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Workout Summary
Build Muscle
Split
Intermediate
8 weeks
5
65 minutes
Barbell, Bodyweight, Dumbbells
Male & Female
Download WorkoutWorkout Description
Looking to add muscle mass? Maybe this is the right workout for you. Using only dumbbells and barbells, this workout hits each muscle group hard once a week over a 5 day schedule. This workout is intense, so you will get the best results if you supplement with creatine and protein. Remember to get plenty of rest and minimize cardio while you're trying to bulk up. Good luck.
| Monday - Shoulders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Shoulders | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Military Press | 4 | 10-14 |
| Seated Dumbbell Press | 4 | 8 |
| Dumbbell Front Raise | 3 | 8-10 |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 5 | 12, 10, 8, 8, 6 |
| Dumbbell Reverse Fly | 3 | 10 |
| Notes | ||
| None. | ||
| Tuesday - Back | ||
|---|---|---|
| Back | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Wide Grip Pull Up | 7 | 12 down to 6 |
| Bent Over Barbell Row | 4 | 12 |
| One Arm Dumbbell Row | 3 | 10 |
| Deadlifts | 4 | 10 |
| Dumbbell Shrugs | 4 | 8-12 |
| Notes | ||
| None. | ||
| Wednesday - Chest, Triceps and Abs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chest | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Barbell Bench Press | 4 | 8 |
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 4 | 10 |
| Decline Dumbbell Bench Press | 3 | 8 |
| Dumbbell Flys | 4 | 12 |
| Chest Dip | 4 | MAX (weighted) |
| Triceps | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Close Grip Bench Press | 5 | 5 |
| Tricep Kickback | 3 | 12-15 light |
| One Arm Dumbbell Extension | 3 | 8-10 |
| Lying Tricep Extension | 4 | 12 strict |
| Abs | ||
| Decline Sit Ups | 4 | MAX |
| Notes | ||
| Â | ||
| Thursday - Biceps | ||
|---|---|---|
| Biceps | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Standing Barbell Curl | 4 | 8 |
| Preacher Curl | 4 | 8 |
| Standing Hammer Curl | 4 | 10 |
| Concentration Curl | 3 | 12 |
| Reverse Barbell Curl | 3 | 7-8 |
| Notes | ||
| None. | ||
| Friday - Legs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Legs | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Dumbbell Lunge | 4 | 5 each leg |
| Squat | 6 | 10 |
| Stiff Leg Deadlifts | 4 | 10 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 8 | 15-20 |
| Notes | ||
| None. | ||
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY - REST DAYS
502 Comments+ Post Comment
How come this workout plan says "Equipment Required: Barbell, Bodyweight, Dumbbells" and then you list excercises like Decline Sit Ups, Wide Grip Pull Up or Preacher Curl that require more than just a barbell, bodyweight, dumbells and the assumed regular bench that comes with barbell...
Hi Matt,
That is a fair question. Currently, the way we have things set up, equipment refers to the weight or load that will be used during the exercise. But I totally understand how that can be confusing. I'll see what we can do to remedy that moving forward.
Thank you for your feedback!
Josh - thank you for your swift response. Are there any particular excercises that possibly I could replace the above mentioned with? I have dumbells, barbell and flat/incline press bench. Im looking for wide grip pull up and any dips replacements specifically, preacher I will substitute for biceps curls and decline situp sort of would work on the bench I have after little modification. Hopefully to hear from you soon,
Matt
Hi Matt,
Sure! There are a number of solid substitutions you could make for those exercises. For the pull up (doorway pull up bars are fairly cheap as well and well worth the investment), I'd perform another row variation, different from the 2 listed. Maybe flip your grip or take a wider grip on the bar.
For Dips, I'd suggest a push up variation.
If you ever need to find a suitable exercises substitution based on equipment you do have, you can always check out exercise database. From there you can find exercises that target the same muscle group, that you are also capable of performing with the equipment you have available to use.
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises
Hope this helps!
Will this program works on skinny guy trying to gain some muscle??
Hi Ricky,
Yes, so long as you're eating accordingly to your goals and getting plenty of sleep each night.
Hope this helps!
Great lookign routine think i'm gonna incorperate CT Fletcher Arm warfare into it as an arm day but follow the rest of your plan but saturday and sunday rest...my main question is on the reverse pyramid sets such as lateral raises...do you increse the weight each set to try and do less reps or do you pick a weight where these are the reps your capable of...so normally i would pick a weight that i failed at the las 2 reps of the last set...but if i pick a heavier weight so once i do 12 reps of the first set i am only able to do 10...then 8 etc
Hi Scoops,
As the reps decrease, you want to increase the weight you use.
Hope this helps!
Do u think its a good idea to swap friday legs with Monday shoulders? I read the best day for legs is monday.
Hi Arthur,
Sure you can do that. However, the best day to train legs isn't always Monday. The best day to train legs is the day of the week you feel you can give your legs the focused training they deserve (which can also be on a Friday).
Hope this helps!
Thank you for this program, but Why biceps and triceps not on the same day?
Hi Rebe,
You're more than welcome to rearrange the split to have work your biceps and triceps on the same day if that is what you prefer.
Hope this helps!
I am not trying to build muslce i am looking to burn more fat will this routne help with that or should i use a diffrent routine to get better results for fat loss?
Hi Jimmy,
Building muscle does help you burn fat. This routine can help you in both areas. However, ultimately fat loss comes down to taking in less calories that you burn during the day.
If you'd like to look at more fat loss focused workouts, they can be found here: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/fat-loss
Hope this helps!
How many calories daily
And Rest time between sets.
I'm assuming less time for Biceps, triceps, etc... But larger muscles 2-3 minutes?
Thanks in advance
Hi Foster,
Going to try to answer all of your questions in one post:
1. You caloric intake will depend on your goals. A good starting point is finding out your BMR:
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/tools/bmr-calculator
2. Try to keep your rest periods to 60-90 seconds in this program.
3. Protein needs vary person to person. A good goal to shoot for is .8-1.2 g per pounds of bodyweight per day.
4. Perform the program for 6-8 weeks before taking a week to deload. During that week decide whether you want to continue performing this workout for another 6-8 weeks or move on to something new.
Hope this helps!
Most definitely going to start this today. Appreciate the insight.
Doing various workout routines, but I like to start this one.
Questions are.
1. How many calories daily
2. 1.2- 1.5 grams of protein a day ?
3. How long should I stick to the program
Thanks in advances
Hey thanks fot this post. Is it good to change the order of the exercise? For example; Bicep day- change the order of the exercises in bicep day so your body doesnt get used to the exercise and not hit a plateau faster.
Hi Ivan,
You're more than welcome to change the workout to better fit your needs, However it isn't necessary to do so to avoid plateaus. Personally, I don't like to change much about my training program (aside from the weight used) until I hit a plateau.
Hope this helps!
Will this build muscle in the arm fast
Hi Joe,
Fast is relative. Building muscle is a very slow process. Depending on your nutrition, training experience level, and sleep habits, you could expect to see a noticeable difference in 4-12 weeks of working out.
Thanks for the info it helped
cheers
I've just started this routine, should I go each workout 4 times in a row or should I do each workout once but 4 times if that makes sense ?
Hi Harry,
This program is meant to have the workouts performed on the days listed. So you will program each workout once during the week.
Hope this helps!
hi guys great workout!! one question, I really like starting my workout week with chest. can I flip flop shoulders and chest days?
Does your gym not have "international bench press day?"
Is it okay to switch up the order?
With the exercises that had increasing or decreasing reps, should I add more or less weight or leave it?
The only problem I have with this workout is that chest and triceps day takes over an hour. So at the end, I can barely perform Skull Crushers!
I rest 70 seconds between each set and my results are great.
I'm in need of dropping weight (5ft5 and 15 stone)
Can this routine be used to help cut fat, whilst maintaining/building some lean muscle mass?
I've recently changed my diet to help with losing weight (increased veg and protein and now have complex carbs rather than refined. I use a certain well known food tracker to ensure i stay within my calorific deficit to lose 0.5-1lb a week.
I am seeing phenomenal results from this routine. Great increases in muscle size and strength. Each day I also include 4 sets of warmup and burnout, lower weights and high reps.
quick question. what do you mean by the "max" in the abs workout on wed? 4
sets of max?
Aamir,
I'm not the author but typically a max denotes to muscular failure, meaning as many as possible for 4 sets.
okay thanks alot
Work your abs till you reach muscle failure. Then rest, and go again
Rest time between sets, exercises?
Since it is muscle building hypertrophy you would want to rest 30seconds to 60seconds max. On the ones asking for only 8 reps you want a little heavy weight. 10 to 12 reps you want lighter weight but less rest time and more time under tension.
Is this suitable for a beginner that's cutting?
I stopped working out for a while after I noticed a huge drop in my weight.
Back to workout I found this great article. Started today as Friday . My damn legs are so painful lol
Yup...that's how it should feel
How many weeks can I do this before my body gets used to it and it doesn't make any difference? A friend told me that your body can grow accustomed to a certain workout and it will stop working
Julian,
If you're using the concept of progressive overload then you won't get accustomed to your workouts. "Muscle confusion" is a broscience myth.
Awesome! Thanks for the reply!
Also, I hate to ask this, but what is "progressive overload?"
Julian,
Progressive overload refers to the principle used in weight lifting of accomplishing more work in a certain period of time. Now this can be accomplished in a variety of different ways but two of the most common are adding more weight to the bar or completing more sets and/or reps.
How many sets and reps should i follow in this
program
How many sets and reps should i follow in this
program
I'm taking about 1hr or less for most days with this, except Wednesday which takes 2 hrs! Is there a recommended way to split Wednesday up over a few days? Might have to do it in a morning / evening session otherwise.
Scott,
Just cut down on the lift to make it look like this:
BB Bench
Incline OR Decline Bench (Your Choice)
Close Grip Bench
Dips
Lying Tricep Extension
Decline Situp
For the wide grip pull up reps, i don't really understand it, i would start counting from 12 to 6 for 7 sets? sorry