The workout is designed for 4 sessions a week. But you can go for a record and do it 6 times, although there is not much sense in that. If we are working on mass gain, it’s important to rest and recover your CNS between workouts. And hypertrophy occurs not during the workout, but afterwards, when you rest. So, we give our all in the gym, and on free days we recover and enjoy life.
Now, to the point
You can perform workouts every other day or tie them to specific days of the week. In the scheme I found (and am sharing with you), it was suggested to train on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. And to rest on the other days, but do what is more convenient for you.
Workout #1 for the upper body: working on the chest, trapezius, and deltoids (shoulders)
- Barbell bench press. Perform 4 sets of 12 repetitions.
- Incline machine press. Again, do 4 sets of 12 reps. Don't rush and control the stretch of the chest.
- Shrugs on a special machine or with dumbbells. Here, again, 4 sets, but you can do 15 to 20 repetitions.
- Chest-supported T-bar row. Again, the familiar 4 sets of 12. An important point. If you do the exercise without support, many stabilizing muscles are engaged. This does not allow you to feel the trapezius. But if you don't have the right machine, do a regular T-bar row, but try to squeeze your shoulder blades together.
- Rope handle pull to chest. Now 4 sets of 15 reps. Stretch the biceps and again the chest.
- Barbell or dumbbell shoulder press standing. This is a targeted exercise for the deltoids. If using a barbell, it’s also called the "military press." Perform 5 sets of 12 repetitions.
- Underhand rope pull. Here, 4 sets of 15.
- Neck. You can do neck curls with a plate, or on a special machine, or with a "helmet." Choose any exercise for the neck muscles that suits you. Set the number of sets and repetitions depending on the exercise chosen.
Workout #2 for the lower body: we work on mass, focusing on leg muscles and lagging muscle groups
- The same situation can happen with the "hack squat." So here’s a visual example of how it’s performed! | Image: fitspine.ru
- Seated leg extension. Do the exercise with a pause at the top position with tension. Hold for 1-2 seconds, then slowly lower. Perform the exercise alternately for each leg! 4 sets of 15 repetitions.
- Leg press. If your gym has different machines, it would be great if this is a "plate" that is positioned in front of you rather than above you. Do it alternately for each leg, 4 sets of 15 reps.
- Hack squats. Here, it’s 4 sets of 15.
- Deadlifts or lunges. Again, do 4 sets of 15 repetitions.
- Calf exercise. You can do it on a special machine, or in the format of standing calf raises with weight in hand. Perform 4 sets of 25 repetitions (for each or both legs at once).
- Abs. It’s simple here. Do crunches for 4 sets of 20.
- At the end, work on the lagging muscle group. Most often, this is the biceps, neck, or rear deltoids.
Workout #3: again upper body, focusing on back width and deltoids
- Classic pull-ups. Perform 5 sets to failure (maximum).
- Barbell or dumbbell bent-over row. You can substitute with a hammer machine. Perform 5 sets of 12 repetitions.
- Vertical cable pull to chest. Here, do 4 sets of 12. And try to change the grips from workout to workout.
- Cable pullover. Perform 4 sets of 12 repetitions. In this exercise, we stretch the back.
- Barbell upright row. Again, 4 sets of 12.
- Lateral raises (also known as swings) with dumbbells. The usual 4 sets of 12 repetitions.
- And finish with any exercise for the rear deltoids. You need to do 3 sets of 12 reps.
Workout #4: finishing off the arms
- Classic squats. Perform 7 sets of 8-10 repetitions. And for the last, 7th set, do 30 repetitions!
- Narrow grip press. Here we have 4 sets of 12 repetitions.
- Bicep barbell curl. It’s straightforward and again 4 sets of 12.
- Dips with a focus on triceps. That is, we don’t lean forward and try to lower ourselves as much as possible and straighten our arms at the top. Do 4 sets of 12 reps.
- Dumbbell bicep curls standing. Perform alternately with each hand with supination (turning the dumbbell closer to the top). Do 4 sets of 15 repetitions.
- French press. Here we have 4 sets of 12.
- Curl-ups. Add an exercise for the abs. 4 sets of 20 repetitions.
- Any exercise for the neck. Set the number of sets and repetitions based on the chosen exercise.
Important nuances!
- This is just one example of a warm-up. There are many (there’s also some on my YouTube channel)! | Image: put-sily.ru
- The program is not suitable for beginners, women, and hard gainers (who have trouble gaining muscle mass)!
- I won’t describe each exercise in detail; you would get tired of reading. Type the name into YouTube and watch the technique. And technique is very important! Take it seriously! Or get a coach to show you the basics.
- Don’t forget to breathe properly!
- Start each workout with a warm-up for the whole body! Don’t forget about warm-up sets and in between exercises, additionally warm up the group of muscles you plan to work on.
- In each workout, try to swap out a couple of exercises for similar ones.
- As you’ve noticed, we work on legs over two days. If you find it tough, feel free to remove from the last block.
- Focusing on arms in one day is only for advanced! If you eliminate leg exercises, then transfer the deltoids from the first workout there.
- You can add or take away exercises depending on how the muscles respond to the workouts. Those groups that grow well, train once a week. And those that do not grow well, train twice a week. The first time do 12-15 repetitions, the second time - 8-10.
I remind you that to fully feel the effect of any methodology (and there are thousands of them), it can only be done after 2-3 (or even 4) months of regular training. So don’t expect results in a week.
And don’t forget, the worst workout is the one you didn’t attend. So, full speed ahead!