Do you spend a lot of time in the gym training, but can’t quite seem to find the right training routine to help you gain mass? The problem might not be your effort. Rather, it might involve exercise selection. You should be completing 3 to 5 movements of the compound variety, if you wish to make gains. Keep all sets in the 8 to 12 repetition range, and rest 90 to 150 seconds between sets. Here is a sample mass building routine.
Chest
- Incline barbell press
- Flat DB presses
- Dips
Focus on feeling the movements in the inner chest to minimize the influence of the shoulders and triceps in this movement. Use heavy weight, but not enough that form suffers or your repetition range drops below 8 per set.
Shoulders
- Seated military press with DBs
- DB side raises
Every other workout, change DB side raises to the 45 degree variety to target your rear deltoids. The seated military press can also be substituted with the barbell variety when necessary.
Triceps
- Skullcrushers
- Triceps cable pressdowns.
Focus on feeling the tension in the triceps muscle, not moving so much weight that you have to cheat to move it.
Quadriceps
- Barbell squats
- Leg press
- Leg extensions
The name of the game is poundage here. Lift heavy, increasing your rest periods if necessary. The final set of leg extensions should go up into the 40th and 50th repetitions as you reduce the weight and just keep plugging away.
Hamstrings
- Leg curls
Six sets of leg curls and you should be covered for hamstring training!
Calves
- Seated calf raises
- Standing calf raises
Always work to slowly move through these movements, feeling every inch of the exercise. Never rush when training calves!
Back
- Deadlifts
- Barbell Rows
- Chins
If you want a thick back, you have to employ these heavy movements. They’re not fun, but they are certainly rewarding.
Biceps
- Standing alternate dumbbell curls
- Standing barbell curls
Focus not upon the weight being moved, but upon the blood being drawn into the muscle group with each set. Quality of repetition, not quantity, is what matters on biceps day!
Day 1 should consist of chest, shoulder, and triceps movements. Day 2 involves quads, hamstrings, and calves. Day 3 concludes your training cycle with back and biceps. Day 4 is rest. Day 5 begins the cycle once again.
As always, you’ll need to ensure you’re covering all of your bases in terms of proper nutrition and rest. You should be eating five to seven small meals consisting of 50 grams protein, 10 grams healthy fats, and a nice mixture of simple and complex carbohydrates for energy. The fats and protein are needed for the actual muscle growth. Sleep at least 7 hours per night, with 8 to 8.5 hours being preferable. Supplements can be useful if you’ve already covered your bases in terms of training, rest, and nutrition. Anabolic steroids should only be considered once you have been training for at least five years and have achieved about as much as you can naturally.
