Exercises for Mass Gain

In the mass gain overview, I touched on the exercises needed for mass gain as the compound exercises involving large groups of muscle. The reasons behind this are twofold: By employing many muscle groups, more muscle is stimulated, and growth potential is maximised. Compare this to, say, a preacher curl: where only the bicep is targeted.

The second reason is that a shorter, more intense session employing large muscle groups can stimulate testosterone production, more so than a longer session focussed on smaller muscle groups.    

For these reasons, an example mass gaining workout split would look something like this:

Beginners:  1 day split/full body workout involving large muscle groups:

That’s it. 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps on these exercises at your maximum effort will certainly exhaust you. We are hitting all the large muscle groups in this split: Chest, Back and Legs.

Beginners will need at least 2 days off , possibly 3, between each routine to recover. Rest between sets is also important, at least 2 minutes, more than just catching your breath.

Intermediate to Experienced: 3 day split.

Day 1 : Chest/Shoulders/Triceps

• Bench Press
• Dumbell Shoulder Press
• Tricep Kickbacks

• Dumbell Flyes
• Lat Raises
• Tricep Cable Pushdown

• Cable Cross
• DB Front Raise
• French Press

The exercises are grouped in a circuit of threes, and you perform one set of each exercise before needing to rest: while you are doing the shoulder press, your chest is recovering, and while you are doing kickbacks, your chest and your shoulders are recovering. You can then go onto the next circuit after a minute or so. This allows you to get through the 27 sets shown here in under 45 minutes.

Day 2: Back, Biceps and Abs

• ·                    Deadlifts
• ·                    Dumbell Curls
• ·                    Hanging Leg Raise

• ·                    Lat Pulldown
• ·                   Twenty Ones
• ·                    Hanging Knee Raise

• ·                    Seated Row
• ·                    Barbell Curl
• ·                    Crunches

In this workout, we hit the biggest and most exhausting exercises first: deadlifts and dumbbells. Deadlifts, a back exercise, tend to also work the forearms a bit, so the biceps are still pretty good after the deads and you can put in good effort on the bicep curls. The same rationale applies for the other circuits with the 2^nd and third exercises not impacting on the first. This allows you to go from one to the next without a break and get through your workout faster.

Day 3: Legs, Calves and Forearms

• ·                    Squats
• ·                    Calf(Toe) Raises
• ·                    Forearm Curl

• ·                    Leg Press
• ·                    Toe Raise on the Leg Press
• ·                    Reverse Forearm Curl

• ·                    Hamstring/Leg Curl
• ·                    Reverse Calf Raise (Smith Machine)
• ·                    Palm Down Preacher Curls

Here we follow the same rationale as for Days 1 and 2: largest muscle groups first, moving straight to the smaller ones and resting at the end of the circuit. The only exercises needing explanation here are the Reverse Calf Raise and the Palm Down Preachers.

Reverse Calf involves the loaded smith bar across the trapezius, the heels on a block of wood, and the toes pointing down. By raising the toes to be level with or above the heels, this works the tibialis, or the ‘front calf’ muscle, one that is frequently overlooked.

By following this program, a 2 days on, one off routine provides 72 hours rest to every muscle group, and allows you to hit each muscle at least twice a week.  With challenging weights, proper nutrition and rest, your body will be forced to grow !

• Body Building Nutrition
• What it Takes to Build Mass
• Why Skinny Guys do it so tough
• Mass Gaining Workouts
• and more ...

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