When it
comes to gaining mass, everybody’s an expert. From the late-night infomercial
guru to the chatty, grizzled gym veteran, it seems that everyone has a gimmick
for getting huge. This pervasion of mass-gain punditry makes it difficult for
the average lifter to zero in on what exactly needs to be done.
Luckily,
there are a few universal truths that anyone can apply to elicit the gains he
or she is looking for. We not only present three of them here, but our expert
also used each of them to craft the accompanying mass-gain program, making it a
proficient and practical method to gain an appreciable amount of new muscle
over the next three months.
TRUTH NO. 1: MUSCLES GROW WITH BIG LIFTS IN THE 8 TO 12 REP RANGE
Some people
like to take a high-volume approach to muscle growth, insisting that
challenging, high-rep sets flush the muscles with blood and trigger new growth.
Other lifters are monogamous to big-weight lifts, clinging to the fact that
to-the-brink sets will build the most muscle, even with very few reps. The
middle ground, however, works for everyone — if it’s done right.
Jimmy Peña,
MS, CSCS, a Los Angeles–based fitness expert, celebrity trainer and founder of
PrayFit (www.prayfit.com), insists that the greatest gains in muscle come to
those who stick to the most proven rep range for muscle growth — eight to 12
reps. “This is the range that is most known, physiologically and anecdotally,
to elicit muscle growth,” he says.
Amazingly,
there are still debates in fitness circles about which exercises should be used
to build mass. Some argue that the greater the variety of exercises, the
greater the stress placed on your musculature, the greater your growth in the
long run.
“That’s
ridiculous,” Peña says. “You can always add variety with single-joint moves,
but if gaining mass is your primary goal, you need to stick to
bread-and-butter, compound exercises like the bench press, squat and deadlift.
Forcing multiple muscle groups to work in concert against progressively heavier
resistance is the way to go, period.”
Applied
Truth: In this program, you won’t ever perform a set with less than eight or
more than 12 reps. Because this is the optimum rep range for hypertrophy — your
main goal these 12 weeks — it makes no sense to deviate from it for novelty’s
sake. Also, single-joint movements will be a rare find. Major lifts comprise
the bulk of the exercises here.
TRUTH NO. 2: PROGRESSION IS THE KEY TO GROWTH
Show us a
person who has stopped growing and we’ll show you a person who has stopped
challenging his or her body. Sure, sometimes a break is all that’s needed to
get back into the growth zone, but more often than not, a plateau is because of
a lack of creativity and ambition; once your body gets too accustomed to one
routine, you can say goodbye to gains.
The best
way to avoid that is to insist on progression and to build it into your plan.
“Comfort is the worst thing that can happen to your physique, regardless of
your goal,” Peña insists. “Remember, your body will only change to the degree
at which it is stressed. Put another way, without throwing in new variables —
in this case, more weight and varying rep protocols — your body will not
respond well, if at all.”
Applied Truth:
For the next three months, you’ll continually switch things up. Each month,
you’ll handle progressively heavier weight loads in more challenging rep
schemes (still within the eight to 12 window) to confuse your muscles and spur
new growth.
TRUTH NO. 3: TRAINING TO FAILURE (AND BEYOND) IS REQUIRED
One of the
most misguided gym practices is stopping a set at a certain number when you
clearly had more in the tank. Almost every time you see a prescribed rep range,
in this magazine or elsewhere, the goal is to hit failure at that number.
Failure is the point at which you can no longer perform reps with good form on
your own. So if you bang out 12 reps when you could have done 15 or 16, you’re
missing out on a slew of anabolic benefits.
“The key
for any set that is based on a particular rep or rep range is to select a
weight that causes you to fail at that particular rep,” Peña says. “Weight
selection is of paramount importance to this program and just about any other.
Hitting failure at these rep ranges triggers the pathways in your body where
growth occurs. Going with a weight where you can complete more than 12 reps
will instead move you more into the endurance-building zone.”
You can
also get additional hormonal benefits by adding key intensity techniques to
your sets. Extending sets by lowering the weight and continuing to perform reps
after initial muscle failure, also known as drop setting, is one easy way to
squeeze even more growth-inducing intensity into your workouts. Another way to
build mass fast is by taking short, calculated breaks to take advantage of your
body’s rapidly replenishing, explosive-energy stores so you can continue for a few more reps. This is
known as rest-pause training. Variations on both techniques will be used in
this program.
Training to
failure, and beyond, causes additional damage within the muscle bellies which,
when paired with proper nutrition, is the ideal environment for exponential
growth.
Applied
Truth: While you will be striving to reach muscle failure with each set in this
program, you will add some intensity boosters in the second and third phases
that are designed to help you take your muscles beyond failure.
PLAN OF ATTACK
Now that
you understand the underpinnings of the program, here’s more detail on how you’ll
be spending the next 12 weeks in the gym. In Phase 1 (weeks one to four),
you’ll lay the foundation for future size gains. “In this phase, you’ll select
your 12 rep max for your base line working weight,” Peña says. “After your
first set of 12, you’ll rest no more than one to two minutes, then perform
another two sets with that same weight, achieving no more than 12 but shooting
for at least 10 on the second set and eight on the third set.”
In Phase 2
(weeks five to eight), you’’ll bring on more poundage. “This month, you’ll go a
little heavier, selecting your 10 rep max, right in the middle of the magic
growth range,” Peña explains. “You’ll do your first set so that you fail at 10.
After your first set, you’ll be noticeably fatigued, but your second set is
another 10 rep-max set. This means you will probably need to drop the weight
slightly to achieve another 10 reps on each of the next two sets. Remember, the
key is to fail at 10 reps. If you can do more, you went too light. If you can’t
quite reach 10, you need to lower the weight a bit.”
Finally, in
Phase 3 (weeks nine to 12), you’ll put your expanding muscles to maximum use.
“Keeping with the theme of progression, your eight rep max will serve as your
base weight,” Peña says. “And as you’ll see, we have you going for 10 and 12
reps after your initial set of eight. You might be asking how it’s possible to
get 10 or 12 reps using a weight that causes you to fail at eight. The answer
is you won’t, technically. When you get to eight on your second set, we want
you to rest for roughly 15 seconds, then do another two reps to get you to 10
total. And on your third set, we want you to rest for 30 seconds before
attempting an additional four reps to get you to 12 reps. It’s not necessarily
a true rest-pause set, but the mentality is identical. You rest long enough for
your explosive energy stores to replenish, then perform more repetitions,
paving the way for more growth.”
One more
note to keep in mind: These protocols will not apply to abs, which you will
instead train twice per week at a standard rep range for all 12 weeks. Because
you’re focused on getting bigger, you just want to keep your abs conditioned,
but save the hardcore ab work for your get-lean plan.
Now, before
you begin, one more truth to mention: Any training program is only as good as
the effort you’re willing to put in. We assume you want to pack on impressive
muscle gains and are willing to put in the intense work required — now it’s
your turn to prove us right.
THE THREE-MONTH MASS-GAIN PROGRAM
WEEKLY SPLIT:
Day Bodyparts
Trained
1 Chest,
triceps
2 Legs,
calves, abs
3 Rest
4 Shoulders,
traps
5 Back,
biceps, abs
6 Rest
7 Rest
DAY 1: Chest & Triceps
Month 1 Month
2 Month 3
Exercise Sets* Reps Reps Reps
Chest:
Incline Dumbbell Press
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Flat-Bench Barbell Press
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Incline Cable Flye
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Weighted Dip
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Triceps:
Close-Grip Bench Press
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Cable Pressdown
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
*Does not include warm-up sets.
DAY 2: Legs, Calves & Abs
Month 1 Month 2 Month 3
Exercise Sets* Reps Reps Reps
Legs:
Barbell Squat
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Romanian Deadlift
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Leg Press
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Leg Extension
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Lying Leg Curl 1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Calves:
Standing Calf Raise
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Abs:
Weighted Crunch 4 12 12 12
Hanging Leg Raise 4 To
failure To failure To failure
*Does not include warm-up sets
DAY 3: Rest
DAY 4: Shoulders & Traps
Month 1 Month 2 Month
3
Exercise Sets* Reps Reps Reps
Shoulders:
Seated Barbell Press
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
EZ-Bar Upright Row
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Bent-Over Lateral Raise
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Traps:
Dumbbell Shrug
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Smith Behind-the-Back Shrug
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
*Does not include warm-up sets.
DAY 5: Back, Biceps & Abs
Month 1 Month 2 Month
3
Exercise Sets* Reps Reps Reps
Back:
Deadlift
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Bent-Over Barbell Row
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Seated Cable Row
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
T-Bar Row
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Decline Barbell Pullover
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Biceps:
Standing Barbell Curl
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Incline Dumbbell Curl
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Hammer Curl
1 12 10 8
1 10 10 10
1 8 10 12
Abs:
Weighted Crunch 4 12 12 12
Hanging Leg Raise 4 To
failure To failure To failure
*Does not include warm-up sets.
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