Outline – how does this muscle building program work?

The purpose of this program is to give you every tool you need to force your body into more
muscle growth.

Unlike other programs, we’ve kept things simple – no unnecessary equipment, no complex
exercises. Just good programming that promises results.

The solution?

We’ve set this program up for 3 days per week.

That’s frequent enough to hit your weekly volume, but not too often that it’s impossible to
follow. After all, you’re a busy guy with other things to do with your life.

We want to find a balance between the minimum effective dose of training, with the time you
need to live a healthy and fun life away from the gym.

Phase 1

In weeks 1-4 there’s an emphasis on simple, less skill-based exercises. The focus here is one
promoting as much adaptation to your muscle tissue as possible, without having to worry
about complex exercise patterns.

You’ll be aiming for around 12 sets per week for your major muscles – enough to stimulate
good growth without hitting your body too hard too soon.

Phase 2

For weeks 5-8 you’ll be mixing it up with more complex movements, incorporating more
dumbbell work into the program. The total number of weekly sets increases and the session
overall are tougher.

Phase 3

Finally, in weeks 9-12 you’ll be ramping up the intensity and strategically ordering your
workouts to not only increase weekly volume, but doing so in a way that targets your
endurance and stamina too.

To do this you’ll be completing each exercise as a superset – once you finish exercise 1, you
move straight away onto number 2, only resting once you’ve completed them both.

The Program
Weeks 1-4
Number Session 1 Session 2 Session 3
1 Chest press Barbell bench press Pec deck
2 Dumbbell row Lat pulldown Single arm row
3 Leg press Back Squat Split squat
4 Shoulder press Upright row Lateral raise
5 Reverse grip pulldown Barbell bent over row Barbell bicep curl
6 Romanian deadlift Leg curl Narrow bench press

In each workout you’ll be aiming for 3 sets of around 8-12 reps (per side if it’s a unilateral
exercise). Remember, if you can do more than 12 reps on any set you have to increase the
weight. Rest times aren’t measured as such but by aiming to keep below 3 minutes between
sets you’ll be done inside 60 minutes.

Weeks 5-9

Number Session 1 Session 2 Session 3

1 Dumbbell bench press Dips Incline bench press
2 Barbell bent over row Wide grip pulldown Pull-ups
3 Back squat Back lunges Front squat
4 Dumbbell shoulder press Lateral raise Arnold press
5 Narrow grip pulldown Snatch grip upright row Barbell EZ bar curlcurl
6 Bulgarian split squat Glute-ham raise EZ bar skullcrusher

You’ll be completing 4 sets of each exercise in this second phase. It’ll make your sessions
slightly longer, but it’ll be worth it. Again, don’t be too concerned about your rest times but
keep an eye on the clock – if you go above 3 minutes, chances are you’re ready for your next
set.

Weeks 10-12

Number Session 1 Session 2 Session 3

A1 Dumbbell bench press Dips Dumbbell Incline bench press
A2 Barbell bent over row Pull-ups Single arm row
B1 Back squat Back lunges Front squat
B2 Bulgarian split squat Leg curl Dumbbell press
C1 Dumbbell shoulder press Lateral raise Barbell EZ bar curlcurl
C2 Narrow grip pulldown Upright row EZ bar skullcrusher

In this block, your main focus is supersets. Complete both exercise 1 and 2 back to back with
no rest in between. These exercises have been chosen so that there’s minimal moving of
equipment needed – you can just take a pair of dumbbells over to where you need them. Aim
for 4 sets again and try to rest no longer than 3 minutes between supersets.