By now you've made significant progress in your bodybuilding career. For the past three to six months you've learnt how to perform the core lifting exercises in a technically correct manner. You've also conditioned the body and developed sufficient core strength to prepare yourself for a whole new level of intensity. Hopefully you've also built some rock solid muscle! But that's only the beginning.
In recent weeks your workouts have probably lost some of their effect so, even though you're lifting bigger weights, your muscles now need even greater stimulation to generate maximal growth. Don't expect miracles though - from this point onwards, every little bit of improvement will take even greater and more intensive work than before.
Because you'll be working your muscles more intensively, they'll also need more recovery time to adapt and grow and that's why you'll be reducing your workouts to three a week. Each primary muscle group trained will now need one full week to recover. After being used to whole body sessions and more workouts per week it may seem as if you're not doing enough but the point is, you'll be working your muscles very, very intensively and making better use of your time.
As you gain more experience you'll be able to tweak or re-design your basic muscle building program to suit your own individual needs, but the program described here should provide a useful starting point. What I'm proposing is basically a 3-split of the body on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
MONDAY (Chest, Triceps, Shoulders)
1. Chest Exercises
Incline dumbbell press - this is a compound exercise that targets the chest but also works the triceps and shoulders to a lesser extent.
Pec-deck flye - this is an isolation exercise that works the pectorals.
2. Triceps
Dips - this compound exercise targets the triceps but also works the chest and shoulders.
3. Shoulders
Front military press - this compound exercise targets shoulders but also works the triceps.
Dumbbell lateral raises - this isolation exercise works the shoulders only.
Bentover dumbbell laterals - this isolation exercise works the rear delts.
WEDNESDAY (Back, Biceps, Forearms)
1. Back
Front lat pulls - compound exercise that targets lats but also works the biceps and mid-back.
Deadlifts - compound exercise that targets the back and quads but also works hamstrings, calves and glutes.
Dumbbell rows - compound exercise that targets mid-back but also works biceps and lats.
Dumbbell shrugs - isolation exercise that works traps.
2. Biceps
Dumbbell biceps curl - isolation exercise that works the biceps.
Dumbbell hammer curls - isolation exercise that works the biceps.
3. Forearms
Barbell wrist curl - isolation exercise that works the forearms.
FRIDAY (Lower Body)
1. Legs
Squats or leg press - compound exercise that targets the quads but also works the hamstrings, calves and glutes.
Leg extension - isolation exercise that works the quads.
Leg curls - isolation exercise that works the hamstrings.
Standing calf raise - isolation exercise that works the gastrocnemius calf muscle.
Seated calf raise - isolation exercise that works the soleus calf muscle.
You could start this program by aiming for two sets of 8-10 reps per exercise but as your strength and size increase you should really introduce techniques that boost the intensity even further. This can be achieved in a number of ways including the use of pre-exhaustion, super sets, partial reps, isometric contractions and forced reps. These techniques are covered in detail elsewhere in this series of articles.
Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Advice to learn more about the issues covered in this article.
What helps make comedy also builds muscle?This is key to... Read More
For those who are not familiar with my name, I... Read More
Are you a Baby Boomer? If you were born between... Read More
Before I talk about one of the most productive and... Read More
As you probably remember the last time you looked at... Read More
Building muscle mass with a power cycle. Desperate for pounds... Read More
Other articles in this series looked at a number of... Read More
Every set was taken to positive failure, with three or... Read More
You know you're on autopilot during your workouts when, halfway... Read More
The main shoulder muscles that concern bodybuilders are the deltoids... Read More
There are many causes of back pain. Injury, illness, herniated... Read More
Dumbbells are integral to a long term fitness and personal... Read More
L-glutamine remains the supplement of choice for many bodybuilders. It... Read More
Another key secret is your exercise form. Perfect form is... Read More
A consensus has arisen within the bodybuilding world over the... Read More
When you think about gaining muscle, stretching is probably not... Read More
Push ups are the most convenient way to build up... Read More
Creating a larger more powerful chest is difficult but if... Read More
The Bent-Over Lateral Raise is one of the most common... Read More
Other articles in this series looked at a number of... Read More
You can only build muscle tissue if you can generate... Read More
Becoming familiar with the muscles that make up your body... Read More
The vast majority of myths about weight gain are mostly... Read More
It's an unfortunate reality that throughout the years there has... Read More
Strength training is exercise that uses resistance to strengthen and... Read More
Other articles in this series looked at a number of... Read More
This article will discuss how to gain weight naturally muscle... Read More
In an earlier article we looked at how repetitions contribute... Read More
Every bodybuilder and weight trainer will have his or her... Read More
If you design your nutrition plans to maximize muscle growth,... Read More
A lot can happen in 30 days.The dream of everyone... Read More
This has got to be the biggest controversy in modern... Read More
Other articles in this series looked at a number of... Read More
As you probably remember the last time you looked at... Read More
Resistance is NOT futile! When it comes to changing your... Read More
Dumbbells are integral to a long term fitness and personal... Read More
(*) Proper bodybuilding exercises technique.First steps in muscle building training... Read More
It's a very simple training system. Consisting of using your... Read More
Now that we have a trainer, our next concern is... Read More
Other articles in this series looked at a number of... Read More
By now you've made significant progress in your bodybuilding career.... Read More
Are you a Baby Boomer? If you were born between... Read More
Other articles in this series looked at a number of... Read More
There are many causes of back pain. Injury, illness, herniated... Read More
Efforts to expand the limits of human strength and endurance... Read More
Two of the nine pivot points - those stunning body... Read More
One of the best pieces of exercise advice is to... Read More
My Legs Are Already Big Enough. I Keep Hearing Working... Read More
The chest area is one of the easist muscle groups... Read More
Becoming familiar with the muscles that make up your body... Read More
It's week three, and you've already learned the importance of... Read More
The number of myths about natural bodybuilding are too numerous... Read More
Repetitions are the basic building blocks of any strength or... Read More
For many thin guys around the world, gaining weight without... Read More
Let's face it, most guys who start lifting want two... Read More
They make up the biggest trio in bodybuilding.No, not Arnold,... Read More
Uncovered After 80 Years of Dormancy, Pilates is Far From... Read More
Before delving into Muscle And Fitness ? The Second Key,... Read More
Most people make an excuse that they don't have time... Read More
There are a couple of reasons why most people fail... Read More
It's an unfortunate reality that throughout the years there has... Read More
Hard gainers are individuals who train equally hard as other... Read More
The Pulldown is an excellent exercise for working the Latissimus... Read More
Every set was taken to positive failure, with three or... Read More
At first glance, this product manual's title (Burn the Fat,... Read More
Personal Trainer to the Stars!!Celebrity Personal Trainers!!Who are these amazing... Read More
Muscle Building & Bodybuilding |