My advice if you're trying to build muscle for aesthetics. (Intermediate Program)

bradm24

There are plenty of reasons why someone would want to build muscle. Body recomposition, aesthetics, and speeding up your metabolism are just a few of the benefits. I've been training for nearly 7 years now, with almost 4 of those years being taken seriously. The following is a short guide for building muscle mass if you're already comfortable in a gym setting.

The program that I will be describing is a Push, Pull, Legs program that incorporates all of the major compound movements and accessory exercises that I personally find to be very effective. Aside from the compound movements and overall layout of the program, you're definitely allowed to alter the accessory lifts to your likings and needs.

So why a PPL routine?

The main reason I side with push, pull, legs routines is because they get the job done. You can hit every major muscle group at least once a week, and you're training your body the way it's intended to be trained. By this, I mean that your shoulders, chest, and triceps are muscle groups that work synergistically to do pushing movements on your push day and the same goes for your other training days.

A lot of people will argue that upper/lower splits are more effective than PPL routines, but I personally believe that this boils down to training frequency and what your goals are. For the sake of simplicity, I'm describing a PPL routine here because I am familiar with them and it's easier to follow a three-day training split when you go PPL.

The Routine

Now that I've provided some brief background on why we're going to be talking about a PPL routine, it's time to discuss the routine itself. Ideally, you will train 3 or 6 days each week when following a PPL routine, but there are ways to modify your program to suit any number of days each week.

For time's sake, I'm only going to write out the complete example routine for a three-day training split. Following this, I will explain how you can tweak the routine to do 4 or 5 days with PPL.

If you're training three days a week, your split would likely break down in one of two ways

Method One: Weekday Training

Monday: Push
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Pull
Thursday: Off
Friday: Legs
Weekend: Off

This is nice because you have the weekend off after leg day, but in my opinion Method two is better overall.

Method Two: Recommended

Sunday: Push
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Pull
Wednesday: off
Thursday: Legs
Friday/Saturday: Off

Method two provides you with two days off after leg day, but considering that you're starting your split on Sunday, it's almost like you're training 4 days each week and hitting one day (usually push or pull) an extra time.

Now let's take a look at the exercises.

Push:
*Barbell Flat or Incline Bench Press* 5x5
*Standing Barbell Overhead Press*. 3x5
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press: 3x 12, 10, 8 increasing the weight each time.
DB Lateral Raises: 3x10
Cable or DB Chest Flys: 3x12, 10, 8 increasing the weight each time
Standing DB Shoulder Press: 3x8 - your shoulders will probably be gassed by this point.
EZ Curl Bar Tricep pushdowns: 3x15, 12, 10, increasing the weight each time.
Standing DB overhead extensions: 3x15
Seated Dip Machine - 3x15,12,10

For push, you're left with 29 sets. My push routine is slightly chest dominant because of the 5x5 on the bench and the progressive overload on the two other accessory lifts. Regardless, you are getting a good balance here with enough volume. Progressive overload is the key, you should be struggling to get your 8th or 10th rep up on your last working set.

Pull:
*Barbell Bent Over Row* 5x5
*Conventional Deadlift* 3x5 (optional)
*Pull ups* 3xAMRAP - focus on form/squeezing the lats. Use an assisted pull-up machine if you need to.
One-arm DB Row - 3x12,10,8 increasing weight each time
Lat pull-downs - 3x12,10,8 increasing weight each time
Cable low row - 3x12
Shrugs BB or DB - 3x10
BB Bicep curls : 3x12
hammer curls: 3x12
any other bicep exercise: 3x10-15

Same idea here for Pull day. Progressive overload and going heavy on compounds. Generally, I alternate between horizontal and vertical pulling movements to keep the back working as a unit. Deadlifts are optional here because bent over rows is just fine for back development paired with all the other exercises above. I do recommend deadlifting though if nothing is prohibiting you.

Legs:
*BB Back Squats* 5x5
*BB front squats* 3x8
Romanian deadlift: 3x12 - go lighter and focus on feeling the hamstring stretch
Quad extensions: 3x 12, 10, 8 increasing weight each time
Hamstring curls: 3x 12, 10, 8 increasing weight each time
Glute bridges: 3x12 - either machine-assisted or on the floor with a bar/dumbbell
Calf raises: 3x15
*optional* throw in 2 sets each of biceps/triceps for 12-15 reps. Exercise of your choice

Again, more progressive overloads but sticking with the basics. The back to back performing of back and front squats will have your legs feeling like pool noodles on a humid day, but this type of volume and intensity will surely help your legs develop.

I don't want to turn this into a novel, but I hope you guys are able to get the idea from the information I've provided. The above routine is what I've personally been following for a few years now, and I've seen great results in terms of overall muscular development and symmetry.

Keep in mind that the internet is your best friend, there are several great websites that review weight training programs, and they could probably point you in the right direction if this doesn't sound too appealing to you.

I hope everyone is staying well and continuing to train during these rough times. Even if you can't start this type of routine until gyms are opened back up, it might be the perfect time to start preparing for future gains!

Stay well, train, eat healthily and make sure you're being productive. Hopefully, this is helpful for at least a couple of people!

Brad