Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding program for muscle growth
A hypertrophy program built by the questionnaire from your days, minutes, equipment and experience. Every muscle is trained twice a week, sets end close to failure, and effort rises slowly through the block. If you train at home without a barbell, you get the Home strength and muscle version.
Take the quiz and get your programWho it is for
- People who mainly want more muscle and better balance between muscle groups.
- People new to the gym and anyone who wants to learn the lifts with moderate loads before heavy strength work.
- People with 2 to 6 days a week and 30 to 90 minutes per session.
- People training at home: without a barbell and rack, the program builds bodyweight ladders with the equipment you have.
- Women and men alike: the program is the same, the set and load rules do not change by sex.
Who it is not for
- People preparing for a powerlifting meet or chasing the biggest possible squat, bench and deadlift max. That is powerlifting or powerbuilding.
- Anyone who answered yes on the health questions and has no doctor's clearance yet. The questionnaire then suggests the health program.
- Anyone under 18.
- Anyone looking for a promise of how many kilograms of muscle they will gain in a set time. Nobody can guarantee that.
What it does
Enough sets per muscle
Weekly sets per muscle grow with experience: 2 sets per exercise to start, 3 later, and one more on the first two big lifts for advanced lifters. Muscle growth follows the number of sets, with smaller gains from each extra set. No muscle goes past its cap, 24 sets a week at most.
Sets close to failure
A set ends 1 to 3 reps short of failure. Effort rises through the block, for trained lifters from RPE 7 to RPE 9. Going all the way to failure is not needed: it did not build more muscle than stopping just short.
2 to 4 sets per exercise
Several sets of an exercise built more muscle than a single set. The program never prescribes more than 4 working sets per exercise; more work comes from more exercises.
Enough rest
2 to 2.5 minutes between sets of big lifts, 75 seconds on smaller exercises. Rest over 60 seconds gave a little more growth than shorter rest.
Ladders at home
Without a barbell, Home strength and muscle puts each movement on a ladder from easier to harder, for example from incline push-ups to feet-elevated push-ups. From the middle of the block every exercise moves one step up. Muscle grows with lighter loads when sets end close to failure; maximal barbell strength grows less without heavy loads.
Example: week 1 for someone with 6 to 24 months of training, 4 days a week, 60 minutes, in a gym. Your program will differ, because your answers build it.
Monday
Upper A
- Incline dumbbell press: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Chest-supported row: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Seated dumbbell shoulder press: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Lat pulldown: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Cable lateral raise: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, RPE 7
- Incline dumbbell curl: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, RPE 7
Tuesday
Lower A
- Back squat: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Romanian deadlift: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Leg press: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Seated leg curl: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, RPE 7
- Standing calf raise: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, RPE 7
- Cable crunch: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, RPE 7
Thursday
Upper B
- Weighted pull-up: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Bench press: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Seated cable row: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Standing overhead press: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Rear delt fly: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, RPE 7
- Cable triceps pushdown: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, RPE 7
Friday
Lower B
- Romanian deadlift: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Front squat: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Hack squat: 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps, RPE 7
- Lying leg curl: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, RPE 7
- Seated calf raise: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, RPE 7
- Hanging leg raise: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, RPE 7
How you progress
A block runs 8 weeks (you can pick 4 to 16). Each week you add a rep within the range, and once the range is full, a little load. Effort rises from RPE 7 in week 1 to RPE 9 in week 7. Week 8 is lighter: half the sets at RPE 6. The next block is built from what you logged. At home, reps and the step on the ladder rise instead of the load.
What the research says
Muscle growth follows weekly sets per muscle, with diminishing returns; indirect sets count as half.
Sets close to failure build muscle; going all the way to failure is not needed.
Several sets of an exercise built more muscle than one set.
Rest over 60 seconds between sets gave a little more growth.
Linear and undulating progression gave similar muscle growth.
Women and men on the same program gained similar muscle size.
Training a muscle twice a week built more muscle than once a week.
Lighter loads build similar muscle to heavy ones when sets end close to failure; maximal strength grows more with heavy loads.
Adding reps at the same load worked as well as adding load.
What is convention
Research does not pin these rules down. We use them because they hold up in practice.
- A lighter week at least every 8 weeks with half the sets: no trial sets the timing.
- A block length of 8 weeks and sessions of 45 to 75 minutes.
- Set ranges by experience (beginners 6 to 10, intermediate 10 to 15, trained 12 to 20 a week) are derived from the research, not tested as tiers.
- The effort ramp from RPE 7 to RPE 9 through the block and the progression steps; double progression is a guideline, not tested head to head.
- The order of the home ladders, when an exercise moves a step up, and the 3-second lowering.
Questions
How many days a week do I need for bodybuilding?
The program runs on 2 to 6 days a week. With 2 or 3 days every session is full body, with 4 an upper and lower split, with 5 an extra day for shoulders and arms, with 6 push, pull and legs. Every muscle is trained twice a week.
Do I have to train to failure?
No. A set ends 1 to 3 reps short of failure. In the research, training to failure did not build more muscle, but it is more tiring.
Can I train at home without a barbell?
Yes. Without a barbell you get Home strength and muscle: the same splits and sets, with each movement on a ladder from easier to harder using bodyweight, a band, a pull-up bar or dumbbells, whatever you have. Muscle grows this way too; maximal barbell strength grows less.
How much muscle will I gain in 8 weeks?
We do not promise a number. Growth varies a lot between people. The program makes sure you do enough sets, close enough to failure, with effort that rises; the app shows what happens to your loads and measurements.
What if something hurts or I have an injury?
The first two weeks are lighter, and exercises that load the painful area get a set fewer or a gentler swap. An injury without clearance from a doctor or physiotherapist means the program does not load that area. The program does not treat or prevent pain.
Is the program suitable after 60?
Yes. From 60, exercises get 2 sets each and the big lifts use 8 to 12 reps.