4-Day Upper/Lower Program — Fat Loss with Muscle Retention
Schedule: Mon (Upper A) · Tue (Lower A) · Thu (Upper B) · Fri (Lower B)
Off days (Wed/Sat/Sun): light cardio — cycling, elliptical, or walking (30–60 min, easy pace)
Program Principles
Compounds first, heavy-ish, low-moderate reps. In a caloric deficit, heavy compound work is the main signal telling your body to keep muscle. Never turn these into high-rep “burnout” sets.
Progression: double progression. Each exercise has a rep range (e.g. 3×6–8). Start at the bottom of the range, add reps week to week, and when you hit the top of the range on all sets with good form, add weight (+2.5 kg upper body, +5 kg lower body) and drop back to the bottom of the range.
Effort: main compounds at RPE 7–8 (1–3 reps left in the tank). Accessories at RPE 8–9.
Rest: 2–3 min on main compounds, 60–90 s on accessories.
Warm-up: 5 min easy cardio, then ramp-up sets on the first lift (empty bar × 10 → 50% × 5 → 70% × 3 → 85% × 1 → work sets). Later lifts need only 1–2 lighter sets.
Deload: every 5–6 weeks, or when performance stalls across multiple sessions, take one week at ~60% of your normal weights and volume. In a deficit you’ll need these more, not less.
Monday — Upper A (strength emphasis)
Exercise
Sets × Reps
Notes
Barbell bench press
4 × 5–6
Main press of the week; 2–3 min rest
Barbell row
4 × 6–8
Chest slightly above parallel, no body English
Standing overhead press
3 × 6–8
Squeeze glutes, don’t lean back
Lat pulldown
3 × 8–10
Pull-up substitute for now (see progression note)
Incline dumbbell press
3 × 8–10
~30° incline
Alternating dumbbell curl
3 × 10–12
Cable pushdown
3 × 10–12
Tuesday — Lower A (squat emphasis)
Exercise
Sets × Reps
Notes
Back squat
4 × 5–6
Main lift; 3 min rest
Romanian deadlift
3 × 8–10
Hinge, soft knees, bar close to legs
Bulgarian split squat
3 × 8–10 /leg
Dumbbells at sides
Lying leg curl
3 × 10–12
Machine
Standing calf raise
4 × 10–12
Full stretch at the bottom, 1s pause
Cable crunch
3 × 12–15
Kneeling; flex the spine, don’t just pull with arms
Thursday — Upper B (hypertrophy emphasis)
Exercise
Sets × Reps
Notes
Standing overhead press
4 × 6–8
Heavier pressing focus today
Pull-ups (assisted or banded)
3 × 6–8
See pull-up progression note
Dumbbell bench press
3 × 8–10
Flat bench
Seated cable row
3 × 10–12
Neutral grip, squeeze shoulder blades
Dumbbell lateral raise
3 × 12–15
Light, controlled
Overhead cable/dumbbell triceps extension
3 × 10–12
Seated dumbbell curl
3 × 10–12
Friday — Lower B (hinge emphasis)
Exercise
Sets × Reps
Notes
Deadlift (conventional)
3 × 4–6
Main lift; full reset each rep; 3 min rest
Goblet squat
3 × 8–10
Walking dumbbell lunges
3 × 10 /leg
Lying leg curl
3 × 10–12
Standing calf raise
4 × 12–15
Slightly higher reps than Tuesday
Machine crunch
3 × 12–15
Pull-Up Progression
At 3–4 max reps, pull-ups aren’t yet useful as a volume exercise, so the program uses lat pulldowns (Mon) and assisted pull-ups (Thu) to build that capacity:
Thursday: assisted pull-up machine or a resistance band, 3 × 6–8. Reduce assistance over time.
Once you can do 3 × 6 unassisted, switch to regular pull-ups and keep progressing (eventually add weight).
Keep lat pulldowns on Monday regardless — the extra vertical pulling volume helps.
If your gym has no assistance machine or bands: do 4–5 sets of 2–3 strict pull-ups with 2 min rest, then finish with pulldowns.
Cardio & Recovery Notes
Keep off-day cardio genuinely light (conversational pace, zone 2). Its job is extra energy expenditure and recovery, not more training stress. If Tuesday’s legs are wrecked, walking beats cycling on Wednesday.
A weight-loss rate of roughly 0.5–1% of body weight per week is the range where muscle retention is realistic. Faster than that and strength drops fast.
Protein: ~1.8–2.2 g per kg of body weight daily — in a deficit this is the single biggest dietary factor for keeping muscle.
Expect main lifts to progress slower than they would at maintenance calories. Holding your weights steady across weeks while your body weight drops is a win during a cut.
Sleep 7+ hours. In a deficit, poor sleep measurably shifts weight loss away from fat and toward muscle.