About this workout
PHUL stands for Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower, and it is one of the best-designed four-day templates ever written for a lifter who wants to be both strong and big. Two power days built on heavy sets in the 3-5 range, two hypertrophy days built on volume in the 8-15 range, upper and lower split across both. You train strength and size in the same week instead of choosing. This is a 12 week version with the progression spelled out, which the free versions floating around never include.
Who This Program Is For
- You have a solid year or two of training and want strength and size at the same time.
- You can commit four days a week and recover from heavy work in the 3-5 rep range.
- You have full gym access and you know how to grind a heavy triple safely.
Who this is NOT for: beginners. Heavy 3-5 rep work on a body that has not built a base is a fast route to sloppy reps and a tweaked back. Build the base on 5x5 Strength Program for Beginners first. It is also not for anyone who cannot recover four hard days — the power days are genuinely heavy, and stacking them on poor sleep will stall both goals at once.
What You'll Need
- Barbell, rack with safeties, bench
- Dumbbells, cables, lat pulldown
- Pull-up bar
- Leg press or hack squat
- A log — with two rep worlds (power and hypertrophy) to track, guessing does not cut it.
The Program
Four days: Upper Power, Lower Power, Upper Hypertrophy, Lower Hypertrophy. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday is standard. Power days: heavy, long rests, low reps, treat them like strength training. Hypertrophy days: shorter rests, higher reps, chase the pump and the volume.
| Day 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Power | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Barbell Bench Press | 4 | 3-5 | 3 min |
| Bent Over Row | 4 | 3-5 | 3 min |
| Seated Barbell Shoulder Press | 3 | 5-7 | 2-3 min |
| Pull-up | 3 | 5-7 | 2 min |
| Close Grip Bench Press | 3 | 6-8 | 2 min |
| Barbell Curl | 3 | 6-8 | 90 sec |
| Day 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Power | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Barbell Squat | 4 | 3-5 | 3 min |
| Deadlift | 3 | 3-5 | 3 min |
| Leg Press | 3 | 8-10 | 2 min |
| Lying Leg Curl | 3 | 8-10 | 90 sec |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4 | 8-10 | 60 sec |
| Day 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Hypertrophy | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 4 | 8-12 | 90 sec |
| Seated Cable Rows | 4 | 8-12 | 90 sec |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 3 | 8-12 | 90 sec |
| Lat Pulldown | 3 | 10-15 | 60 sec |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3 | 12-15 | 45 sec |
| Incline Dumbbell Curls | 3 | 12-15 | 45 sec |
| Tricep Pushdown | 3 | 12-15 | 45 sec |
| Day 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Hypertrophy | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Barbell Front Squat | 3 | 8-12 | 2 min |
| Romanian Deadlift | 3 | 8-12 | 2 min |
| Walking Lunge | 3 | 10-12 each leg | 90 sec |
| Leg Extension | 3 | 12-15 | 45 sec |
| Lying Leg Curl | 3 | 12-15 | 45 sec |
| Seated Calf Raise | 4 | 12-15 | 45 sec |
How to Progress
Twelve weeks, three blocks of four, and the two rep worlds progress differently.
On the power days (Days 1-2). Add weight, not reps. When you hit the top of the 3-5 range on all sets, add 5-10 lbs next session. Keep the reps low and the weight climbing. This is strength work — treat a missed rep as information, not a failure to grind through.
On the hypertrophy days (Days 3-4). Add reps within the range first. When you top the range on every set, add weight and drop back to the bottom. Chase the total work, not a one-rep max.
Weeks 1-4 — establish both worlds. Leave one rep in the tank everywhere.
Weeks 5-8 — add. Power days get heavier; hypertrophy days add a set to the first exercise (Days 3 and 4 go from 4 sets to 5 on the opener).
Weeks 9-11 — intensify. Drop the extra hypertrophy set. Take the last set of each power lift to a hard single-rep-in-reserve, and the last set of each hypertrophy opener to failure.
Week 12 — deload. Mandatory past 8 weeks. Half the sets, 60% of the loads, all four days kept but easy. Then reset and run block one again with new numbers.
Warm-Up and Recovery Notes
Power days need real warm-ups: ramp the first lift with singles up to your work weight — 40% x 5, 60% x 3, 80% x 2, 90% x 1, then work. Under-warming a heavy triple is how backs get hurt.
Hypertrophy days need much less — one light feeder set of the first exercise and go.
Because PHUL runs 12 weeks and the power days are taxing, the week 12 deload is not optional. If your heavy triples are slowing two sessions running, or your joints are complaining, pull an easy week forward. A lost week beats a lost month.
Nutrition and Supplementation
Strength and size both want food. Eat at maintenance or a slight surplus, 0.8-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. Trying to run the power days in an aggressive cut will stall your strength first and your size right after.
The honest supplement list for a program like this: protein powder to hit intake, creatine monohydrate at 5g a day for the strength work, and a pre-workout for the heavy days when you need to be switched on. Everything past that is a preference, not a requirement.
FAQ
Why heavy triples and high-rep pump work in the same program? Because strength and size are driven by overlapping but different stimuli. The power days build the force; the hypertrophy days build the tissue and feed back into the power days as bigger muscles to express strength with.
Can I swap the power and hypertrophy days around the week? Yes, as long as you keep a rest day between the two heaviest days (Lower Power especially). Do not run Lower Power the day after a heavy squat session.
Deadlift on lower power feels like too much with squats. Then alternate: squat-focus one week, deadlift-focus the next, dropping the other to a lighter back-off. Both patterns still get trained, recovery improves.
Is four days enough for size? Yes. Every muscle is trained twice a week across the power and hypertrophy days, which is where most of the frequency benefit sits.
Can women run PHUL? Yes, unchanged. Strength and size training is not gendered.