Your Four-Week Workout Plan To Build Muscle
When asked what body part they would most like to change, many men say they want either a bigger chest, bigger arms or a smaller belly. But to make a major change to the way you look with your shirt off, you don’t need to make a massive change to one body part: you need to focus on making small changes across your torso. Adding width to your shoulders and back, increasing the size of your chest and arms, and stripping away belly fat will transform you from average Joe to athlete-in-waiting with a lean, defined and sculpted V-shape.
That’s what this four-week training plan has been designed to do. It’ll add muscular size to all your major upper-body muscles groups while helping burn excess fat to create a bigger, stronger and leaner physique. Read on to discover the theory behind the plan, as well as simple lifestyle tips that will turn your body into a muscle-building, fat-burning machine. Then start the plan, making sure you give it all you’ve got!
The Training Plan
The plan has two two-week blocks. The first has four sessions a week: 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.
Block 1 week 1: super six
In this first fortnight each session has six moves: 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.
Block 1 week 2: big gains
In the second week of the first block all the sessions are the same, containing the same moves in the same order. However, while you’ll still do five sets of eight reps for the first two moves of each workout, there’s an extra set for moves 3, 4, 5A and 5B to keep the big gains coming. Jump to block 1 week 2
Block 2 week 1: up the ante
In the second block the sessions change 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. Jump to block 2 week 1
Block 2 week 2: fast finish
The exercises are also more challenging in the second block, so try to lift as heavy as you can while maintaining good form. In the final week, the sets and reps have been tweaked from week 3 to push your muscles to their limit. Jump to block 2 week 2
Four 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 plan 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.
For the duration of this four-week plan 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.
Monday Workout: Chest And Back
1 Bench press
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
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 crose-over
Sets 4 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
Sets 4 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
Sets 4 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
Sets 4 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 .
Wednesday Workout: Legs And Shoulders
1 Back squat
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
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
Sets 4 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
Sets 4 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
Sets 4 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 side ras
Sets 4 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.
Friday Workout: Back And Arms
1 Triceps dips
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
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
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.
4 Incline dumbbell biceps curl
Sets 4 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
Sets 4 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 trepes pree-down
Sets 4 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.
Saturday Workout: Chest And Shoulders
1 Incline bench press
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
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
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 Dumbbell latral raices
Sets 4 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 flys
Sets 4 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
Sets 4 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 1: Week 2
We’ve made some smart tweaks to the training sessions to transform your torso even faster
The first week of this plan – as you now know – isn’t easy, but it is effective. Because the only way to pack on lean muscle mass quickly while also stripping away unwanted belly fat is to push your muscles hard with enough high-quality reps, and with only the briefest rest between sets and moves to keep your heart rate high.
In this second week of the first fortnight of the plan you’ll do the same workouts in the same order as the first week. However, while the total number of sets and reps for moves 1 and 2 remain the same, there is an extra set for all the other moves in the workout. This means you’ll do a total of five sets for moves 3, 4 and superset moves 5A and 5A, up from four total sets in week 1.
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 add up to a big difference to your progress.
Monday Workout: Chest And Back
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Tempo | Rest |
| 1 Bench press | 5 | 8 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 2 Lat pull-down | 5 | 8 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 3 Cable cross-over | 5 | 12 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 4 Straight-arm pull-down | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 5A Incline dumbbell press | 5 | 12 | 2010 | 30sec |
| 5B Prone dumbbell row | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
Wednesday Workout: Legs And Shoulders
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Tempo | Rest |
| 1 Squat | 5 | 8 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 2 Overhead press | 5 | 8 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 3 Leg extension | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 4 Hamstring curl | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 5A Seated overhead press | 5 | 12 | 2010 | 30sec |
| 5B Seated lat raise | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
Friday Workout: Back And Arms
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Tempo | Rest |
| 1 Triceps dip | 5 | 8 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 2 Underhand lat pull-down | 5 | 8 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 3 Seated row | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 4 Incline dumbbell curl | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 5A Cable biceps curl | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 30sec |
| 5B Cable triceps press | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
Saturday Workout: Chest And Shoulders
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Tempo | Rest |
| 1 Incline bench press | 5 | 8 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 2 Dumbbell pull-over | 5 | 8 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 3 EZ-bar upright row | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 4 Dumbbell lateral raise | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 5A Incline dumbbell flye | 5 | 12 | 2010 | 30sec |
| 5B Press-up | 5 | 12 | 2010 | 60sec |
Block 2: Week 1
Monday Workout: Chest And Back
1 Incline bench press
Sets 5 Reps 10 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 Bend-over-row
Sets 5 Reps 10 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
Sets 4 Reps 10 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 flys
Sets 4 Reps 10 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
Sets 4 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.
5B Cable straight-arm pull-down
Sets 4 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.
Wednesday Workout: Legs And Arms
1 Back squat
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
Sets 5 Reps 10 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
Sets 4 Reps 10 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
Sets 4 Reps 6-10 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 curls
Sets 4 Reps 12 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
Sets 4 Reps 12 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.
Friday Workout: Chest And Back
1 Bench press
Sets 5 Reps 10 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
Sets 5 Reps 10 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 flys
Sets 4 Reps 10 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
Sets 4 Reps 10 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
Sets 4 Reps 12 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
Sets 4 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.
Saturday Workout: Shoulders And Arms
1 Overhead press
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
Sets 5 Reps 6-10 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
Sets 4 Reps 10 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 bicups curl
Sets 4 Reps 10 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
Sets 4 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.
5B Cable triceps press-down
Sets 4 Reps 12 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: Week 2
For the start of the second block of the plan we shook things up with a change to the session structure, which meant that you were spending more total training time on your chest, back, arms and shoulders to make them bigger and stronger to change your body for the better. And in this final week, while the sessions follow the same structure as in week one, the key variables have again been changed to challenge your muscles even more so they keep getting bigger.
There are still five sets of the first two moves of each workout, but you’ll do an extra two reps per set this week. For the final four moves of each session, the total number of sets stays the same as in the first week – so you’ll do four in total – but the rep count per set increase, from ten to 12 for moves 3 and 4, and from 12 to 15 for the superset moves of 5A and 5B. Don’t worry if you use the same weights as last week: you’re doing more reps per set of all the moves, and form comes first.
Monday Workout: Chest And Back
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Tempo | Rest |
| 1 Incline bench press | 5 | 12 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 2 Bent-over row | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 3 Dumbbell bench press | 4 | 12 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 4 Prone dumbbell flye | 4 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 5A Cable cross-over | 4 | 15 | 2010 | 30sec |
| 5B Cable straight-arm pull | 4 | 15 | 2011 | 60sec |
Wednesday Workout: Legs And Arms
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Tempo | Rest |
| 1 Back squat | 5 | 12 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 2 Romanian deadlift | 5 | 12 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 3 Underhand lat pull-down | 4 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 4 Triceps dip | 4 | 8-12 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 5A Cable biceps curl | 4 | 15 | 2011 | 30sec |
| 5B Cable triceps press | 4 | 15 | 2011 | 60sec |
Friday Workout: Chest And Back
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Tempo | Rest |
| 1 Bench press | 5 | 12 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 2 Wide lat pull-down | 5 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 3 Incline dumbbell flye | 4 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 4 Seated row | 4 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 5A Dumbbell pull-over | 4 | 15 | 2011 | 30sec |
| 5B Press-up | 4 | 15 | 2010 | 60sec |
Saturday Workout: Shoulders And Arms
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Tempo | Rest |
| 1 Overhead press | 5 | 12 | 2010 | 60sec |
| 2 Chin-up | 5 | 8-12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 3 EZ-bar upright row | 4 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 4 Incline dumbbell curl | 4 | 12 | 2011 | 60sec |
| 5A Dumbbell lateral raise | 4 | 15 | 2011 | 30sec |
| 5B Cable triceps press | 4 | 15 | 2011 | 60sec |
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