I found this phrase below on the web:
As far as gels are concerned, I am not a big fan. If you are not a woman that is going to keep up the maintenance don't do it. If you are willing to go and maintain the up keep, then I say go ahead, because gel isn't the healthiest overlay for your nails. They will make them dry and weak.
Do both "keep up" and "up keep" have exactly the same meaning?
"Keep up" is a phrasal verb. It has various meanings.
"Upkeep" (normally written as one word) is a noun. It normally has only one meaning, which is related to one of the meanings of "keep up": the cost or effort of maintaining something.
I find "maintain the upkeep" unidiomatic, but otherwise, yes, "upkeep" here is the noun matching the particular meaning of "keep up". But they do not have exactly the same meaning, because one is a noun and the other a verb.
