4 Day Workout Schedule for Building Muscle – Organize Your Training For Maximum Results!
Are you struggling to figure out the best way to structure your weight training? Do you want to build slabs of dense muscle but don’t know how to go about it? Do you simply need the right advice to go along with your hardcore work ethic and training style? If so, read on! You’ll find that the best workout schedule for building muscle is not all that long, complicated, or time-consuming, but it is hard!
Strength Leads to Muscle!
If you pick up a bodybuilding magazine these days, chances are you’ll read a ton of useless advice about how many sets and reps you must do to build muscle, or how much of a “pump” or “burn” you’ve got to feel in order to get the best results. Getting a pump is great, and it sure is important to figure out how many reps you’re going to do, but these aren’t what really count! The only way to build thick, dense muscle is to get STRONGER! Therefore, the best workout schedule for building muscle is to focus on strength on the basic movements.
Day 1: Squat for Mass!
That’s right, the squat. It really is the king of all exercises, and if you’re not doing it, you’re not making the most of your time in the gym. Not only will focusing on squatting give you big, thick legs, it will produce hormonal responses in your body that will make all of your muscles get bigger!
On your squat day, start out by warming up as much as you need to with light weight or even just an empty bar. Then, work your way up to one top set of 4-6 reps. Take a rest, lower the weight, and do 8-10 reps. Finally, lower the weight as much as you need to do a lighter but totally grueling set of 15-20 reps. Don’t wimp out! You’ll amaze yourself with how many reps you can get if you really dig deep and work through the burn. After squatting, pick 2-3 movements that build your legs and lower body. Your best bets are the leg press, weighted sit-ups, and your favorite calves exercise.
Day 2: The Big Bad Bench Press
It’s true you need to focus on squatting first and foremost if you want to get big, but everybody wants a big bench! There’s nothing wrong with that either, as the bench press is the best movement for building a thick sets of pecs, shoulders, and triceps. Just make sure your form is on point! Feet on the ground, upper back tight, and a strong, medium grip on the bar.
For your bench day, follow a similar protocol to squat day. Work up to a weight that challenges you for 4-6 total reps, and then keep lowering the weight and performing higher rep sets. You should do 3-4 sets total, depending on where you start. Take as much rest as you need between these sets, and always use a spotter! The bench press can be a dangerous movement if performed on your own.
Follow up your flat bench pressing with some type of incline press. You can use dumbbells, a barbell, or even a machine if you’re really fatigued from the first exercise. Then, do 2-3 movements for your triceps and shoulders. Good choices for triceps are skull crushers and press-downs, and the best exercises for your shoulders are front, side, and rear dumbbell raises.
Day 3: Bring Your Physique to Life with the Deadlift!
It seems that when most people devise their workout schedule to build muscle, they completely ignore the deadlift. This is a huge mistake! After the squat, the deadlift is the best movement for overall muscle mass development. It will give you a huge, thick back from top to bottom and a massive set of hamstrings.
The best way to deadlift is HEAVY! If you really put your all into the lift, you’ll amaze yourself with what you can do. Take a narrow stance and a strong, alternated grip, and rip that weight off the floor! As with the other two lifts, perform your main, heaviest set for around five reps. Then, drop the weight enough that you can get 10-12 reps. After this, it’s up to you – if your lower back can take it, do another set with lower weight and even higher reps or call it a day. Honestly, those first two sets are going to put some beef on you as it is! After deadlifting, do the same exercises you would after squatting – leg presses, abs, and calves.
Day 4: Row to Grow
If there’s one body part that truly makes a lifter look big, strong, and powerful, it’s the upper back. Having a wide set of lats and thick, dense traps makes you a seriously imposing figure, and it even helps your strength in other lifts like the bench press. Just because you can’t see your back doesn’t mean you shouldn’t train it! Make this last day of your workout schedule for building muscle count.
Start your upper back workout with the basic barbell row. Using a belt and straps if necessary, warm up and work up to 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps. It’s okay to use a little bit of body English and swing in the movement as long as you feel your lats doing most of the work. This exercise is the mainstay of your back workout, so make sure you focus on getting stronger at it!
After your rows, do pull-ups, seated cable rows, and pull-downs. For pull-ups, pick your favorite grip and set a goal for the total number of reps you want to achieve that day. Once you’re getting 50-60 total reps within just a few sets, start adding weight. Heavy, weighted pull-ups will give you some seriously diesel strength in your back and arms!
4 Day Workout Schedule for Building Muscle – Organize Your Training For Maximum Results! by Justin Woltering