The way this programme has been designed – with two sessions a week that work your chest and back directly, and two that work your arms both directly and indirectly – will mean you add significant muscle mass across your torso, while the high-intensity weights workouts will also strip away excess body fat. The result? A brand new body.
How The Plan Works
To add as much lean muscle mass as possible over the next 28 days, while also stripping off body fat, it’s important you follow this training plan as closely as possible. It’s been designed to tax your major muscle groups, especially your chest and back, to radically transform how you look shirtless.
The four-week plan is made up of four sessions a week, which you will ideally do on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
The Monday session targets your chest and back; the Wednesday one your legs and shoulders; the Friday session your chest and triceps; and the Saturday one your back and biceps.
This means you’ll work your major upper-body muscles either directly or indirectly twice a week, and it’s this big increase in training volume that will stimulate these muscles into growing bigger quickly.
Each workout is made up of five moves. The first two moves form a superset and the final three moves make up a tri-set. Do the reps and rest period for move 1A followed by 1B, then repeat that sequence until all the sets of each move have been completed. Then do the same for exercises 2A, 2B and 2C. This approach increases the amount of time per session you are working rather than resting, which will not only keep your muscles stimulated for longer but also keep your heart rate high to increase the rate of fat burn.
Tempo Training
To get the full effect from these workouts, you need to stick to the four-digit tempo code for each exercise. The first digit indicates how long in seconds you take to lower the weight, the second how long you pause at the bottom of the move, the third how long you take to lift the weight, and the final digit how long you pause at the top.
The accumulated time under tension increases your heart rate to burn body fat and break down muscle tissue so it’s rebuilt bigger and stronger. Keep each rep smooth and controlled so your muscles – not momentum – do the work, and move through a full range of motion.
How To Warm Up
You don’t have to warm up for the workouts on this plan. You can go straight in at exercise 1 and blast your way through, see if we care. Just don’t come crying to us the next day when you’re suffering with crippling upper-body DOMS and unable to lift your arms above your shoulders.
Reduced muscle soreness isn’t the only reason to get a good warm-up before starting the workouts, either. Proper prep will allow you to begin your workout ready to lift big and get the maximum benefits, rather than creaking your way through the first couple of sets unable to perform the way you had planned.
Since this an upper-body focused plan, the standard weightlifting warm-up – five minutes on the treadmill – is even more useless than normal. You need to use the muscles you’re actually intending to use in the workout itself. This gym warm-up starts with a range of dynamic stretches that get muscles all over the body moving. Once you’ve done that, complete your prep with some exercise-specific warm-ups. Look at the exercises you have lined up in your workout and then do moves that hit the same muscles. One of the easiest ways to do this is to perform a set or two of each exercise using a light weight or no weight at all.
Upper-Body Workout 1: Chest and Back
1A Bench press
Sets 8 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 30sec
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.
1B Bent-over row
Sets 8 Reps 8 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec
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.
2A Chin-up
Sets 3 Reps 6 Tempo 2011 Rest 20sec
Hold a chin-up bar using a shoulder-width underhand grip. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your chin is higher than the bar, keeping your elbows tucked in to your body. Lower until your arms are straight again.
2B Incline flye
Sets 3 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 20sec
Lie on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand above your face, with your palms facing and a slight bend in your elbows. Lower them to the sides, then bring them back to the top.
2C Diamond press-up
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2110 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.
Upper-Body Workout 2: Legs and Shoulders
1A Back squat
Sets 8 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 30sec
Stand tall with feet just wider than shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell across the back of your shoulders. Keeping your chest up and core braced, squat down until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Drive back up through your heels to return to the start.
1B Overhead press
Sets 8 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell across the top of your chest with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Keeping your chest up and core braced, press the bar overhead until your arms are straight, then lower it back to the start.
2A Barbell split squat
Sets 3 Reps 6 each side Tempo 2010 Rest 20sec
Stand tall with feet just wider than shoulder-width apart, holding a bar across the back of your shoulders. Keeping your chest up, take a big step forwards with your right foot, then bend both knees to 90°. Drive back through your right foot to return to the start. Repeat for six reps, then switch legs and do another six reps with your left foot forward.
2B Barbell high pull
Sets 3 Reps 8 Tempo 1010 Rest 20sec
Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell with an overhand grip and arms straight. Keeping your chest up and core braced, pull the bar upwards, leading with your elbows, until it reaches chin height. Then lower it back to the start.
2C Lateral raise
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec
Stand tall, holding a light dumbbell in each hand by your sides, palms facing each other. Keeping your chest up, your core braced and a slight bend in your elbows, raise the weights out to shoulder height. Turn your thumbs down at the top, then lower them back to the start.
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Upper-Body Workout 3: Chest and Triceps
1A Bench press
Sets 8 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 30sec
Lie on a flat bench, holding a bar 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.
1B Seated dumbbell overhead press
Sets 8 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Sit on an upright bench holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height, palms facing forwards. Keeping your chest up, press the weights directly overhead until your arms are straight, then lower them back to the start.
2A Hammer-grip dumbbell bench press
Sets 3 Reps 6 Tempo 2010 Rest 20sec
Lie on a flat bench, holding dumbbells by your shoulders with palms facing. Drive your feet into the floor and press the weights straight up, then lower them slowly back to the start.
2B Dumbbell triceps extension
Sets 3 Reps 8 Tempo 1010 Rest 20sec
Stand tall holding a dumbbell in each hand over your head, arms straight. Keeping your chest up, core braced and elbows pointing up, lower the weights behind your head, then return to the start.
2C Diamond press-up
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 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.
Upper-Body Workout 4: Back and Biceps
1A Pull-up
Sets 8 Reps 8 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec
Hold a pull-up bar using an overhand grip with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your lower chest touches the bar. Lower until your arms are straight again.
1B Barbell biceps curl
Sets 8 Reps 8 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec
Hold a barbell with your hands shoulder-width apart using an underhand grip. Keeping your chest up, core braced and elbows tucked in to your sides, curl the bar up to your chest, squeezing your biceps as you go. Lower it back to the start.
2A Chin-up
Sets 3 Reps 6 Tempo 2011 Rest 20sec
Hold a chin-up bar using a shoulder-width underhand grip. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your chin is higher than the bar, keeping your elbows tucked in to your body. Lower until your arms are straight again.
2B Reverse-grip bent-over row
Sets 3 Reps 8 Tempo 2011 Rest 30sec
Hold a bar using a shoulder-width underhand grip, hands just outside your legs. Bend your knees slightly, then bend forwards, hingeing at 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.
2C Dumbbell biceps curl
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec
Hold dumbbells by your sides with straight arms, palms facing forwards. Keeping your chest up, core braced and elbows tucked in to your sides, curl the weights up, squeezing your biceps as you go. Then lower them back to the start.
Source:coachmag.co.uk
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