Splitting upper/lower body goals

[beefcake99]

I've seen a few posts on this topic over the years but they've never quite answer my question. What motivates me to train my upper body is seeing myself get more yoked; whereas what motivates me to train my lower body, i.e., squat and deadlift, is putting up bigger numbers.

Am I able to focus on hypertrophy for my upper body (arms + chest + upper back) and strength for my lower body? Is it possible to pursue upper body yokedness and lower body strengthness at the same time? For example, running a block or two with higher rep ranges for upper body exercises (i.e., between 6s and 10s) and lower rep ranges for lower body exercises (between singles and 4s).

If yes, which programs would best suit my goals? If no, why not?

Small print and background: This is assuming I go beyond the minimum recommendations for resistance training and cardio as you've outlined. I've been training using BBM-style programming for 2+ years now, very happy with the results.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

I've done this with clients and it can work when programmed appropriately. That said, I don't have any templates that specifically use this strategy. Finally, a good s/c program should be producing hypertrophy anyway, right?

[beefcake99]

Good to know! And when you have them on this type of split programming, what do you cycle them through? My understanding is you generally want to cycle through different rep ranges every 4-6 weeks, right? So if your clients run a program for 4-6 weeks like the one I outlined above, where do they go next?

And regarding your rhetorical question - yup, every good program has a mix of strength and hypertrophy outcomes, but from what I understand, some programs bias strength, while others bias hypertrophy, right?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Good to know! And when you have them on this type of split programming, what do you cycle them through? My understanding is you generally want to cycle through different rep ranges every 4-6 weeks, right? So if your clients run a program for 4-6 weeks like the one I outlined above, where do they go next?

Not always. Sometimes we literally just do the same thing or switch exercises based on feedback. Otherwise, cycling rep schemes can be useful too.

And regarding your rhetorical question - yup, every good program has a mix of strength and hypertrophy outcomes, but from what I understand, some programs bias strength, while others bias hypertrophy, right?

They can, certainly.

What I'm getting at is, I probably wouldn't split the programming up as you're intending to do unless I needed to do it to address an injury or equipment limitation.