24 reviews for Fazlifts Upper Lower
This routine is the correct way to program an Upper/Lower for beginners and early intermediates primarily interested in hypertrophy, with a secondary focus on strength. The core principle of hypertrophy is progressive poundages, in standardised form for medium to high reps. That is the basis by which all my routines are written, and that is the key to hypertrophy.
Upper Days - These days will cover the chest, upper back, delts, biceps and triceps. I show you how best to program this to accomplish the core principles we follow for increased muscle mass. At this stage volume should remain low to moderate and effort should be encouraged. Direct volume for the biceps and triceps is lower, as they will receive indirect loading from the heavy chest and back work. Too much can be not only detrimental for growth at this stage, but can also lead to tendinitis in some. Additional work for neck/forearms is not included, as experience has shown me their inclusion is unneccessary in most people, however that can be added per preference.
Lower Days - These days will cover the quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. These days also follow the core principles, and I include a reasonable degree of variety within that framework for balance. Programmed correctly the volume on this day should perfectly mirror that of the upper days.
Progression
At this stage, it is super simple and you should expect to make progress every single time you come to repeat a session, that is assuming two major things:
1. You actually trained hard enough the previous session
2. You ate and rested well
That’s your first point of call, if you ever feel progression has stalled. It’s not a routine change or moving to stage 2, no if you didn’t progress at this stage it’s more than likely an effort or R&R and nutrition issue. So sort that out first or no routine will ever work. Eventually of course you will outgrow this basic stage, but it’s unlikely that will be the first resort. Or even the second, or third. You are going to progress with either weight or reps using a very simple double progression scheme. This means adding reps until you hit the top of the rep range, and then adding weight. For example:
Session 1: 60 x 5, 4
(This means you performed a set of 5 and a set of 4 with 60kg)
Session 2: 60 x 6, 5
Session 3: 60 x 6, 6
(You hit the top of the rep range for both sets and that only took 2 weeks, nice. Go up next time)
Session 4: 65 x 5, 4
(You added 5kg and your reps dropped, so now build this back up)
Session 5: 65 x 6, 5
And so on…
Very simple.
For more information
To get indepth more about the routine, get Fazlifts' The Barbarian ebook here.
To inquire online personalized coaching from Fazlifts, apply here.
Nick H.
Man, 3912 weeks complete
4 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
I ran this program for most of 2025 and made great gains in both numbers on the bar and visible gains. I bought the ebook and make modifications when I need to. Faz's advice from his YouTube has been invaluable in making progress.
Adolf H.
Man, 253 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Great program. A little light on chest work so i added flyes otherwise pretty good stuff
Jason K.
Man5 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
This workout is nice and simple. Sometimes the higher reps cause a lot of mental fatigue though. Especially with going heavy at the start with the by 6 movements
Justin C.
Man, 373 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Great free app with plenty of options to workouts and adding to workouts as well.
Jed P.
Man, 425 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Overall good program.
Brad L.
Man, 497 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Great program for beginners or people who haven’t lifter for a while. Great strength and muscle gains without the need to adjust the program. Highly recommend.
Max F.
Man, 335 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Very good basic outline to follow. I liked the simplicity. I did need to make modifications based on what I wanted to work on. For example, I felt like there wasn’t enough chest work, so I added flys. There wasn’t any variety with arms, so I switched it up from week to week. Overall, it’s a solid foundation to build your own goals into.
Cody G.
Man, 323 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
On my second run-through of this program so far, really solid upper/lower routine. Tried a lot of different higher volume routines over the years. Most of them had my joints ache and left me with an injury. So I figured I would get back to basics and run with the early intermediate version of this program. This has all the basic lifts you need without any junk volume, which has really helped me to just focus on pushing intensity and getting plus ones when they're there. Weight on the scale and bar has been moving slow and steady, can't ask for much more than that. Once I'm done this run-through, I plan to either do the program again or move on to Faz's "Jacked Intellectual" program.
Connor Vickery
Man, 327 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Faz has absolutely skyrocketed my results. I was training 6 days a week and felt completely exhausted. I wasn’t making any progression and I was beginning to develop joint problems from spending an hour and a half in the gym every day. Started watching Faz on YouTube and decided to give his advice a go. I’ve taken my days down to four days a week, reduced my volume and upped my progression. Genuinely changed my life. I’m 31 now and I’m upset that I didn’t discover him earlier frankly. I’m going to stay on Faz’s upper lower split for at least a year and couldn’t recommend him enough to others!
JASON S.
Man, 483 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Love faz lifts and his programs. His YouTube channel is a wealth of information, especially for someone in their forties.