Mass program 3 times a week. The Effective Approach: A 3-Day Training Program for Bodybuilders

Squats

Bodyweight Lunges

Romanian deadlift

You need to know the following:

• If your biceps measure 35 cm and you want to start building muscle, then forget about working on your abs for a while.
• The list of the best exercises to increase muscle size is very short, and you should do them in every workout because technique is the key to achieving results.
• The 5-10 rep range is extremely effective for building muscle mass, and the experience of athletes of the last century confirms this.

So get ready to be fast gain muscle mass. I have a program that will help you with this, but first a few recommendations.

1. When working on gaining mass, forget about everything else.

Guys with 35 cm arms sometimes ask me about a mass program, but at the same time they really want to work on their abs, do cardio, etc. When your biceps are 40-45 cm in girth, only then will you be able to do all this.

2. Increase time under load

You must give your body a force load and hold it for several minutes (without lowering the barbell to the floor or power rack). My program is based on exactly this approach.

3. Eat quality and regular meals

You have to stop worrying about every calorie you consume and have a consistent calorie surplus in your diet to force your body to gain weight. My freshman year of college, I gained 30 pounds in 4 months by eating a few sandwiches before lunch. Post-workout nutrition is also a must.

4. Rest and recover fully

I understand that each of you has a lot of things to do after training. However, if you do not sleep for 8 or more hours at night, this will negatively affect the recovery and growth of muscle fibers. Many famous bodybuilders prefer long naps during the day to gain mass. Remember that the body grows during rest.

5. Do little exercise

Good muscle-building programs involve only a few exercises. I build muscle best when I do about 7-8 exercises.

6. Keep your reps low.

Although people typically build new muscle fibers in low rep ranges (1-5) with heavy lifting weights, this approach can be difficult for many. Until you can bench press 180kg, squat 200kg, and deadlift 270kg, do 5-10 reps. This will have a very good effect on muscle growth.

7. Never do less than 10 reps on squats.

Many people ignore this advice (mostly powerlifters), but for most it makes sense. Each time you do squats, perform 10 reps. This provides the necessary time under tension, and also stimulates the entire body (and whets the appetite!).

8. Determine the necessary rest time

Many beginners ask this question: “How long should you rest between sets?” There is no clear answer to this. An advanced athlete may need a year to recover from a record, while another beginner will be full of strength and ready for the next approach after just a few seconds. I think that for rest and recovery between sets, it's enough to rest about 3 minutes on the squat and bench press, and 90 seconds on all other exercises. Again, these numbers may vary in individual cases.

9. Don't train to failure.

Always finish a set feeling like you could have done 1-2 more reps. We all love the Pumping Iron footage of forced reps, but for most guys looking to gain muscle mass, it's too early to start the practice. It is better to perform 1-2 additional approaches than to give your best in one.

10. Take care of yourself

This is old advice for those in the cold season, wear warm clothes so that the body does not waste resources on heating. Park closer. Save strength and energy on everything. Sit more. Remember that this routine is not for life, but for a short period of time while you gain weight.

Workouts to increase muscle mass

This program is based on an old and well-proven training concept. It involves repeating the same exercises every day, but in each workout you focus on specific parts of the body. For example, you focus on squats in program C, but still continue to perform exercises from programs A and B.

There are several good reasons for this approach. First, technique is the key to muscle growth. You won't gain much body mass if you constantly remind yourself of poor elbow position when doing the bench press. Plus, you could get injured. Secondly, the list of the best exercises for bulking is very short, and you should do them often. Everything is very simple. Enjoy!

Exercises for muscle growth

Lifting and pressing dumbbells

Take dumbbells in your hands, stand straight and bend your knees slightly. Bend your arms, bringing the dumbbells to your shoulders (biceps curl). From this position, lift the dumbbells up above your head (press). This is one repetition. Return your hands to the starting position and repeat the movements. Do 10 reps.

Squats

You will do squats in every workout. There is no more effective exercise for building muscle. You must learn to do it correctly.

Deadlift on straight legs

This is the only “tonic” exercise in the entire program. Take a light barbell and bend your knees slightly. Lower the weight to the level of your shins, and then lift it back up. Try to engage your hamstrings rather than your lower back. If you don't understand how to do this exercise, don't do it. It is tonic (after squats), not training.

Pull-ups

In addition to the fact that pull-ups are great for working the latissimus dorsi muscles, they are also the best exercise for the abdominal muscles. I have yet to meet a person who was able to do 20 or more pull-ups and didn't have great abs.

Traction exercise for back muscles in simulators

In recent years, I have changed my attitude towards exercise equipment. The classic bent over row is a great exercise if done correctly. But this is precisely what many people have problems with. If your gym has a good machine that doesn't put stress on your lower back, please use it.

Bench press

By performing a bench press with dumbbells, you will be able to perfectly pump up the pectoral muscles, anterior deltoids and load the triceps without the risk of injury (if you choose the right working weight).

Barbell curl

I have always considered barbell curls to be a gateway to increasing overall strength levels. I once saw a guy lift a 100kg barbell without rounding his back or moving his elbows back. He had really huge hands.

"Farmer's Walk"

If you have the strength to take a weight equal to half your body weight in each hand and carry it a certain distance, then you will understand that this way you can pump up absolutely all the muscle groups of the body.

Mass training program 3 times a week

Workout "A"

Workout "B"

Workout "C"

It's no secret that splits are more effective for gaining muscle mass than full-body workouts. Often the priority is a 3-day mass training program that is convenient to follow during the work week. And this is completely justified. Such a program will never let you down and will help you build impressive muscles that are worthy of admiration.

Although training on this system alone is not enough to fully realize its full potential in 3 days a week. But don’t despair, I will guide you. I will provide the perfect 3 day split program for fast muscle growth for men.

It is impossible to reap the benefits of split training without a competent, comprehensive approach. This means that everything needs to be taken into account, from the choice of exercises, the combination of muscle groups, the frequency and intensity of training, to the length of rest between sets. Otherwise, it will not be possible to achieve the expected results and justify all the hopes placed on this complex.

Split is a type of strength training that involves simultaneous loading of several muscle groups on days of the week. Consequently, in one day you do not work on the entire body, but only on individual muscle groups.

The two main advantages of this method, which ensure its high effectiveness in bodybuilding, are related to the fact that split allows you to concentrate on each muscle group, working them more thoroughly than during training for the whole body. Also, you have more days to recover and grow muscle fibers.

If you read my previous post on , you know that the two most important aspects of building muscle, along with a balanced diet, are training intensity and proper rest.

A three-day split meets all these requirements. Moreover, this system is very easy and convenient to practice. Personally, I alternate between three-day and four-day splits: 90 days I do the first program, and 90 days the second, and so on in a circle. For me this is the best mode.

Reasons for the popularity of the three-day split

For 9 out of 10 average heavyweight athletes who live a fast paced life and find time to maintain good physical shape, a training program for gaining muscle mass 3 times a week is always preferable. It is perfectly balanced because 3 days of training is not too much, but not too little either. At the same time, you can live your life to the fullest and focus on other responsibilities without the risk of becoming a permanent resident of the gym.

You'll find it easy to stick to this program, so you won't miss too many workouts (which is crucial for muscle growth). But the key factor in the productivity of this complex is the ability to select the most optimal combination of the six largest muscle groups for each training day.

This complex is also notable for the fact that a 3-time visit to the hall fits perfectly into the work week. So, you can train your chest and triceps on Monday, your back and biceps on Wednesday, and devote Friday to pumping up your shoulders and legs. See how simple it is. You don't even need to write anything down to remember the sequence.

What are the main benefits of 3-day splits?

Comfort is not the first sign of impact training. If the only benefit of a program is its convenience and scheduling flexibility, then it is not worth wasting time on it. Easy and effortless activities have never brought significant results to anyone in any area of ​​life, and fitness is no exception.

The real positive thing about doing three sessions a day using the split method, as I briefly outlined above, is the ability to focus on a specific muscle group and work on it harder than during a full-body circuit training session.

Proper rest

Each muscle group is given a week's rest. When you don't exercise, your muscles grow. In the gym, you destroy muscle fibers, and when you come home, you create the conditions for their self-repair through an optimal diet and rest regime. Therefore, when you purposefully load your chest once every seven days, then during the remaining six these muscles are restored and grown.

Even when you do not perform special exercises for a particular muscle, it still contracts, playing a supporting role when working neighboring groups. For example, by training the shoulder muscles, you also load the pectoral muscles due to their adjacent location and proximity to the attachment points. So in reality the muscles are never idle for a whole week, which is a good thing.

The intensity with which the stabilizer muscle has to strain provokes even greater growth and does not harm the recovery process at all. Excessive rest should be avoided. If you ever visit third world countries, you will be surprised by the number of people with well-developed arm muscles who, nevertheless, have never been to the gym. The muscles of these guys grow due to everyday manual labor and the use of environmentally friendly products.

I'm not advocating this lifestyle, but it's something to keep in mind the next time you want to count calories or start worrying about not getting enough rest or sleep. All that is required of you is not to cheat in training, eat well, do your daily activities, and everything will work out in the best way. So, I have given enough arguments in favor of the split method and listed all the advantages of a three-day training complex. It's time to give you what you came for.

Mass training program 3 times a week

Perform all exercises strictly in the specified order. Rest no more than two minutes between sets. Before static stretching, do a series of dynamic stretches (this is optional, but very helpful). When starting the exercise, remember to warm up by doing a couple of sets using 40-60% of your working weight. Please note that warming up does not count towards working sets, so after it you will have three main approaches with maximum working weight.

Monday: Chest, triceps, abs

Breasts

• Bench press: 3 sets of 6-12 reps
• Incline dumbbell press with head up: 3/8-12
• Reduction of arms on the simulator: 3/8-10
• Dips on chest: 3/8-16 (legs back, body forward)

Triceps

• Arm extension: 3/10-12
• Triceps dips: 3/8-12 (with legs held in front)
• Extension of arms with dumbbells from behind the head: 3/6-10
• Close grip bench press: 2/8-10 (elbows pointing forward, hands approximately 12 cm apart)

Press

• Hanging leg raises: 3/8-12
• Fitball crunches: 3/8-12
• Decline situps: 3/8-16

Wednesday: Back and biceps

Back

• Upper pull: 3/8-10
• Rowing thrust: 3/8-10
• Deadlift: 4/ 6-8
• Pull-up: 4/maximum quantity

Biceps

• Dumbbell hammer curl: 3/8-10
• Barbell Curl: 3/8-10
• Close grip chin-up: 4/8-10

Friday: Shoulders, legs, abs

Shoulders

• Lateral dumbbell raises: 3/8-10
• Military press: 3/6-10
• Raising your arms forward on the lower block: 3/8-10
• Seated dumbbell press: 3/6-8

Legs

• Flexion on the simulator: 3/8-10
• Extension on the machine: 3/8
• Squat: 3/ 6-10
• Calf raise: 4/8-12

Press

• Sitaps: 3/8-12 (with slow and controlled muscle contraction)
• Crunches: 4/8-12 (perform slowly, can be made more difficult by adding weights)
• Leg Raise: 3/8-12

This easy-to-follow routine will help you gain muscle mass. Remember that the working weight should allow you to complete the specified number of repetitions. Therefore, you should not use too light weights and immediately stop the exercise when you reach the required number of repetitions. This way you won't achieve results. Instead, stick to a weight that won't allow you to do more reps than indicated.

This program is well suited for both beginners and athletes returning to strength sports after a long break. Its main advantage is simplicity.

What is the essence of the training program?

The program consists of five exercises:

1. Back squat: 5 sets of 5 reps.

2. Bench press: 5 sets of 5 reps.

3. Deadlift: 1 set of 5 reps.

4. Standing barbell press: 5 sets of 5 times.

5. Bent-over barbell row: 5 sets of 5 reps.

These exercises consist of two workouts:

1. Workout A: squats, bench press, bent over row.
2. Workout B: squats, bench press, deadlift.

You work out three times a week and constantly alternate between workouts A and B. You rest at least one day between two workouts.

Here is an approximate training schedule for the week:

1. Monday: training A.
2. Tuesday: rest.
3. Wednesday: training B.
4. Thursday: rest.
5. Friday: training A.
6. Saturday and Sunday: rest.

You start the next week with workout B.

To avoid missing workouts and track your progress more easily, you can download the StrongLifts 5×5 app. It has a schedule with exercises that you can customize. You mark completed approaches and repetitions right during the workout, after which the rest timer starts.

The application also contains a video with exercise techniques, a training history, and after the first three classes you can track your progress.

The paid version has a schedule of warm-up approaches, a pancake calculator, integration with Google Fit and Health (iOS), and the ability to mark approaches without removing the screen lock.

What weight to start with

If you are already familiar with the exercises and are doing them with proper form, choose the maximum weight with which you can perform five sets of five repetitions.

If the exercises are new to you or you haven't done them in a long time, start with half your five-rep maximum or even less:

1. Squats, bench press, standing press: 20 kg (barbell without weights).
2. Deadlift: 40 kg (hang two 10 kg plates on the bar).
3. Bent-over barbell row: 30 kg (hang two 5 kg plates on the bar).

In the first weeks you will feel very easy, but the weight will increase quickly. In just four weeks you will be squatting 30kg more and bench pressing 15kg more.

Start back squatting and you can reach 100kg in 12 weeks.

How to gain weight

1. Squats. If you were able to complete five reps on all five sets, next time add 2.5 kg - small 1.25 kg pancakes on each side. If you couldn't do five reps, keep working with that weight until you can.
2. Bench press, standing barbell press, bent-over barbell row. Men add 2.5 kg, women - 1 kg.
3. Deadlift. Add 5 kg - 2.5 kg on each side. The deadlift uses more muscles so you can add weight faster.

If the gym doesn’t have 1.25 kg weight plates, buy your own and carry them to training.

How to warm up

Don't do too much cardio before your workout, as this can tire out your leg muscles before squats. Three to five minutes of brisk walking or gentle jogging will be enough.

If you're doing exercises with an empty bar, you don't need warm-up sets because the weight is too light. You can do two sets of five.

When you move up to heavier weights, warm-up sets are a must. They allow you to warm up your target muscles and test your technique.

Perform two warm-up sets of five reps with an empty bar. After this, add 10–20 kg each and perform 2–3 times until you reach your working weight.

Don't rest between warm-up sets. Pause only after them, before starting an approach with working weight.

How long to rest between sets

At first, because the weights are light, you won't need much rest. But when the weight starts to increase, it may take longer to recover from a set.

1. 1.5 minutes if you finished the last set without much effort.
2. 3 minutes if you had to work hard to finish the set.
3. 5 minutes if you reach muscle failure on the last rep.

You can also navigate by your breathing. If you have pain during exercise, rest until it is completely restored.

What are the goals and timing of the training program?

Plateau: what to do when there is no progress

The first thing to do if you are unable to complete a set is to rest longer. Place the bar down and wait 5 minutes and then try again.

If it doesn't work this time, check if there are any errors:

1. Have not warmed up well: a lack of warm-up approaches forces you to exercise on cold muscles, and an excess of them tires them.
2. They did it with bad technology. Incorrect bar trajectory increases the risk of failure.
3. Missed training. If you don't load your muscles consistently, you don't grow.
4. Did too much cardio or extra exercise, which slowed down your recovery.
5. Didn't get enough sleep. Lack of sleep slows recovery.
6. We didn't eat. Lack of nutrients also slows down recovery.

If you can't complete all sets and reps for three workouts in a row, you may want to reduce the weight or number of sets and reps.

How to reduce the load

You will not be able to gain weight constantly; sooner or later the process will stop. If the working weight does not increase for three workouts in a row, reduce the load as follows:

1. Three sets of five reps.
2. Three sets of three repetitions.
3. One set of three reps and two sets of three reps with -5% of the weight.

You can also reduce the weight by up to 10% of the working weight and add it again, monitoring the technique and correcting your mistakes.

Why this training program is effective

There are several factors that make the 5×5 program very effective:

1. Free weights. You have to maintain your balance, which puts extra strain on your muscles.
2. Minimum equipment. All you need is a barbell and a bench, so you can do 5×5s in any gym or garage.
3. Multi-joint exercises. Compound exercises use more muscles and therefore allow you to lift more weight.
4. Easy start. Light weights in the first workouts allow you to test your technique and avoid injury.
5. Intensity. The workouts are hard, but short. You finish before you get tired and therefore always stay focused.
6. Progressive overload. Consistent weight gain forces your body to adapt faster. The muscles become larger, the bones and tendons become stronger.
7. A clear plan and confidence. You know what to do in each workout and are confident that the program is working.
8. Excitement. You are wondering how much weight you can get to, how long you can keep increasing the weight. This adds excitement and makes many people challenge themselves.
9. Simplicity. There is no need to invent, search and select. You master the technique once, and then just add weight.

The program has no gender restrictions. It is suitable for different ages, including healthy teenagers and people over 40 years old.

Of course, this program will not appeal to everyone. For example, if you like variety, doing five exercises every day will quickly get boring. As a result, you will lose motivation and quit training.

If you like consistency and need a clear plan of action, 5 × 5 is ideal for you and will help you achieve good results.

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