You are damn lazy. Even if you don’t know it, your body wants you to take the easy route. It’s why humans are so successful and decided to walk upright, because we’re geared towards saving energy. Fortunately, this routine is tailor made for tricking your muscles into growth.
You’ll avoiding doing the same exercises, reps and sets for each and every workout. This will shock your muscles into growing as long as you train at a high level if intensity and really push each set to positive failure, as if you’re struggling for that last rep.
When someone lifts weights, they create trauma within the muscle fiber by igniting micro tears. Once damage occurs, a cascade of cells become active. These cells bind to muscle cells in order to repair the damaged areas and help to synthesize contraction components. When these increase in cross-areas, you experience muscle growth. Essentially, you must remember the goal of training is to stimulate protein synthesis, but the key to building muscle is cellular repair, not damage.
You have to feel pain; you want it to hurt and, if it doesn’t hurt any more, that means you need to crank it up a notch. Try this routine to embrace the agony that’ll deliver the results you’ve always wanted.
Your muscle up plan starts here
Each body part is done individually except arms, which are done together. Be sure to take one or two minutes of rest between all sets.
Week 1
Day 1: Thighs
Leg press 3 x (pyramid up in the weight)
Leg press 3 x 12-15
Squats 3 x 12-15
Leg extensions 3 x 12-15
Dumbbell lunges 3 x 12-15
Day 2: Hamstrings
Warm up 4 x single leg hamstring curls
Single leg hamstring curls 4 x 12-14
Dumbbell stiff leg deadlift 3 x 12-14
Lying leg curl 2 x 15-20
Day 3: Back
Warm up: 4 x T-bar row
T-bar row 3 x 10-12
Low pulley row 3 x 10-12
Wide grip pull downs 3 x 12-14 reps
Overhead hammer pulldowns 3 x 10-12
Day 4: Chest
Warm up 4 x barbell incline press
Barbell incline press 3 x 10-12
Dumbbell incline press 2 x 12-14
Incline fly 2 x 10-12
Pec deck 2 x 14-18
Day 5: Shoulders
Warm up: 4 x power clean press
Power clean press 2 x 12-14
Dumbbell press 2 x 12-14
Seated side lateral raise 3 x 12-14
Seated real delt machine 3 x 12-14
Day 6: Arms and calves
Warm-up: 4 X straight bar curl
Straight bar curls 3 x 10-12
Standing dumbbell curls 3 x 10-12
Single arm high incline bench curl 2 x 10-12
Warm up 4 x lying EZ bar skull crushers
Lying EZ bar skull crushers 3 x 12-14
Straight bar push downs 3 x 10-12 reps
Weighted dips 3 x 12-16
Warm up: 3 x of standing calf raise (after warm up do these in a 3 exercise circuit)
Standing calf raise 3 x 10-15
Sitting calf machine 3 x 10-15
Donkey calf machine 3 x 10-15
Week 2
Day 1: Thighs
Warm up: 4 x squats
Squats 3 x 14-16
Leg extensions 3 x 14-18
Leg press 3 x 15- 20
Lunges 2 x 12-15
Day 2: Hamstring
Warm up: 4 x lying leg curl
Lying leg curl 4 x 12-14
Add 8-10 reps partials at the end of the movement
Barbell stiff leg deadlift 4 x 12-14
Single leg curls 2 x 12-14
Day 3: Back
Warm-up: 4 X pulldowns
Pulldowns 3 x AMRAP
Pull ups 3 x AMRAP
Bent over row 3 x 12-16
Seated hammer row 3 x 12-16
Overhead hammer pullovers 3 x 12-14
Low pulley row 2 x 12-16
Day 4: Chest
Warm-up: 4 x incline smith machine press
Incline Smith machine press 3 x 14-16
Cable crossovers 3 x 14-16
Incline fly 3 x 12-16
Day 5: Shoulders
Warm up: 4 x side lateral raises x 4
Side lateral raises 3 x 14 – 16
Seated machine press 3 x 14-18
Barbell straight-arm raise 14-16
Bent over rear delt raises 3 x 14-16
Day 6: Arms and calves
Warm-up: 4 X standing dumbbell curl
Standing dumbbell curl 3 x 14-16
EZ bar curls 3 x 14-16
Narrow grip EZ bar curls 3 x 16-18
Warm up 4 x V-bar cable pushdowns
V-bar cable pushdowns 3 x 14-16
Rope push downs kicking 3 x 14-16
Straight bar push downs 3 x 16-18
Standing calf raise 3 x warm-up
After warm-up do theee in a 3 exercise circuit
Standing calf raise 3 x 15-20
Sitting calf machine 3 x 15-20
Donkey calf machine 3 x 15-20
Week 3
Day 1: Thighs
Warm-up: 3 x squats
Squats 2 x 25-30
Leg extensions 2 x 30 (triple drop set)
Leg press 2 x 30- 40
Hack squats 2 x 30-40
Day 2: Hamstrings
Warm-up: 4 x stiff leg deadlift
Dumbbell stiff leg dead lift 3 x 20-25
Lying leg curl 3 x 20-25
Add 10 partials reps at the bottom of the movement
Single leg curl 2 x 15-20 reps
Day 3: Back
Warm-up: 4 X wide grip pulldowns
Wide grip pulldowns 2 x 12-14
Add a 12-rep drop set at the end
Superset
T-bar row 2 x 12-14
Low pulley rows 2 x 12-14
Dumbbell row 2 x 12-14
Straight-arm pulldowns 2 x 14-16
Day 4: Chest
Warm-up: 3 x seated hammer press
Seated hammer press 3 x 14-16
Add a 12-rep drop set at the end of each set
Incline fly 3 x 12-14
Pec deck 3 x 12-14
Add a 12-rep drop set at the end of each set
Day 5: Shoulders
Warm-up: 3 X hammer press
Hammer press 3 x 15-18 reps
Add a 15-rep drop set to the end of each set
Seated side lateral rise 3 x 15-18
Cable straight-arm front rise 2 x 15-18
Rear delt machine 2 x 15-18 on
Add a 15-rep drop set to the end of each set
Day 6: Arms and calves
Warm-up: 4 x standing barbell curl
Standing barbell curl 3 x 15-18 reps
Add a 15-rep drop set to the end of each set
Preacher curl 3 x 15-18
Bicep cable curl 3 x 15-18
Add a 15-rep triple drop set to the end of each set
Warm-up: 4 x V-bar cable pushdowns
V- bar cable pushdowns 3 x 14-16
Rope push downs 3 x 14-16
Straight bar push downs 3 x 16-18
Standing calf raise 3 x warm-up
After warm up do these in a 3 exercise circuit
Standing calf raise 3 x 40-50
Sitting calf machine 3 x 40-50
Donkey calf machine 3 x 40-50
Week 4 – 6
Day 1: Chest/tris/abs
Incline dumbbells 4 x 10, 10, 8, 8
Flat bench 3 x 12, 10, 10
Dips 3 x 10
Superset
Dumbbells 4 x 10, 10, 8, 8
Pullover 4 x 10, 10, 10, 10
Cable crossover 3 x 15, 12, 12
Butterflies 4 x 12, 10, 10
Bench dips with 1 to 2 45lb plates
4 x 10, 10, 10, 10
Cable one arm tricep extension 4 x 12, 12, 10, 10
Seated tricep press 4 x 10, 10, 10, 10
Pushdown with V bar 4 x 12, 10, 10, 10
Skullcrushers 3 x 12, 10, 10
Cable crunch 4 x 25
Ab crunch machine 4 x 25
Hanging leg raise holding a dumbbell between your feet 4 x 15
Seated flat bench weight pull-ins 4 x 25-50
Ab roller or barbell rollouts 4 x 12
Day 2: Back and biceps
Bent over barbell row 4 x 10
Bent over two arm bar row 4 x 10
One arm dumbbell row 4 x 10
Seated cable rows 4 x 10
Deadlifts 4 x 10
Pull-ups with weights 4 x 10
Wide grip or V-bar lat pulldowns 4 x 10-12
Alternate hammer curls 4 x 10
Alternate incline dumbbell curls 4 x 10
Close grip EZ-bar curls 4-6 x 10
Straight bar wide grip curls 4 x 10
Concentrations curls 4 x 10
Lying cable curls 4 x 12-10
Overhead cable curls 4 x 12-10
Day 3: Shoulders/traps/abs
Arnold dumbbell press 5 x 10
Front to side cable or dumbbell raise 4 x 10
Front plate raises 4 x 10
Machine military press 4 x 12-10
Dumbbell shrugs 4 x 15- 20
Smith machine shrugs 4 x 15-20
Barbell shrugs front and behind the back 4 x 15-20
Uprights with straight bar 3 x 10
Cable crunch 4 x 25
Hanging leg raise holding a dumbbell between your feet 4 x 15
Seated flat bench weight pull-ins 4 x 25-50
Decline bench crunches with rope 4 x 25-50
Day 4: Legs
Barbell squats 4 x 10-12
Dumbbell barbell lunges 4 x 10-12
Leg press 4 x 10-12
Leg extensions 4 x 10-12
Lying leg curls 4 x 10-12
Romanian deadlift 4 x 10-12
Seated leg curls 4 x 10-12
Donkey calf raises 4 x 20
Seated calf raises 4 x 20
Standing calf raises 4 x 20
