Thread: 3 day mass gain split

thought you may want a new basic routine for big mass gains that isnt quite as much work in each day as the 2 day split i put up earler in the week. this is the workout i will be following for mass gains.

workout 1 - chest and triceps
workout 2 - back and shoulders
workout 3 - legs and biceps

my training week will look like this:

monday - W1
tuesday - W2
wednesday off
thursday - W3
Friday - W1
saturday - W2
sunday off
monday - W3
tuesday - W1
............................. and so on following that pattern

I will have wednesday and sunday as rest days. this allows for bodyparts to be trained twice per week. every 3 weeks one of the workouts will only be trained once. as you can see on week 2 W3 will be trained twice but W2 will be only trained once. this allows for maximum muscle stimulation twice per week (every 4 days). this will allow for maximum recovery but muscle stimulus more regularly. if you train a muscle group on a monday, by thursday it will normally be fine to train again, but you dont, you leave it fully recovered and doing nothing for another 4 days. whats the point. that muscle could be growing in those 4 days but its not as its had no stimulus. This plan is the perfect combat to that.

so the workouts must tie in the bodyparts. normally if training a bodypart once per week i would do maybe 5 exercises of 3 sets per bodypart. due to training each part every 4 days this is not necessary. the workout will be as follows:

W1: chest and triceps
flat bench press - 5 x 5
incline dumbell press 3 x 8
cable flyes - 3 x 8
weighted dips - 5 x 5
cable pushdowns - 3 x 8

W2: Back and shoulders
Barbell row - 5 x 5
Chins - 4 x 8
heavy shrugs - 3 x 8
standing barbell press - 5 x 5
heavy lateral raise - 3 x 8

W3: legs and biceps
squats - 5 x 5
smith machine lunges - 3 x 8
leg extensions - 3 x 8
standing barbell curls - 5 x 5
seated hammer curls - 3 x 8

calfs are important as these need to be improved so i will most likely train these after what turns out to be the shortest workout (as of yet am unsure). because we are not going to failure on any set except the last intensity will be kept high. weights will not be increased each set but rather a weight will be chosen (for example 100kg on bench press), then when 5 sets of 5 reps can be achieved i will increase the weight. then if i fail at say 3 reps on the final set i will stick at that weight until the full 5 x 5 is accomplished. no forced reps either.

Might have to steal this. Just did a full upper body and it killed me, ran out of energy by the time I got to bi's and trap's.

I train 1 muscle group once a week right now but Im going to go back to my old time fav what is what your doing -AC-

ive done ac workouts and i must say great results with them so thank you adam!

Originally Posted by -AC-

thought you may want a new basic routine for big mass gains that isnt quite as much work in each day as the 2 day split i put up earler in the week. this is the workout i will be following for mass gains.

workout 1 - chest and triceps
workout 2 - back and shoulders
workout 3 - legs and biceps

my training week will look like this:

monday - W1
tuesday - W2
wednesday off
thursday - W3
Friday - W1
saturday - W2
sunday off
monday - W3
tuesday - W1
............................. and so on following that pattern

I will have wednesday and sunday as rest days. this allows for bodyparts to be trained twice per week. every 3 weeks one of the workouts will only be trained once. as you can see on week 2 W3 will be trained twice but W2 will be only trained once. this allows for maximum muscle stimulation twice per week (every 4 days). this will allow for maximum recovery but muscle stimulus more regularly. if you train a muscle group on a monday, by thursday it will normally be fine to train again, but you dont, you leave it fully recovered and doing nothing for another 4 days. whats the point. that muscle could be growing in those 4 days but its not as its had no stimulus. This plan is the perfect combat to that.

so the workouts must tie in the bodyparts. normally if training a bodypart once per week i would do maybe 5 exercises of 3 sets per bodypart. due to training each part every 4 days this is not necessary. the workout will be as follows:

W1: chest and triceps
flat bench press - 5 x 5
incline dumbell press 3 x 8
cable flyes - 3 x 8
weighted dips - 5 x 5
cable pushdowns - 3 x 8

W2: Back and shoulders
Barbell row - 5 x 5
Chins - 4 x 8
heavy shrugs - 3 x 8
standing barbell press - 5 x 5
heavy lateral raise - 3 x 8

W3: legs and biceps
squats - 5 x 5
smith machine lunges - 3 x 8
leg extensions - 3 x 8
standing barbell curls - 5 x 5
seated hammer curls - 3 x 8

calfs are important as these need to be improved so i will most likely train these after what turns out to be the shortest workout (as of yet am unsure). because we are not going to failure on any set except the last intensity will be kept high. weights will not be increased each set but rather a weight will be chosen (for example 100kg on bench press), then when 5 sets of 5 reps can be achieved i will increase the weight. then if i fail at say 3 reps on the final set i will stick at that weight until the full 5 x 5 is accomplished. no forced reps either.

Question AC, just wondering I usually see a lot of people doing shoulders with legs or abs or what ever else they have in the equation and then usually do the push pull split, how have you found training your shoulders with your back to be? effective?

i really enjoy it. barbell row works the rear delt and the traps. doing heavy shrugs work your upper back and spinal erector muscles so there are actually some good tie ins there. its quite a tiring workout as you're moving a lot of weight but its probably my favourite of the 3.

Yeah, it's got me thinking about switching to a similar routine.. but I'm also going to try the 3 day split one posted in the basics for big gains thread you did a while ago,

I think its a very good spilt but its a lot of heavy compound lifts in a single session therefore for less advanced trainees I think it is important to concentrate on progressing ONE exercises per session- don't fall in the trap of saving some gas in the tank because you know theres a lot more to come in the session. The most important thing is to progress your core exercise with either weight or reps every session-
For example Squats! if you do a PB for total weight moved over the 5 sets then that may mean you have to lift next to nothing on quad extensions or even do less sets if it means you've
your goal of squatting more!

this is how im training atm trying to hit each bodypart twice within 4-5 days of each other depending on work hoping to see some good gains, i agree back and shoulders does take it out of you i just wanna sleep for a few days after tht routine :P

ta for that AC ... whats your rest periods btwn sets m8? ...and btwn exercises?

pete