How you train is important, from your first curls to your professional card.
You can easily open any muscle magazine and find a bodybuilding program that has been developed by someone with an incredible physique. It is sure to take you to the next level.
Although it can be tempting to follow the example of your favorite pro bodybuilder or model, this is dangerous. It is risky and ineffective to try to follow the lead of someone who has been training for a decade.
Credit: All best fitness is HERE/ShutterstockIt is better to see how people with remarkable physiques trained before they are where you are today. If you want to have 18-inch biceps, bodybuilding is a highly individual sport.
We have the best plans to help you develop your physique, no matter how old you are.
It is important to note that there is no one-size fits all approach to bodybuilding. These programs can be used as a guideline for your programming. It is best to find a coach or trainer if you are serious about competing.
The Best Bodybuilding Program For Beginners
You may be a trainee just months or a year into your training. You experience a significant increase in strength and mood, as well as a sharpening of your mental faculties due to regular exercise.
With the right program, you can achieve all of these and more. Here is a guideline for beginners in bodybuilding. It also includes an explanation of the structure and guiding principles.
The Program
For beginners, it is possible to get a lot from a small amount of effort. While an experienced lifter may need to use more volume or more advanced techniques for their gains, beginners can keep going and continue making steady gains.
Credit: Twinsterphoto / ShutterstockA four-day split that includes two exercises for each upper and lower body allows beginners to be effective without having to do a lot of training or go through a complex day. This allows you to pay attention to compound movements, which will help build a solid foundation that you can rely on for the future.
Days 1 & 3: Upper Body
1. Upper Pull Compound of Your Choice: 3×6 – 8
2. Upper Push Compound: 3×6 – 8
3. Bicep Isolation of Choice: 2×8 – 10
4. Tricep Isolation of Choice: 2×8 – 10
5. Choose from 2 x 10 or 12 shoulder isolation options
Days 2 and 4: Lower Body + Core
You can add an optional fifth day to do more cardio or ab work, but it’s unlikely that you will need it. While you are still building your personal relationship with training, it is better to be lean and build up than to take on too much.
Selecting the Right Product
You should choose movements that are easy and comfortable for you and your equipment. But, keep them changing. Research shows that exercise rotation is better for strength and hypertrophy in beginners if the intensity is high. (1)
How to Move Forward
You can take advantage of your strength potential by increasing your weight on a weekly basis, if it is safe and possible. Although there is no need to push yourself too hard, science has shown a strong correlation between muscle strength and size (2). Therefore, lifting heavier weights over time will lead to bigger muscles.
After years of training, your shirt fits more comfortably across your chest. You may even have to ditch your skinny jeans. The gains you make may not be as easy as they were once.
Alan Aragon, a researcher who has more than two decades of clinical experience, published data that attempted to model muscle growth potential for trainees in optimal conditions. His research suggested that a lifter’s rate of muscle growth could be reduced by as much as 25% after one year of training. (3)
If you are still determined to improve your physique, it is not as difficult as it seems. Although intermediate trainees require a more sophisticated approach than rank beginners, with the right nutrition and routine you can add mass quickly and consistently to your body.
The Program
Intermediate bodybuilding programming should be adapted to your changing priorities. Your workouts should address the problem of triceps popping off as you would like them to.
Credit: Aleksey Mogosmyslov/ShutterstockThe basic rules of program design remain. You should train major muscle groups at least once per week. Also, you should spend a lot of time doing compound movements and resting properly. You can pay more attention to stubborn areas by reorganizing your training.
Days 1 and 3: Chest + back
1. Flat Press of Choice: 3×6 – 8
2. Incline Press of Choice: 3×8 – 10
3. Flye/Crossover: 2 x 10-12
4. Vertical Pull of Choice: 3×6 – 8
5. Horizontal Pull of choice: 3×8 – 10
6. Upper Back Pull of Choice: 2×12 – 15
Days 2 and 4: Legs + Shoulders
1. Bilateral Squat: 3 x 6
2. Bilateral Hinge: 3 x . Single Leg Squat/Hinge: 2×8
4. Machine Leg Extension and Curl: 2×12, with a drop at the end
5. Dumbbell and Barbell Overhead Press: 3×6
6. Optional Lateral Raise Variation: 3 x Rear Delt Movement of Choice – 2 x 15.
8. Calf Raise of Choice: 2-3×5: Arms + Abs
1. 3x Free Weight Curl Cable or machine Curl of Choice: 2x Forearm isolation of choice: 2x Extension of Triceps: 3x Cable Extension of Choice: Two x Weighted Trunk Flexion: 3 x 10
7. Hip/Leg Flexion: 3 x . Plank: 2 sets per time
Selecting the Right Product
Intermediate bodybuilding is about covering all bases. You must still perform the main movement patterns like the press, hinge, and squat. However, you should also include tactical movements that stimulate target muscles as much as possible.
Training with different tools will keep you fresh and slow down acclimation. The barbell could be used for your first week’s incline press, while the dumbbell rack can be used for the second. You can reinforce your technique and challenge your muscles by performing similar movements with different implements.
The same principle applies to abdominal work. The rectus abdominalis has a dual effect on the pelvis and ribcage. You shouldn’t do double crunches and ignore hip movement. For example, you can train the tissue through both its primary functions by doing a weighted cable crunch and a hanging leg lift.
How to Move Forward
It can be easy to believe that just looking at the numbers will make you grow in your first year of training. You might find that you need to take a more measured approach after a while. Intermediates can benefit from trying new things, but beginners should be patient. You should choose movements that are most comfortable for you and stay with them for a while.
Volume is the primary driver of hypertrophy. However, research suggests that intensity may be more important than volume. (4)(5) This is why your weekly chest workout is split into two sessions so that you can push each set hard. You can add sets or reps gradually, but only if your overall workout quality doesn’t suffer.
There is science that supports the use of high-intensity training methods. Drop sets can be surgically implemented to increase workout intensity without adding an additional half hour to an already long day at the gym. (6)
The Best Bodybuilding Program for Advanced Lifters
Others define “advanced” by how many years they have spent at the gym. Some people believe that the big number is what separates the lions and the lambs. You can determine if you are truly an advanced lifter by looking at your progress.
Credit: Lebedev Roman OlegovichBeginners can make quick and easy gains. Intermediate trainees can still make great progress after a while, but may need to be a bit more innovative in their training. Your muscle gains will slow down if you have been working out regularly and eat well.
You need to be consistent in your training and your nutrition in order to push the boundaries of your body.
The Program
You should expect to work out for many hours in the gym to continue muscle gains into your second or third decade of training. You should pay more attention to specific muscle groups and use high-intensity training techniques as it becomes difficult to adequately tax your body to induce hypertrophy.
Day 1: Chest and Back
1. Cable Flye: 2×20 to pre-exhaust your chest
2. Dumbbell Bench Press: 4×6-12, as a reverse pyramid
3. Incline Bench Press: 3×8, with a drop set at end
4. Dumbbell Pullover 2 x 20
5. Close-grip Cable Row 4 x 8-12 as a Reverse Pyramid
6. Wide-grip Landmine Row: 3 x . Dumbbell Shrug 3 x 20
Day 2: Shoulders + Arms
1. Dumbbell Overhead Press: 3×15 – 8 as a pyramid
2. Plate Front Raise + Dumbbell Lateral Raaise: 4 x15/15 as a superset
3. Face Pull: 60 reps in total as a group set
4. Cheat Curl 3×6
5. Incline Dumbbell Curl 3×8-15, as a Reverse Pyramid
6. Curl for Reverse-grip Preacher: 2 x Dumbbell Skull Crusher – 3-4 x 8.
8. Rope Overhead Extension: 3×8-10, with a drop at the end
9. Cable Triceps Kickback: 2×12, with a drop at the end
Day 3: Legs + Abs
1. To pre-exhaust your hamstrings, lie down and curl your legs.
2. Barbell Hip Thrust: 4×6-12, in a reverse pyramid
3. Hack Squat: 3-4×8-12, as a reverse pyramid
4. Walking Lunge: 2-3 x 8-10 steps per leg
5. Extension of Machine Legs: 4 x 15 with a drop at the end
6. Smith Machine Calf Raise 2 x 20
7. Cable Crunch: 3 x 15
Day 4: Chest and Back
1. Dumbbell Flye: 2×12-15 to pre-exhaust your chest
2. Decline Bench Press: 3-4 x 8
3. Incline Hex Press: 3×12-15, with a drop at the end
4. Cable Flye: 2x Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row 4 x 8
6. Wide-grip Pulldown Lat: 4 x 8-15 as a reverse pyramid
7. Straight-arm Pulldown 3 x 15.
8. Barbell Wide-grip Row: 2 x 15
Day 5: Arms and Shoulders
1. Barbell Overhead Press 3 x 15-8 as a pyramid
2. Dumbbell Arnold Press 3 x 8-15 as a reverse pyramid
3. Dumbbell Lateral Raise – 50 reps in total as a set
4. Rear Delt Raise: 2 x . Cable Pressdown + Standing Dumbbell Curl 4 x 8, as part of a superset
6. Preacher Curl and Dumbbell Overhead Extension: 4×12, as a superset
7. EZ-Bar Skull crusher + Reverse Curl: 2-3×12-15, as a superset
Day 6: Legs + Abs
1. Cable Kickback: 3×15 to pre-exhaust glutes, quads
2. Leg Press: 4×8, with a drop at the end
3. Deficit Stiff-Legged Deadlift – 4 x 8.
4. Dumbbell Deadlift + Step Up: 3 x 10 as a Superset
5. Machine Leg Curl: 4×15, with a drop at the end
6. Barbell Calf Raise: 2 x 20
7. Ab Rollout + Weighted plank: 3×8/for time, or as a superset
Not all the intensity techniques are required for this program should be used at once. Although this template is a complete routine, it is a good idea to start a new training program, even at a high-level. You can also add cluster work and drop sets over time.
Selecting the Right Product
This program, unlike previous programs that let you choose the exercises you want to do, has specific recommendations for each day’s exercise. To maintain lean mass, you will need to bring everything you have. This means that you will need a wide range of equipment and implements.
You can start your training with the “meat and potato” movements early in the day. This allows you to hit the big lifts while you are still fresh. Then, you can move on to isolation movements towards the end of the day to really burn your muscles. Similar movements are used across all body parts, but at slightly different angles or with different equipment.
Exercises should be ordered so that they “feed” each other. Exercise #4 on Day 1 is the dumbbell drawover. This unique movement isolates the chest and back and can be used to prime your lats and finish your chest work.
These exercises are not necessarily the best, but they should be a good starting point. Although veteran lifters won’t be hearing this, it is important to remember that almost nothing in bodybuilding can be written in stone.
How to Move Forward
You can’t just add five more pounds to your barbell each session for the rest your career at the gym. To make progress as an advanced athlete, you need to have grit and ingenuity.
There is a lot of literature that studies hypertrophic mechanisms in trained subjects. Science seems to support the notion that training should be intense, but some light work can be done provided the reps remain high. (7)
There is ample evidence to support the importance of putting in a lot of work into each workout. You shouldn’t do the same amount of work in your later years as you did two years ago. Volume and hypertrophy appear to be strongly correlated by dose response. (8)
Credit: Kiselev Andrey ValerevichHand-in-hand with higher volumes comes the need for extra rest periods. You’ll need to take more rest between sets if you work harder, longer and are heavier at the gym. You’ll also need to take a longer break during your workouts if you have larger muscles. (9)
A variety of intensity training techniques is likely to be required. Research suggests that there are limitations to the amount of work and time the body can put into a gym. This means that it is important to include “burnout” training methods in order to stimulate growth in lifters who have the right training. (10)
Understanding Selection
Bodybuilding training, unlike powerlifting and weightlifting, is more flexible than rigidly planned programs. Bodybuilders are not judged on their bench press strength but rather their big biceps. This means that you don’t have to use the barbell if you’re uncomfortable with it.
Compound vs. Isolation
All movements can be classified into one of the following categories depending on which joints they are used. Compound lifts require more than one joint to flex or extend, while isolation exercises are limited to one joint.
Squats involve movements at the hip, knee and ankle joints. They are a compound movement that recruits many muscle groups. The glutes control hip extension, quadriceps extend your knee and the calves control how much you bend your ankle.
A bicep curl requires only action from the elbow joint. Because the elbow can only bend at the elbow, the tension from a bicep curl is directed directly to the biceps.
You should consider compound movements your best friend. This is because you can use more weight and build muscle. But isolation exercises are crucial for developing strong muscles or zoning in on weak areas.
Push and pull
You can also group movements into pushes and pulls. The push exercise focuses on the muscles in the front, while the pull exercise targets the posterior chain, from the head to the heel. Both have a negative relationship. Your lats pull your arm back toward your body while your pecs do the opposite.
Credit: Maksym Fezenko / Shutterstock. To achieve a balanced body, it’s a good idea to approximate your pull volume and your push volume. The ability to create a synergistic effect between antagonistic muscles will help your joints perform well over time and make you look good. No one wants to look like a quadruple hamstring.
Exercise Library
There are a lot of tools and techniques available for bodybuilding. There are many options to choose from, including the common barbell, kettlebells, sandbags, and cable machines. This is a list of some exercises that can be incorporated into a bodybuilding program. It’s not comprehensive, but it’s enough to get you started.
Chest
* Bench Press (barbell or dumbbell; decline, flat, or inclined, wide-grip, close-grip, or close-grip).
* Flye (dumbbell/cable, seated or standing; upright or bent over).
* Dip (weighted and unweighted; machine or free).
* Push-up (weighted and unweighted), decline, flat, or inclines
* Pullover (dumbbell, cable)
Back
* Vertical Row (barbells, landmines, or dumbbells)
* Horizontal Row (cable, machine)
* Vertical Pulldown (cable, machine, wide-grip and close-grip).
* Straight-arm Pulldown (cable or upright, bent over or wire)
* Shrug (barbell or dumbbell, Smith machine or cable)
* Pullover (dumbbell, cable)
Shoulders
* Overhead Press (barbells, machines, or dumbbells)
* Arnold Press
* Front Raise (dumbbells, weight plates, or cable)
* Lateral Raise (dumbbell, cable, upright, prone or leaning).
* Face Pull
* Rear Delt Raise (dumbbell, cable)
Arms
* Barbell Curl (standing, preacher)
* Dumbbell Curl (standing or sitting, preacher cable, reverse-grip)
* Skull Crusher (dumbbell, or barbell).
* Push-up (close-grip)
* Pressdown (cable with rope or bar)
* Overhead Extension (dumbbell, cable)
* Kickback (dumbbell, cable)
Legs
* Bilateral Squat (barbell or dumbbell, Hack machine or back, high-bar, low-bar, front or side, high-bar, or low-bar).
* Unilateral Squat (walking or static lunge, step-up, rear-foot supported split)
* Deadlift (sumo, conventional, barbell or trap bar or dumbbell).
* Romanian Deadlift (barbell, dumbbell)
* Stiff-legged Deadlift (barbell, dumbbell)
* Hip Thrust (barbell, dumbbell, single-leg, or both)
* Leg Press (either one-leg or both)
There are many more exercises than the ones listed here, including some that might be of interest to you. These lifts are good for your daily routine, but they need to be tailored to your body.
It’s all in the end
Bodybuilding is an art form. As time passes, what began as a seemingly effortless stream of gains becomes a real challenge. Your mental and physical training approach must change if you want to achieve a stunning physique.
There are many programs that can be used by strength athletes to help them stay on the gains train. However, the path is not as clear for bodybuilders. It takes a high level of craftsmanship, almost impeccable nutrition, and lots of quality rest to achieve the uniqueness of this sport. It is well worth the effort, as you will be able to show off a beautiful physique that makes heads turn and jaw drop.
Refer to
1. Fonseca, R. M., Roschel, H., Tricoli, V., de Souza, E. O., Wilson, J. M., Laurentino, G. C., Aihara, A. Y., de Souza Leao, A. R., & Ugrinowitsch, C. (2014). To improve muscle strength, it is more efficient to do exercises than to load them. Journal of strength- and conditioning research, 28(11), 385-392.
2. Rana S.R. Herman J.R. and Rana S.R. Gilders R.M. Hageman F.C. Hikida R.S. Kushnick M.R. Ragg K.E. Staron R.S. Toma K. The Correlation Between Muscle Fibre Cross-Sectional Area And Strength Gain Using Three Different Resistance Training Programs in College-Aged Women. J. Strength Cond. Res. 2010;24:1.
3. McDonald, Lyle. (2009) What is My Genetic Muscular Potential (GMP)? /muscle-gain/genetic-muscular-potential#The_AragonHelms_Model
4. Schoenfeld, B. J., Contreras, B., Krieger, J., Grgic, J., Delcastillo, K., Belliard, R., & Alto, A. (2019). The Resistance Training Volume increases muscle hypertrophy in trained men but not strength. Medicine and science in sport and exercise, 51(1): 94-103.
5. Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., & Krieger, J. (2019). What is the optimal number of times a muscle should be exercised to increase muscle hypertrophy? A systematic review of and meta-analysis of studies that examined the effects of frequency of resistance training. Journal of sports sciences, 37 (11): 1286-1295.
6. Schoenfeld, Brad & Grgic, Jozo. (2017). Is Drop Set Training a good way to increase muscle growth? Strength and Conditioning Journal. 40. 1. 10.1519/SSC. .
7. Schoenfeld, B. J., Peterson, M. D., Ogborn, D., Contreras, B., & Sonmez, G. T. (2015). The effects of low- and high-load resistance training on muscle strength and hypertrophy in well-trained men. Journal of strength- and conditioning research, 29(10): 2954–2963.
8. Schoenfeld, B. J., Contreras, B., Krieger, J., Grgic, J., Delcastillo, K., Belliard, R., & Alto, A. (2019). The Resistance Training Volume increases muscle hypertrophy in trained men but not strength. Medicine and science in sport and exercise, 51(1): 94-103.
9. Maughan, R.J., Watson, J.S. & Weir, J. Relationships between muscle strength, muscle cross-sectional area and muscle strength in male endurance runners and sprinters. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 50, 309-318 (1983).
10. Schoenfeld, Brad. (2011). Specialized training techniques to maximize muscle hypertrophy. Strength & Conditioning Journal. 33. 60-65. 10.1519/SSC.0b013e ec2.
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