Bodybuilding Routines To Increase Muscle Size
Selecting the right bodybuilding routines to balance your social life and family commitents with the need to increase muscle size is always a dilemma but the following guide simplifies the task.
3 Day A Week routine – (Normal)
Get proper instruction on all exercises. On the first training session, start off light, do one set per exercise. You might ache the next day, this is normal and shows you have trained well.
After a few weeks, perform two sets for each exercise. After around three months, perform a maximum of three sets per exercise. Always do an additional easy warm-up set of around 20 reps, to get the motion right and the blood into the muscle.
Perform a maximum of around 10-12 reps for each exercise. The weight you are using should be heavy enough so that the last rep should be near impossible. Try and increase the weights or reps you are doing every session, to ensure you are progressing.
Monday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Squats or Leg Press | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Leg Extension | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Leg Curl | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Leg Raise | 1-3 | 10-12 |
Wednesday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Incline Bench Press | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Close Grip Bench Press | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Behind Neck Shoulder Press | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Lateral Raise | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Dumbell Biceps Curl | 1-3 | 10-12 |
Friday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Shoulder Width Lat Pulldown | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Close Grip Seated Pulley Row | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Triceps Pushdown | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Crunches | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Hyper Extension | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Shrugs (men only) | 1-3 | 10-12 |
2 Day A Week Routine – (for very busy people)
You get longer recovery on the two-day a week training routine. It is suitable for people with very little time. However, you still need to train hard and intense for it to work.
After a few weeks, perform two sets for each exercise. After around 3 months, perform a maximum of three sets per exercise. Always do an additional easy warm-up set of around 20 reps, to get the motion right and the blood into the muscle.
Perform a maximum of around 10-12 reps for each exercise. The weight you are using should be heavy enough so that the last rep should be near impossible. Try and increase the weights or reps you are doing every session, to ensure you are progressing.
Monday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Squats OR Leg Press | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Leg Curl (Lunge for women) | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Incline Bench Press | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Close Grip Bench Press | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Dumbbell Biceps Curl | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Leg Raise | 1-3 | 10-12 |
Thursday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Behind Neck Shoulder Press | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Lateral Raise | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Triceps Pushdown | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Shoulder Width Lat Pulldown | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Close Grip Seated Pulley Row | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Triceps Pushdown | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Crunches | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Hyper Extension | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Shrugs (men only) | 1-3 | 10-12 |
4 Day A Week Routine
The first set should be a warm-up (15-20 reps), followed by a heavier warm-up. The next three sets must be intense and hard. Try and make the third set the heaviest and complete until total failure. The fourth set will be a little less weight, but still until total failure. Keep your rep range between 6-10 for all sets.
You’ll have noticed that some exercises also work other bodyparts, this is intended. Don’t train forearms too hard, otherwise your grip strength will be reduced dramatically.
Avoid the temptation to add sets or exercises to this routine. Avoid this routine for the first 6 months of training. Lower the sets in your next workout if you find you are still sore 3 days after working that muscle.
Monday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Squats | 5 | 6-10 |
| Behind Neck Shoulder Press | 5 | 6-10 |
| Upright Row | 5 | 6-10 |
| Wrist Curl | 3 | 6-10 |
| Crunches | 3 | 6-10 |
Tuesday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Bench Press | 5 | 6-10 |
| Shoulder Width Lat Pulldown | 5 | 6-10 |
| Close Grip Seated Pulley Row | 5 | 6-10 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 5 | 6-10 |
Thursday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Deadlift | 5 | 6-10 |
| Dumbbell Shrug | 5 | 6-10 |
| Reverse Wrist Curl | 3 | 6-10 |
| Crunches | 3 | 6-10 |
Friday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Tricep Dip | 4 | 6-10 |
| Close Grip Bench Press | 4 | 6-10 |
| E-Z Bar Curl | 4 | 6-10 |
| E-Z Bar Reverse Curls | 4 | 6-10 |
| Seated Calf Raise | 5 | 6-10 |
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5 Day A Week Routine
This 5 day split routine is excellent if you have the recovery to train 5 days in a row. Doing a 5 day split won’t work for people with a stressful job or home life. It will cause you to overtrain and burn-out.
The 5 day split allows you to be in and out of the gym in 30-45 mins, meaning you can train each bodypart to total failure, without having to ‘hold back’ energy for other bodyparts.
This routine is designed to hit the muscles from every angle and because the exercises are compound movements, you overlap the muscles you are working. So, for biceps you actually train them twice, first on back days (Tuesdays) and secondly on Fridays.
Monday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Behind Neck Shoulder Press | 4 | 6-10 |
| Upright Row | 4 | 6-10 |
| Incline Dumbbell Press | 4 | 6-10 |
| Bench Press | 4 | 6-10 |
| Crunches | 3 | 6-10 |
Tuesday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Close Grip Lat Pulldown | 4 | 6-10 |
| Close Grip Seated Pulley Row | 4 | 6-10 |
| Seated Calf Raise | 4 | 6-10 |
| Reverse Wrist Curl | 4 | 6-10 |
Wednesday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Squats | 5 | 6-10 |
| Leg Press | 5 | 6-10 |
| Leg Curl | 4 | 6-10 |
Thursday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Close Grip Bench Press | 4 | 6-10 |
| Tricep Dip | 4 | 6-10 |
| Dumbbell Shrug | 4 | 6-10 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4 | 6-10 |
Friday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Pull Ups | 4 | 6-10 |
| E-Z Bar Curl | 4 | 6-10 |
| Hammer Curl | 4 | 6-10 |
| Crunches (with weight) | 4 | 6-10 |
2 Day A Week routine – (Women)
Get proper instruction on all exercises. On the first training session, start off light, do one set per exercise. You might ache the next day, this is normal and shows you have trained well.
After a few weeks, perform two sets for each exercise. After around three months, perform a maximum of three sets per exercise. Always do an additional easy warm-up set of around 20 reps, to get the motion right and the blood into the muscle.
Perform a maximum of around 10-12 reps for each exercise. The weight you are using should be heavy enough so that the last rep should be near impossible. Try and increase the weights or reps you are doing every session, to ensure you are progressing.
Monday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Squats | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Leg Extension | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Leg Curl | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Lunge | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Leg Raise | 1-3 | 10-12 |
Wednesday
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Bench Press | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Close Grip Lat Pulldown | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Lateral Raise | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Triceps Pushdown | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Triceps Kickback | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Dumbbell Biceps Curl | 1-3 | 10-12 |
| Crunches | 1-3 | 10-12 |
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