Lifters bridging from strength work toward bodybuilding	Lifters wanting a single, narrow focus (pure powerlifting or pure physique)

If you can only train three days a week, or you're still adding weight every session, a simpler template may fit better — see all programs or a standard upper/lower split. If you want a higher-frequency alternative, push/pull/legs is worth a look.

How to build it in LiftHero

LiftHero doesn't ship PHUL as a built-in program — but you can build it as a custom program with the Hero subscription's program builder, then log every session against it. It records the full vocabulary of serious training — work sets, warm-ups, RPE and reps — and detects personal records automatically, so both your power lifts and your hypertrophy volume show up as trends you can actually see. It's free to start on iOS, with no routine caps and no interruptive ads.

Get LiftHero free on iOS and open the Programs section.
Use the custom program builder (a Hero feature) to lay out the four PHUL sessions — Upper Power, Lower Power, Upper Hypertrophy, Lower Hypertrophy.
Save each session as a reusable routine (routines are free and unlimited) so it's ready in a couple of taps.
Train each session straight from the app — it logs your sets, reps and RPE for both the heavy and the higher-rep work.
Watch your power lifts and hypertrophy volume trend upward in your progress charts, and adjust load as you go.

LiftHero logs and tracks your training — weights, reps, RPE and PRs — with a custom program builder available in the optional Hero subscription. It doesn't auto-generate or auto-progress PHUL for you, so you decide the exact loading and when to push, exactly as the method intends.

LiftHero custom program builder — building a PHUL upper/lower split in the app — Build a custom PHUL program and log every set in LiftHero.

Frequently asked questions

What is the PHUL program?

PHUL stands for Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower. It's a 4-day-a-week upper/lower split that combines two heavy, lower-rep power days with two higher-rep hypertrophy days, so you train each half of the body for both strength and size across the week.

How many days a week is PHUL?

Four days a week — typically Upper Power, Lower Power, Upper Hypertrophy and Lower Hypertrophy, arranged with rest days such as Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday so each muscle group is trained twice a week.

What's the difference between the power and hypertrophy days?

Power days use heavier weight and lower reps, roughly 3 to 5, on big compound lifts to build strength. Hypertrophy days use moderate weight, higher reps of roughly 8 to 15, and more isolation exercises and volume to build size.

Is PHUL good for intermediates?

Yes — PHUL is generally aimed at intermediate lifters who have outgrown a pure beginner program and want both strength and muscle. It's a popular bridge between strength-focused training and bodybuilding-style volume.

How is PHUL different from a standard upper/lower split?

A standard upper/lower split can use any rep scheme, but PHUL deliberately dedicates two of the four sessions to heavy power work and two to higher-rep hypertrophy work, so strength and size are trained as distinct emphases within the same week.

Can I build PHUL in LiftHero?

Yes — LiftHero doesn't ship PHUL as a built-in program, but you can build it as a custom program with the Hero subscription's program builder, save the four sessions as reusable routines, and log every set, rep and RPE so you can track strength and hypertrophy progress over time.

This guide is educational and not medical advice. Consult a qualified coach or medical professional before starting or changing a training program.

By Meitar Lazimi, founder of LiftHero · Last updated July 10, 2026.