It doesn’t take much for your gym workout plan to go out of the window. Maybe you only have just enough time to fit in your scheduled session and you get stuck in traffic. Or there’s a rush on the piece of equipment you need. When you’re faced with these problems, you need a routine you can turn to. Dumbbell workouts are great for this because there are always plenty of pairs left in the racks of every gym.

Personal trainer Elise Young recently posted a straightforward but challenging routine that only uses dumbbells and it makes a great backup plan if you want to get stuck into a quick workout that will challenge muscles all over your body. The moves in this workout are all compound exercises, which means they engage multiple muscles at once.

Take a look at Young’s Instagram Reel where she demonstrates each of the exercises.

The first movement combines a single-arm dumbbell clean, push press and front-rack squat. The clean is a technical move so it can be worth practicing your technique with a light weight before beginning the workout to ensure the hinge-shrug-pull movement is smooth and controlled, and you don’t round your back.

Once you’ve performed eight reps on each side, move on to 12 bent-over rows. Note that Young uses an underhand grip. That’s followed by 20 reverse lunges holding a dumbbell in the goblet position, and finally 10 push-ups into renegade rows. I’ll let you decide whether a rep is counted after a row on one or both sides. That’s one round, Young suggests doing four rounds in total.

Remember to keep your core engaged throughout the workout, especially as you begin to fatigue in the final rounds. This will not only maximize muscle engagement, but it will also contribute to maintaining the correct form throughout the routine.

Why It’s Worth Training With Dumbbells

As well as being convenient, dumbbell exercises can limit the development of strength imbalances. Often, when using barbells and weights machines, people rely on a stronger side to move the weight. Using dumbbells ensures each side is trained separately.

Find more tried-and-tested recommendations in Coach’s guide to the best dumbbells. 

If you only have 10 minutes to fit in your workout, then you need to train smart, and this 10-minute dumbbell workout from personal trainer Adam Enaz will certainly encourage you to do just that.

The workout uses two strategies based on studies that have proven them effective—antagonist supersets and stretch-mediated hypertrophy.

“Antagonist supersets mean you work opposing muscle groups with little rest to save time,” says Enaz. “By doing this, it allows one unrelated muscle group to rest while the other gets worked.”

“We are also going to use the most effective exercise for each muscle group that stimulates the most growth using the latest ‘stretch-mediated hypertrophy’ method, which has shown that the more a muscle is worked in the stretch position, the more it grows.”

10-Minute Dumbbell Workout

After a quick warm-up set of squats, the workout involves doing two supersets and then a tri-set, where you’ll be resting for a maximum of 15 seconds between each exercise in the sets. For each move Enaz says to go close to failure, aiming for at least 12-15 reps, so choose your weight with this in mind.

If you’re going to fit this into 10 minutes, you will need to move fast and take minimal rest, so it’s worth lining up the equipment you need for each exercise in advance—you’ll have to use a bench and a preacher bench, as well as having the dumbbells you need to hand.

10-Minute Dumbbell Workout Overview

• Warm-up Unweighted squat x 25
• 1A Bulgarian split squat x 12-15+ each side
• 1B Lateral raise x 12-15+
• 2A Dumbbell bench press x 12-15+
• 2B Single-arm row x 12-15+ each side
• 3A Preacher curl x 12-15+ each side
• 3B Triceps overhead extension x 12-15+ each side
• 3C Dumbbell sit-up x 12-15

Warm-Up

Unweighted squat

Reps 25

“Start by doing 25 warm-up bodyweight squats, crouching up and down to get your heart rate up,” says Enaz.

Superset 1

1A Bulgarian split squat

Reps 12-15+ each side

Targets Glutes, quads, hamstrings

Hold dumbbells by your sides, stand with a knee-high platform such as a bench or sofa two to three feet behind you. Extend your right leg behind you and rest your toes on the bench. From this starting position, bend your front knee to lower until your front thigh is horizontal. Push through your front foot to return to the start. Do all the reps on one leg then switch to the other.

1B Lateral raise

Reps 12-15+

Targets Shoulders

Hold dumbbells by your sides with your palms facing you. Lift the dumbbells out to the sides to shoulder height, pause then lower under control. Maintain a slight bend in your elbows throughout.

Superset 2

2A Dumbbell bench press

Reps 12-15+

Targets Chest

“Lie back on a bench and keep the dumbells close to your chest,” says Enaz. “Press the dumbbells to lock out at the top and bring them back down, holding for two seconds in the stretched position at the bottom.”

2B Single-arm row

Reps 12-15+ each side

Targets Back

“Holding a dumbbell in your right hand, bend over to place your left knee and left hand on a bench to support your body weight,” says Enaz. “Your hand should be placed directly under your shoulder and your knees should be positioned directly under your hips. Now pull the dumbbell towards your hips and then slowly lower.”

Do all your reps on one arm then switch to the other side.

Tri-set

3A Preacher curl

Reps 12-15+ each side

Targets Biceps

“Grab a dumbbell with your left hand and place the upper arm on top of the preacher bench, which you should have at a 60° angle,” says Enaz. “The dumbbell should be held at shoulder height. This will be your starting position. Slowly lower the dumbbell until your upper arm is extended and the biceps is fully stretched and then bring it back up to the starting position.”

Do all your reps on one arm then switch to the other side.

3B Triceps overhead extension

Reps 12-15+ each side

Targets Triceps

“Grab a dumbbell with one hand and position it behind your head with your elbow flexed to 90°,” says Enaz. “Contract your triceps and press the dumbbell upwards until your arm is fully extended. Pause and return the weight to the start.”

Do all your reps on one arm before switching to the other.

3C Dumbbell sit-up

Reps 12-15+

Targets Abs

“Lie down on a mat with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor,” says Enaz. “Hold a dumbbell to your chest. Engage the core and slowly roll up so that the dumbbell touches your knees. Lower back down with control.”

Need help choosing? Our guide to the best dumbbells will help.

There’s no single workout that will help you hit your weight loss goals by itself (and it needs to be paired with a suitable nutrition plan), but some are more helpful than others. This dumbbell workout is a great addition to any routine, helping you to burn fat and build muscle, as well as improving your cardio fitness. 

It’s been put together by Sarah Spence, personal trainer at F45 Brixton, and should take around 30 minutes to perform, depending on how long you need to rest during and in between the four rounds of six exercises.

Dumbbell Workout For Fat Loss Instructions

“This workout will build muscle, increase strength, get your heart rate up and get you in that fat-burning zone,” says Spence. “There are six exercises in total and four rounds. Rest when you need it but try to keep moving as much as you can and limit rest between exercises.

“A medium pair of dumbbells is best for this, you should be able to move quickly and explosively but still feel challenged by the weights.”

Dumbbell Workout For Fat Loss Overview

Complete four rounds of the following.

1. Dumbbell squat to press x 10
2. Dumbbell reverse lunge x 10 each side
3. Renegade row x 8 each side
4. Dumbbell Romanian deadlift x 10
5. Dumbbell star jump x 30
6. Devil’s press x 10

Dumbbell Workout For Fat Loss Form Guides

1 Dumbbell squat to press

Reps 10

“Stand with your feet just wider than hip-width apart and the dumbbells by your shoulders,” says Spence. “Squat down, then drive up and press the dumbbells above your head. Use power from your hips to help push the dumbbells up.”

2 Dumbbell reverse lunge

Reps 10 each side

Stand holding the dumbbells by your sides. Step back and bend both knees to lower until both knees are bent at 90°. Push back up through your front foot to stand. Alternate legs until you’ve done 10 reps on both sides.

“Keep your feet hip-width apart and don’t get too narrow in the lunge,” says Spence. 

3 Renegade row

Reps 8 each side

“Start in a high plank position with your hands on the dumbbells,” says Spence. “Push into one dumbbell and row the other dumbbell up towards your hip. Keep your hips as still as possible, you can drop to your knees if needed.”

4 Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

Reps 10

“Stand holding the dumbbells in front of your legs,” says Spence. “Keep the dumbbells touching your legs as you push your hips back, keeping the knees soft. Bring the dumbbells down to just below the knee—this may vary depending on your hamstring mobility. Keep your back flat and chest proud. Stand up tall using your hips, keeping the dumbbells close to your legs. This movement should feel controlled.”

5 Dumbbell star jump

Reps 30

“This will raise the heart rate,” says Spence. “Start with the dumbbells on your shoulders. Punch the sky with the dumbbells as the feet jump out. Jump your feet back in and bring the dumbbells back down to your shoulders. Move as quickly as possible.”

6 Devil’s press

Spence has detailed a modified version of the devil’s press—you don’t need to lower your chest to the floor.

Reps 10

“Start in a high plank position with your hands on the dumbbells,” says Spence. “Jump your feet forward so they land outside your hands with your heels on the floor. Sit back into a squat position and then stand tall lifting the dumbbells overhead. Try to use the power from standing up to lift the dumbbells, then control the movement on the way down back to a high plank.”

The benefits of strength training for women are profound. Beyond the obvious improvements in functional strength for everyday activities, regular resistance training can also help resist osteoporosis, improve mobility, flexibility and posture, and reverse the signs of aging. Genuinely.

“As we age we naturally lose muscle, therefore ensuring we stimulate muscle tissue regularly is of utmost importance in order to counteract this,” says personal trainer Sian Childs, who specializes in training women. 

“Strength training also has a huge benefit in terms of pain management and recovery when carried out safely during pregnancy, postnatally and also during the menopause,” she adds.

Getting started is straightforward too, and to help Childs has devised a six-move upper-body workout that only requires a pair of dumbbells and a sturdy platform—a weights bench if you’re in the gym, or a sturdy chair if you’re at home. No dumbbells? No problem, you’ll find plenty of workouts for women, from PTs who work extensively with women, in our women’s fitness section.

How To Do This Upper-Body Workout For Women

This upper-body workout for women is built around three supersets, which require you to perform each pair of exercises back-to-back with no break in between. After each superset, rest for 60 seconds, then return to exercise A and repeat until you’ve completed each superset three times in total. Then move on to the next superset. 

You'll notice there are also rep ranges for each exercise. Childs suggests choosing a weight that makes completing the lowest number of reps manageable, but still challenging.

“If you complete eight reps of each exercise the first time you complete this workout, aim for sets of nine or 10 the next time you tackle it,” says Childs. “When you repeat it for a third time, try increasing the weights you use for each set, aiming for eight reps and so on.”

This bit-by-bit approach, known as progressive overload, is the secret sauce for increasing muscle size and strength. Repeat the workout regularly and you’ll see results fast.  

If all you have is one pair of dumbbells that feels a little too light for some of the moves, such as the row, slow down the movement to keep your muscles under tension for longer. 

Likewise, if your weights are too heavy for any exercise, such as the lateral raises, go for partial reps instead, where you only lift the weight for half or a quarter of the given rep range. It will still put your muscles under tension and encourage them to adapt and grow.  

Upper-Body Workout For Women Overview

• 1A Push-up: 3 x 8-10
• 1B Single-arm row: 3 x 8-10
• 2A Single-arm overhead press: 3 x 8-10 each side
• 2B Bench dip: 3 x 10-12
• 3A Biceps curl: 3 x 10-12
• 3B Lateral raise: 3 x 12-15

Upper-Body Workout For Women Form Guides

1A Push-up

Sets 3 Reps 8-10 Rest 0sec

Target muscles Chest and triceps

Get onto your hands and the balls of your feet with your arms extended and hands underneath your shoulders, your core engaged and your body in a straight line from your shoulders to ankles. Bend your elbows and lower your chest as low as you can, then push up to the start position. If performing this move on your knees, ensure your shoulders, hips and knees are in alignment.

1B Single-arm row

Sets 3 Reps 8-10 each side Rest 60sec

Target muscles Upper back and biceps

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart facing a weight bench or sturdy chair, holding one dumbbell in your right hand. With a slight bend in your knees, hinge forward at your hips and place your left hand on the bench, letting your right arm hang down. Your torso should be close to parallel with the floor. Retract your shoulder blade on your right side to engage your upper back muscles, then lift the dumbbell toward your right hip, pause, then lower under control. Do all your reps on one side, then switch sides.

2A Single-arm overhead press 

Sets 3 Reps 8-10 each side Rest 0sec

Target muscles Shoulders

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding one dumbbell at shoulder height with your palm facing you and the other arm outstretched to the side for balance. Engage your core and extend your arm to lift the weight straight up. Lower under control and repeat on all sides before switching arms. 

The version outlined above is a strict form dumbbell shoulder press. If you find the weight a bit heavy, you can use your legs to help get the weight up. Bend your knees slightly, then straighten your legs as you press the dumbbell overhead—the extra momentum will help. Just slow down the lowering part of the movement to develop shoulder muscles.

2B Bench dip

Sets 3 Reps 10-12 Rest 60sec

Target muscles Chest and triceps

Sit on the edge of a bench or chair, with your legs extended in front of you and your heels resting on the floor. Place the palms of your hands on the edge of the bench and shuffle your butt off the chair, then bend your elbows to lower. Pause once your elbows are bent to 90°, then extend your arms to return to the start position. Keep looking forward throughout. 

3A Biceps curl 

Sets 3 Reps 10-12 Rest 0sec

Target muscles Biceps

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells with your palms facing forward, elbows tucked in to your body. Brace your core and bend your elbows to lift the dumbbells to your shoulders. Squeeze your biceps hard, then lower under control. If fatigue sets in, alternate arms with each rep to make it slightly easier. 

3B Lateral raise

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 60sec

Target muscles Shoulders 

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells by your sides with your palms facing and a slight bend in your elbows. Engage your core and squeeze your glutes to provide a strong base, then raise your arms out to the sides, stopping when your arms are parallel with the floor. Lower the dumbbells slowly. 

If you only have one pair of weights and they are too heavy for you to complete the movement, perform partial reps instead. From the start position, raise the weights up halfway or a quarter of the way to engage your deltoid muscles, then return them to the start position slowly and repeat. Aim to keep the muscles under tension as long as you can bear. 

See more great options with our guide to the best dumbbells.

It’s no secret we’re fans of Chris Hemsworth at Coach, and his Centr fitness app is one of our favorite workout apps (and it’s offering a seven-day trial at the moment). So whenever Hemsworth posts a workout on his Instagram account we’re keen to try it.

The 40-year-old shared a quick snippet of a recent workout, revealing the content and duration of his session (a compact 40 minutes) without disclosing the format.

So I asked the Trainer Academy’s Domenic Angelino to fill in the gaps, creating a testing yet relatively short workout Coach readers can try out themselves. 

Next time you’re in the gym, make like Hemsworth and give it a go. Need to brush up on how to do each exercise? Click the exercise names below to read our form guides.

How To Do Domenic Angelino’s Chris Hemsworth–Inspired Workout

1 Medicine ball slam

Sets 4 Reps 6 Rest 30sec

“High-power exercises should be performed earlier in a workout,“ says Angelino. “This helps get around your ability to perform them being limited by fatigue. Power exercises, more than any other, are extremely ineffective when performed while fatigued.”

2 Single-arm kettlebell snatch 

Sets 4 Reps 6 each side Rest 45sec

Hemsworth’s post suggests he does this move third in his workout, but Angelino says most people could benefit from bumping it up to second. This is because you’ll be able to attack it with fresh shoulders rather than wearing out the working muscles ahead of time with overhead carries, potentially leading to a deterioration in form. 

Like all kettlebell exercises in this workout, this move can also be done with a dumbbell. Read our dumbbell snatch form guide for more.

3 Overhead kettlebell farmer’s carry

Sets 2 Time 30sec Rest 30sec

4A Squat curl press 

Sets 4 Reps 8 Rest 0sec

Superset the squat curl press and bent-over row, meaning you perform one set of the squat curl press, one set of the bent-over row, rest for 45 seconds, then repeat until all the sets have been completed.

4B Supinated barbell bent-over row

Sets 4 Reps 8 Rest 45sec

Perform a bent-over row with an underhand grip.

5 Single-arm triceps kick-back

Sets 4 Reps 12 each arm Rest 30sec

6 Sprint

Sets 5 Time 30sec Rest 45sec 

“Aim to sprint at roughly 90 to 95% of your maximum speed,” says Angelino.

What Are The Benefits Of Chris Hemsworth’s Workout?

While there aren’t many similarities between Hemsworth and the rest of us, one thing most of us have in common is that we have too much else going on to spend hours on every workout.

“I love this type of workout,” Hemsworth writes in the caption. “Being able to cover a lot of bases—explosiveness, strength, stability, speed and hypertrophy—helps me feel functional and strong. Continually moving for about 40 minutes.”

Making sure you can fit training around the rest of your responsibilities is an important factor in developing a sustainable long-term workout plan, Angelino tells me. And that’s not the only advantage of Hemsworth’s high-volume, low-rest session. 

“Workouts like this will help you burn more calories, increase your muscular endurance, improve your cardiovascular system and increase the size of your type I [slow-twitch] muscle fibers.”

But Agelino warns that, just because the workout will pass by quickly, that doesn’t mean all of your movements should be rapid. 

“Some exercises, like a medicine ball slam, are great to do quickly because they are designed to help you increase muscular power—the rate at which you produce force.”

But for strength-based exercises, such as the supinated bent-over row, you should focus on your form and change gears throughout the movement. 

“You’ll notice that Hemsworth moves more quickly during the concentric [lifting] phase of the reps he performs, and more slowly during the eccentric [lowering] phase,” says Angelino.

“The concentric phase is where you’re applying the most effort, like when you row a barbell to your abdomen. The eccentric phase is the opposite—it’s the easier part of the movement. 

“Going faster during the concentric phase and slower during the eccentric phase will lead to you recruiting more muscle fibers.”

More muscle fiber recruitment can boost the potential for muscle growth. Thor-like physique, here we come!

In the ’70s, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s chest and back workout was two hours long. For us mere mortals who don’t have that kind of time to spare, we need faster ways to get a great pump and pack on muscle. 

Enter this “Clang ‘N’ Bang” back and biceps workout from six-time CrossFit Games athlete Dan Bailey. It pairs strength work with a circuit to help you build muscle, strength and power in less than an hour.

Watch Bailey’s Instagram Reel to find out which exercises await you, then warm up and give the session a go for yourself.

Dan Bailey’s “Clang ‘N’ Bang” Workout 

Bailey kicks off with one of the best barbell exercises: the bent-over row. This is performed as a five-sets-of-five-reps strength piece, so go as heavy as you can while maintaining proper form. You should be working hard to perform the last rep of each set.

That will get your back and biceps fired up and more than ready for Bailey’s four-move circuit that targets a number of smaller muscles. The two dumbbell curl variations zero in on your biceps, while the rear delt row and face pull recruit muscles across the upper back as well as the posterior deltoids—the rear heads of your deltoids or shoulder muscles, which play a crucial role in stabilizing the joint. 

By performing these exercises as a 10-8-6-4-2 rep circuit, Bailey accumulates as much volume as a longer bodybuilding session in less time. You’ll still complete 30 reps of each exercise but it’s broken up differently. You’ll also rest less than if you did three sets of 10 with 60-second breaks.

The cumulative effect of Bailey’s straight sets-circuit combo is a comprehensive upper back and biceps session that’s wrapped up, by my estimation, in about 40 minutes.

When Arnold Schwarzenegger moved to America in 1968, he assumed he’d be a shoo-in for his first bodybuilding title on US soil, but one man got between him and the Mr Universe title: Frank Zane. 

“It was all about being big with [Schwarzenegger],” Zane told camera crews filming the Arnold Netflix documentary. “Landing in this country for the first time, he’d been defeated by, in his words, ‘a chicken with 17-inch arms’. That really bothered him.”

Zane would go on to become one of the all-time bodybuilding greats, securing three consecutive Mr Olympia titles between 1977 and 1979.

In a recent blog post on his site FrankZane.com, he wrote about the pull/legs/push Growth Program he used to train during this time, which he found “very successful for adding muscle mass during those years that I was at my best”. 

So naturally I decided to give it a try, taking the chest, shoulders and triceps workout for a spin at a nearby gym. This and many more workouts have been detailed in The Workouts: Personal Training Diaries by Zane.

How To Do Frank Zane’s Growth Program Push Workout

1 Bench press 

Sets 5 Reps 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2

Zane writes that he used “a shoulder-width grip to put more emphasis on the pecs, front delts and triceps”. He would avoid locking out at the top of each rep, employ slow eccentrics (the lowering phase) to increase time under tension, and perform doorway stretches after each set. Treat all exercises with descending reps in this workout as pyramid sets, aiming to increase the weight you’re lifting with each set. 

2 Incline dumbbell bench press 

Sets 4 Reps 10, 8, 6, 4-6

Zane would adjust a bench to roughly a 70° angle, then lower this angle with each set.

3 Decline dumbbell flye 

Sets 3 Reps 12, 10, 8

Zane set the bench at a -10° angle for this exercise.

4 Dumbbell pull-over

Sets 3 Reps 12, 10, 8

Zane’s reason for including this move was targeting the serratus anterior, a chest muscle found on either side of the ribcage. “It also expanded my ribcage, pumped up my lower pecs, and really developed the posterior head of my triceps,” Zane writes. Between sets he would do a single-arm overhead stretch.

5 Close-grip bench press

Sets 3 Reps 12, 10, 8

After each set Zane would do a stretch which involved reaching both arms behind his back. 

6 Single-arm overhead dumbbell extension

Sets 3 Reps 12, 10, 8 each side

Meticulous in his approach to maximizing his muscle-building potential, Zane suggests a few form tweaks to improve this exercise. “I’d hold onto a support and lean slightly backward, making sure to let the weight down deeply behind my back then, keeping my upper arm close to my head, not quite lock out at the top of the exercise,” he writes.

7 V-grip triceps press-down 

Sets 3 Reps 12, 10, 8

At the bottom of each rep, “hold the contraction for a full second,” Zane writes.

8 Dumbbell reverse flye

Sets 3 Reps 12, 10, 8

Pick up a pair of “not-so-heavy dumbbells” for this exercise. “I had already worked the front delts with the pressing exercises, so all that was left was an exercise for the rear delts and something for the side or lateral heads [of the deltoids—the largest muscles in the shoulder]”, Zane writes. 

9 Single-arm cable lateral raise

Sets 3 Reps 12

Zane would sometimes perform all three sets with alternating arms, not taking any rest between them.

Five Things I Learned Doing Frank Zane’s Push Workout

1. Build Your Workout Around The Big Three

I really enjoyed Zane’s plan. Not only will it help you pack on mass using hypertrophy training principles like pyramid sets and 6-12 rep ranges, but it also begins each training day with a powerlifting staple—a surefire way to build strength. 

“This routine helped me grow because I incorporated one (modified) powerlifting movement into each workout,” Zane writes. 

The pull day starts with a deadlift, the leg workout kicks things off with six sets of a heavy barbell back squat, and the push session I tried opens with some good ol’ bench press. 

This gave me the opportunity to lift heavy (for me, at least), finishing with two reps at 220lb/100kg. And a heavy bench session is usually a good time. 

Zane sticks with multi-muscle compound exercises like the incline dumbbell press and close-grip bench press for much of the rest of the workout too, shifting to more targeted isolation moves like the single-arm overhead dumbbell extensions as the session progresses.

2. Free Weights Can Get The Job Done

Modern bodybuilders tend to use weights machines—Chris Bumstead recently shared one of his pre-Olympia chest workouts, which featured cable machines, a pec deck, multiple chest press machines and more, as well as dips and dumbbells. 

But Zane’s competing physique goes to show that free weights can still be incredibly effective. Using Zane’s selection of push exercises I was able to hit my chest, shoulders and triceps from a variety of angles to help me develop their strength and size, all without the help of specialist equipment.

3. More Volume Isn’t Always Better

I’ve also tried Arnold Schwarzenegger’s two-hour chest and back workout and there are a couple of stark differences between the two in the overall volume and intensity. 

Arnold’s mammoth upper-body pump session has more than 50 working sets. Zane’s has less than 30, taking me about 80 minutes. 

Discussing his standard pull session, Zane writes: “This gave me a total of 15 sets for back, nine for biceps, and four for forearms, adding up to 28 total sets in the workout, which proved to be enough for growth.”

There is no pointless volume. Everything in the workout serves a purpose, such as the dumbbell pull-overs targeting the serratus anterior. 

Arnold’s routine was also dominated by supersets, rather than Zane’s straight sets approach, leading to less overall intensity. 

At 6ft 3in and naturally lanky, my time bodybuilding taught me that my muscles tended to respond better to shorter, more focused sessions. So, while Arnold’s routine left me dead on my feet, I felt tired but still able to function after Zane’s. 

In short, if I was picking one plan to follow, I’d pick Zane’s. 

4. There Are Always Ways To Improve

In an interesting segment at the end of Zane’s blog post, he dives into the changes he would make if he was to run The Growth Program again. 

In his heyday Zane would perform the three workouts on consecutive days, rest for a day, then repeat this sequence.

“It was hard and I got really sore from it. I needed lots of rest and noticed a tendency to become overtrained after about a month on this four-day cycle, so I took a few extra days off every month,” he says.

With what he knows now, Zane explains that he would choose to add more rest days in a “5-5-5-6” format. 

This means you would perform the three workouts over five days for three cycles, then add an extra day to the fourth cycle. 

“The 5-5-5-6 day cycle should produce more growth because there’s more rest so you’ll be stronger each workout and be able to train heavier,” Zane writes.

5. Zane Stretches Between Sets

Zane recommends a variety of stretches between sets, which is something I remember seeing people at my old bodybuilding gym do. 

I know many of the benefits of stretching or mobility work in general, but I was never too clued up on the logic of doing it mid-workout.

In an Instagram post on the topic, Zane revealed his thoughts. 

Trying it for myself during this workout, I found that stretching the muscle that had just been worked provided an enjoyable opposition to the contractions targeted during the set. 

I can’t speak for the long-term impacts of this practice, with Zane and Schwarzenegger’s fellow “golden era of bodybuilding” alumni known for their experimental approach to training. Instead, you’ll just have to try it for yourself.

Would I Do Frank Zane’s Push Workout Again?

Yes I would. Even though my training revolves around CrossFit now, I can’t resist a bit of bodybuilding and it doesn’t get much better than this workout from Zane. 

It delivered an enviable pump and a chance to flex my muscles on the strength front. It also doubled up as a fun social activity as I roped my brother into tackling it with me, giving us the chance to catch up and have a laugh between sets.

You don’t need to spend hours in the gym to get a great workout. You can build strength and muscle in as little as 30 minutes if you’re savvy about the moves and sequencing. Luckily Sweat app fitness trainer Kelsey Wells has done the hard work for you and created this four-move workout for stronger back and shoulders.

Wells says this workout is designed in the style of her PWR Fusion program—a 12-week strength training plan with three weekly weights sessions and one cardio-focused one—which is available on the Sweat app. 

It’s best to complete the workout at a gym as you’ll need a barbell and a selection of weight plates, two sets of dumbbells (light for the shoulder exercise and medium-heavy weights) and a weights bench. At a push you could do this routine at home with just a pair of adjustable dumbbells, but because you should aim to lift heavy with both the row exercises to build muscle in your back, your dumbbells may not quite be heavy enough.

Make sure to follow a warm-up routine before beginning this workout, and since you’re targeting your shoulders, including a shoulder warm-up as well is wise.

The workout begins with a reverse-grip barbell bent-over row, which is a pull exercise that recruits your lats, rear delts and biceps. Wells has programmed this exercise as a pyramid set, which means in each subsequent set you decrease the number of reps but increase the weight you use. They are a great way to target both muscle size and strength gains in just one sequence, because pyramid sets work in rep ranges associated with both hypertrophy training (8-12 reps) and strength training (2-6 reps). Aim to use a weight that makes the last few reps of each set a challenge.

After the bent-over row, the workout moves on to a muscle-building superset of the Arnold press and one-arm dumbbell row. Perform 12 reps of the Arnold press, then 12 reps of the one-arm row. Rest, then repeat that sequence until you’ve completed four sets. By pairing exercises that work different muscle groups, and performing them back-to-back with no rest in between, you can increase the intensity of your session.

The routine ends with as many curl and press reps as you can squeeze into a minute.

While Wells doesn’t provide rest times, I’d aim to rest for two minutes between the bent-over row sets and for 90 seconds after each superset. However, rest is one of the main training variables you can use to adjust this workout to your level.

A workout focusing on one or two muscle groups is normally best for people who are confident in the gym, have been training for a few years and go to the gym three or four times a week. If you’re newer to lifting weights, less frequent full-body workouts might be best. Try this gym workout plan for beginners which is built on the one set of 20 reps principle.

Family, friends and food are quite rightly a priority over the festive period, but this will inevitably eat into your workout time. Our advice? Adapt and thrive with this time-efficient dumbbell workout from certified personal trainer Jay Maryniak.

You only need a couple of dumbbells and 15 minutes to get it done, yet it still succeeds in hitting your chest, back, shoulders and arms for some quick-fire strength gains, not to mention a solid upper-body pump. 

You’ll perform four moves—the bent-over row, close-grip press, half-burpee gorilla row and clap push-up (or an easier push-up variation if needed)—as a circuit, doing eight reps of each exercise. Repeat this sequence for as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes. 

Benefits Of This Workout

This type of workout can be categorized as high-intensity resistance training (HIRT). It’s similar to high-intensity interval training (HIIT), but incorporates resistance training exercises so you can build strength and muscle while also raising and keeping your heart rate high to burn calories and improve your cardio fitness.

Building muscle can also boost your metabolism in the long run. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue, it requires energy to maintain and build, so the more you have, the more calories you will burn at rest.

Top Tips For Tackling This Workout

If you want to get the most from this workout, there are three things you need to consider: pace, weight selection and tempo.

1. Get The Right Pace

This isn’t a marathon, but it isn’t a sprint either. If you come out too hot then you’ll end up exhausted midway through and your form will suffer. If you take it slow, you’ll miss out on the cardio gains this routine is designed to deliver. 

Instead, find a comfortable pace that still challenges you and try to stick to it until the clock hits zero.

2. Choose The Right Weight

Choose dumbbells that are too heavy and you’ll be stopped in your tracks after a round or two. Opt for a featherweight pair and your muscles won’t experience the stimulus needed for growth. Aim to pick a weight that make your muscles burn for the last couple of reps of each set.

3. Stick To An Even Tempo

While AMRAP workouts want you to complete as many rounds as possible, don’t be tempted to rush each rep. Stick to a 2010 tempo (taking two seconds on the lowering phase of each movement and one second on the lifting phase) to get a superior stimulus from each rep. You’ll get a lower score, but a stronger body. 

For advice to help you find the right set of dumbbells for you, read our guide to the best dumbbells for home.

If you lift weights regularly you’ll know progressive overload is a tried-and-tested way to build muscle. But if the gains have stopped coming, you may be looking for something to kick-start your training. A deload week could be the answer, or you could try using drop sets.

Drop sets involve performing a set or sets of an exercise as usual, then lowering the weight and performing another set, working to failure. “This technique induces muscular failure, stimulating optimal growth without relying on heavy weights,” says personal trainer Sam Cotton, who posted an upper-body drop set workout on his Instagram page.

It’s an advanced technique and best suited for people with plenty of hypertrophy training experience, because the technique intentionally places a lot of stress on your central nervous system. If you’re new to strength training, this beginner’s upper-body workout is a better place to start, followed by this upper-body workout.

Take a look at Cotton’s Instagram post where he demonstrates each exercise. If you’re not sure how to do any of the exercises, or need more pointers, check out Coach’s exercise guides for the dumbbell bench press, bent-over row, dips, lat pull-down, cable flye and lateral raise.

Cotton has programmed a light warm-up set, two sets at a moderate to heavy weight, and finally, a drop set using a lighter weight. “After completing the final working set, drop the weight by approximately 25% or more,” says Cotton.

“With that lower weight, aim for as many reps as possible,” he says. “This encourages muscles to work to their maximum potential, breaking down for subsequent regeneration as larger and stronger tissue.”

Just remember that even when working to failure, don’t cheat your form just to add another rep to your tally. Stick to proper form and a full range of motion, otherwise you won't experience the benefits of the exercises you’re doing.

More and more women are finding out just how beneficial weight training is. From improved bone density to better metabolic health, countless studies and experts have highlighted the impressive array of benefits that can be enjoyed by adding resistance training into your regular fitness routine.

Sports massage therapist and CrossFit coach Emma Ray, who trains lots of women including those who are pre- and postnatal, adds her voice to the chorus praising weightlifting for women, saying it’s one of the best things they can do for their health. 

“Women can be very prone to osteoporosis and muscle atrophy,” says Ray. Strength and impact training using weights can help to prevent this. 

“Impact training can be very helpful because it puts stress on our joints. A lot of people think this is a bad thing but we need to put stress on our joints through muscular contractions to elicit a stimulus that grows new bones and tissues,” says Ray.

Ray has put together a full-body workout suitable for women who want to get started with strength training and reap the benefits of lifting weights. If you don’t have a gym membership, you can start with the beginner home workout plan in our guide to strength training for women, or alternatively, you can start with this beginner gym workout plan for women from celebrity trainer Magnus Lygdback.

How To Do This Weights Workout For Women

This full-body workout from Ray consists of three sections. First, a two-move warm-up to mobilize your upper body and thoracic spine. Next, a strength training block made up of two EMOMs (which stands for Every Minute On the Minute). Ray finishes the session with a three-move conditioning finisher to improve your cardio fitness.

It requires a lot of kit so it’s best to perform this workout in a CrossFit box or the functional fitness area of your gym, where you have access to a barbell, rowing machine, plyo box and plenty of space to move around. The barbell exercises can be subbed in for dumbbell versions and you can use other cardio machines with a cardio counter instead of the rowing machine if necessary. 

Warm-Up

1 World’s greatest stretch

Sets 3 Reps 6 each side 

From standing, take a big step forward and place your right hand on the floor in line with your left foot, while keeping your right leg straight and your right knee off the floor. Raise and extend your left arm upward, rotating your torso, then bring your left elbow towards the floor. Perform all your reps on one side, then switch sides.

2 Bootstrap squat

Sets 3 Reps 6 

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower into a deep squat (or as far as your mobility allows). Keep your chest facing forward and hold your feet with your hands, pushing against the inside of your thighs with your elbows to open up your hips. Keeping hold of your feet, straighten your legs to stretch your hamstrings, then return to the deep squat position.

Strength

This strength block is made up of two EMOM-style sessions, although instead of working every minute on the minute, you’re working to 90 seconds. For the first pair of exercises, start a repeating timer for 90 seconds. Perform all the reps of exercise A, all the reps of exercise B, then rest for the remainder of the 90 seconds. Repeat that sequence four times in total. Move on to the second pair of exercises and do the same.

1A Barbell thruster

Sets 4 Reps 8

Hold a barbell in the front rack position, holding it across your upper chest with your elbows pointing forward. With your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, push your hips back and bend your knees to lower until your knees and hips are in line, keeping your elbows high. Push through your heels to stand and extend your arms to press the barbell overhead, pushing your head forward to keep the bar in line with your center of gravity. Lower the bar back to the front rack position under control.

1B Renegade row

Sets 4 Reps 4 each side

Holding dumbbells resting on the floor, get into a straight-arm plank position so that your hands are underneath your shoulders and your feet are planted on the floor shoulder width-apart. Your body should be in a straight line from shoulders to heels. Keeping the rest of your body as still as possible, lift one dumbbell to your ribs. Your elbow should brush past your ribs as you lift the weight. Lower the dumbbell to the floor under control and repeat on the other side. Alternate sides with each rep.

2A Barbell deadlift high pull

Sets 4 Reps 8

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hinge at your hips, then bend your knees to lower and grasp a barbell with your hands shoulder-width apart. Keeping your back flat throughout, drive through your heels to stand up. As you extend your legs, rise up on the balls of your feet, bend and raise your elbows, and shrug your shoulders to lift the barbell to your chest. Lower the bar under control back to the floor. Keep the barbell close to your body throughout the exercise.

2B Elevated glute bridge dumbbell bench press

Sets 4 Reps 8

Lie with your back on an elevated surface such as a weight bench, with your feet planted on the floor, holding dumbbells level with your chest. Your hips should form a straight line with your shoulders and knees. Retract your shoulder blades to engage your upper-back muscles, then press the dumbbells straight up powerfully. Lower the weights under control until level with your chest to complete the rep.

Conditioning

Ray has programmed this three-move circuit to finish. Perform the circuit continuously for three minutes, rest for one minute, then pick up again wherever you left off. Repeat this three times in total.

1 Row

Calories 6 

Burn six calories on the rowing machine. Hold the handle with your knees bent and back straight, and push powerfully with your legs to begin the stroke. As your legs reach full extension, lean back, then use your arms to pull the handle to your body. Extend your arms, then lean forward, then bend your legs to complete each stroke. Our guide to rowing form gives more pointers.

2 Box jump

Reps 12

Stand in front of a plyo box or bench. Bend your knees and swing your arms back, then explode up to jump onto the box, swinging your arms forward to help generate momentum. Land with a slight bend in your knees. Stand up straight to finish the rep, then step down one foot at a time. If you don’t feel confident with box jumps, perform step-ups instead.

3 Kettlebell swing

Reps 25

Stand holding a fairly heavy kettlebell in both hands. Keeping your back flat, hinge forward, pushing your hips back to lower the kettlebell slightly underneath you, then powerfully drive your hips forward to push the kettlebell away from your body, swinging the weight up to chest or eye level. Keep your arms straight and relaxed throughout, controlling the descent of the weight, and go straight into the next rep.

Granted, skipping leg day is tempting, but it’s hard to say no to a solid upper-body pump. And we’ve got one of the best routines to prove it. 

This upper-body workout from Tyler Read, NASM-certified PT and founder of PT Pioneer, promises to beef up your back and pack mass onto your chest. All it takes is a balance of three push and three pull exercises.

“This workout is my favorite all-round upper-body muscle-building routine for people who have access to a standard commercial gym,” says Read. 

“This is a great workout to do one or two times per week for muscle growth. It’s relatively safe and beginner-friendly, while allowing you to increase the weight with and scale the difficulty to see real gains.”

Workout Overview

1. Bench press 4 x 8-10
2. Dumbbell bent-over row 4 x 8-10 
3. Dumbbell shoulder press 4 x 8-10 
4. Lat pull-down 4 x 8-10
5. Triceps press-down 3 x 10-12
6. Cable curl 3 x 10-12

Form Guides

1 Bench press 

Sets 4 Reps 8-10 Rest 90sec

Lie back on a flat bench with a barbell racked above you in line with your eyes. Take hold of the barbell with an overhand grip with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Take a breath in, brace your abs and lower the barbell to your chest under control, keeping your elbows tucked in. Pause, then press the barbell back up as you breathe out, squeezing your chest at the top. Throughout the movement, keep your feet flat on the floor and your back slightly arched.

2 Dumbbell bent-over row 

Sets 4 Reps 8-10 Rest 90sec

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding dumbbells with your palms facing you. With knees slightly bent, hinge forward from your hips, pushing your hips backward and keeping your back straight, and letting your arms hang down. Keeping your shoulder blades engaged, pull the dumbbells towards your hips until your elbows are bent at 90°. Pause and squeeze your shoulder blades together, then slowly lower the dumbbells under control.

3 Dumbbell shoulder press

Sets 4 Reps 8-10 Rest 90sec

Sit on an upright bench, holding dumbbells at shoulder height, elbows out to the sides. Press the dumbbells overhead until your arms are fully extended. Slowly lower the dumbbells back to shoulder height. Keep your back and core engaged throughout, and avoid using excessive momentum or arching your back.

4 Lat pull-down

Sets 4 Reps 8-10 Rest 90sec

Sit in a lat pull-down machine with your legs securely under the thigh pad. Using a wide-bar attachment, grip the bar wider than shoulder-width apart with your palms facing forward. Maintaining a slight arch in your lower back, pull the bar to your upper chest. Retract your shoulder blades and bring your elbows towards your body. Pause and squeeze your lats before slowly releasing the bar back to the starting position.

5 Triceps press-down 

Sets 3 Reps 10-12  Rest 90sec

Attach a straight bar to a high pulley. Hold the bar in front of your chest using an overhand grip, keeping your elbows close to your body. Extend your arms to pull the bar down to your thighs. Pause and squeeze your triceps. Slowly return to the start. Keep your back straight and avoid leaning excessively forward.

6 Cable curl

Sets 3 Reps 10-12  Rest 90sec

Attach a straight bar to a low pulley. Hold the bar in front of your thighs using an underhand grip, keeping your elbows close to your body. Bend your elbows to lift the bar to your shoulders. Pause and squeeze your biceps. Slowly lower the bar to the Start. Keep your core braced throughout and avoid using your back for momentum.

Workout Tips

Time Your Rests

Rest is as important a variable as sets and reps. Read recommends using a stopwatch to help you stick to the rest periods.

Get The Weight Right

“Choose a weight that leaves one or two reps in the tank at the end of your first set,” says Read. Then, by the end of your last set, you should be at or near muscle failure. 

“Muscle growth, or hypertrophy, requires enough volume for adequate stimulus. On the flip side, the weight should not be so light that you could perform more than 12 reps on all sets.”

Control The Eccentric

There are three phases of any strength training exercise: the concentric, eccentric and isometric. 

The concentric is the one most people will focus on, where the working muscle is contracting. For example, raising the dumbbells towards your shoulders during a biceps curl.

“Work the eccentric portion of each movement as well,” says Read. “As you lower the weight to the bottom position in reach repetition, control it. This works both directions of the movement for a better overall stimulus.”

Make Smart Swaps

“If you do not have access to all the equipment in this workout, you can swap the exercises for similar movements utilizing different equipment,” says Read. 

In many cases, there are dumbbell and bodyweight exercises you can sub in. 

“For example, pull-ups instead of lat pull-downs, dumbbell skullcrushers instead of triceps press-downs, and dumbbell curls instead of cable curls.”

If you’re going to the gym to get strong you need to lift weights that are heavy enough to challenge your muscles. However, you don’t need to lift as heavy as you possibly can in every session to benefit from your time in the weights room.

This lower-body workout from personal trainer Hannah Ashby caught our attention because it prescribes lighter weights than you would normally use to prioritize range of motion. As we found out when we asked her to explain more, that doesn’t mean it’s any less challenging. “Keeping the weight down means that you can keep the volume high, take less rest to keep the intensity high and get extra depth, all of which add intensity to your workout without loading the weight,” says Ashby.

High-volume strength workouts are a great way to build muscular endurance and often contain a conditioning element to improve your cardiovascular health.

As Ashby says, lifting lighter than usual also gives you an opportunity to focus on your form and increase your range of movement, squatting deeper than normal, for example, to challenge your muscles in new ways.

“It’s a good way to switch up your workouts if you’re lifting heavy often. Or if you haven’t lifted heavy in a while and you’re looking to ease yourself back in, these workouts are a good way to do that,” says Ashby.

Tempo is also important in this workout. Move slowly throughout each of the lifts to increase the time under tension, which boosts muscle growth. A couple of the moves also involve isometric holds and pulses to develop your strength and control.

“Before you start this workout, make sure you take some time to do mobility work,” says Ashby. Our warm-up routine is a good place to start, then you can move on to these mobility exercises for your hips and these glute activation exercises.

This workout starts with barbell back squats, which Ashby recommends you do at 50% of your one rep max. This is followed by two supersets. The final exercise is hip thrusts, which you can also keep the weight fairly light for, as the rep range is moderate.

Watch Ashby's Instagram reel below where she demonstrates each of the exercises and keep scrolling for suggested sets and reps provided by Ashby. Click the exercise name to read our in-depth exercise guides. 

• 1 Barbell back squat 5 x 10
• 2A Romanian deadlift 5 x 10
• 2B Overhead reverse lunge 5 x 8 each side
• 3A Bulgarian split squat 4 x 10
• 3B Heel-elevated glute bridge with resistance band 4 x 15 (10sec isometric hold on final two reps)
• 4 Hip thrust 5 x 10 (5sec pulse followed by 5sec hold on final rep)

Arnold Schwarzenegger is arguably the biggest name in bodybuilding history, both literally and figuratively. 

Now, the Austrian Oak has shared the two-hour chest and back workout he used to pack on mass during his Mr Olympia golden era. So I (the British twig) decided to give it a go. 

“I want to give a serious warning,” Schwarzenegger writes in his Pump Club newsletter. “If you haven’t been training for a really long time, this isn’t a good idea.”

I’ve been lifting in some form for 10 years, from powerlifting to calisthenics to (most recently) CrossFit. But it all started in my teenage bedroom with some good old-fashioned bodybuilding, so this note of caution served to fire me up for a return to my hypertrophy training roots.

Then I scrolled down and realized what was in store.

Arnold Schwzarzenegger’s Chest And Back Workout

Warm-up: 10 minutes of abs exercises

• 1 Deadlift: Sets 3 Reps 10, 8, 6 Rest 2-3min
• 2A Wide-grip weighted chin-up: Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 0min
• 2B Incline bench press: Sets 4 Reps 15, 12, 8, 6 Rest 2-3min
• 3A Bench press: Sets 4 Reps 15, 12, 8, 6 Rest 0min
• 3B Chin-up: Sets 4 Reps 15 Rest 2-3min
• 4A Dumbbell flye: Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 0min
• 4B Wide-grip bent-over row: Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 2-3min
• 5A Machine pull-over: Sets 4 Reps 15 Rest 0min
• 5B Triceps dip: Sets 4 Reps To failure Rest 0min
• 5C Cable flye: Sets 4 Reps 12-15 Rest 2-3min
• 6A Seated cable row: Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 0min
• 6B One-arm cable row: Sets 4 Reps 10-12 Rest 0min
• 6C Dumbbell pull-over: Sets 4 Reps 15 Rest 2-3min

Four Things I Learned Doing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Chest And Back Workout

1. Effective Bodybuilding Is Hard

I’m used to metcons that reduce me to a sweaty mess on the floor and lifting sessions that leave my muscles quivering, so I thought a lengthy bodybuilding workout with rest periods of two minutes might be an almost relaxing alternative. 

It was not. 

For each set I picked a weight that had me flirting with failure and, combined with doing supersets, this sent the intensity off the charts. Relief, rather than relaxation, is what I felt during the two minutes.

The workout took me about 2½ hours and left me feeling like I’d gone 12 rounds with the Terminator. My fatigued muscles forced me to reduce the last few reps of the final set of dumbbell pull-overs to cluster sets of singles.

The experience made me realize how little intensity I used to put into bodybuilding workouts during college. I’d pat myself on the back for making it into the gym between studying and nights out before hitting three sets of 12 on a couple of my favorite exercises at a fairly comfortable weight. 

For the best results, you need to push yourself. That’s progressive overload 101. 

2. More Volume Means More Pump

In my regular training routine I use the three big lifts (the barbell squat, bench press and deadlift) to build strength and power, focusing on fewer reps, but this workout had chunky sets of up to 15 reps for most exercises. 

This was a new challenge and one which dented my ego. My muscular endurance was found wanting and, to hit the rep goals, I had to strip plates from the bar and lift lighter than I had anticipated. 

But the payback was almost instant when I experienced Schwarzenegger’s fabled “pump”.

3. A Workout Partner Would Have Been Welcome

When I watched the recent three-part Netflix documentary Arnold, my ears pricked up when Schwarzenegger discussed his talent for creating a community. Whether he was pumping iron in rural Austria, in England or on Muscle Beach, he brought together like-minded individuals for support, camaraderie and competition. 

It’s something I can relate to. Training in a CrossFit box, my average session is almost as much a social endeavor as it is a fitness one, including chats with other regulars and moaning about the programming (sorry coach). 

I tackled this two-hour session solo, and by the second half I was in need of a supportive word, or at least the reassurance that someone else was in the same boat as me. If you like lifting alone, all power to you, but my advice would be to rope in a training partner. 

4. It’s Not Completely Doable In Commercial Gyms

I tackled this workout in a commercial gym in the UK, and for the most part I was able to follow it to the letter. However, I did encounter a couple of problems. 

During the supersets, I would finish cranking out bench press reps only to find the pull-up bar I had been using was now taken. I then had to substitute dips for straight bar dips in a power rack because the only dip station was occupied, and machine pull-overs became banded lat pull-downs. 

I also had to run between the cable machines and free weights area during the final tri-set. They were located at opposite ends of the warehouse-sized space. 

Will I Be Back?

“You’ve survived,” Schwarzenegger writes after the final exercise in his chest and back marathon. 

“It took me at least two hours, and then I went back to the gym for another two-hour workout at night. I was a bodybuilding champion, and I had also been a powerlifting champion in Europe. If it feels like too much, stop.”

It’s sound advice. This workout is only for people with extensive experience in the weights room and even this is likely to leave you struggling to give good hugs for a few days. However, it’s also incredibly fun. 

At the end, my T-shirt felt a little bit tighter in all the right places courtesy of an almighty pump, and my muscles had that enjoyable numbness only quality time with a barbell can bring.

My ego quite liked it, and I even allowed myself a glance in one of the gym’s many mirrors as I trudged to the locker room. If you, in common with most people, like the idea of looking good naked then this workout is custom-made to help with that. 

I may even be tempted to include a little more bodybuilding in my weekly routine, although I won’t be leaving CrossFit any time soon. 

As someone who loves to learn and hasn’t always had an impeccable relationship with my body image, CrossFit’s focus on performance suits me perfectly. I work each day to improve the way I move during Olympic lifts, add new skills like handstands and muscle-ups to my repertoire, and build strength. It’s fun, and there are far more things to celebrate than how I look in a mirror.

I definitely recommend trying this workout if you’ve been lifting for a while and want to push yourself, but for your overall approach to training, find what makes you feel good and see how far it can take you.

Want to start with a less taxing session? Try this chest and back workout instead.

A good chest and back workout is a staple of many gym training plans. This session created by Luiz Silva, head of fitness and wellbeing at Castle Royle of The Club Company, is designed to help build strength and size in your upper body.

Knowing that people don’t always have the same amount of time to train each week, Silva has created a workout that can be approached in a few different ways, depending on your available time.

How To Do This Workout

Silva has offered a few ways to complete the workout. The first is to simply work through 3-4 sets of each exercise with a 90-second to two-minute rest in between sets, as detailed below. 

The second, if you don’t have as much time is to do three sets of each move and take a 45-60 second rest between sets.

The final option, when time is even more limited, is to do supersets, which is a great way to squeeze in an upper-body workout when time is tight. Simply pair one chest move and one back move into a combined set, only resting for 60 seconds when you’ve performed a set of each. Silva suggests doing exercises 1 and 4, 2 and 5, and 3 and 6 together, for 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps.

Silva recommends doing the workout two to three times a week.

How To Choose The Right Weight

“Gauge the weight by using the range of repetitions as a guide,” says Silva. “If you can do more than 12 reps, increase the weight, but if you can’t get at least eight reps in, then decrease the weight. 

“Work with a full range of motion—don’t sacrifice a good-quality rep in order to increase the weight. Try to stretch the muscle work slightly before doing the next rep. So if you're doing a bench press, make sure you feel a small stretch across the chest muscles before pushing the bar back up.”

Chest And Back Workout 

1 Dumbbell bench press

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-12 Rest 90-120sec

Lie on a flat bench with both feet on the floor, holding dumbbells by your chest with your elbows bent at 90°. Create a small arch of the lower back—the gap between your back and the bench should be no wider than a flat hand.

Position your elbows just below your shoulder line so there is a small stretch across the chest. Push the weight straight up, but don’t fully extend your elbows. Lower the dumbbells under control back to the start position.

2 Incline dumbbell A-press

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-12 Rest 90-120sec

Set a bench to a 30° incline. Lie back, holding the dumbbells with your palms facing and keeping a bend in your elbows. Position your elbows just below your shoulder line so there is a stretch across your chest. Push the weights up toward the ceiling until the dumbbells meet at the top. Don’t let your elbows extend fully. Lower the dumbbells back to the start position.

3 Cable flye

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-12 Rest 90sec-2min

Stand in the middle of a cable machine, holding two D-handles attached to high pulleys. Your arms should be spread wide with elbows slightly bent and you should face away from the towers. Lean your trunk forward 45-60°. Press the handles forward until they meet in front of your chest. Your hands should draw a rainbow shape with the handles. Return to the start position in a slow and controlled manner.

4 One-arm dumbbell row

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-12 each side Rest 90sec-2min

Hold a dumbbell with your right hand, and place your left hand on a knee-high bench by leaning forward from the hips while keeping your back straight. Your back should be close to horizontal. Pull the dumbbell toward your ribs by lifting your elbow towards the ceiling, making sure to keep it close to your body, and squeeze your right shoulder blade in toward your spine. Lower the weight until your arm is fully extended. Complete the set and then repeat with your left arm.

5 Barbell bent-over row

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-12 each side Rest 90sec-2min

Hold a barbell with your grip wider than shoulder-width apart, and bend forward from your hips until your trunk is close to parallel to the floor. Bend your knees slightly to facilitate the hip hinge. Keep your core muscles braced tightly while holding this position. Your arms should be fully extended.

Pull the bar toward your lower ribs by driving your elbows toward the ceiling. Make sure you squeeze your shoulder blades. Avoid rocking your body to move the bar—if this is happening, use a lighter weight. Lower the bar in a controlled manner until you’re back in the start position.

6 Straight-arm cable pull-down

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-12 each side Rest 90sec-2min

Attach a straight bar to a high pulley and hold it with your hands wider than shoulder-width apart. Hold the bar with your arms straight and lean forward so your trunk is at a 45° angle with your head between your arms. Keep your arms straight as you pull the bar to your thighs, drawing a semi-circle shape. Reverse the move in a controlled manner.

Superset Chest And Back Workout

Push/pull workout splits are a great way of structuring your time in the gym, but another smart way of approaching upper-body workouts is to do antagonistic supersets, a method that pairs exercises which work opposing muscle groups.

That’s the approach taken in this challenging chest and back workout, created by Will Duru, a personal trainer and level 4 strength and conditioning coach.

Duru explains that supersets are a great way to keep muscles under tension for longer. “They also damage more muscle fibres, which later helps to build muscle and increase strength,” he says. “Supersets also burn more calories.”

This gym-based workout is made up of three supersets and a single exercise. You’ll need a barbell, pull-up bar, bench, suspension trainer and a cable machine.

Follow the sets, reps and rest indicated. The reps in the supersets often decrease, so stay focused, and Duru has programmed short rest periods, so be prepared for your muscles to stay fired up.

1A Bench press 

Sets 6 Reps 15, 12, 8, 6, 6, 2 Rest 0sec

Lie on a flat bench underneath a barbell in a rack. Hold the barbell with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Driving your shoulder blades into the bench, lift the bar out of the rack, then slowly lower it to the base of your chest. Push your feet into the floor and your back into the bench as you press the barbell back up.

1B Pull-up

Sets 6 Reps 10, 8, 8, 6, 4, 4 Rest 30sec

Hold a pull-up bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your palms facing forwards. Pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar. Think about driving the bar towards your chest. Lower under control. 

If a pull-up is too difficult, use a long looped resistance band and perform an assisted pull-up.

2A Dumbbell incline bench press

Sets 5 Reps 15, 12, 8, 6, 6 Rest 0sec

Sit on a bench set at an incline with your feet flat on the floor. Hold dumbbells by the top of your chest with your palms facing forwards. Engage your core and keep your back pressed into the bench as you press the dumbbells overhead. Lower under control. 

2B Bent-over row

Sets 5 Reps 20, 15, 8, 8, 8 Rest 30sec

Stand holding a barbell in front of your thighs with your hands just outside of your legs and your palms facing you. Push your hips back and lower your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor. Stay in this position as you drive your elbows back, pulling the bar up to your rib cage. Pause, squeeze your shoulder blades, then lower the bar under control. 

3A Press-up

Sets 5 Reps 20, 20, 15, 15, 10 Rest 0sec

Get into a high plank position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Brace your core, then bend your elbows, keeping them close to your body, to slowly lower your torso to the floor. Push up powerfully to the start.

3B TRX row 

Sets 5 Reps 20, 20, 15, 15, 10 Rest 30sec

Stand holding the handles of the TRX (or other suspension trainer) and lean back so your body is in a straight line and your arms are extended. The closer your feet are to the anchor point the harder the exercise will be. Pull your body to the handles until your hands are by your chest. Pause, squeeze your shoulder blades, then slowly extend your arms to lower.

4 Cable flye

Sets 5 Reps 15 Rest 30sec

Attach D-handles to a cable machine’s high pulleys. Stand in the middle in a split stance with one foot in front of the other, holding the handles at shoulder height. Maintaining a slight bend in your elbows, bring the handles in front of your chest. Pause, then return to the start under control.

Speed is the name of the game when it comes to this metabolic conditioning (metcon) workout.

EvolveYou coach Melissa Kendter, a PT and advanced functional training specialist certified by the American Council of Exercise, has chosen five moves that together work the lower and upper body as well as your core.

“Metcon is a style of high-intensity training that combines strength and cardio conditioning,” says Kendter. “A metcon workout is usually structured in circuit style with exercises performed back to back. Metcons can be quite intense and are typically programmed for intermediate to advanced fitness goers. Although the aim is speed, you want to be sure that your form and technique stay on point.”

You need a barbell and set of dumbbells to perform this workout. Choose your weights carefully: you want ones which pose a challenge but still allow you to move at speed with flawless form. Once you’ve thoroughly limbered up (use this gym warm-up if you don’t have your own routine), set a timer and see how quickly you can complete five rounds of the following.

1 Barbell front squat

Reps 10

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, back flat and a slight bend in your knees. Hold a barbell so it rests on your upper chest with your palms facing away from you and elbows pointing forwards. Keeping your chest up, push your hips back and bend your knees to lower until your thighs are at least parallel with the floor. Push through your heels to return to standing. 

2 Barbell bent-over row

Reps 10

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a slight bend in your knees, holding the barbell in front of your thighs with your palms facing you. Hinge at your hips and lower your torso until it is almost parallel to the ground, letting your arms hang down and keeping a slight bend in your knees. Draw your elbows up past your torso to raise the barbell to your ribs. Pause and squeeze your shoulder blades, then slowly lower the barbell. 

3 Dumbbell lateral lunge

Reps 10 each side

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding dumbbells by your sides. Take a big step to the right and, keeping your left leg straight, lower until your right knee is bent at around 90°. Make sure your right knee doesn’t travel past your toes and keep your torso as upright as possible. Push through your right heel to return to standing, and alternate sides with each rep. 

4 Hammer curl to press

Reps 10

Stand holding dumbbells in front of your thighs, palms facing. Bend your elbows to curl the dumbbells to your shoulders, then extend your arms straight up to press the dumbbells overhead. Reverse the movement to the start.

5 Sit-up

Reps 10

Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor and knees bent. Place your hands wherever is most comfortable. Raise your torso to meet your knees using the muscles in your core. Pause at the top, then lower back to the start under control. Aim to keep your feet flat on the floor throughout. 

There are many effective arm exercises that isolate the biceps and triceps muscles, but when putting together the best arm workout plan you need to think about more than just your arms. The workouts below are designed to train the entire body over the course of a week, but pay special attention to the biceps and triceps so you can be sure your upper arms are going to get stronger and bigger.

It’s a tough training schedule and not for beginners, but if you’re already an experienced lifter, this progressive, four-week arm workout plan will help you continue to challenge yourself in the weights room. You will need to hit a gym to tackle the plan unless your home gym is phenomenally well equipped, because the workouts involve using heavy free-weights, cable stacks and weights machines. If you’re looking for another effective approach to training your arms, then a push-pull workout is a great option.

How To Do These Arm Workouts

Each week you’ll perform four arm workouts, ideally on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Rather than repeating the same workouts each week, the plan is divided into two-week blocks, and the weekly workouts in each block increase in intensity the second time round.

Each workout has six moves you’ll do as straight sets, sticking to the sets, reps, tempo and rest detailed. Tempo is the speed at which you lift and lower the weight in seconds, and it’s written out as a sequence of four numbers. The first number is the time you should take to lower the weight (called the eccentric phase), the second is how long you should pause at the bottom of the rep, the third refers to the lifting portion (the concentric phase), while the fourth is how long to pause at the top of the rep.

A 3010 tempo means you take three seconds to lower it and one to raise it, with no pause at the top or bottom. It sounds straightforward, but some exercises like the biceps curl begin with the lifting movement (governed by the third number), so keep your wits about you.

How To Warm Up For Arm Workouts

There’s no easing in with any of these arm workouts, because each of them starts with a big compound lift like the bench press or barbell back squat. This means that you need to prime your body for action with a thorough warm-up. This will help you perform better, especially in the early sets of your workout, and also make it less likely that you’ll injure yourself during your session.

The bulk of your warm-up needs to be specific to the workout you’re about to do, but it’s a good idea to begin with a series of dynamic stretches that hit muscles all over your body. You’ll find such a series with this weights warm-up routine, with seven moves that prime all the key muscle groups.

After performing that routine, it’s time to get specific and the easiest way to do that is to perform some of the exercises you’re about to do in the workout. Using lighter weights that you would normally, or no weight at all if appropriate, perform sets of the first two moves of each workout. Begin by doing a high-rep, low-weight set to get your muscles moving, then increase the weight and decrease the reps as you move towards starting your workout proper.

Arm Workout Block 1

Below you’ll find the four weekly arm workouts, along with the sets, reps, tempo and rest information for the first and second week of each. In the second week, you’ll do an extra set of the first two moves of each circuit and an extra two reps of moves three to six to increase your training volume.

Monday Arm Workout: Chest And Back

1 Bench press

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Lie flat on a bench, holding a bar with a shoulder-width grip. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Lower the bar until it touches your chest, then press it back up powerfully.

2 Bent-over row

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a barbell with a shoulder-width overhand grip. Bend forwards, hinging from your hips, but keep your chest up and your core braced. Row the bar up to your body, leading with your elbows. Pause at the top, then lower.

3 Incline dumbbell flye

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Lie back on an incline bench, holding two dumbbells directly over your chest with straight arms. Bend your elbows slightly, then lower your hands out to the sides until you feel a stretch across your chest. Squeeze your pecs to return to the start.

4 Lat pull-down

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself at the machine with a shoulder-width overhand grip on the bar. Keeping your chest up and abs braced, pull the bar down, leading with your elbows. Hold the bottom position for a second, then return to the start.

5 One-arm cable press

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 each side Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 each side Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall with your back to a cable machine, holding a D-handle in one hand. Keeping your chest up and core braced, press your hand forwards until your arm is straight. Reverse back to the start and repeat for all the reps, then switch arms.

6 Dumbbell pull-over

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 4010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 4010 Rest 60sec

Lie flat on a bench, holding a dumbbell in both hands above your chest with straight arms. Lower the weight behind your head in a slow and controlled movement, keeping your arms straight, then raise it back to the start position.

Wednesday Workout: Legs And Abs

1 Back squat

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a bar across the back of your shoulders. Keeping your chest up and your whole body tight, bend your knees to squat down as low as you can but don’t let your knees roll inwards. Push through your heels to stand back up.

2 Romanian deadlift

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a barbell with an overhand grip. Keeping your chest up and core braced, bend forwards, hinging at the hips, to let the bar roll down the front of your legs until you feel a good stretch in your hamstrings. Reverse the movement.

3 Leg extension

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself correctly on the machine with the padded bar against the bottom of your shins. Keeping your upper body tight, raise your feet to straighten your legs. Pause at the top with your quads engaged, then lower back to the start.

4 Hamstring curl

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Position yourself correctly on the machine with the padded bar against the backs of your lower legs. Keeping your upper body tight, push your feet down to bend your legs. Pause at the top with your hamstrings engaged, then lower back to the start.

5 Crunch

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and hands by your temples or crossed over your chest. Engage your upper abs to raise your torso, then crunch your upper body up towards your knees. Lower slowly, keeping tension on your abs throughout.

6 Plank

Week 1: Sets 3 Time 30sec Tempo N/A Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Time 45sec Tempo N/A Rest 60sec

Get into position with your elbows under your shoulders, your feet together and your hips raised with abs and glutes engaged so your body forms a straight line from head to heels. Hold this position without letting your hips drop.

Friday Workout: Biceps And Triceps

1 Underhand lat pull-down

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself at the machine with a shoulder-width underhand grip on the bar. Keeping your chest up and abs braced, pull the bar down, leading with your elbows. Hold the bottom position for a second, then return to the start.

2 Triceps dip

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 6-10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 6-10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Grip parallel bars with straight arms and your legs crossed behind you. Keeping your chest up and core braced, bend your elbows to lower your body until your elbows are bent at 90°. Press back up to return to the start.

3 Dumbbell biceps curl

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing forwards. Keeping your elbows tight to your sides, curl the weights up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower the weights back to the start.

4 Dumbbell triceps extension

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 each side Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 each side Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a dumbbell over your head with your arm straight. Keeping your elbow pointing to the ceiling, lower the weight behind your head, then straighten your arm to return to the start. Repeat for all the reps, then switch arms.

5 Cable biceps curl

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall in front of a cable machine, holding a straight-bar handle attached to the lower pulley with palms facing forwards. Keeping your chest up and elbows tight to your sides, curl your hands up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower.

6 Cable triceps press-down

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall in front of a cable machine, holding a straight-bar handle attached to the high pulley with palms facing down. Keeping your chest up and elbows tight to your sides, press your hands down to straighten your arms, then slowly return to the start.

Saturday Workout: Shoulders And Arms

1 Overhead press

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a bar across the front of your chest with an overhand grip. Keeping your chest up and core engaged, press the bar directly overhead so your arms are straight. Lower it under control to return to the start.

2 Chin-up

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 6-10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 6-10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Hold a bar with an underhand grip and hang with your body straight. Brace your abs and glutes and engage your lats, then pull up until your chin is above your hands. Pause at the top, then lower yourself back to the start under control.

3 EZ-bar upright row

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding an EZ-bar with a shoulder-width overhand grip. Keeping your chest up and core braced, row the bar up to chin height, leading with your elbows. Pause at the top, then lower the bar back to the start under control.

4 Incline dumbbell biceps curl

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Sit on an incline bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing forwards and your elbows tight to your sides. Keeping your elbows there, curl the weights up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower the weights.

5 Dumbbell lateral raise

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec

Stand tall, holding a light dumbbell in each hand by your sides with a slight bend in your elbows. Keeping your chest up and core braced, raise the weights out to shoulder height, leading with your elbows, then return slowly to the start.

6 Cable triceps press-down

Week 1: Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall in front of a cable machine, holding a straight-bar handle attached to the high pulley with palms facing down. Keeping your chest up and elbows tight to your sides, press your hands down to straighten your arms, then slowly return to the start.

Arm Workout Plan Block 2

For the second block of your four-week plan, the session structure has been changed to shift the high-volume emphasis from your arms to your chest. So in this block there are two chest workouts a week, but don’t worry about losing your newfound arm size and strength – there are still enough biceps exercises and triceps exercises to keep the gains coming.

As with the second week of the first block, you’ll add an extra set to the first two moves and an extra two reps to the remaining exercises. 

Monday Workout: Chest And Back

1 Incline bench press

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Lie back on an incline bench, holding a bar with a shoulder-width grip. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Lower the bar until it touches your chest, then press it back up powerfully.

2 Wide lat pull-down

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Position yourself at the machine with a double shoulder-width overhand grip on the bar. Keeping your chest up and abs braced, pull the bar down, leading with your elbows. Hold the bottom position for a second, then return to the start.

3 Dumbbell bench press

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Lie on a flat bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand at chest height. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Press the weights straight up so your arms are straight, then lower them under control back to the start.

4 Seated row

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Sit on the machine, holding a double-grip cable attachment in both hands. Keeping your chest up, row your hands in towards your body, leading with your elbows. Pause at the top position, then return to the start.

5 One-arm cable press

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 each side Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 each side Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall with your back to a cable machine, holding a D-handle in one hand. Keeping your chest up and core braced, press your hand forwards until your arm is straight. Reverse back to the start and repeat for all the reps, then switch arms.

6 Straight-arm cable pull-down

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall facing a cable machine, holding a straight-bar handle with both hands. Keeping your chest up, pull the bar down towards your thighs in a smooth arc. Pause at the bottom, then reverse the movement back to the start.

Wednesday Workout: Legs And Shoulders

1 Back squat

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a bar across the back of your shoulders. Keeping your chest up and your whole body tight, bend your knees to squat down as low as you can but don’t let your knees roll inwards. Push through your heels to stand back up.

2 Overhead press

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a bar across the front of your chest with an overhand grip. Keeping your chest up and core engaged, press the bar directly overhead so your arms are straight. Lower it under control to return to the start.

3 Leg extension

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself correctly on the machine with the padded bar against the bottom of your shins. Keeping your upper body tight, raise your feet to straighten your legs. Pause at the top with your quads engaged, then lower back to the start.

4 Seated dumbbell lateral raise

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Sit on an upright bench, holding a light dumbbell in each hand by your sides with a slight bend in your elbows. Keeping your chest up and core braced, raise the weights out to shoulder height, leading with your elbows, then return slowly to the start.

5 Hamstring curl

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself correctly on the machine with the padded bar against the backs of your lower legs. Keeping your upper body tight, push your feet down to bend your legs. Pause at the top with your hamstrings engaged, then lower back to the start.

6 EZ-bar upright row

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding an EZ-bar with a shoulder-width overhand grip. Keeping your chest up and core braced, row the bar up to chin height, leading with your elbows. Pause at the top, then lower the bar back to the start under control.

Friday Workout: Chest And Triceps

1 Bench press

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Lie on a flat bench, holding a bar with a shoulder-width grip. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Lower the bar until it touches your chest, then press it back up powerfully to the start.

2 Incline dumbbell flye

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Lie back on an incline bench, holding two dumbbells directly over your chest with straight arms. Bend your elbows slightly, then lower your hands out to the sides until you feel a stretch across your chest. Squeeze your pecs to return to the start.

3 Triceps dip

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 6-10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 8-10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Grip parallel bars with straight arms and your legs crossed behind you. Keeping your chest up and core braced, bend your elbows to lower your body until your elbows are bent at 90°. Press back up to return to the start.

4 Incline dumbbell shoulder press

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Lie flat on an incline bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand at chest height. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Press the weights straight up so your arms are straight, then lower them under control.

5 Cable triceps press-down

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall in front of a cable machine, holding a straight-bar handle attached to the high pulley with palms facing down. Keeping your chest up and elbows fixed to your sides, press your hands down to straighten your arms, then slowly return to the start.

6 Press-up

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10-15 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12-15 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Start in the press-up position – hands on the floor, shoulders, elbows and wrists aligned, and feet together. Brace your core, then bend your elbows to lower your chest to the floor. Press back up powerfully to return to the start.

Saturday Workout: Back And Biceps

1 Chin-up

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 6-10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 6-10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Hold a bar with an underhand grip and hang with your body straight. Brace your abs and glutes and engage your lats, then pull up until your chin is above your hands. Pause at the top, then lower yourself back to the start under control.

2 Lat pull-down

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself at the machine with a shoulder-width overhand grip on the bar. Keeping your chest up and abs braced, pull the bar down, leading with your elbows. Hold the bottom position for a second, then return to the start.

3 Prone dumbbell row

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Lie chest-down on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand. Keeping your chest against the bench, row the weights up, leading with your elbows. Hold the top position, then lower the weights back to the start .

4 Prone dumbbell reverse flye

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Lie chest-down on an incline bench holding a light dumbbell in each hand. Keeping your chest against the bench, raise the weights to the sides, leading with your elbows. Hold the top position, then lower the weights back to the start.

5 Dumbbell biceps curl

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing inwards. Keeping your elbows tight to your sides, curl the weights up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower the weights back to the start.

6 Dumbbell hammer curl

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing each other. Keeping your elbows tight to your sides, curl the weights up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower the weights back to the start.

How To Fuel This Arms Workout Plan

What you eat is as important as how you work out if you want a bigger and stronger body. You don’t need to start logging every macronutrient and counting every calorie, but following a few simple rules will help you to support your training and eat more healthily in general.

When you’re lifting weights regularly your protein intake becomes important, since this will help to build bigger and stronger muscles. Aim to consume 1.2g-2g of protein per kilo of bodyweight, which is the range recommended by dietitian Susan Short when we interviewed her about how much protein you need to build muscle. It’s advantageous to get your protein through food rather than supplements and it will be easier than you think. However, mixing protein powder into a protein shake after a workout is fine once in a while. Use our recommendations of the best protein powders to find a shake that suits your preferences.

You also need carbs to fuel your training. Aim to eat wholegrain varieties like brown rice and sweet potatoes on your rest days for their higher fibre content. You’ll also want to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. (You’re doing that already, right?) When you’re training hard it becomes even more important to provide your body with the right vitamins to build muscle, and ticking off your five-a-day every day goes a long way towards doing that.

If all the dietary advice above sounds like a lot of hard work, there is another option—healthy meal prep services. This is a more expensive option than meal planning and cooking for yourself, but getting meals tailored to your fitness goals and dietary preferences delivered to your door can make life a lot easier, especially if you’re short of time.

One last thing to consider is your alcohol intake. For some people cutting out booze is the simplest way to eliminate large numbers of calories from their daily intake. Alcohol in the evening can affect your sleep too, so taking a break from the sauce can boost your body’s ability to recover and respond to the training stimulus.

Arm Workout Plan FAQs

Why Does This Arm Workout Plan Train The Entire Body?

The best arm workout plan has to involve lifts that don’t just target your arms. For one thing, just doing arm exercises every day is going to get boring very quickly and besides, you can’t train one part of the body that often anyway because you need to give the muscles time to recover and grow.

More importantly, to keep progressing with your arm exercises you have to build strength throughout your body, because your body will always stay balanced, as Nick Mitchell, CEO and founder of Ultimate Performance, explained when we asked him for the best biceps workout.

“I was once asked by a client: ‘Nick, if I did 100 biceps curls on each arm every day, would I have massive biceps in about a month?’ Unfortunately, the human body just doesn’t work that way,” Mitchell says. “Your body will always fight to stay in balance, and it takes an extra 10-15lb of overall lean bodyweight to add an inch to the circumference of your arms.”

Adding bodyweight is one of your main goals with arm workouts then, which means bringing in a variety of compound exercises. 

“One of the most common reasons people don’t gain size in their arms is because they are underweight. Have you ever seen a 60kg guy with 17-inch arms? Probably not,” says Mitchell. “A lack of arm size is just a lack of overall growth, and so getting strong on compound lifts like the bench press, the overhead press, deadlift, chin-up and the barbell squat will help contribute to more overall muscle mass, which will help drive overall bodyweight up and so make your arms bigger.”

As an added incentive to do the rounded workouts below rather than just doing isolation arm exercises, remember that even if you could build huge arms without training the rest of your body, those arms would look pretty ridiculous hanging off a skinny frame.

Adding weights to your HIIT workout is a brilliant way to build strength, burn calories and maximise the intensity of your workout. Amy Scott – personal trainer and owner of A E Scott Fitness – has mastered the art of programming a high-quality HIIT session and this one is guaranteed to put you through your paces.

“Although some of the exercises are technical, this workout is accessible for all levels,” Scott says. “All you need is a pair of medium to heavy dumbbells, a weight plate, and a kettlebell.”

Obviously a gym will have all those free weights, but if you fancy creating a well-stocked home gym, browse our selections of the best dumbbells, best weight plates and best kettlebells.

How To Do This HIIT Workout With Weights

“This workout uses two paired exercises performed as a Tabata,” Scott says. Tabata training is a popular but intense workout protocol, in which you traditionally perform eight rounds of all-out effort and a brief period of rest. Here, though, you’ll alternate between two exercises.  

“Work for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds, alternating between the two exercises eight times for a total of four minutes,” says Scott.

Rest for one minute between exercises. There are three pairs in total. Set aside time to warm up and warm down afterwards. 

1A Dumbbell clean and press

Sets 4 Time 20sec Rest 10sec

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding dumbbells by your sides in an overhand grip, palms facing your body. Engage your core. Hinge forwards at your hips and push your bum back, then bend your knees and lower into a partial squat. Perform the dumbbell clean by driving through your heels, extending your legs and thrusting your hips forwards to stand; use this momentum to simultaneously drive the weights up to your shoulders as you stand. Ensure your elbows stay raised and the weights remain close to your body. For the press, maintain a slight bend in your knees, keep your core engaged, and press the weights above your head. Lower the weights to your shoulders under control and reverse the movement back to your starting position to complete one rep. 

Practise the clean a few times before progressing to the press. Avoid overextending at your hips because this can place extra pressure on your lower back. 

1B Burpee

Sets 4 Time 20sec Rest 10sec

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Place your hands on the floor inside your feet, step or jump back into a high plank, then perform a press-up, keeping your core engaged so your hips don’t sag. Jump your feet to the outside of your hands, then explosively jump straight up and raise your hands above your head.

Remove the press-up if you’re struggling to maintain form.

2A Kettlebell goblet squat

Sets 4 Time 20sec Rest 10sec

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointing forwards. Hold the kettlebell in both hands close to your chest. Engage your core, then push your hips back and bend your knees to lower until your thighs parallel to the floor. Ensure your centre of gravity remains over your heels and keep your chest up. Drive through your heels to stand and give your glutes a good squeeze at the top.

Avoid rounding your spine as you squat and don’t overextend your hips at the top of the exercise.

2B Plank taps

Sets 4 Time 20sec Rest 10sec

Start in a high plank position with your shoulders over your hands, toes tucked under and arms extended, creating a straight line from head to toe.

Engage your core, glutes and thighs, and keep your hips raised. Tap your right shoulder with your left hand, then place your left hand back on the floor. Then tap your left shoulder with your right hand. Continue, alternating sides. Avoid swinging your hips. 

3A Weight plate ground to overhead

Sets 4 Time 20sec Rest 10sec

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing outwards at 45°. 

Hold the weight plate in both hands close to your chest with your palms facing you. Engage your core and keep your back flat throughout. Hinge forwards at your hips, push your bum back and bend your knees slightly as you extend your arms and tap the floor. Drive your hips forwards and extend your legs to bring the weight back to the starting position by your chest. Keeping a soft bend in your knees, press the weight above your head. Lower the weight back to chest level under control.

This exercise should be performed as one fluid movement. 

3B Weight plate overhead lunge 

Sets 4 Time 20sec Rest 10sec

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the weight in both hands, close to your chest. Engage your core, then press the weight above your head and lock out your elbows. With your core still engaged, step back into a lunge, keeping your front knee directly over your front hee. Slowly lower your back knee to the floor, aiming for a light tap, then driving through your front heel to return to standing. Alternate legs with each rep.

Leaning forwards is common during an overhead lunge; while a slight lean is fine, try to avoid any excess leaning and lift through your spine instead. Try walking lunges as a progression for this exercise.

When you first start resistance training it can be surprisingly easy to build muscle – it’ll feel gruelling, obviously, but you’ll pack on muscle quite quickly. However, after a time, muscle development can slow and while there can be many reasons for this, one of the most common is that your body has adapted and needs a different stimulus. If you suspect that’s the case, try these 21s workouts to see if they do the trick.

What are 21s? 

They’re workouts that use a weightlifting technique referred to as partial reps. You do 21 reps of an exercise, but use a light weight and do only the first half of the movement for a third of the reps, the second half of the movement for another third of the reps, then the entire movement for the final third of the reps. 

Take biceps curls as an example: lift the weights only halfway up and lower seven times, then start at the halfway point of the curl and do the top half seven times. Finally complete seven full reps for a total of 21 reps. You don’t rest at all during the sequence, which is why you need to pick a much lighter weight than usual.

What are the benefits of 21s?

The purpose of 21s is to place the targeted body part under a sustained and unusual load to maximise muscle fatigue. This puts enough microtears in the fast-twitch muscle fibres to ensure continued growth, which may have faltered after repetitive training. By increasing the time under tension and duration of the set, they also burn more calories to help you lose body fat and also increase your muscular endurance. 

21s Workout Plan

We’ve got a three-workout-a-week plan to try. Here’s what you need to know.

Do each workout once a week, leaving one day’s rest between each session. Allow 45 minutes for each session, including the warm-up.

Start by doing five minutes on a piece of cardio equipment, then do four sets of full-body bodyweight exercises, such as star jumps and burpees. 

For the 21s exercises, choose a weight that’s 40% of what you can normally lift 10 times. For the partial reps, take one second to lift the weight and one second to lower. Take two to three seconds to lower for full reps.

Rest for 60 seconds between sets and two minutes between exercises.

Workout A: Shoulders And Arms 21s Workout

1 Dumbbell overhead press

Sets 3 Reps 21 (7, 7, 7) 

Target: shoulders 

To do a full rep, stand holding dumbbells above your shoulders, with your palms facing forwards, your upper arms pointing to the sides and a 90° bend in your elbows. Brace your core and, without tilting your hips forwards, extend your arms to raise the dumbbells. Lower under control. 

2 Dumbbell curl

Sets 3 Reps 21 (7, 7, 7) 

Target: biceps

To do a full rep, stand holding dumbbells in front of your thighs with your palms facing forwards. Keeping your back straight and your upper arms pinned to your body, bend your elbows to lift the dumbbells to your shoulders. Lower under control. 

3 Triceps press-down

Sets 3 Reps 21 (7, 7, 7) 

Target: triceps

Set up a cable machine by attaching the rope handle at head height. To do a full rep, stand holding the rope handles in line with your upper chest, with your upper arms pinned to your body and elbows bent. Keeping your upper arms still, move your forearms down until your arms are extended. Squeeze your triceps at the bottom of the move. Reverse the move under control.

4 Gym ball back extension

Sets 3 Reps 10 

Target: lower back, core

Lie belly-down on a gym ball and wedge your feet against a wall for stability. Raise your torso until your body forms a straight line, making sure you don’t overextend.

5 Triceps dip

Sets 2 Reps 10 

Target: triceps, chest, front shoulders

On dipping bars, hold your body in the air with your arms extended. Bend your elbows to lower as far as is comfortable, then press back up powerfully. Don’t roll your shoulders forwards during the move.

6 Chin-up

Sets 2 Reps 10 

Target: biceps, back

Grasp a pull-up bar using an underhand grip. Bend your elbows to lift your body until your chin is above the bar, then lower under control. Lower all the way down between reps.

Workout B: Legs And Abs 21s Workout

1 Cable crunch

Sets 3 Reps 21 (7, 7, 7) 

Target: abs

Set up a cable machine with the rope attachment at head height, kneel down and hold the handle in both hands by your head. To do a full rep, tense your abs and curl your shoulders down, keeping your hands in the same spot by your head. Pause at the bottom of the move, then rise slowly back to the start. Ensure you use your abs rather than your arms to move the weight.

2 Front squat

Sets 3 Reps 21 (7, 7, 7) 

Target: quads, hamstrings, glutes

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a barbell resting on your chest and shoulders, with bent elbows pointing forwards and held as high as you can. To do a full rep, push your hips back and bend your knees to lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep your back upright and core braced throughout.

3 Aquaman

Sets 2 Reps 8 each side 

Target: lower back, core

Lie face down on the floor. Raise your arms and legs just off the floor. Raise your right arm and left leg, then lower to the starting position. Alternate sides with each rep. Keep your arms and legs off the floor between reps.

4 Gym ball crunch

Sets 2 Reps 10 

Target: abs

Rest your back on a gym ball with your feet firmly planted on the floor. Using your abs, lift your head and shoulders, then lower under control.

5 Dumbbell lunge

Sets 2 Reps 10 each side 

Target: quads, hamstrings, glutes

Holding dumbbells by your sides or shoulders, take a big step forwards and bend both knees to lower until your back knee is just off the floor. Push through your front foot to return to standing. Alternate sides with each rep.

6 Overhead squat

Sets 3 Reps 10 

Target: quads, hamstrings, glutes

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding an empty barbell above your head with arms extended and hands wider than shoulder-width apart. Squat as far as you can without letting your back arch forwards.

Workout C: Chest And Back 21s Workout

1 Straight-arm pull-down

Sets 3 Reps 21 (7, 7, 7) 

Target: lats

Set up a cable machine by attaching a straight-bar handle at head height. Step back from the machine until you can hold the handle at shoulder height with your arms extended and palms facing down. To do a full rep, pull the handle to your thighs, keeping your arms extended throughout. Reverse the movement under control.

2 Smith machine bench press

Sets 3 Reps 21 (7, 7, 7) 

Target: chest

Even though you are benching 40% of what you could shift for 10 reps, it’s wise to use a Smith machine (or a spotter) so you can bail out if needed. Position the bench so that the bar is above the lower half of your chest. Unhook the bar and hold it above your chest with your arms extended. To do a full rep, bend your elbows to lower the bar to your chest, then press the bar back up powerfully.

3 Reverse flye

Sets 3 Reps 10 

Target: middle back, rear shoulders 

Stand holding dumbbells in front of your thighs with your palms facing. Hinge forwards at your hips, letting your arms hang down and bending your knees and elbows slightly. Raise the weights to the sides without moving your torso. Maintain the slight bend in your elbows. Lower under control. 

4 Cable cross-over

Sets 2 Reps 10 

Target: chest

Set up a cable machine by attaching two D-handles to the highest points. Stand in the middle, holding the handles with your arms out to the sides. Adopt a split stance and lean forwards slightly, keeping a straight back. Brace your core and, with a slight bend in your elbows, bring the handles together in front of your chest. Return to the start under control.

5 Reverse-grip bent-over row

Sets 2 Reps 10 

Target: upper back, lats

Hold a barbell in front of you with an underhand grip, palms facing forwards. Hinge at the hips, maintaining a straight back, and let your arms hang down. Brace your core, then lift the barbell to your sternum, keeping your elbows close to your body. Lower under control.

6 Incline dumbbell overhead press

Sets 2 Reps 10 

Target: chest, triceps, front shoulders

Sit on an upright bench, holding dumbbells by your shoulders, with your elbows out to the sides and bent to 90°, and your palms facing forwards. Extend your arms to press the weights overhead, keeping the dumbbells in line with your shoulders. Lower the weights under control. 

When you join a gym and begin to lift weights, a straightforward beginners’ gym workout or weights machine workout plan will yield results. However, these easy gains are short-lived and you’ll quickly hit a plateau. At that point it’s worth trying something new – and a push/pull workout plan is a tried-and-tested approach.

Below you’ll find two plans. One is a traditional push/pull workout routine where you focus on your upper body for two workouts, then your legs and abs in the third. The other is a variation on a push/pull workout programme called a cross-body plan where you push with the upper body and pull with the lower body in the first workout, swap for the second, then the third workout is the dealer’s choice.

Before we get to the plans, here’s David Wiener, training and nutrition specialist at fitness app Freeletics, to explain what push/pull training is and what kind of gym-goer it will suit best.

Push/Pull Workout Plan FAQs

What is a push/pull workout plan?

“There are two fundamental movements – push and pull,” says Wiener. “On one day you work all the push muscles, and on another all the pull muscles. A push day would be working your shoulders, your triceps, your chest. Then pulling would be doing your back and your biceps.

“Some people do upper-body push, upper-body pull, and then a leg day. Or you can do full-body push and pull. Or you can split the upper-body push and pull, then also do legs push and pull, splitting hamstrings and quads.”

A typical split for a push/pull workout plan, like the one below, will see you in the gym six times a week: push/pull/legs are done consecutively on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and the sequence is then repeated – leaving Sunday as your day of rest.

Is the main benefit that you target different muscles with each push/pull workout?

“Exactly,” says Wiener. “It’s also a way that people can work the same muscle group more than once in a week. If you do push/pull four times a week, you will hit everything twice.

“It’s also quite time-effective. If you don’t get to train that often, you can potentially hit all your muscles in two workouts, or three if you do legs separately.” 

Are there any downsides to push/pull training?

While focusing on one set of muscles can be beneficial, Wiener suggests that it can also mean you don’t get the most of your workouts because of the fatigue created.

“For example, if I’m working my triceps with my chest, I'm fatiguing the muscles in my triceps, which has stopped me getting the most out of my chest because I need the muscles in my triceps for that exercise too,” says Wiener.

“I like to superset push and pull, so while you’re working those push muscles your pull muscles recover. I do chest and biceps, for example. With that I’m actually doing chest, biceps and triceps, because I use the triceps in the chest exercise.”

What kind of gym-goer are push/pull workouts best suited to?

“It’s quite a tough thing to do, so it’s definitely for more advanced gym-goers,” says Wiener. “It can be used by anyone, but you need to be experienced to understand what you’re doing and get the most out of it, and you need to go through a high degree of pain and have a level of endurance. For someone new to the gym a bit of variety is better.”

Push/Pull Workout Plan

“This push/pull workout allows you to hit the major upper-body muscles hard on days one and two before targeting your legs and core on day three,” says personal trainer and fitness model Shaun Stafford.

“Splitting your sessions based on the different movements prevents the muscle groups from being overtrained, which can lead to injury. But because you’ll be exclusively training specific muscles, you’ll be able to hit the gym more. It’s the best way to build more muscle and burn more fat.”

Rest for no more than 60 seconds between sets. Do the exercises in each set in one go with no rests.

How To Warm Up For These Push/Pull Workouts

One of the key benefits of the push/pull workout plan is that you can train more often, so you definitely need to develop a warm-up strategy to ensure your body can handle the toll of regular training. Warming up properly will not only reduce your risk of injury and lessen the DOMS you feel after a workout, it will also allow you to start each session strong and nail the first set of your first lift.

The best way to start your warm-up is with a series of dynamic stretches that get muscles all over the body moving. Give this warm-up routine a try. It works all the major muscle groups to get you prepped for your session.

From there you need to get specific, and by that we mean think about what you’re actually going to do in your workout. There’s little point in doing a push-based warm-up for your pull workout, for example. The simplest way to do this part is to run through a set or two of each exercise from the workout you’re about to do, using light weights or no weight at all. From there you’ll be well prepared to start lifting the heavy stuff.

Push/Pull Workout Plan Day 1: Pull

1 Pull-up

Sets 4 Reps 6 Rest 60sec

Grasp a pull-up bar with an overhand grip so your palms are facing away from you and your hands are shoulder-width apart. Contract your upper back muscles to help pull your chest towards the bar. Lower under control.

2 Bent-over row

Sets 3 Reps 8 Rest 60sec

Holding a barbell (check out our guide to the best barbells you can buy for your home gym) with an overhand grip just outside your legs, bend your knees slightly and hinge forwards from the hips, keeping your back slightly concave and your shoulder blades back throughout. Pull the weight up to your lower chest, then slowly return to the start.

3 Barbell curl

Sets 3 Reps 10 Rest 60sec

Hold a barbell with your hands shoulder-width apart and palms facing forwards. Keeping your chest up and elbows close to your sides, curl the bar up until it’s level with the top of your chest. Lower under control.

4 Cable row

Sets 2 Reps 12 Rest 60sec

Sit with your feet against the supports, bending your legs slightly. Grasp the handle, using the attachment so your palms are facing, retract your shoulder blades and sit upright. Without leaning back, pull the handle towards your lower chest.

5 Lat pull-down

Sets 1 Reps 20 Rest 60sec

Sit in the seat with your knees firmly under the support. Grab the wide bar with hands double shoulder-width apart, palms facing forwards, retract your shoulder blades and sit upright. Without leaning back, pull the handle down in front of your face until it’s level with your chin.

Push/Pull Workout Plan Day 2: Push

1 Bench press

Sets 4 Reps 6 Rest 60sec

Lie on a flat bench holding a barbell with an overhand grip, hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Drive your feet hard into the floor and press the weight straight up powerfully, then lower slowly to the start position.

2 Decline bench press

Sets 3 Reps 8 Rest 60sec

Lie on a bench set at a slight decline, holding barbell with an overhand grip, hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Press the weight straight up powerfully, then lower slowly to the start position.

3 Incline bench press

Sets 3 Reps 10 Rest 60sec

Lie on a bench set at a 45° angle holding a bar with an overhand grip, hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Drive your feet hard into the floor and press the weight straight up powerfully, then lower slowly to the start position.

4 Overhead press

Sets 2 Reps 12 Rest 60sec

With your feet shoulder-width apart, hold a barbell level with the top of your chest, hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Keep your core and glutes braced so your hips don’t tilt forwards and press the bar straight overhead, driving your head forwards as you straighten your arms to engage your upper back. Lower back to the start.

5 Clap press-up

Sets 1 Reps 15 Rest 60sec

Get into the top of a press-up position with your hands directly under your shoulders. Bend your arms to lower your chest almost to the floor, then drive up explosively to bring your hands off the ground and clap in front of your chest. Quickly put your hands back out to brace your fall and continue into the next rep. If you’re struggling, pause briefly between each rep.

Push/Pull Workout Plan Day 3: Legs And Abs

1 Deadlift

Sets 4 Reps 6 Rest 60sec

Hold a barbell with hands shoulder-width apart and your arms straight, hips low and chest up so your back is straight. Keeping your core tight throughout, drive down through your heels and pull the bar up your legs, pushing your hips forwards to stand tall. Bend forwards, hingeing at your hips until the bar is below your knees, then bend your legs to lower it to the floor.

2 Dumbbell squat

Sets 3 Reps 8 Rest 60sec

Hold a dumbbell in each hand by your sides and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your knees wide apart and weight on your heels throughout, bend your legs to lower until your thighs are at least parallel with the floor. Then drive back up to standing.

3 Good morning

Sets 3 Reps 10 Rest 60sec

Stand holding a barbell on the back of your shoulders, not your neck. Slowly bend forwards, hingeing at the hips, keeping your legs and back straight. Bend until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, then rise back to the start.

4 Jump lunge

Sets 2 Time 1min Rest 60sec

Start in a forwards lunge position with your hands in a sprinter’s stance for balance. Jump off the ground by driving up with your front leg. Swap your legs over in mid-air so you land with the other leg forwards. Keep alternating for one minute.

5 Hanging leg raise

Sets 1 Reps 20 Rest 60sec

Jump up to grip a pull-up bar with your hands shoulder-width apart and palms facing forwards. Tense your core to stop your body swaying and raise your legs together until they’re at least parallel with the floor. Use your core to lower your legs under control.

Push/Pull Workout Plan Day 4: Rest

Rest day. Then repeat the workouts over the following days.

Cross-Body Push/Pull Workout Plan

When we spoke to Emily Servante, global trainer education manager at Ultimate Performance, to get some advice on how to structure your leg workouts, this cross-body approach was one she suggested as a progression from doing full-body workouts every time you hit the gym.

“With a cross-body split, workout A would consist of upper-body pushing exercises with your chest, shoulders and triceps, and lower-body pulling movements involving the glutes and hamstrings,” says Servante. “Workout B would consist of upper-body pulling moves using the back and biceps, with the quads taking care of the lower-body pushing moves.”

“A third workout of the week could then either concentrate on full-body exercises, or you could add in a specialised workout – for example, a focus on your arms, chest, or back. Or, if you love training your legs, you can add in a specialist legs and glutes workout.”

The last workout is up to you, though we have excellent chest workouts, arms workouts, back workouts and upper-body workouts to pick from, but Servante has provided two cross-body workouts you can use for the push/pull plan. 

Workout A: Upper-Body Push, Lower-Body Pull

1A Deadlift

Sets 4 Reps 6-8 Rest 90sec

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, with your feet under a barbell resting on the floor. Push your hips back and bend your knees slightly to reach down and take hold of the barbell with your hands just outside of your legs. Keeping your back straight and core braced, drive down through your heels and thrust your hips forwards to stand, pulling the bar up. Hinge forwards to lower the bar under control until it is below your knees, then bend your knees to lower it to the floor.

1B Incline bench press 

Sets 4 Reps 6-8 Rest 90sec

Lie on a bench set at 45° holding a bar with an overhand grip, hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Lower the bar to your sternum, then drive your feet hard into the floor and press the weight straight up powerfully.

2A Lying leg curl

Sets 4 Reps 8-10 Rest 60sec

Lie face down on the leg curl machine with your thighs pressed into the pad and the lever sitting just below your calf muscles. Curl the lever up as far as you can, then lower it slowly.

2B Seated overhead press

Sets 4 Reps 8-10 Rest 60sec

Sit on a bench holding a dumbbell by each shoulder with your palms facing away from you and elbows pointing to the sides. Press the weights directly overhead, then lower to the start under control.

3A Back extension

Sets 4 Reps 10-12 Rest 60sec

Lie on a hyperextension bench so that your upper body hangs over the bench, with your feet secured in the pads at the bottom. Use your hamstrings and glutes to pull your body up so it’s level with the bench, then lower under control.

3B Triceps dip

Sets 3 Reps 10-12 Rest 60sec

Set up on a bench or dipping station with your arms straight and supporting your bodyweight. Bend your elbows to lower your body until your upper arms are parallel to the floor, then push back up.

Workout B: Upper-Body Pull, Lower-Body Push

1A Split squat 

Sets 4 Reps 8 Rest 90sec

Rest a barbell on the back of your shoulders. Take a step forwards to adopt a staggered stance with your front foot flat on the floor and on the ball of your rear foot. Bend your knees to lower until your back knee is close to the ground, then drive back up through the heel of your front foot.

1B Chin-up

Sets 4 Reps 6-8 Rest 90sec

Hold a pull-up bar with an underhand grip so your palms are facing you. Pull yourself up until your chin is level with the bar, then lower slowly.

2A Machine squat 

Sets 4 Reps 8-10 Rest 60sec

Squat machines vary, so follow the instructions on the model in your gym. Using the machine for your squat allows you to lift more weight and shifts the emphasis to your quads.

2B Prone dumbbell row

Sets 4 Reps 8-10 Rest 60sec

Lie face down on a flat bench holding dumbbells, so your chest is supported by it with your arms hanging down. Lift the weights to the sides of your chest, drawing your elbows past your torso, pause for a moment, then lower under control.

3A Leg press 

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 60sec

Leg press machines vary, so follow the instructions on the model in your gym. Make sure not to lock out your knees while performing the movement.

3B Incline dumbbell curl

Sets 3 Reps 10-12 Rest 60sec

Set a bench up at a 30-45° angle and sit back against it holding your dumbbells with your palms facing away from you. Keeping your upper arms still, bend your elbows to lift the weights to your shoulders, then lower under control.

Giant sets are anything but gentle. They are typically made up of four or more strength-based exercises, performed back to back in a circuit. Stripping out any rest keeps your heart rate high, helping improve muscular endurance as well as sheer strength output.

“Giant sets that combine four or more full-body compound movements are ruthlessly efficient at getting you fit,” says Zach Mills, trainer at London fitness studio Core Collective, who devised this monster workout.

Think of them as back-to-back supersets. “Adding them into your workout will help you expend more energy than when you have long rest periods between each set,” Mills says. 

For maximum bang for your buck, Mills suggests using multi-joint exercises like the barbell squat, deadlift, overhead press and bent-over row, and slowing down the lowering part of each lift to increase muscle recruitment – and therefore muscle strength and size. 

Here he has devised his favourite giant set for maximum returns.

How To Do This Giant Set Workout 

For this session, you will need a pair of medium to heavy dumbbells. You can use a barbell if you prefer. 

Perform the stated number of reps for each exercise, paying close attention to the tempo of each move where specified, without taking rest breaks. Once all four moves are complete, rest for 90 seconds, then repeat the circuit for a total of four rounds.

“Before you start, make sure you are fully warmed up and practise each exercise with a lighter weight first, if you can,” says Mills. “Don’t go too big too soon.”

1 Hang power clean

Reps 6

Hold dumbbells by your sides with your palms facing and your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart. Hinge at your hips and bend your knees to lower into a half squat so the weights are just below knee height. With your core braced and chest proud to keep your back flat, drive your hips forwards powerfully to generate momentum, and bend your elbows so the dumbbells swing up to the front rack position, with the dumbbells at shoulder height and your elbows pointing forwards. Hinge at your hips to return the weights to the start position and repeat. 

2 Front squat

Reps 8

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the dumbbells in the front rack position, held at shoulder height with your elbows pointing forwards. If it feels comfortable, rest part of the dumbbell on the top of your shoulder throughout this exercise. Keeping your core braced and chest up, sit your hips back and bend your knees to lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Pause, then drive back up powerfully. Lower for three seconds, pause for two, then drive up for one. 

3 Push press

Reps 10

Start with the weights in the front rack position. With your core braced, bend your knees to lower slightly, then drive back up powerfully to press the dumbbells overhead. Keep your upper arms close to your ears at the top of the lift. Control the weight as you lower to the start position.

4 V-up

Reps 12

Lie on your back with your legs extended and arms extended behind your head. Take a deep breath and as you exhale, engage your core to raise your arms and legs, reaching up with your hands to bring them as close to your feet as you can. Lower to the start is  and repeat. Control your breathing to keep your core engaged throughout this movement. 

Whatever fitness goals you have in mind, it’s important to recognise that it takes both time and commitment to achieve them. That’s true of losing weight, becoming a better runner or building muscle. This plan from trainer and fitness model Shaun Stafford requires you to commit to four workouts a week for six to eight weeks, which is no small thing, but the rewards you gain from that effort come in the form of increased strength and size all over your body.

You also get peace of mind that you’re doing the right thing in the gym, because the plan hits your whole body but works different muscle groups in a sequence that allows for the necessary recovery time to see results. Each workout contains two compound moves, followed by a tri-set and then a bonus set of one last exercise. All the info on sets, reps and recovery is provided to make it as clear as possible, although that’s not going to make actually doing the exercise any easier – this is one that’s best suited to more experienced gym-goers on the lookout for a new routine, rather than first-timers.

Before we dive into the details of the plan, here’s Stafford’s advice on how to follow it to get the results you’re looking for.

Who is this programme for and how much weight should you use?

“This programme will be effective for anyone who’s looking to increase size and strength,” says Stafford.

“In terms of weight selection, it’s trial and error at first. Always go lighter than you think you need to and build up over the first week. If you can complete the sets and reps with near perfect form, don’t be afraid to crank it up.”

How long should you follow the programme for?

“This programme should be performed for six to eight weeks for optimal results,” says Stafford. “You can add in some active recovery work to keep your cardiovascular fitness and flexibility. Lower-intensity cardio and yoga are great additional sessions if you feel up to it.”

Each workout has a “bonus” set. Are these optional or key to the session?

“The bonus sets are crucial to the workout – they often contain moves that target the little muscles that support and maintain joint health and function,” says Stafford. “Just because they are at the end does not mean you can skip them if you are tired! Finish the workout for optimal results.”

What To Eat During This Training Plan

Even if you nail every workout on this plan for eight weeks you’re not going to see the maximum benefit unless you show a similar level of commitment to your nutrition. Primarily you need to make sure your protein intake is high enough to help support your muscles as they repair and rebuild after workouts, which you should do by focusing on high-protein meals. You can use supplements like protein powders and bars in a pinch but don’t rely on them.

Outside of protein, it’s crucial to make sure you’re getting at least five portions of fruit and veg a day, and carbohydrates are needed as your main energy source for intense workouts. Wholegrain varieties are generally better to bump up your fibre intake.

There’s a lot to consider, and if you’d rather outsource most of the work to someone else then a healthy meal delivery company can help. Some of these will deliver a load of meals at once for you to store and eat when you want, while others will deliver daily, covering all your meals and snacks for that day. This convenience comes at a cost, but at least you save the time planning and preparing your meals.

Workout Structure

Steel yourself: this is a long and tough workout plan – but the results will be worth it if you stick to the prescribed structure. You’ll be doing each of the four workouts below every week for six to eight weeks in total. You should stick to the order given for the workouts, because they target different areas of the body and have been designed to let some muscle groups rest and recover while you focus on others.

Each workout is broken down into three sections. In the first you do two compound moves, targeting multiple muscle groups at once. The second section is a challenging tri-set where you’ll power through three sets of three exercises and rest only at the end of each round. Each workout then finishes off with one last exercise, just to hammer your muscles a final time before you hit the shower.

How To Warm Up

It’s important to make sure you warm up properly before each and every workout you tackle on this training plan. Not only will doing so ensure you’re primed to perform in the workout, preparing your body will also make it less likely that you’ll succumb to injuries during the training plan, because your muscles aren’t going into heavy lifts cold.

To warm up properly you need to activate the muscles you’re actually going to use in the workout, which is why spending five minutes on a cardio machine isn’t the best idea ahead of a weights session.

Instead, use this warm-up routine created by Yasmin Saadi from The Fitting Rooms gym. It starts with a series of seven stretches that mobilise the entire body. After that you should go through some workout-specific warm-ups. The easiest way to do this is to do the exercises you have lined up for your workout but with very little or no weight, because that way you’ll be using the muscles you expect to test during the session, but you can also do more stretches that target the relevant muscles.

When you’re short on time it’s always tempting to skip the warm-up in favour of spending time on the workout, but it’s better to shorten the workout itself and ensure you’re doing it properly than go in cold and knock out sloppy sets while your muscles warm up.

Workout One: Chest And Shoulders

1 Bench press

Sets 7 Reps 6 Rest 90sec

Lie on a flat bench, holding a barbell with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart using an overhand grip. Brace your core and press your feet into the ground, then lower the bar towards your chest. Press it back up to the start.

2 Dumbbell overhead press

Sets 3 Reps 8 Rest 90sec

Stand tall holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height. Keeping your chest up, press the weights directly overhead until your arms are straight, then lower them back to the start.

3A Lateral raise

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 0sec

Stand with dumbbells by your sides and palms facing each other. Lean forward slightly, then raise the weights to the sides, leading with your elbows. Slowly lower them back to the start under control.

3B Front raise

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 0sec

Stand tall holding a pair of dumbbells in front of your body with straight arms. Keeping your chest up and arms straight, raise the weights in front of you to shoulder hit. Lower back to the start.

3C Reverse flye

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 90sec

Bend forwards from the hips with a light dumbbell in each hand, palms facing. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, raise the weights out to shoulder height, then lower them back to the start.

4 External cable rotation

Sets 3 Reps 15 Rest 60sec

Set the cable at a low height and, using a split stance, retract your shoulder blades. Hold your arm so that your elbow is level with your shoulder and your forearm is parallel to the ground. Pull the cable so that your elbow stays still but your forearm ends in a vertical position.

See related 

• A Four-Week Gym Workout Routine To Get Big And Lean
• The Tried-And-Tested Muscle-Building Workout
• The Best Full-Body Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer

Workout Two: Legs

1 Front squat

Sets 7 Reps 6 Rest 90sec

Stand tall holding a bar across the front of your shoulders with elbows up. Keeping your core braced, squat as low as you can. Drive back up through your heels to return to the start.

2 Glute-hamstring raise

Sets 3 Reps 8 Rest 90sec

Adjust the glute-ham developer (GHD) so when your feet are secured, your quads are resting on the middle of the GHD and you can lower your torso over the end. Position your body above your knees at right angles to your lower legs, with your arms folded across your chest. Brace your core and slowly lower your torso over the edge of the GHD, until your body forms a right angle at your hips. Return to the start position explosively by contracting your hamstrings.

3A Prone hamstring curl

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 0sec

Lie face down on the machine, following its instructions to position yourself correctly and safely. With the pad against the back of your lower calves, raise it by contracting your hamstrings. Return slowly to the start.

3B Hack squat

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 0sec

Lie on the machine, following its instructions to position yourself correctly and safely. Lower until your thighs are at right angles to your calves, then press back up.

3C Dumbbell stiff-leg deadlift

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 90sec

Standing straight, hold dumbbells just in front of your thighs. Brace your core and slightly bend your knees to activate your glutes. Hinge from your hips without rounding your back until you reach the limit of the range of your hamstrings. Hold briefly, then return to the start position.

4 Seated leg extension

Sets 3 Reps 15 Rest 60sec

Sit in the leg extension machine, following its instructions to position yourself correctly and safely. With the pad on your shins, use your quads to lift the weight. Return slowly to the start.

Workout Three: Back And Biceps

1 Bent-over row

Sets 7 Reps 6 Rest 90sec

Hold a barbell using a shoulder-width overhand grip, hands just outside your legs. Bend your knees slightly, then bend forwards, hingeing from the hips and keeping your shoulder blades back. Pull the bar up towards your sternum, leading with your elbows, then lower it back to the start.

2 Neutral-grip pull-up

Sets 3 Reps 8 Rest 90sec

Hang from a pull-up bar or handles with palms facing each other. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your lower chest touches the bar. Lower until your arms are straight again.

3A Preacher curl

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 0sec

Sit at a preacher bench holding an EZ-bar with an underhand grip. Curl the bar up to the top, pause and squeeze, then lower the bar slowly until your arms are fully straight.

3B Dumbbell spider curl

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 0sec

Bend down and rest your elbows on your thighs, holding a dumbbell in each hand with arms straight. Curl the weights up, squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower back to the start under control.

3C Narrow-grip EZ-bar curl

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 90sec

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold an EZ-bar using a narrow, underhand grip with your arms extended. Curl the bar up towards your chest, keeping your elbows in to your sides.

4 Cable face pull

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 60sec

Stand tall holding a double-rope attachment on the high pulley with straight arms. Pull the handles to either side of your head, then return to the start under control.

Workout Four: Triceps And Abs

1 Triceps dip

Sets 7 Reps 6 Rest 90sec

Grip rings or parallel bars with your arms straight. Keeping your chest up, bend your elbows to lower your body as far as your shoulders allow. Press back up powerfully to return to the start.

2 Hanging leg raise

Sets 3 Reps 8 Rest 90sec

Start in a dead hang, holding a pull-up bar with your legs straight and your knees and ankles touching. Keep them together as your use your lower abs to raise them, then lower back to the start under control.

3A V-sit

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 0sec

Lie on your back with your shoulders and legs raised off the floor. Keeping your arms straight, raise your torso so that your chest meets your knees at the top of the move. Lower under control.

3B Reverse crunch

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 0sec

Lie with your head and shoulders flat on a mat, your thighs vertical, knees bent at 90° and arms by your sides for support. Curl your knees towards your chest and hold. Contract your abs to lift your hips off the mat. Lower slowly to the start.

3C Russian twist

Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Rest 90sec

Start at the top of the crunch movement but with your feet off the ground. Keeping your abs braced, rotate to one side then the other to complete one rep.

4 Diamond press-up

Sets 2 Reps To failure Rest 60sec

Start in a press-up position but with your thumbs and index fingers touching to form a diamond. Keeping your hips up and core braced, bend your elbows to lower your chest towards the floor. Push down through your hands to return to the start.

Shaun Stafford is a fitness ambassador for Optimum Nutrition

With the right approach, you can achieve a lot in a month in the gym, as this four-week workout plan for muscle gain shows. It consists of a pair of two-week training blocks containing upper-body workouts that will help you build muscle mass in rapid fashion. 

During the month you’ll be doing workouts designed to help you add mass across all the major upper-body muscle groups. The challenging workouts will also encourage fat loss to help you build a lean, muscular physique. 

In order to do that you’ll need to back up your efforts in the gym with smart choices in the kitchen. You’ll find diet tips to help you do that below, though using a healthy meal prep service for the month might be the easiest way to support your training.

The workouts on the plan require access to a gym since you’ll be using a variety of free weights, plus weights machines. It is also one for experienced gym-goers who can confidently perform serious barbell exercises with flawless form. If you’re just starting out, this gym workout for beginners or beginner weights machine workout plan is a better bet and we’re confident you’ll build plenty of muscle using it.

Workout Plan For Muscle Gain Block 1

The four weekly sessions in the first block are chest and arms, legs and shoulders, back and arms, and chest and shoulders. So you’ll train your major upper-body muscles directly or indirectly twice a week, an intensive approach that will add muscle fast.

The first four are straight sets, then the fifth and sixth exercises are done as a superset. Follow the order exactly, sticking to the sets, reps, tempo and rest shown. This will ensure you push your muscles hard with high-quality reps that keep your muscles under tension for significant periods, and the brief rest periods will keep your heart rate high.

In the second week of the first block, add an extra set to moves 3, 4, 5A and 5B. If possible, try to lift slightly heavier weights than in the previous week, especially for the first two moves, and at least the first set or two of all subsequent moves. Even a small increase, so long as your form doesn’t suffer, will make a big difference to your progress.

Block 1 Monday Workout: Chest And Back

1 Bench press

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Lie flat on a bench, holding a bar with a shoulder-width grip. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Lower the bar until it touches your chest, then press it back up powerfully.

2 Lat pull-down

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself at the machine with a shoulder-width overhand grip on the bar. Keeping your chest up and abs braced, pull the bar down, leading with your elbows. Hold the bottom position for a second, then return to the start.

3 Cable cross-over

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall in the middle of a cable machine, holding a D-handle in each hand attached to the high pulley. Keeping your chest up and core braced, bring your hands down in a smooth arc to meet in front of your body. Hold for a second, then return to the start.

4 Cable straight-arm pull-down

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, facing the cable machine and holding a straight bar handle with both hands. Keeping your arms straight, pull the bar down towards your thighs in a smooth arc. Pause at the bottom, then reverse the movement back to the start.

5A Incline dumbbell shoulder press

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 30sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 30sec

Lie back on an incline bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand at chest height. Plant your feet on the floor and get your body tight. Press the weights straight up so your arms are straight, then lower them under control.

5B Prone dumbbell row

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Lie chest-down on an incline bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Keeping your chest against the bench, row the weights up, leading with your elbows. Hold the top position for a second, then lower the weights back to the start .

Block 1 Wednesday Workout: Legs And Shoulders

1 Back squat

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a bar across the back of your shoulders. Keeping your chest up and your whole body tight, bend your knees to squat down as low as you can but don’t let your knees roll inwards. Push through your heels to stand back up.

2 Overhead press

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a bar across the front of your chest with an overhand grip. Keeping your chest up and core engaged, press the bar directly overhead so your arms are straight. Lower it under control to return to the start.

3 Leg extension

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself correctly on the machine with the padded bar against the bottom of your shins. Keeping your upper body tight, raise your feet to straighten your legs. Pause at the top with your quads engaged, then return to the start.

4 Hamstring curl

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself correctly on the machine with the padded bar against the back of your lower legs. Keeping your upper body tight, push your feet down to bend your legs. Pause at the top with your hamstrings engaged, then return to the start.

5A Seated dumbbell overhead press

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 30sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 30sec

Sit on an upright bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height. Keeping your chest up and core braced, press the weights directly overhead so your arms are straight. Slowly lower back to the start.

5B Seated dumbbell lateral raise

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Sit on an upright bench, holding a light dumbbell in each hand by your sides with a slight bend in your elbows. Keeping your chest up and core braced, raise the weights out to shoulder height, leading with your elbows, then return slowly to the start.

Block 1 Friday Workout: Back And Arms

1 Triceps dip

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Grip parallel bars with straight arms and your legs crossed behind you. Keeping your chest up and core braced, lower your body by bending your elbows until they’re at 90°. Press back up to return to the start.

2 Underhand lat pull-down

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself at the machine with a narrow underhand grip on the bar. Keeping your chest up and abs braced, pull the bar down, leading with your elbows. Hold the bottom position for a second, then return to the start.

3 Seated cable row

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Sit on the rowing machine, holding a double-grip cable attachment in both hands. Keeping your chest up, row your hands in towards your body, leading with your elbows. Pause, then return to the start.

4 Incline dumbbell biceps curl

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Lie back on an incline bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing forwards and elbows tight to your sides. Keeping your elbows there, curl the weights up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower the weights.

5A Cable biceps curl

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec

Stand tall facing a cable machine, holding a straight bar handle with both hands. Keeping your chest up, pull the bar down towards your thighs in a smooth arc. Pause at the bottom, then reverse the movement back to the start.

5B Cable triceps press-down

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall in front of a cable machine, holding a double-rope handle attached to the high pulley with palms facing. Keeping your chest up and elbows tight to your sides, press your hands down to straighten your arms, then slowly return to the start.

Black 1 Saturday Workout: Chest And Shoulders

1 Incline bench press

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Lie back on an incline bench, holding a bar with a shoulder-width grip. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Lower the bar until it touches your chest, then press it back up powerfully.

2 Dumbbell pull-over

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Lie on a flat bench holding a dumbbell with both hands above your chest with straight arms. Lower the weight under control behind your head, keeping your arms straight. Then raise it back to the start position.

3 EZ-bar upright row

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding an EZ-bar with a shoulder-width overhand grip. Keeping your chest up and core braced, row the bar up to chin height, leading with your elbows. Pause at the top, then lower the bar back to the start under control.

4 Dumbbell lateral raise

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall holding a light dumbbell in each hand by your sides with a slight bend in your elbows. Keeping your chest up and core braced, raise the weights out to shoulder height, leading with your elbows, then return slowly to the start.

5A Incline dumbbell flye

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec

Lie back on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand above your chest with a slight bend in your elbows. Lower the weights out ato the sides under control, keeping that bend in your elbows, then return to the start position.

5B Press-up

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Get on all fours with your legs and arms straight, your hands under your shoulders and your body in a straight line from head to heels. Engage your abs and bend your elbows to lower your chest towards the floor, then press back up powerfully.

Block 2

Heads up – the sessions change in block 2 to prompt faster body composition changes. The four sessions are chest and back, legs and arms, chest and back again, and shoulders and arms. More moves for each major muscle group adds up to faster progress. 

In the final week, reps are added to each exercise. Don’t worry about increasing the weight – more reps ensure progression and form comes first.

Block 2 Monday Workout: Chest And Back

1 Incline bench press

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Lie back on an incline bench, holding a bar with a shoulder-width grip. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Lower the bar until it touches your chest, then press it back up powerfully.

2 Bent-over row

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Hold a barbell with a shoulder-width grip, bending your knees slightly. Bend at the hips until you’re at roughly 45° to the floor. Pull the bar up to touch your sternum, then lower under control. If you’re moving your upper body to shift the bar, the weight’s too heavy.

3 Dumbbell bench press

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Lie on a flat bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand at chest height. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Press the weights straight up so your arms are straight, then lower them under control.

4 Dumbbell prone reverse flye

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Lie chest-down on an incline bench, holding a light dumbbell in each hand. Keeping your chest against the bench, raise the weights out to the sides, leading with your elbows. Hold the top position for a second, then lower the weights back to the start.

5A Cable cross-over

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 15 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall in the middle of a cable machine, holding a D-handle in each hand attached to the high pulley. Keeping your chest up and core braced, bring your hands down in a smooth arc to meet in front of your body. Hold for a second, then return to the start.

5B Cable straight-arm pull-down

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 15 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, facing the cable machine and holding a straight bar handle with both hands. Keeping your arms straight, pull the bar down towards your thighs in a smooth arc. Pause at the bottom, then reverse the movement back to the start.

Block 2 Wednesday Workout: Legs And Arms

1 Back squat

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a bar across the back of your shoulders. Keeping your chest up and your whole body tight, bend your knees to squat down as low as you can but don’t let your knees roll inwards. Push through your heels to stand back up.

2 Romanian deadlift

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell with an overhand grip. With a slight bend in your knees, hinge forwards from the hips and lower the bar until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Reverse to the start.

3 Underhand lat pull-down

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself at the machine with a narrow underhand grip on the bar. Keeping your chest up and abs braced, pull the bar down, leading with your elbows. Hold the bottom position for a second, then return to the start.

4 Triceps dip

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 6-10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 8-12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Grip parallel bars with straight arms and your legs crossed behind you. Keeping your chest up and core braced, lower your body by bending your elbows until they’re at 90°. Press back up to return to the start.

5A Cable biceps curl

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 15 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec

Stand tall in front of a cable machine, holding a bar handle attached to the lower pulley with palms facing up. Keeping your chest up and elbows tight to your sides, curl your hands up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower.

5B Cable triceps press-down

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 15 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall in front of a cable machine, holding a bar handle attached to the high pulley with palms facing down. Keeping your chest up and elbows tight to your sides, press your hands down to straighten your arms, then slowly return to the start.

Block 2 Friday Workout: Chest And Back

1 Bench press

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Lie flat on a bench, holding a bar with a shoulder-width grip. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Lower the bar until it touches your chest, then press it back up powerfully.

2 Wide lat pull-down

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself at the machine with a shoulder-width overhand grip on the bar. Keeping your chest up and abs braced, pull the bar down, leading with your elbows. Hold the bottom position for a second, then return to the start.

3 Incline dumbbell flye

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Lie back on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand above your chest with a slight bend in your elbows. Lower the weights out to the sides under control, keeping that bend in your elbows, then return to the start position.

4 Seated row

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Sit on the machine, holding a double-grip cable attachment in both hands. Keeping your chest up, row your hands in towards your body, leading with your elbows. Pause, then return to the start.

5A Dumbbell pull-over

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 15 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec

Lie flat on a bench holding a dumbbell with both hands above your chest with straight arms. Lower the weight under control behind your head, keeping your arms straight, then raise it back to the start position.

5B Press-up

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 15 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Get on all fours with your legs and arms straight, your hands under your shoulders and your body in a straight line from head to heels. Engage your abs and bend your elbows to lower your chest towards the floor, then press back up powerfully.

Block 2 Saturday Workout: Shoulders And Arms

1 Overhead press

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 12 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a bar across the front of your chest with an overhand grip. Keeping your chest up and core engaged, press the bar directly overhead so your arms are straight. Lower it under control to return to the start.

2 Chin-up

Week 1: Sets 5 Reps 6-10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 5 Reps 8-12 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Hold the bar with an underhand grip and hang with your body straight. Brace your abs and glutes and engage your lats, then pull up until your chin is above your hands. Pause at the top, then lower yourself back to the start under control.

3 EZ-bar upright row

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding an EZ-bar with a shoulder-width overhand grip. Keeping your chest up and core braced, row the bar up to chin height, leading with your elbows. Pause at the top, then lower the bar back to the start under control.

4 Incline dumbbell biceps curl

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Sit on an incline bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing forwards and your elbows tight to your sides. Keeping your elbows there, curl the weights up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower the weights.

5A Dumbbell lateral raise

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 15 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec

Stand tall, holding a light dumbbell in each hand by your sides with a slight bend in your elbows. Keeping your chest up and core braced, raise the weights out to shoulder height, leading with your elbows, then return slowly to the start.

5B Cable triceps press-down

Week 1: Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Week 2: Sets 4 Reps 15 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall in front of a cable machine, holding a bar handle attached to the high pulley with palms facing down. Keeping your chest up and elbows tight to your sides, press your hands down to straighten your arms, then slowly return to the start.

5 Diet Tips

Accelerate how quickly your body builds mean muscle mass and become more efficient at burning fat by adopting these better-eating habits

1. Break your fast

Eating protein for breakfast is one of the best things you can do when wanting to add muscle and burn fat. Protein allows for a slow and steady rise in blood sugar levels, which keeps you feeling fuller for longer so you aren’t tempted to snack on sweet treats before lunch. It also repairs the damage done to your muscles through training, to rebuild your muscles bigger and stronger after every session. A great brekkie is eggs, salmon and green leaves.

2. Load up on veg

You should be eating protein at every meal (and favouring high-quality lean sources like steak, chicken, turkey and white fish) but making up most of each meal – about half your plate in fact – should be veg. That’s because it’s high in antioxidants and essential vitamins and minerals to keep you fighting fit, and full of fibre to keep you feeling full long after eating. Vegetables are also very low in calories. Eat a wide variety of colours for variety of nutrients.

3. Time your carbs

For the duration of this four-week workout plan for muscle gain you should cut back on your carb intake, especially heavily-processed carbs such as crisps, chips, and white bread and pasta. But you still need carbs to help you recover from training, and it’s important to be fully energised for each session so you can push yourself. Stick to carbs in their natural form, such as new potatoes or wholemeal rice. Eat them around your workouts, then back off for the rest of the day.

4. Drink more water

If you’re dehydrated your body’s going to have a tough time both building new muscle mass and burning fat stores. And dehydration results in poor focus and lack of motivation, which will make it much harder to get to the gym (and train well when you’re there), as well as to make smart nutrition choices. Drink two to three litres a day, but more on training days, to stay hydrated and keep your body looking and feeling in optimal nick.

5. Eat enough protein

It’s easy to get carried away and start gulping down protein shakes several times a day when you’re trying to build muscle, but while you will need an increase in protein, you don’t need to go overboard.

“Strength athletes or those involved in high-volume, high-intensity training will require more protein than the general population at 1.2-2g protein per kilo of bodyweight per day,” says specialist dietitian Susan Short, who is a spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association.

You’ll probably be able to hit those numbers comfortably just by changing your diet slightly, though supplements can also be useful.

Get help deciding on the right supplement for you with our guide to the best protein powder.

When you first start thinking about exercising to lose weight, steady-state cardio exercise like running, cycling and swimming may be the first options that come to mind. However, while those are all great ways to lose weight, strength training comes with an added benefit which helps to hit your fat loss goals. So even if you prefer spending your time with endurance activities, it’s worth regularly visiting the weights room of your gym. Or your front room, since we all bought a load of home gym equipment during the lockdowns, right?

By lifting weights, you’ll increase your muscle mass while burning fat. You may find your weight on the scales doesn’t change much – but your body composition will, and that’s crucial. Having more muscle and less fat on your body increases your basal metabolic rate, which means you’ll be burning more calories while at rest, helping you in the long term.

Even if you don’t plan on bulking up, maintaining muscle mass while losing weight is important, because if you simply shed a few pounds your basal metabolic rate can drop as your body reacts to the changes in weight. So even if you’re going all-out with cycling or running to lose weight, lifting some weights and eating enough protein to maintain or build muscle is definitely a worthwhile endeavour.

The 6 Rules Of Lifting For Fat Loss

1. Go for multi-move sets

Doing straight sets of a single lift is the right approach for building muscular strength, but doing different moves back to back – or even doing many different lifts in a circuit – is a better path to follow when losing your belly is the priority.

A superset is one move followed by another with little or no rest in between and can either target the same muscle group (eg biceps), antagonistic muscle groups (biceps and triceps) or upper- and lower-body muscle groups (biceps and quads). A tri-set is three lifts grouped with little or no rest, while a giant set is four or more moves.

Quite when a giant set becomes a circuit is semantics, but the effect is the same: greater increases in heart rate and muscle fatigue, which is the key to creating the conditions for your body to tap into fat stores.

2. Do full-body workouts

To build muscle, it’s better to focus on training one or two muscle groups per session to work them hard and fully initiate the process that creates new muscle tissue. But if burning fat is your focus it makes sense to do full-body workouts each time you go to the gym.

As with doing supersets and circuits, this is because of the heart-pumping benefits – keeping rest periods short is again important.

Working more individual muscle groups every session also requires greater energy consumption after training as part of your body’s recovery process, so you’ll continue to burn fat.

3. Prioritise compound lifts

If you want to torch fat then lifts that cause movements at two joints – such as squats (hips and knees) or overhead press (shoulders and elbows) – and involve multiple muscle groups should take up the majority of your gym time.

The reason is simple: the more muscles involved, the more weight you can lift; the heavier the weight, the harder your muscles must work to manage it; the harder your heart and lungs must work to pump blood and oxygen to the working muscles, the more calories you burn during your workout and in the hours after your session.

That’s because your body must increase your metabolism – the rate at which you burn calories – to repair the damage done to your muscles and repay the oxygen debt from training. You can still do isolation – or single-joint moves – such as biceps curls or leg extensions, but do so at the end of your workout once the heavy lifting is in the bag.

4. Reduce the weight

This may sound counter-intuitive but lowering the amount of weight you lift can help you increase the rate at which you burn fat. It’s important to still lift heavy to make your muscles work hard, but reducing the resistance slightly, whether that’s on the bar, a machine or a pair of dumbbells, can make the weight more manageable and allow you to focus on really using your muscles to lift and lower the weight, rather than having to cheat your form and use momentum to get it and keep it moving. That way, you get more actual quality lifting done during every set.

See related

• What You Need To Know About Your Metabolism For Weight Loss
• What Is Metcon?
• Workout Finishers For Faster Fat Loss

5. Don’t overdo the rest

One of the best ways to burn as much fat as possible in a weights session is to keep periods of rest between sets as short as possible. Giving yourself less time to recover from the previous set before starting the next keeps your heart rate high, increases the oxygen debt and recruits more muscle fibres to help move the weights as the sets progress and you become increasingly more fatigued.

If you’re doing multi-move sets or circuit-style sets, try not to pause in between each individual move, and rest only after completing the full set or circuit.

When you’re tired it gets tempting to extend your rest periods, so work out with a timer to ensure that you stick to the optimal rest period for burning fat

6. Keep sessions short

The longer the session, the more fat you burn, right? Not so fast. Switch your mentality away from counting the number of hours you’re putting in at the gym and instead towards how intensely you train when you’re there. A genuinely intense weights workout can’t last much longer than 45 minutes to an hour because if you’re doing it properly, you’ll be totally fatigued within that timeframe. The key is to not waste a single second so you keep your muscles, heart and lungs working to their full capacity. Remember, you’re there to train hard and then get out again, not spend hours doing half-hearted lifting.

If you’re a keen sportsperson who only has time for one supportive strength and conditioning workout a week, then make it this one. 

It’s a full-body session centered around contrast training; a technique that delivers plenty of bang (and brawn) for your buck by supersetting heavy compound lifts with explosive exercises targeting the same muscles.

Think barbell squats into a max-height squat jump, or bench press into plyo push-ups. 

The theory is that the heavy exercise stimulates the nervous system, recruiting more motor units, then when you turn your attention to the dynamic move you’ll be able to activate more muscle fibers, enhancing explosiveness and leading to longer-term power gains. 

“This workout is great for athletes who don’t have a lot of time for general conditioning outside of their sport, because it’s so efficient,” says its creator, personal trainer and Wild Training founder James Griffiths

“You use a heavy set to activate the muscle, followed immediately by an explosive exercise in a similar movement pattern. The fast-twitch focus helps to burn fat and improve definition while the superset nature of the workout keeps you breathing hard and sweating lots.”

For more sport-specific sessions, try this gym workout for football players, or the All Blacks’ upper-body workout.

How To Do This Workout

After a thorough warm-up (like this gym warm-up routine), complete each pair of exercises, rest, then repeat that pair until all the sets are completed. Then move on to the next pair of exercises.

Griffiths suggests doing three or four sets of each exercise and resting for one or two minutes between supersets. We’ve included the easier option in the workout guide below.

1A Hex bar deadlift

Sets 3 Reps 5 Rest 0sec

“The fact you can load so much more centrally on a hex bar compared to an Olympic bar means you can go heavy,” says Griffiths. “Use a tap and go technique—the weights shouldn’t rest on the floor between reps. We want to keep the muscles under tension.”

Stand in the middle of the bar with your feet hip-width apart. Reach down and grab the handles of the bar, then sit back and raise your chest and shoulders so you’re looking forward. Keep your back flat as you lift the bar by straightening your knees and hips.

1B Jump squat

Sets 3 Reps 10 Rest 2min

From standing, drop into a deep squat, then drive back up and jump up.

“Focus on a deep range of movement, an explosive transition going from down to up, and a soft landing so you decelerate smoothly all the way to the bottom,” says Griffiths.

2A Dumbbell bench press

Sets 3 Reps 5 Rest 0sec

“I like the dumbbell bench press a lot because it’s easier to go heavy without feeling like you need a spotter, and it requires a fair bit of control through the shoulders,” says Griffiths.

Lie on the bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand in an overhand grip. Push the weights up, then bring them back down slowly.

2B Clap press-up

Sets 3 Reps 10 Rest 2min

Get into a press-up position and lower your chest towards the floor. Push back up explosively so your hands come off the ground. Clap once before landing and go straight into another press-up.

“Aim for a deep range of movement, a fast change in direction at the bottom and a soft landing,” says Griffiths. “Push through your fingertips, like a basketball jump shot, for extra zip.”

3A Bulgarian split squat

Sets 3 Reps 5 each side Rest 0sec

“Rest the toes of one foot on a bench, but don’t have any of your laces on the bench—we don’t want any weight on that elevated foot,” says Griffiths. “Your standing leg should be just in front of the knee of the raised leg. Hold dumbbells in each hand, with the weight on the raised leg side in front of your thigh to help balance. Drop down and just touch the floor with your knee before coming back up. Keep your torso as vertical as possible.”

3B Jump lunge

Sets 3 Reps 10 each side Rest 2min

From standing, take a big step forwards into a lunge position. Jump straight up and swap your feet around so you land in a lunge position with your feet reversed.

“Try to land and take off on both feet at the same time,” says Griffiths.

4A Chin-up

Sets 3 Reps 5 Rest 0sec

“A chin-up or weighted chin-up is a great way of getting a lot of your pulling muscles working," says Griffiths. “Keep your shoulders retracted and perform the reps smoothly for the full range of movement.”

4B Slastix standing row

Sets 3 Reps 10 Rest 2min

“The reason I’ve suggested using Slastix resistance bands for the standing row is the valuable physiological benefits of training with elasticated resistance for power,” says Griffiths. “If you don’t have decent-quality Slastix like Stroops go with an inverted row on a Smith machine or similar.

“With the standing row you should have your shoulders in front of your hips. Maintain a neutral spine and fix the position of your head, shoulders and hips. With the Slastix attached to an anchor point in front of you, pull the handles towards your ribs, keeping your elbows close to your body.

See more tried-and-tested options in this guide to the best protein powder.

There aren’t many things that old school body builders and modern sports scientists agree on but one of them is that volume is a key variable in the quest for muscle growth. In training terms, volume refers to the total weight lifted during a session. If you want to increase your volume, the most sensible way to do it is to increase the number of sets you perform. If you tried to do it by increasing the weight you lift you’d hardly be able to do any reps, and if you did it by doing high-rep sets then you’d take yourself out of hypertrophy rep ranges.

Renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin was well aware of this when he created his German Volume Training (GVT) protocol, which essentially involves doing ten sets of ten reps of an exercise. If you select the right weight – which will take a bit of experimentation – you shouldn’t be able to complete the tenth rep of the tenth set. Ideally you should start to fail two or three sets out from the finish, but you should still continue and do as many reps as you can in the final set.

How it works

This four-week plan is made up of three workouts. In the first you work your chest and back so that you can challenge one target muscle group while the other recovers, doing the first two moves as a superset to make it as testing and efficient as possible. You only do two GVT moves because it is such a demanding way to train. The final two exercises hit the same muscle groups to enable you to reach total fatigue with only three sets.

The second workout follows a similar pattern but works the front and back of your thighs. The final session involves doing a shoulder move as a simple set, then a biceps and triceps superset with an abs move to finish.

Follow the sets, reps and rest instructions for each move to get the maximum benefit. Do each workout once a week for four weeks, aiming to increase the amount you lift each week – and make sure you note how much you lift in each session to track your progress and keep yourself motivated.

How to warm up

Doing ten sets of ten reps is a pretty hardcore way to train, so you need to put your body in the best possible place to succeed in these workouts with a comprehensive warm-up. This gym warm-up routine starts with a series of dynamic stretches that prime the whole body, but just as important is the second section in which you work on some exercise-specific warm-ups.

This means exercises that focus on the same muscles you’re about to target with your workout. Owing to the high amount of sets and reps involved in German volume training, you won’t be doing a lot of different exercises in any given workout, so you have time to prepare for each of them directly within a five- to ten-minute warm-up. The easiest way to achieve this is to do a set or two of each exercise using very light weights, warming up the key muscles used. This will let you nail your first set proper when the time comes, as well as reducing your risk of injury.

Workout 1: Chest And Back

1A Incline bench press

Sets 10 Reps 10 Rest 10sec

Why The incline version of the move puts a slightly different emphasis on your muscles, working the front shoulders a bit more than the flat version does. You’ll probably find you can’t lift quite as much weight because of this.

How Lie on a bench set at a 45˚ incline, holding a bar over your chest with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Lower the bar until it’s touching your chest, then press it back up.

1B Bent-over row

Sets 10 Reps 10 Rest 90sec-2min

Why This move works the opposing muscles to the incline bench press. Having a strong back improves your posture, which will allow you to lift heavy weights safely and also reduce your chances of injury.

How Hold the bar with a shoulder-width grip, bending your knees slightly. Bend at the hips until your torso is at roughly a 45˚ angle to the floor. Pull the bar up to touch your sternum and then lower under control. If you’re moving your upper body to shift the bar, the weight’s too heavy.

2A Incline dumbbell press

Sets 3 Reps 6-8 Rest 10sec

Why This is similar to the barbell version but it allows you to squeeze a bit more work out of your muscles safely once you have completed the previous exercise. It will also challenge the stabilising muscles around the shoulder joint.

How Lie on a bench set at a 45˚ incline, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your arms straight up. Lower the weights to chest height, keeping your elbows close to your sides, then press back up to the start.

2B Single-arm row

Sets 3 Reps 6-8 each side Rest 60sec

Why This isolation move works one side of your body at a time, and allows you to shift more weight.

How Set up with one knee resting on a bench and the other foot on the floor, leaning forwards slightly and holding a dumbbell in one hand. Row the dumbbell up until your thumb touches your armpit, then lower back to the start. Complete all the reps on one side, then switch.

Workout 2: Legs

1A Front squat

Sets 10 Reps 10 Rest 10sec

Why The aim of this superset is to work both the front and back of your thighs. Placing the bar on the front of your shoulders puts the emphasis on your quads and also makes the move safer – you’ll be less likely to tip forwards and endanger your lower back.

How Take the bar out of the rack so it’s resting on the front of your shoulders and hold it in place with your palms facing upwards. Squat down, keeping your chest up, then drive up through your heels to stand.

1B Romanian deadlift

Sets 10 Reps 10 Rest 90sec-2min

Why This develops your glutes and hamstrings, areas that most men would benefit from strengthening. The movement, essentially a hip hinge, has a huge positive carry-over to everyday activity.

How Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell with an overhand grip just outside your thighs. With a slight bend in your knees, bend forwards from the hips and lower the bar down the front of your shins until you feel a good stretch in your hamstrings. Push your hips forwards to reverse the move to the start.

2A Bulgarian split squat

Sets 3 Reps 6-8 each side Rest 60-90sec

Why This variation of the squat will target your quads – a key muscle group involved in heavy squats. It also works your legs independently so that you are equally strong and stable on both sides.

How Start with your back foot on a bench and your front foot approximately 60cm in front of the bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Bend at the knee to lower towards the floor, keeping your torso upright, then press back up to the start. Make sure that your knee is in line with your ankle and that your front foot is far enough forwards that your knee doesn’t travel in front of your mid-foot. Complete all the reps on one side, then switch.

2B Kettlebell swing

Sets 3 Reps 10 Rest 60-90sec

Why This move engages all the muscles of your posterior chain, but also teaches the explosiveness you need to do everything from throwing a punch to jumping onto a box. Remember, it’s a swing and not a squat: you only need to bend your knees as much as you would before a big jump.

How Swing the kettlebell between your legs with both hands, and then pop your hips forwards to drive it up to head height, keeping your arms relaxed. Let the kettlebell swing back into the next rep – again, you don’t need to bend your knees much.

See related

• 5x5 Workout: The Texas Method
• The Tried-And-Tested Muscle-Building Workout
• 51 Ways To Build Muscle Faster
• How To Build Muscle Naturally

Workout 3: Shoulders And Arms

1 Overhead press

Sets 10 Reps 10 Rest 90sec

Why As well as working your entire shoulder joint, lifting a heavy weight overhead will also improve your core and abdominal strength because those muscles need to be switched on to stabilise your spine.

How With your feet shoulder-width apart, hold a bar on your upper chest, hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Brace your abs, glutes and quads as you press the bar straight upwards. Pause at the top, then lower. You may find wrapping your thumbs around the same side as your fingers allows you to lift more weight.

2A Biceps curl

Sets 10 Reps 10 Rest 10sec

Why In this session you do three GVT moves rather than two because the arms exercises will present less of a challenge to your central nervous system, which means you can do more work.

How Stand tall with your shoulders back and your feet close together, holding a pair of dumbbells with palms facing forwards and hands just outside your hips. Keeping your elbows tucked in to your sides, curl the dumbbells up towards your chest, stopping just before your forearms reach vertical. Lower under control to return to the start position.

2B Diamond press-up

Sets 10 Reps 10 Rest 90sec-2min

Why This is a deceptively tough exercise. Moving your hands close together to form a diamond shape will put a lot more emphasis on your triceps. Don’t be surprised if you struggle to hit the rep count if you’re new to this exercise – just focus on maintaining good form.

How Get into a press-up position, placing your hands close together so your thumbs and index fingers touch. Keeping your body in a straight line with your abs braced, lower your torso until your chest is just above the floor, then press back up.

3 Plank

Sets 3 Time 30-40sec Rest 60sec

Why The plank will help to build core stability, which is useful for every aspect of fitness and complements the GVT work you’ve done earlier in the session.

How Get into position with your body in a straight line from head to heels and your elbows directly below your shoulders. If your hips are too high that will take tension off the core muscles; if they are too low it will put strain on your lower back.

The key to getting fitter is pushing your body hard, resting for a short while, then going again, and that’s exactly what this surprisingly difficult session does. Start with a light plate and increase it as you get fitter and stronger.

Do the moves in order, without resting between exercises, to complete one round. Rest for two minutes between rounds. Do four rounds in total.

1 Overhead press

Reps 10

Hold a weight plate in both hands in front of your shoulders. Press it directly overhead until both arms are straight, then lower it back to the start.

2 Triceps extension

Reps 10

Stand tall, holding the weight plate in both hands directly overhead with arms straight. Keeping your elbows pointing forwards, lower the weight behind your head, then raise it back to the top position.

See related

• Weight Plate Exercises To Burn Fat And Add Muscle

3 Back squat

Reps 10

Hold the weight plate with both hands, resting it on the top of your upper back. Keeping your chest up and core braced, bend at your hips and knees to squat down as low as you can. Push through your heels to stand back up.

4 Halo

Reps 10

Stand tall, holding the weight plate in both hands above your head. Rotate it once clockwise around your head, then go anti-clockwise back to the start. That’s one rep.

If you’ve booked your summer holiday but forgotten to pack on some lean, hard muscle until now, fear not: our last-minute summer body plan will build muscle mass across your chest, shoulders and arms, while stripping fat from your belly, so you can hit the sand with a leaner and more defined V-shaped torso.

In an ideal world you’d have at least four weeks to make a really big change to how you look without a shirt, but any effort you put in should pay some handsome rewards.

Even if you’ve only got a week or two, following the workouts on the following pages will build wider shoulders, a broader chest and bigger arms.

Following the workouts couldn’t be easier: do them in order, sticking to the exercise order, sets, reps and rest.

For maximum results leave a day between sessions to let your muscles recover, and add in a high-intensity interval session (if you feel energised) to fire up your body’s fat-burning potential.

Workout 1: Chest

All three workouts are made up of six moves split into three supersets. Do all the reps of the move 1A, rest for 30sec, then do the reps of move 1B, rest for 60sec, and repeat for the stated number of sets. Continue using the same protocol. As the session progresses the number of sets per superset goes down but the rep count goes up to hit your muscles harder.

Workout 2: Back And Shoulders

After your chest-building superset session, workout 2 hits your back and shoulders to build muscle size across the top of your torso and the sides of your back. This will build width across your upper body to create a more athletic physique – and help your waist appear even narrower.

Workout 3: Arms

This session will build bigger arms by working your biceps and triceps in antagonistic supersets (where the two moves work opposing muscle groups back to back). This offers many benefits, including faster recovery in the resting muscle (allowing you push harder next set) and a bigger pump.

Workout 1: Chest

This session will tax both the upper, lower and middle parts of your pectoral muscles – as well as working your shoulders and triceps – so you can start to sculpt a bigger, broader and more defined chest.

1A Dumbbell bench press

Sets 5 Reps 8 Rest 30sec

Why Hits your chest, shoulders and triceps

How Lie on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand and your feet flat on the floor. Press the weights directly up until your arms are straight, then lower back to the start.

1B Dumbbell pull-over

Sets 5 Reps 8 Rest 60sec

Why It opens up your chest by fully stretching your pec muscles at the bottom of each rep.

How Lie on a flat bench with your head supported and feet on the floor. Hold a dumbbell with both hands over your chest then lower the weight behind your head. Pull the weight back over your head to return to the start.

2A Incline hammer press

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 30sec

Why Pressing on an incline focuses the work on the upper part of your chest.

How Lie on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand by your shoulders, keeping your chest up and your feet flat on the floor. Press the weights directly up until your arms are straight then lower back to the start position.

2B Incline dumbbell flye

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 60sec

Why It isolates the chest muscles, forcing them to do all the work.

How Lie on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand with arms straight and palms facing. With a slight bend in your elbows, lower the weights to the sides, then squeeze your chest to raise your arms and return to the start.

3A Cable flye

Sets 3 Reps 12 Rest 30sec

Why It works the middle part of your chest as well as the front part of your shoulders.

How Stand in the middle of a cable machine holding a D-handle in each hand. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows and your chest up, bring your hands down in an arc to meet in front of your chest. Reverse the movement back to the start.

3B Cable cross-over

Sets 3 Reps 12 Rest 60sec

Why It hits the middle of your chest again to sculpt more defined pecs.

How Follow the form guide for the cable flye, but bring your hands down to meet at the top of your thighs. Try to get a good stretch at the top position.

Workout 2: Back And Shoulders

The first superset hits your upper and middle back to build width across your upper body. Then there are two shoulder moves to add size to all parts of the shoulder muscle, before two often-neglected moves to really fatigue the target muscles.

1A Lat pull-down

Sets 5 Reps 8 Rest 30sec

Why It hits your lats for a wide upper back to make your waist seem small.

How Take a wide overhand grip on the bar. Retract your shoulder blades, keep your chest up and pull the bar down until it reaches your chin. Return back to the start.

1B Seated row

Sets 5 Reps 8 Rest 60sec

Why The machine ensures correct movement so go heavy with good form and focus on contracting your upper back hard with each rep.

How Grip a row handle with both hands with palms facing. Keep your back straight and row the handle towards you, leading with your elbows. Return to the start.

2B Dumbbell overhead press

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 30sec

Why Because it targets each shoulder muscle group individually, you can lift with a full range of motion. Keep each rep slow and controlled.

How Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height with palms facing forwards. Press the weights directly overhead until your arms are straight then lower them back to the start.

2B Lateral raise

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 60sec

Why Targets your side delts to create greater upper torso width.

How Stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand. Raise the weights out to the sides, leading with your elbows. Lower under control.

3A Straight-arm pull-down

Sets 3 Reps 12 Rest 30sec

Why You’ll hit the lats and front shoulders again – but don’t go too heavy: strict form is essential to avoid injury.

How Hold a straight bar with an overhand grip with straight arms. Keep your chest up then pull the bar down in a smooth arc to the front of your thighs, then return smoothly to the start.

3B Cable face pull

Sets 3 Reps 12 Rest 60sec

Why This move hits the often neglected rear delts, and adding size here helps create that coveted V-shaped torso.

How Stand tall and hold a double rope attachment on the high pulley with straight arms. Keeping your chest up, pull the handles to either side of your face, then return to the start.

See related

• The Best Upper-Body Workout
• The Ultimate Chest Workout: Build A Big Chest In Just 28 Days
• The Arm Workout to Help You Fill Your Shirt Sleeves

Workout 3: Biceps And Triceps

This session works your triceps and biceps alternately, which is a time-efficient way to build bigger arms, and allows effective recovery between moves to enable you to lift hard and heavy for every set to maximise your muscle returns.

1A Close-grip bench press

Sets 5 Reps 8 Rest 30sec

Why A narrow grip shifts the workload away from your chest towards your triceps.

How Lie holding a barbell with a shoulder-width grip. Lower the bar towards your chest, then press it back up to the start.

1B Underhand lat pull-down

Sets 5 Reps 8 Rest 60sec

Why Using this grip works your biceps far harder than when using an overhand grip.

How Take an underhand, shoulder-width grip on the bar. Retract your shoulder blades, keep your chest up and pull the bar down in front of you until it reaches your upper chest. Return back to the start.

2A EZ-bar triceps extension

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 30sec

Why It isolates your triceps and works them through a full range of motion. Don’t compromise form by going too heavy.

How Stand tall, holding an EZ-bar overhead with straight arms and an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Lower the bar behind your head, then straighten your arms to return to the start.

2B EZ-bar biceps curl

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 60sec

Why It hits your biceps hard without straining your wrists.

How Stand tall holding an EZ-bar with an underhand, shoulder-width grip. Curl the bar up to shoulder height, pause, then lower the bar under control back to the start. Squeeze your biceps at the top and stretch your triceps at the bottom of each rep.

3A Rope triceps press-down

Sets 3 Reps 12 Rest 30sec

Why The cable keeps tension on your triceps during both the lowering and the lifting part of each rep so they are always engaged.

How Stand in front of a cable machine and hold the ropes with a palms-facing grip. Keeping your elbows tight to your sides, press the ropes down until your arms are straight, then return to the start.

3B Rope hammer curl

Sets 3 Reps 12 Rest 60sec

Why The cable’s constant tension means you work your biceps hard.

How Hold the ropes with a palms-facing grip. Keeping your elbows tight to your sides, curl up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps, then return to the start.

While we would never advise you to avoid training your legs for an extended period of time, we recognise that you might want to devote more attention to some muscles than you do to others. Each workout in this plan is devoted to a major upper body muscle group – your chest, back and shoulders. Follow them faithfully and you’ll add strength and size up top.

Follow the sets, reps and rest instructions for each move to get the maximum benefit. Do each workout once a week for four weeks, aiming to increase the amount you lift each time. And make sure you make a note of how much you lift in each session to keep yourself motivated.

Once you’ve completed this plan, make sure to include some legs workouts in your routine, then graduate to this four-workouts-a-week upper-body workout plan.

Workout 1: Chest

1 Dumbbell bench press

Sets 3 Reps 10 Rest 60sec

Why Using dumbbells for this classic chest-builder emphasises your pecs more than the barbell version, because the dumbbells move slightly inwards throughout the rep and also go through a greater range of motion, which will warm them up before you go heavy in the classic bench (see below).

How Lie on a bench with your feet on the floor directly under your knees. Hold the dumbbells above you with arms straight, then lower them to your chest. Drive your feet hard into the floor and push the weights back strongly to the start position.

2 Bench press

Sets 5 Reps 5 Rest 60-90sec

Why It’s a classic for a reason: a properly executed bench press (with your feet pressing into the floor) will tax your whole body and allow you to use heavy weights to maximise upper-body development. Ensure your form is correct to avoid injury and maximise growth.

How Take a grip slightly wider than shoulder width and squeeze your lats together to create a pressing platform before you take the bar out of the rack. Watch the ceiling, not the bar, to ensure you’re pressing in the same line each time – then lower the bar to your chest, aiming to brush your T-shirt without bouncing. Press up powerfully, pause at the top, then go into your next rep.

3 Incline bench press

Sets 4 Time 6-8 Rest 60-90sec

Why Setting the bench to an incline will mean you need to reduce the weight – especially once your muscles are fatigued from the previous two moves – but it’ll hit your chest from a new angle.

How Lie on a bench set at a 45˚ incline, holding a bar over your chest with your grip just wider than shoulder width. Lower the bar until it’s touching your chest, then press it back up.

4 Dumbbell pull-over

Sets 3 Reps 10 Rest 60sec

Why This move simultaneously works both your chest and your back. That’s useful because when you’re doing a heavy bench press, you want to recruit your lats – the big back muscles – to give yourself a stable base from which you can press.

How Lie on a flat bench and hold a dumbbell in both hands above your face. Keeping your arms straight, lower the dumbbell behind your head until your arms are parallel with the floor. Then bring it back to the start.

5 Press-up

Sets 2 Reps To failure Rest 60sec

Why This versatile go-anywhere chest-builder will also work your core, as well as teaching you to hold full-body tension. Because it lets you push yourself with minimal injury risk, it’s a safe way to finish the session.

How Get into a press-up position with your hands just outside shoulder-width apart. Keeping your abs braced, lower your body until your chest touches the floor – keeping your thighs off it – and then press back up.

• The ultimate chest workout

Workout 2: Back

1 Pull-up

Sets 3 Reps 6, 8, 10 Rest 60sec

Why This move’s slightly more functional than its popular cousin, the chin-up, because it builds the muscles you’d use to haul yourself up a cliff (or climbing wall). It also puts more emphasis on your back – getting some solid numbers here guarantees you a V-shape.

How Grasp the bar using an overhand grip with your hands shoulder-width apart. Start from a dead hang with your arms fully extended. Pull yourself up by squeezing your lats together, aiming to bring your elbows behind you. Once your chin is over the bar, slowly lower back to the start.

2 Bent-over row

Sets 5 Reps 5 Rest 60-90sec

Why It’s the best back-builder bar none – plus it’ll balance out your pressing and give you a stable base for pushing-based moves. For a variation as you get more accomplished, try the Pendlay row, where each rep starts on the floor.

How Hold the bar with a shoulder-width grip, bending your knees slightly. Bend at the hips until your torso is at a roughly 45˚ angle to the floor. Pull the bar up to touch your sternum and then lower under control. If you’re moving your upper body to shift the bar, the weight’s too heavy.

3 Dumbbell bent-over row

Sets 2 Reps 8-10 Rest 60sec

Why This move will build all the muscles of your back, giving you stability in your shoulder region, improving your posture and balancing out the pressing work you did in the previous session. The dumbbell variation allows your wrists and shoulders to move more freely than the barbell version, improving your range of motion and making it easier to do when you’re starting to get tired.

How Bend at the hips until your torso is at a roughly 45˚ angle to the floor with the dumbbells hanging straight down. Pull the weights up to touch your chest and then lower under control. Again, if you’re using your upper body, you need to reduce the weight.

4 Renegade row

Sets 3 Reps 8 Rest 60sec

Why This move works your back muscles while challenging your stabilisers to keep you level. Think of it as a more brutal version of the plank.

How Start in a press-up position holding dumbbells. Row one dumbbell upwards, so that your thumb touches your armpit, and then the other. Try to stay parallel to the floor - don’t twist.

5 One-arm row

Sets 2 Reps 8 each side Rest 60sec

Why This isolation move works one side of your body at a time, and allows you to shift more weight.

How Set up with one knee resting on a bench and the other foot on the floor, leaning forwards slightly and holding a dumbbell in one hand. Row the dumbbell up until your thumb touches your armpit, then lower.

• Back workouts for the gym to add muscle quickly

Workout 3: Shoulders

1 Kettlebell overhead press

Sets 3 Reps 10 each side Rest 60sec

Why As well as allowing your shoulder joint to rotate more naturally than a barbell press, the one-sided kettlebell version of the press brings your obliques into play, forcing them to work to stabilise your torso. Working your shoulders unilaterally should also fix any imbalances.

How From the rack position, press the kettlebell overhead, keeping the bell resting against your forearm. Lower the bell under control, pausing at the bottom of the move with the bell resting behind your shoulder. Finish all your reps on one side, then switch to the other.

2 Overhead press

Sets 5 Reps 5 Rest 60-90sec

Why The strict overhead press builds full-body muscle and co-ordination, bringing your abs into the equation to stabilise the weight overhead.

How With your feet shoulder-width apart, position a bar on your upper chest, gripping it with hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Brace your abs, glutes and quads as you press the bar straight upwards. Pause at the top, then lower. You might find you can lift more weight by wrapping your thumbs around the same side as your fingers, to keep your forearms in a better position. For more overhead press tips, see p86.

3 Push press

Sets 3 Reps 6-8 Rest 60-90sec

Why Adding explosive drive to the strict press mimics real-life movement – imagine putting a heavy bag into an overhead locker – and allows you to shift more weight than a strict press, while still building full-body explosiveness and co-ordination. It also allows you to complete reps when your shoulders are tired because your legs give each rep momentum.

How Set up in the same position as the overhead press, then do a quarter squat and press the bar overhead as explosively as possible, using the momentum to drive the bar upwards. If you do it properly you shouldn’t be pushing the bar until it’s almost over your head.

4 Lateral raise

Sets 3 Reps 8-10 Rest 60sec

How Stand tall with your abs braced and feet close but not together, holding a light dumbbell in each hand by your sides with your palms facing one another. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, raise the weights out to the sides, making sure you use your muscles and not momentum. Stop just below shoulder height, then lower.

5 Reverse flye

Sets 3 Reps 10 Rest 60sec

How Lean forwards at the hips with a weight in each hand. Keeping your back flat, bring the weights upwards as if you were spreading your wings, aiming to bring your shoulder blades together at the top of the move.

• The best shoulder workout routine to add serious size to your shoulders

It can be hard to dedicate enough time in the gym to make changes to your physique. If you want to complete this four workouts a week for four weeks gym training plan, you have to be prepared to clear your schedule. 

There is another way, however, if you’re an experienced gym-goer. A fast-acting, time-saving, muscle-pumping, belly-busting training plan that will whip you into shape without taking up too much of your busy day. That's exactly what we've got for you.

What follows is an intense, three-week workout plan. Every second day you'll do a short training session that uses minimal equipment (so no queuing at the gym) and shouldn't take you more than 20 minutes to complete, plus warm-up and warm-down periods. On the days in between you rest and recover.

Don't think, however, that a short session means an easy one. For this plan we've devised some fiendish Monster Moves – multiple exercises combined into a single unit, done without rest. Performing just one repetition of one of these Monster Moves can take up to 15 seconds and involve almost every muscle in your body. The result is that you stress lots of muscle fibres and make your heart work hard to pump blood around your body. This will increase the calorie demand of the workout and raise your metabolism so that you continue to burn fat even after the workout has finished.

How To Follow This Plan

There are only six exercises in the entire training plan, but they are big and complex so practise them first, paying close attention to the form guides, to get the hang of them before doing your workout proper.

Start by warming up for five minutes with light cardio work and dynamic stretches like bends, lunges and presses to get the muscles working.

Pick a weight that you can handle comfortably, erring on the light side at first. Aim to increase the weight slightly as you progress.

Then do the first Monster Move, maintaining a steady tempo and doing as many reps of each Monster Move as you can reasonably manage before losing form. Aim for between five and 10 reps of each.

Maintain a brisk, steady pace throughout without compromising good form. Slow down if you feel you are burning out too soon. If you find you are doing fewer than five reps before burning out, then adjust the weight you are using and slow the pace.

Rest for two minutes before moving on to Monster Move 2. Do as many reps as you can without losing form, then rest for another two minutes before going back to Monster Move 1. Aim to keep up this pattern for 20 minutes. End with five minutes of cardio, such as running, to cool down.

Do a session every second day, alternating between workouts A, B and C. Rest on the days in between.

Workout A

Monster Move 1: Struck Dumb

Side lunge to touch to lunge with curl to squat to rotating press

Every muscle in your body will feel it with this multi-part exercise that switches between upper- and lower-body moves to keep your heart pumping and fat-fires burning. With each rep, alternate sides for the side lunge, lunge and rotating press.

• Stand with dumbbells in front of your thighs.
• Step to the side and lower the weights down your shin with a straight back.
• Push back to the start with dumbbells at your sides.
• Step forward into a lunge and curl the weights up to shoulder height.
• Push back to the start and lower the weights before flipping them up to shoulder height.
• Lower into a squat, keeping your back straight and your weight on your heels.
• Stand up and press one dumbbell up, reaching across to the other side so your body is twisting through 90°. 
• Switch sides, raising the other dumbbell across to the other side and twisting in the other direction.

If you enjoyed that, you’ll get on well with this simply savage dumbbell complex from F45

Monster Move 2: Press Gang

T press-up to burpee to Spider-Man press-up to burpee to renegade row press-up to burpee

Work your chest, triceps, shoulders, back and core while putting your cardiovascular system through the wringer thanks to the burpee interludes.

• Get into a press-up position holding light dumbbells.
• Lower your chest to the floor with a straight body.
• Push up and rotate your torso until one arm points at the ceiling, then repeat the T press-up to the other side.
• Jump your feet forward beneath your chest.
• Stand up straight, then return to the starting press-up position.
• Do a press-up, drawing one knee to your elbow as you lower, then repeat on the other side.
• Return to standing again before getting back into a press-up position.
• Do another press-up, this time rowing the dumbbell in to your side as you push up, then repeat on the other side.
• Return to standing again before beginning the sequence again.

Workout B

Monster Move 1: All Bar None

Romanian deadlift to bent-over row to hang clean to overhead press to back squat

Leave those 20kg plates alone. Even a light bar will soon have you struggling with this mighty combo exercise. It hits virtually every muscle in your body to create a big metabolism boost and torch calories fast.

• Hold the bar in front of your thighs.
• Lean forward at the hips with a straight back and bend your knees slightly.
• Pull it in to your sternum.
• Lower the bar and drop your hips slightly.
• Pull the bar powerfully up in front of you.
• With the bar at chest height, flip your wrists over, bending your knees to absorb the impact.
• Straighten your legs and press the bar overhead.
• Lower the bar behind your head until it rests across the back of your shoulders.
• Drop into a squat keeping your back straight and weight on your heels.
• Stand up and reset the bar before repeating the sequence.

Monster Move 2: Twist In The Tale

Barbell lunge to alternating rotation

This move will hit your legs and core hard. Aim to make all your movements slow and deliberate - good form is more important than speed or number of reps. Alternate the sides of your lunges and rotations with each rep.

• Stand upright with the bar across your shoulders.
• Take a big step forward with your right leg and lower your back knee almost to the floor.
• Push back to the start.
• Rotate your torso to the right and return, using your abs to control the motion.

Workout C

Monster Move 1: Hanging Horror

Pull-up to hanging leg raise to burpee with press-up

This one will separate the ironmen from the boys. It involves a series of high-energy compound movements done in sequence that will work your entire upper body and get your heart hammering.

• Start by hanging from a pull-up bar.
• Pull up until your chin is over the bar.
• Lower down and hang again.
• Raise your legs until they are straight out in front of you.
• Lower your legs and drop off the bar.
• Crouch down and place your hands on the floor in front of you.
• Jump your feet back so your body forms a straight line.
• Do a press-up.
• Jump your feet forward again.
• Stand up and reach for the pull-up bar to start again.

Monster Move 2: Having A Ball

Gym ball passing jackknife to hip raise and hamstring curl

Hit your abs, hips and hamstrings in a move that requires good co-ordination and core strength to pull off without collapsing in a heap on the floor.

• Lie holding a gym ball behind your head.
• Use your abs to lift your arms and legs and transfer the ball from hands to feet.
• Lower your arms and legs again.
• Move your feet so that your heels are on top of the ball.
• Raise your hips until your body is in a straight line.
• Pull your heels into your backside, raising your hips.
• Straighten your legs again.
• Grab the ball with your feet and jackknife up to return it to your hands.
• Lower back to the start again and repeat.

Ordinarily there’s an inverse relationship between the jazziness of a product’s name and its usefulness. Take the dumb-bell: an incredibly effective and versatile bit of kit that has an almost self-mocking name.

The ViPR, on the other hand, has a name that merges venomous snakes and a complete disregard for grammar. So it’s a surprise to discover that these weighted rubber cylinders, with a hold on one side and two holds on the other, make a fantastic addition to your training.

What’s most attractive about the ViPR is the way it’s able to recruit multiple muscle groups 
and get you moving through multiple planes of movement. The result is significant growth hormone release, big calorie burn and a way of moving that will stimulate your nervous system.

"In the gym, people aren’t moving in a way that they do in everyday life," says Michol Dalcourt, the Canadian trainer who invented the kit and has created these three ViPR workouts.

"You rarely see people move a load through a field of gravity during their workout. Usually they just move the load up and down. At the heart of ViPR training is the concept of whole-body integration [WBI]. WBI means that you are using your entire body to effectively create motion. Treating and training movements using the whole body is more effective, and loading these movements will create accelerated improvements."

You can also use the ViPR to achieve different fitness aims. Shifting one that weighs more than 10kg in big, multi-joint movements will stimulate a massive growth hormone response. Doing multi-plane movements back-to-back in a circuit will burn calories. You can also use it to condition yourself for sport.

Use the three workouts in the following sections and you’ll find there’s more to the ViPR than just a cool name.

Strength Workout

1 Squat thread the needle

Sets 2 Time 30sec

• Start with the ViPR at chest height then rotate it a quarter turn.
• Squat down and thread the ViPR through your legs, keeping a natural arch in your spine.
• Return to standing and rotate the ViPR a half turn, then repeat the squat movement.

2 Front carry hip sways

Sets 2 Time 30sec

• Hold the ViPR to your chest with a very wide stance and your feet turned out slightly.
• Shift your weight onto one foot, moving your hips to that side and keeping your leading knee over your toes.
• Shift your weight to the opposite side for one rep.

3 Squat with lateral diagonal raise

Sets 2 Time 30sec

• Sink into a squat and reach the ViPR to one side and at an angle.
• Stand up and move the ViPR diagonally across your body without rotating your torso.

4 Cylinder lift

Sets 2 Time 30sec

• Start in a half squat with your elbows tucked in to your body and your hands gripping the top of the ViPR.
• Straighten up and lift the ViPR so your hands move down it.
• Sink into another half squat to repeat the move, sliding your hands further down the ViPR until you’re holding it by the bottom.

5 ViPR box pattern

Sets 2 Time 30sec

• Hold the ViPR horizontally at hip height, then extend your arms.
• Rotate the ViPR to the left until it’s vertical.
• Rotate it back until it’s horizontal at head height.
• Rotate it to the right until the ViPR is vertical again.

6 Transverse plane thread the needle

Sets 2 Time 30sec

• Start with the ViPR overhead.
• Take a step to one side and backwards slightly.
• As you step, drive the ViPR down and through your legs.

Fat-Loss Workout

1 Lateral tilt with lateral shuffle

Sets 3 Time 40sec

• Start with the ViPR upright and hold it loosely.
• Shuffle to one side until the ViPR begins to tilt.
• Decelerate the tilt then accelerate to the other side and repeat that movement.

2 Anterior step with uppercut

Sets 3 Time 40sec

• Take a step forward and as you plant your front foot, perform an uppercut.

3 Lateral ViPR flip

Sets 3 Time 40sec

• Squat down with the ViPR flat on the floor. As you stand up, flip the ViPR up.
• As it reaches an upright position, control the ViPR with the other hand, taking a lateral shuffle and squatting down again as the ViPR reaches the floor.
• Repeat the move in the same direction, swapping sides each circuit.

4 Shoulder to shoulder press

Sets 3 Time 40sec

• Start with the ViPR on one shoulder.
• Shuffle in the direction opposite to the shoulder carrying the ViPR.
• Use the momentum to help you press and transfer the ViPR to the other shoulder.

5 Sagittal shuffle with tilt

Sets 3 Time 40sec

• Start in a half squat with the ViPR in both hands.
• Shuffle forwards until the ViPR is upright, then lunge with one foot to the side of the ViPR so that it tilts forward.
• Control the deceleration then return the way you came. Swap sides each rep.

6 Transverse plane jumping stack

Sets 3 Time 40sec

• Start with your feet together with the ViPR across your body with your torso facing in the opposite direction.
• Jump and twist with your torso moving in the opposite direction to your feet.

Running Stability Workout

1 Step-over squats

Sets 4 Reps 8-10

• Start in the carry hold position, then rotate your hips and step across your body.
• Step back the way you came but turn your leading leg out slightly and squat.

2 Split stance low reach

Sets 4 Reps 8-10

• Start in a split stance with the ViPR at hip height.
• Reach to the opposite side of your forward foot, moving your hips sideways to counter the movement.
• Swap sides each rep.

3 Lunge with multi-plane reaches

Sets 4 Reps 8-10

• With the ViPR at hip height, lunge forward and extend your arms.
• Return to the start, then lunge forwards once more, reaching to the side of your leading leg.
• Return to the start and lunge forwards again, reaching away from your leading leg.

4 Lateral bounds

Sets 4 Reps 8-10

• From standing, bound to one side with one leg and rotate your torso towards that leg while moving the ViPR across your body so one end is near your standing foot.
• Repeat on the other side, bounding with the other leg.

5 Shovelling

Sets 4 Reps 8-10

• Start with your left hand near your left shoulder and your right hand near your left knee with the bottom of the ViPR near your left foot.
• In a scooping motion, rotate your body and move the ViPR up in an arc to your shoulder. Swap sides each rep. 

6 Step with lateral shift

Sets 4 Reps 8-10

• Take a big step to one side and drive the ViPR horizontally across your body.
• Return to the start then repeat the move on the opposite side.

The key to a great workout is intensity. It doesn’t matter how many half-hearted chest flyes or dumbbell curls you do – if you don’t attack your workout with enough effort, you’re wasting your time. This is because you’re aiming to exhaust your muscles so that your body’s repair and growth system kicks in. Likewise, if you rest for too long between sets and exercises your muscles will recover and you won’t be able to fatigue them properly. This is where muscle-building theory collides with the realities of crowded gyms.
 
It’s not really the done thing to chuck other gym-users off the squat rack just because your heart rate is dropping.
 
Fortunately there is a solution. You might not think it possible to get a full-body muscle-building blast from a one-kit workout but we’ve designed a four-week programme that does just that. Simply grab the appropriate weight – one that allows you to complete the required number of reps, but no more – and do the workout with maximum intensity and minimum fuss.

The first two workouts recruit your muscles to lift heavy dumbbells and then barbells to maximise growth. They’ll work your whole body, so leave at least two days’ rest between them. The third workout uses big, whole-body movements to raise your heart rate, burn calories and work every muscle in your body. Leave at least a day between this workout and the next.  

Eat a high-protein meal (20-30g protein) within two hours of working out. In four weeks you’ll have added lean muscle and burnt off body fat.

How To Do This Workout Programme

Do workouts A, B and C once a week each, leaving at least one day’s rest between workouts. Warm up by doing five minutes on a cardio machine, then warm-up sets of press-ups or chin-ups and bodyweight squats to raise your heart rate and get your muscles warmed up. Find the appropriate piece of kit and make sure you have enough space to do all the moves. 

Leave one minute’s rest between sets and two to three minutes between exercises.

High-Intensity Full-Body Dumbbell Workout

1 Dumbbell close-grip bench press

Sets 3  Reps 8  

Target chest, triceps

Keep your palms facing forward throughout and press the weight straight up above your chest.

2 Lying Cuban press

Sets 3  Reps 8  

Target upper back, rear shoulders

Pull your shoulder blades back and keep your wrists in line with your forearms.

3 Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

Sets 3  Reps 8  

Target hamstrings, glutes

Keep your lower back in a neutral position and stand up straight at the top of the movement.

4 Gym ball dumbbell preacher curl

Sets 3 Reps 8 

Target biceps

Lift the weights slowly and don’t bounce your arms off the ball on the way down.

5 Alternating dumbbell step-up

Sets 4 Reps 4 each side 

Target quads, calves, core

Alternate your legs and step up onto a step for a total of eight times in each set.

6 Gym ball dumbbell rotation

Sets 3  Reps 5 each side  

Target abs, core

Lie with your back on the ball, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Hold a dumbbell above you with straight arms. Rotate left until your left arm is level with the floor then do four more reps before switching sides for another five reps.

High-Intensity Full-Body Barbell Workout

1 Incline bench press

Sets 3  Reps 8  

Target upper chest, front shoulders

Lower the weight to your upper shoulders, then press it back up in a vertical line.

2 Bent-over row

Sets 3  Reps 8  

Target upper back, rear shoulders, biceps

Retract your shoulder blades, brace your core and keep your torso still as you pull the bar up to your chest.

3 Good morning

Sets 3  Reps 8  

Target lower back, hamstrings

Keep your lower back in a neutral position throughout, not too rounded and not over-extended.

4 Push press

Sets 3  Reps 8 each side  

Target shoulders, upper back

Bend your knees slightly and then explode upwards, driving the bar straight overhead.

5 Modified lunge

Sets 3  Reps 4 each side  

Target calves, hamstrings, glutes

Hold the bar directly above your torso and saty on the balls of your feet while you lunge, repeating four reps on one side then swapping sides for another four reps.

6 Barbell roll-out

Sets 3  Reps 10  

Target abs, core

Slowly roll forward as far as you can, keeping your back straight, and then roll back without pausing.

High-Intensity Full-Body Medicine Ball Workout

1 Elevated press-up

Sets 3  Reps 10  

Target chest, triceps

Place your weakest hand on a medicine ball and do one set of ten reps, then swap sides for the next set.

2 Sledgehammer

Sets 3  Reps 10  

Target lats, rear shoulders, quads, hamstrings

Swing the ball over your head then swing it down between your legs. Pause at the bottom before repeating.

3 Medicine ball side lunge and lift

Sets 3  Reps 5 each side  

Target quads, hamstrings, shoulders, core

Step back and turn your body outwards, opening your hips while planting your foot behind you.
 

4 Medicine ball washing machine

Sets 3  Reps 30 seconds  

Target lower back, abs, obliques

Twist your torso backwards and forwards as quickly as you can for 30 seconds, switching legs at the same time.

5 Double medicine ball leg curl

Sets 3  Reps 10  

Target hamstrings, hips

Keep your hips raised and your body in a straight line from shoulders to ankles.

6 Medicine ball woodchop

Sets 3  Reps 6 each side  

Target whole body

Brace your core, stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold a medicine ball in both hands and keep your arms straight throughout. Drop down slightly, moving the ball to beside your right knee, then drive up through your feet, swinging the ball up and diagonally across your body. Swing it back down again. complete six reps on the right before switching sides.