VIP65 “MAJOR PROPS” Strength Workout Kettlebell Swiss ball

There are many different approaches to training routines that will work to build muscle, as the most important thing with regards to building muscle is to stay consistent over the long term with whatever approach you choose to use.

Here is a simple, yet efficient, approach to building muscle that takes into account training volume and frequency in a way that allows you to stimulate your muscles more frequently, while at the same time maximizing your ability to recover from your workouts.

This balance between volume, training frequency, and recovery will allow you to gain the most amount of muscle in the shortest amount of time.

MONDAY/WEDNESDAY/FRIDAY: 

Rest 1 minute between each set

Upper Body Push - 5 Sets of 8-10 Reps Upper Body Pull - 5 Sets of 8-10 Reps Shoulders - Rest/Pause (see explanation below) Bicep/Tricep Superset (see explanation below) - 3 Sets of 10-12 Reps

TUESDAY/THURSDAY: Rest 1 minute between each set

Squats or Deadlifts - 5 Sets of 10-12 Reps Calves - 5 Sets of 10-12 Reps

Each set should be stopped within 1-2 reps of failure, except on the last set of each movement, where it is okay to go to momentary muscle failure (except on squats or deadlifts, as going to failure on these movements is potentially dangerous).

Keep a training log detailing exercises performed, weight used, sets/reps and rest periods between sets. Make it your goal to increase your rep count by at least 1 rep for every movement every single workout. If you do this consistently, you will see gains and you will build muscle quickly.

Make sure you are picking compound movements such as bench press, bent rows, cable rows, dips and chin-ups for your upper body push and pull movements, as this will significantly increase the amount of muscle you will gain with this program. Keep the isolation movements to biceps, triceps and calves.

Once you start to see real progress, the temptation might be to increase the amount of volume you are performing for each movement, but try to refrain from this, as it can quickly overwhelm your central nervous system, compromise your recovery ability, and limit your progress.

Adding 1 or 2 sets to each movement is not the end of the world, just make sure you are tracking all your training data and if you notice your reps stalling or regressing, you will know that your training volume is outweighing your recovery ability. If this happens, just decrease the amount of sets you are doing per movement until you find the sweet spot for your body with regards to training volume and recovery.

Try this program out for eight weeks, and leave a comment below to let me know what you think. 🙂�

*Rest/pause training is a method of training where you perform as many reps as you can until you hit failure, then rest 10-15 seconds, do as many reps as you can again, and repeat, for a total of 3 sets*

*Supersets are a training method where you perform a set of the first exercise, followed by a set of the second exercise with no rest in between. You would then rest the prescribed amount of time in between each superset before completing another one, until the exercise is complete*