The Ultimate Guide to Designing Training Programs for Maximum Muscle Growth: Insights from Research and 10+ Years of Coaching Experience
This will be a complete guide of the main information you will need to construct training programs to maximise muscle growth and improve the look of your physique. As everyone is unique, what program is effective for one person may not be for another. Thus, it is important you read all the information presented before jumping to the example programs so you have a basic understanding of how to manipulate training variables to suit your requirements.
Disclaimer: The first few topics are going to revolve around training theory. Yes, I know it’s more exciting to jump ahead and learn how many sets, reps, and exercises you should do to optimise muscle growth. However, reading the first few topics is very important as it serves as the basis for understanding how and why to manipulate training variables to create effective programs for gaining muscle.
What you’re getting yourself into
Read time – Approx 20-30 minutes
Words – 11000+
Table of Contents
Basics Of Stress and Adaptation to Training
- What Training Volume Is
- Training Volume and How It Relates to Gaining Muscle
- How Much Training Volume Should You Do?
- When And How Should You Increase Training Volume?
How Many Repetitions Should You Do to Maximise Muscle Size?
- Machine Versus Free Weight Exercises
- Compound Versus Isolation Exercises
- When To Change Exercises
- Exercise Order
- Range of Motion
- Lifting Tempo
- Strict Versus Non-Strict Form
- Summary of Exercise Selection Recommendations
- What Is a Deload
- What Are Some Signs That You Need a Deload?
- How Do You Program a Deload Week?
- How Long Should You Deload?
Basics of Stress and Adaptation to Training
In adulthood, the body requires a stimulus to grow and become stronger. Resistance training, such as lifting weights or bodyweight exercises, places tension on the muscles, acting as a potent muscle growth stimulus. Receptors within the muscle, called mechanoreceptors, detect mechanical deformation (the stimulus) of a muscle and transmits this information via chemical signals that trigger a cascade of signalling events that activate processes that build muscle [1].
If the stimulus is not large enough, for example, the training session is too easy, the muscles will not experience enough stress to trigger growth. In opposition, there is likely a point where very high stress (too much training) has stimulated the muscles enough that further stress does not provide any more growth [3]. Evidence does show diminishing returns with higher training volumes, meaning that more training results in less gain per unit of training volume. Simply put, you’re doing more work (training) for less payout (gains) [4].
Fatigue
So long as you have trained hard enough, some fatigue will be generated after a training session. Fatigue is accumulative, meaning fatigue from one session can carry on to the next day(s) [5]. When fatigue has accumulated and reached a certain threshold, this can result in performance decrements requiring days to weeks to recover – called ‘over-reaching’ [6]. Aside from performance decrements, you may experience some negative physical and psychological symptoms from overreaching, which are described later in the deload section of this article
It’s not always necessary to avoid overreaching. As you progress to an intermediate or advanced lifter, it’s common to overreach after training hard for multiple weeks in a row. Typically, individuals may feel overreached within 4 to 12 weeks of hard, consistent training. To reduce fatigue, you can incorporate a short period of reduced training known as a deload (which will be explained in detail later in this article) before starting your next training block [6].
When constructing training programs, you should balance providing enough training stimulus to trigger adaptation but not too much that fatigue accumulates too quickly. If you’re feeling overreached every second to third week, then it is likely that you’re training too much and need to taper back. Later in this article, you will be provided with general training volume recommendations to build muscle.
One last comment on fatigue: stressors outside of training also contribute to your fatigue accumulation. Think of fatigue as a pool; everything that accumulates will be thrown into this pool and will be the total amount of fatigue you carry at a given time. Work, study, family, relationships, diet, sleep quality and quantity, travel, etc can accumulate fatigue. Thus, the amount of training one person can handle may differ from another according to how much life fatigue they experience and also their capacity to handle training and fatigue [5].
Likewise, the amount of training that may be adequate for you at one time may differ from another. For example, suppose someone has exams coming up or is working a lot of overtime. In that case, their fatigue will likely be higher, and the amount of training they can handle may be reduced due to increased internal resources allocated to performing and recovering from tasks outside of training, with fewer resources available to recover and adapt to training.
To summarise, training provides a stimulus that triggers adaptions and increases muscle growth. However, training also generates fatigue, striking a balance between doing enough training to trigger adaption but not so much that you accumulate high amounts of fatigue too quickly to avoid premature overreaching.
Progressive Overload
Progressive overload refers to applying a sufficient enough stimulus to trigger an adaptive response [7]. As previously discussed, weight training is a stimulus applied to the body to which the body adapts to. For example, a beginner enters the gym and performs 3 sets of 10 repetitions on squats using 60kg. Following the workout, adaptations within the body will occur to adapt to the stimulus applied; = the body will become better at performing squats; their strength will increase along with muscle gain (over time). So long as adequate recovery has occurred, the adaptations may hypothetically allow the lifter to lift 65kg x 10 repetitions for 3 sets next week. The lifter has now achieved a new baseline of strength and muscle mass due to adaptation.
However, if the lifter continues to lift 60kg x 10 repetitions and never increases, the body will become used to this training stimulus and will be insufficient to trigger adaptions. Thus, the difficulty of your workout will need to increase over time to keep up with the rate of adaptation [7]. If sufficient stimulus is not regularly applied to the muscles (such as taking 3+ weeks off from training), detraining will occur, and the previous adaptions gained (improved strength and muscle mass) will begin to decline [8].
To keep up with the pace of adaptations, the stimulus required to overload your body increases over time. During training sessions, you are not forcing adaptations from lifting heavier weights or performing more repetitions relative to previous sessions, but the ability to lift more is a result of the accumulated adaptations from prior training. While both scenarios require training to become incrementally harder, it’s important to be specific with terminology, as it can influence how someone approaches their training.
For example, if I were to say that adaptations result from lifting more weight or doing more repetitions each week, it could lead you to try to add too much weight to the bar. This might cause you to sacrifice your technique in an attempt to outperform your previous session, rely on forced repetitions with a spotter, or even use cheat technique.
However, if we shift the perspective to view performance improvements resulting from previous adaptations accumulated from past training sessions, it should help to clarify that you can’t “force” yourself to lift more weight or perform additional repetitions within a training session. Instead, with all other variables affecting performance being unchanged, what you can lift is fundamentally determined by the adaptations you’ve gained from earlier training sessions.
As the weeks progress, your baseline strength and muscle mass will increase from adaptations. Over time, you must make training incrementally harder to provide a sufficient stimulus to overload the body and trigger the adaptation process. But remember, the performance increments should be increased according to how much your body allows you to do rather than trying to lift a weight you’re incapable of. In contrast, if you keep performing the same workouts each week and don’t make sessions harder, you’re likely not going to see much, if not any, progress.
Training Volume
What Training Volume Is
Training volume is the total amount of work performed in a training session and can be quantified by counting the total sets completed per muscle group per week [4]. For example, 4 sets of bench press would count as 4 sets for the chest. However, you also have to consider muscles indirectly trained during exercises. Using the bench press example, the chest is the primary muscle trained, but secondary muscles, triceps and anterior deltoids, are also used. As these muscles are not directly targeted but secondary, you can count these as 0.5 sets per muscle.
So, 4 sets of bench press would count as –
Chest = 4 sets (counted as 1 set per set of bench press)
Triceps = 2 sets (counted as 0.5 sets per set of bench press)
Shoulders/Deltoids = 2 sets (counted as 0.5 sets per set of bench press) Determining which muscles are trained primarily (1 set per set performed) and secondary (0.5 sets per set performed) for each exercise can be found here
Training Volume and How It Relates to Gaining Muscle
When focusing on muscle gain, research indicates a dose-response relationship between training volume (total weekly sets per muscle group) and muscle growth. Essentially, as training volume increases, so does muscle growth [4]. However, this relationship isn’t linear; as you add more sets, the rate of muscle gain tends to diminish. For instance, if you start with the minimum number of weekly sets you need to trigger muscle growth, the increase in muscle mass is more significant, but as you add additional sets, the additional gains become less pronounced [4].
A recent study by Pelland et al. examined how weekly training volume affects muscle growth. The study found “fractional set brackets,” which show how many extra sets are needed to achieve detectable increases in muscle size from a previous volume bracket. For example, looking at the chart below, if someone were doing 5-10 sets per week on their chest, the person would need to increase the volume by approx. 6 more sets (11-18 sets) to see a detectable change in the rate of muscle gain [4].
However, the chart also revealed diminishing returns: as you increase the number of sets, the additional muscle gain becomes smaller, and you will need to do more sets to see a detectable increase in hypertrophy [4].
To make sense of this – if someone is doing 5-10 weekly sets on their chest, they will need to do an additional 6 weekly sets to see a detectable change in the rate of hypertrophy. However, if the person is doing 11-18 weekly sets on their chest, they will need to do an additional 8.5 weekly sets to see a detectable change in the rate of hypertrophy (this is an extra 2.5 more weekly sets from the previous volume bracket). This represents a pattern of diminishing returns – as volume increases, the potential muscle gain you may accumulate per extra set begins to reduce (the training stimulus becomes less stimulating to trigger muscle growth). Thus, you get less return (muscle gain) per your investment (sets performed).
When considering the cost-benefit of increasing your training volume, it’s important to factor in the extra costs, such as increased fatigue, more time spent in the gym, and a higher risk of injury. Ultimately, you can achieve similar total muscle growth across various training volumes. However, the speed at which you reach a certain level of muscle mass may vary depending on whether you choose to train with higher or lower volume.
It has been speculated that a plateau effect occurs after reaching a certain volume threshold or even a loss of gains, which can be visually explained using an inverted U, as shown below.
It’s hypothesised that higher training volumes will increase muscle gain up to a certain point. Once this volume threshold is reached, muscle gains will plateau, and continuing to increase volume may lead to a decrease in muscle mass, likely from fatigue. Wherever this threshold lays (if one is found) will vary between people and probably between muscle groups [3].
However, research has not found a clear volume threshold where gains are fully flatlined or reduced. Most volume studies, on average, last for 10 weeks, which makes it difficult to find this theoretical point of diminishing returns. However, thinking logically of the inverted U concept, there is likely a point where fatigue accumulation becomes very high from too much volume, and the body is allocating the majority of resources to recovery (returning performance to baseline), with fewer resources left over for adaptation (increasing performance beyond baseline). As a result, extremely high training volumes may lead to diminished muscle gains [4].
Additionally, the fatigue associated with very high training volumes may negatively impact workouts by reducing the overall quality of training sessions. Consequently, this can result in less progress per workout compared to when an individual is slightly more recovered, thus allowing for higher-quality training.
How Much Training Volume Should You Do?
So, it’s been established that training volume has an important relationship with muscle growth, but keep in mind that there may be a point where too much training volume can be done. So, how much volume should you do to build muscle?
To provide a basic anchoring concept to guide your volume decisions, you will want to perform enough volume to make gains but not so much that you accumulate fatigue too quickly. A good starting point is doing between 10 and 20 sets per muscle group, per week [3]. This recommendation includes fractional sets of muscle groups that are indirectly used in an exercise.
Note that all your training volume for one muscle group does not have to be completed in a single training session. For example, you could do 4 sets for chest on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, totalling 12 sets for the week.
If you’re new to training or haven’t trained for a while, you can start at the lower end of the 10-20 set range recommendation and increase as needed. Additionally, 10-20 sets are a general recommendation; you can still gain from performing <10 weekly sets.
If you’re new to training or have had a significant amount of time off training and experience a lot of muscle DOMS in the days following your training sessions or high levels of fatigue, you could start with a lower number of sets per muscle group and then gradually increase by a few sets either every week or every few weeks until you reach your target training volume. Alternatively, if you’re making good gains from <10 weekly sets, you can maintain this training volume until you feel muscle gain is slowing down and increase if you feel like you’re recovering well and gains are plateauing.
Example of progressively increasing training volume each week
For those who are more experienced and have particular body parts that would like to grow faster or seem stubborn to grow, you can go beyond the 20-set recommendation.
If performing >20 weekly sets, it is suggested to pick 1-3 muscle groups that are above >20 sets while keeping other muscle groups on maintenance volumes (such as 6-12 sets per muscle group) as the total workload on your body may be too great doing >20 sets on every muscle group. Thus, you can cycle training volume for different muscle groups over the months, which could look like –
First 8-week training block
High volume >20 sets for chest, shoulders, triceps
Maintenance volumes 6-12 sets for back, biceps and legs
Next 8-week training block
Maintenance volumes 6-12 sets for chest, shoulders, triceps
High volume >20 sets for back, biceps and legs
A quick note on maintenance volumes – Each person’s minimum amount of volume to maintain muscle gains differs. Some need more volume to maintain gains, while others need less. Likewise, maintenance volumes may differ between body parts. As a general rule of thumb, beginners and/or people growing from lower training volumes will likely require fewer total weekly sets to maintain gains. On the other hand, experienced lifters and/or people who need higher training volumes to see progress will likely require more weekly sets to maintain gains.
Androulakis‑Korakakis et al. found doing a single set of 6-12 repetitions with loads ranging from approx. 70-85% 1RM 2-3 times per week with high intensity (training to failure) for 8-12 weeks was enough to see improvements in squat and bench press 1RM strength in resistance-trained men [9]. It’s unclear if this volume is high enough to see maintenance of muscle hypertrophy. However, with such low volumes required to maintain strength, you could likely get away with 4 sets per body part per week using a high intensity to, at worst, maintain muscle size [4].
If using high volumes, you can incrementally increase the volume as the weeks progress to give your body time to adapt to the higher volume and potentially reduce the risk of injury. This could involve adding 1-4 sets per week until reaching your target set volume, followed by a few weeks of training at your maximum volume before having a rest week and cycling high volumes for other muscle groups.
Example of increasing weekly set volume for the chest per week
When and How Should You Increase Training Volume?
Volume should be increased using an ‘As required’ basis. If you have the ‘big rocks’ covered. These are –
- Sleeping 8+ hours a night
- Eating enough protein (1.6g+ per kg of body weight)
- Eating enough calories to either maintain your body weight or slightly gain and not in a very significant deficit
- Training consistently – Eg minimum lifting x2 twice per week, every week
- Can effectively train the muscle being targeted in exercises (eg good training technique and not using cheat form)
If you’re doing all of the above, not feeling overly fatigued, don’t constantly have sore muscles, but are not seeing improvements in strength every month, and muscle gain seems stagnant, you can start with a 20% increase in training volume. For example, if you’re doing 12 sets for chest per week, a 20% increase will bring your total chest volume to 14-15 sets per week for one month, then reassess [3].
Lastly, it’s important to remember that progress takes time. You may not see any physical changes within a week; noticeable changes might be minimal even after a month. If you’re considering increasing your training volume, it’s advisable to wait at least four weeks before assessing whether another increase is necessary. After one month, revisit the big rocks discussed earlier. If you’re meeting those criteria, not feeling excessively fatigued or sore, and not experiencing monthly performance improvements in the gym, then a volume increase may be warranted.
However, if you’re not meeting the big rocks and not seeing progress, you should address those issues before increasing training volume. Otherwise, increasing volume will be like adding more water to a bucket with holes, as fixing factors related to recovery, like poor sleep and calorie intake, will improve your gains more than increasing training volume, which may just accumulate fatigue. Likewise, if you have poor exercise technique, you are likely not maximally stimulating the target muscle being worked in an exercise. In this scenario, you will gain muscle growth from fixing exercise technique (training quality) before increasing volume (training quantity).
How Many Repetitions Should You Do to Maximise Muscle Size?
If you open Google and search “What is the best rep range for hypertrophy”, you’ll find something that looks like this –
Low repetitions with heavy loads (1-5 reps, 80%-100% of 1RM) for strength improvements
Moderate repetitions with moderate loads (8-12 reps, 60-80% of 1RM) for muscle size/hypertrophy improvements
High repetitions with light loads (15+ reps, (<60% 1RM) for muscular endurance improvements
The generic repetition range recommendations above are not totally correct, particularly for gaining muscle. For increasing strength, heavier loads with lower repetitions do result in greater strength gains than lighter loads. However, strength can still be built using higher repetitions >5 reps, but the gains are not as apparent. Strength depends on the load used; if you want to get stronger, you should lift heavy loads [10].
For hypertrophy, using fewer than 4 repetitions per set may not be the most effective approach for muscle gain. In a study by Schoenfeld et al. one group followed a hypertrophy-focused program with 3 sets of 10 repetitions for each exercise, while a strength-focused group did 7 sets of 3 repetitions, with total volume load (repetitions multiplied by the weight lifted) kept consistent between the two groups.
Both groups achieved similar gains in biceps muscle thickness. However, the group performing 3 repetitions took significantly longer to complete their sessions—over three times as long. They also reported increased joint pain, a higher dropout rate due to injuries, and greater feelings of physical and mental fatigue. In contrast, many participants in the higher repetition group indicated they could have handled more training volume [11]. Therefore, for practical reasons, utilising sets of 5-25 repetitions may be more efficient, as it minimises time commitment, reduces joint discomfort, and lowers fatigue compared to training with fewer than 4 repetitions at the same volume.
There is also a loading range that appears too light to maximise muscle growth. Lasevicius et al.split subjects into 4 groups using 20%, 40%, 60%, or 80% of 1RM, which averaged 67, 28, 14, and 10.2 reps per set, respectively. All groups made similar gains in muscle after 12 weeks, except the 20%1RM loading group, which gained approximately half the muscle compared to the other groups [12] Based on the current literature, you probably should avoid doing sets that are >30 repetitions if your goals are to maximise muscle gain [3].
A broad repetition range between 5 and 25 can provide similar growth if sets are performed with a high effort (2-3 reps shy of failure and up to failure). Using a variety of loading ranges, either within or across different training sessions or having training blocks dedicated to different repetition ranges, may further enhance muscle gains rather than constantly using the same repetition ranges [3].
Training Intensity
To provide clarity within this section, we will start with a few definitions –
Training to failure defined – Despite attempting to do so, the individual cannot complete the concentric portion of their current repetition without deviation from the prescribed form of the exercise[13].
An example of training to failure with a set of bicep curls: You complete the 12th repetition while maintaining a relatively straight back and avoiding any momentum from your body to assist in lifting the weight. However, when you attempt one more repetition, you find that you can’t curl the weight without swinging your torso and using momentum from other muscles not directly targeted by the exercise.
Intensity defined – How many repetitions relative to failure you are
Low intensity means someone is far from failure (4 reps or more from failure)
High intensity means someone is close to failure (3 reps and up to failure)
An easy way to visualise training intensity is using the repetition in reserve (RIR) scale.
The RIR value indicates how many additional repetitions you could have completed after the last repetition of a set before reaching failure. For instance, if you squat 100 kg for 8 reps and believe you could have performed 2 more reps before failing, but not 3—because the third rep would have been to failure and would require a spotter to assist you—this would be quantified as a 2 RIR (2 reps shy of failure).
So, how hard do you need to train to maximise muscle size? A recent study came out to answer this question. The authors analysed 26 studies to measure the relationship between proximity to failure and muscle gains. Their analysis found that training closer to failure tends to increase muscle gains. However, this study had many limitations, such as relatively low volume workouts (on average 9 sets per muscle group per week) with an average study length of 8 weeks. Likewise, there were a lot of individual responders where people who gained more or less muscle at the same given RIR and people still made significant gains training further out from failure [14].
Training closer to failure can be more effective for building muscle, but the ideal training intensity depends on the context. In some situations, stopping a few reps short of failure might be better, while in others, training until failure could be advantageous. However, one concern with training to failure is fatigue accumulation, which can affect recovery. This approach can lead to short-term overtraining or injury if done excessively. Therefore, failure training should be applied in a planned manner and at appropriate times to help manage fatigue [3, 15].
To help you determine what an approbative training intensity is for you and your situation, below are some practical recommendations;
Novice lifters can achieve gains without training to failure. Starting around 4-5 repetitions in reserve (RIR) for exercises will still provide enough stimulus to trigger adaptation, as their bodies are generally highly sensitive to training. This means they don’t need to train at a very high intensity or volume to see results [16, 17] As lifters gain experience, they will need to increase the difficulty of their workouts by adding more volume or training closer to failure to stimulate growth [3].
Due to a novice lifter’s ability to make quick initial gains—this also applies to experienced lifters returning after a significant break—they can typically add more repetitions and/or load to the bar every week, and RIR won’t change much. For example, someone new to squatting or returning after a long absence may see their progress look something like this:
In the example above, the lifter added 2.5 kg to the bar during the first three weeks while maintaining the same repetitions and RIR. Their rate of adaptation matched the weekly load increase. From week 4, the lifter is closing the gap between what they’re lifting relative to their current 8-repetition maximum, leading to a natural reduction in RIR.
A novice lifter can begin with lighter weights (5 reps shy of failure or even more) and still make progress. As the weeks advance, the difficulty will naturally increase from slowly adding more repetitions or load, which will provide enough stimulus for the muscles to adapt. Therefore, there’s no need to rush into intense training; starting on the easier side can build momentum for future training weeks.
For experienced lifters, training intensity may need to be higher to optimise hypertrophy gains; as such, training around a 4-0 RIR is likely ideal. Trained lifters can benefit from performing some lifts to failure, but this approach should be used strategically. For instance, reaching failure on all sets of bicep curls may not be very fatiguing, whereas doing so on barbell squats can lead to significant fatigue [3].
It’s often advisable to reserve failure training mainly for single-joint movements and machine-based exercises, as these are generally less technical and accumulate less fatigue than multi-joint and free-weight exercises. However, failure training can still be applied to multi-joint, free-weight exercises if managed thoughtfully to control fatigue accumulation. If doing so, consider only taking the final set of highly fatiguing exercises to failure [3].
Periodising failure training is also an option. For example, in the final weeks of a training program, such as a 6-week block, you might schedule failure training during the last week. This can be followed by a deload week, which involves reducing training volume and intensity before starting a new training block. Additionally, you could initiate a new training block with an introduction week by starting with lighter loads and training further from failure (for example, 4-5 RIR), then increasing by 0.5 – 1 RIR each week.
Example of ramping up intensity over a training block
Training Frequency
Training frequency refers to the number of times a muscle group is trained within a week. Traditional gym programs typically have training sessions dedicated to only 1-2 muscle groups—leg day, chest and triceps day, etc. Conversely, traditional power-lifting programs generally train multiple muscles within the same session, having a higher weekly training frequency for a given muscle group.
So, which is better for gaining muscle?
Bodybuilders typically look jacked and often dedicate only 1-2 muscle groups per session per week. Therefore, we might think we should mimic their approach, right?
Research comparing different training frequencies on muscle growth shows that when training volume is equated, muscle growth is similar whether you train the same muscle group once or multiple days per week. However, when comparing studies that did not equate training volume, there was a slight advantage for greater gains when training muscle groups more than once a week. This increase in muscle gains is likely due to the higher frequency groups performing more volume rather than the frequency itself [18].
It’s important to note that most training frequency comparison studies use relatively low weekly training volumes (averaging around 13 weekly sets). Therefore, it’s still unclear if training a muscle group multiple times per week is more effective for muscle growth when performing high training volumes [4].
It is hypothesised that there is a limit to the number of sets a muscle can handle in a single session. Once this limit is reached, additional sets may diminish the stimulus on the muscles, therefore reducing the potential gains from each extra set [19]. If accurate, spreading the training volume for the same muscle group over two or more sessions might be more effective in maximising the training stimulus from each set.
Current training recommendations suggest increasing the frequency of training a muscle within a week is beneficial when higher training volumes are needed [18]. It is unclear what the set threshold is for how many sets a muscle group can be trained within a session before diminishing returns in muscle growth occur. Likewise, this set threshold will likely be individual and muscle group-dependent.
However, a general rule is to limit the number of sets for a single muscle group to around 10 sets within a single session. If the training volume is >10 sets for a single muscle group in one session, it may be best to split the training volume over 2 or more days, e.g., 12 sets split into two days of 6 sets per session. So, if you’re using 10 or more weekly sets on a specific muscle group, a safe option will be, as a minimum, splitting this volume over two or more training sessions [3].
Exercise Selection
Machine Versus Free Weight Exercises
Machines are generally set in a fixed plane of motion and require less stability and movement skill to perform the technique. As such, they are usually good at targeting specific muscle groups but place less stress on synergist muscles (muscles that assist the main muscles in moving a joint and can provide stability).
Free weights have a flexible plane of motion (you can modify your body to change how the resistance from the weights is acting on your body) and require more stability and movement skill to perform the technique. Since free weights have less stability and more degrees of movement freedom and rely on more assistance from synergistic muscles, they can be good for placing stress on multiple muscles simultaneously.
But which is better for increasing muscle size: machines or free weights? A meta-analysis compared various studies on muscle growth using free weights and machines, on average, muscle growth did not significantly differ between the two. However, while total muscle gains are similar, the regional growth can vary between exercise types [20].
For instance, Costa et al. conducted a study where one group performed the same exercises in each workout, while another group varied their exercises for the same muscle groups. The varied group showed muscle growth across the distal, middle, and proximal sites of the measured muscles, whereas the constant group did not achieve hypertrophy across all sites. Therefore, incorporating a mix of free weights and machines may be beneficial for promoting muscle growth throughout the entire length of a muscle [21].
Compound Versus Isolation Exercises
Compound exercises use more than one joint and stress multiple muscles simultaneously. They can reduce your training session time since they use multiple muscles at once. For example, a seated cable row stresses both the muscles of the back and biceps, which would be quicker than doing three sets of one exercise that only targets the back, followed by three sets of a bicep-only exercise. Compound exercises are typically more fatiguing overall but better for improving overall strength. Likewise, compound exercises allow you to use heavier loads, which makes it easier to track small improvements in strength to measure progress.
Isolation exercises only use one joint and primarily stress a single muscle. They can target specific muscles or regions of a muscle that compound exercises may miss. For example, a dumbbell bench press promotes greater muscle gain in the medial and short heads of the triceps, whereas the tricep cable press promotes greater muscle gain in the long head of the triceps. Isolation exercises can be used as an add-on to a program to add some easy training volume to promote more hypertrophy at specific muscles.
A well-rounded training program should incorporate both compound and isolation exercises to encourage balanced growth across all muscle groups. For individuals who are short on time and can only engage in brief workouts or train a few times a week, focusing solely on compound exercises can still lead to significant growth in most muscle groups. However, for those aiming to optimize muscle growth or increase the size of specific muscle groups, adding isolation exercises is an effective way to introduce extra volume without significantly increasing overall fatigue. Additionally, isolation exercises target specific muscles and areas that compound movements may miss.
When To Change Exercises
It’s common for people to frequently change exercises in an effort to stimulate growth. However, this approach is often ineffective for optimising hypertrophy. When you introduce a new exercise or one that hasn’t been practiced consistently, most of the initial strength gains are due to neuromuscular adaptations. This means you improve your ability to perform the exercise through better coordination between your nerves and muscles, such as activating muscles more quickly and utilising more muscle fibres, with fewer strength gains attributed to increasing muscle mass [22].
Once you’ve made most of these neural adaptations with a new exercise, you can effectively overload the exercise, leading to muscle growth. Therefore, becoming skilled at a particular exercise and not rotating exercises each week is important for stimulating muscle growth.
For exercises requiring less skill, like machine and isolation movements, these are learned quicker and can be swapped sooner. So long as you do not have any variables that may be affecting progress, such as poor sleep, nutrition, high stress or inconstancy in training, if you’ve been doing the same exercises for at least 4 weeks and see a stall in progress for 2 weeks in a row (not being able to increase reps and/or weight from previous weeks), then it may be time to rotate to different exercises for that movement.
Exercises that require more skill, such as free bar exercises and compound movements, generally take longer to learn and can be retained in your training program for an extended period, such as multiple months. Compound and free bar movements such as squats, bench presses, barbell rows, shoulder presses, etc., allow for higher loads to be used, which is important because you can track changes in strength over time to measure progress, which fits within the principle of progressive overload, discussed earlier. Thus, selecting a main compound lift for upper body push, upper body pull, and squat pattern, which stays in your program for multiple training blocks (8 weeks or more) to assess progress, is ideal.
Exercise Order
It’s generally best to start your session with the most challenging exercises, whether from a fatigue or technical perspective. For instance, beginning with compound barbell lifts like squats or bench press. Since you are fresh when you first enter the gym, your performance on these initial exercises will be at its best, allowing you to complete more volume. Additionally, your ability to maintain proper technique is likely to be better at this stage.
However, if you have a specific body part that you want to improve, you can start with an isolation exercise, as long as it does not negatively impact your performance on the main compound lifts. For example, doing bicep curls before the bench press will unlikely affect your benching performance.
Exercise Technique
These will be general exercise technique principles that can be applied to performing exercises for the goal of maximising muscle gain.
Range of Motion
Recent research shows that the lengthened stretched position of a muscle during exercise appears to be important for muscle growth. When comparing full ROM, partial ROM focusing on the lengthened position (think of doing a bicep curl from your arms fully straight and stopping halfway up) or partial ROM focusing on the short position (think of doing a bicep curl from the top and stopping halfway down), gains in muscle size tends to be lower in partial short lengths relative to all groups, and muscle size tends to be either the same or slightly greater when comparing partial long lengths to full ROM [23].
When performing exercises, it’s recommended as a minimum to include the lengthened portion of a muscle. For example, this means going all the way down in a leg press or fully extending the elbows/arms during a bicep curl. If you cannot reach the stretched, lengthened position of the target muscle during an exercise, consider reducing the load, as exposure to this ROM is more important for muscle growth versus going heavy and not reaching this ROM.
Lifting Tempo
Regarding lifting tempo, various tempos can effectively achieve similar hypertrophy outcomes. A meta-analysis by Schofield et al. found that repetition tempos ranging from 0.5 to 8 seconds lead to comparable muscle growth. However, very slow tempos exceeding 10 seconds appeared to be suboptimal, likely because the load becomes too light and fails to provide enough stimulus to optimise muscle growth [24].
Current recommendations suggest combining lifting tempos, incorporating a slower eccentric (lowering) phase followed by a faster concentric (lifting) phase [3]. Additionally, it’s beneficial to vary tempos based on the exercise. For example, using a slower tempo for side lateral raises can help maintain stricter form, while performing squats at a faster tempo may be preferable, as slow tempos can become uncomfortable.
Strict Versus Non-Strict Form
Specifically for hypertrophy, strict technique refers to performing an exercise that directs the stimulus to the target muscles being worked on while minimising other muscle groups’ involvement. Non-strict technique allows for the involvement of other muscle groups to assist in performing an exercise. For example, on a dumbbell side lateral raise, strict form will involve lifting the dumbbells to the side with minimal leg bouncing and torso swing, while non-strict technique may have the torso moving back and forth with some bouncing of the knees to provide momentum to lift the dumbbells.
Currently, there is no direct evidence comparing strict versus non-strict techniques for muscle growth. However, it is known that longer muscle lengths tend to produce greater hypertrophy than shorter ones. Given the lack of direct evidence, it makes sense to maintain a strict exercise technique that effectively stimulates the lengthened position of a muscle. Techniques that rely on momentum from other muscle groups to make the lengthened portion of an exercise easier may reduce the stimulus on the target muscle, ultimately making the exercise less effective.
Additionally, performing exercises using a technique that maximises the stimulus placed on the target muscle while minimising fatigue seems logical. Accumulating unnecessary fatigue may result in performance reductions in exercises later in the workout and possibly place extra stress on joints, potentially leading to injury. For example, swinging the body back and forth on a bicep curl would increase the amount of load used on the exercise; however, this may add fatigue and reduce the stimulus on the biceps, as other muscles will assist in moving the weight. To put simply, placing more stress and fatigue on the body for less gain.
Summary of Exercise Selection Recommendations
Use a combination of free weight, machine, compound and isolation exercises for all-round muscle growth.
Start your training session with the most fatiguing or technically demanding exercises first. But you’re free to start your session with an isolation exercise for a lagging body part so long as it has minimal impact on your compound lifts’ performance.
Choose a minimum of 1-2 compound exercises for the large muscle groups (Chest, back, legs) that are either always in your program to measure progress or kept in for at least 4 weeks before rotating to similar-type movements (e.g., rotating a barbell back squat to a front squat). You should choose a few compound exercises for each major muscle group that can remain at the core of your program, which you never or rarely take out to assess strength progress. To provide novelty in these exercises without removing them from your program, periodically changing the load and repetitions should provide enough stimulation to trigger growth.
Choose 1-3 isolation exercises for each muscle group (depending on how much time you have to spend in the gym) to stimulate areas of muscles that the compounds may lack and accumulate some low fatiguing training volume on individual muscles you would like to grow.
It’s recommended that less skilled movements should be kept in the program for at least 4 weeks before being swapped out. If you’re progressing by increasing reps or weight each week and not seeing a plateau in strength improvements, you can keep low-skilled movements (isolation and/or machine exercises) for as long as you like. If you’ve had low-skilled movements in your program for at least 4 weeks and have seen a plateau in strength for 2 weeks in a row (unable to increase weights/reps), swap these out for a different exercise.
A range of lifting tempos (0.8 to 8 seconds) can be used, which should include a controlled eccentric phase and moderate to fast concentric phase.
Exercise technique should be strict enough to ensure that the target muscle plays the primary role in the movement and focuses on its lengthened position. Minimise momentum and assistance from muscle groups not targeted in the exercise to maximise stimulation of the target muscle while reducing unnecessary fatigue.
Rest Time
Rest intervals refer to the period of rest taken between sets of exercises. When training specifically for hypertrophy, keeping rest periods short, such as 60 seconds or less, is sometimes recommended in traditional strength training textbooks. The justification for short rest times over longer is to induce a higher increase in post-exercise anabolic hormones like testosterone and human growth hormone, which is believed to enhance muscle growth [25].
However, studies analysing groups performing workouts designed to increase anabolic hormones versus those maintaining hormone levels show no significant differences in muscle mass gains between groups [26]. Additionally, workouts that do not cause increases in anabolic hormone levels from pre- to post-training still show increases in muscle size. Thus, acute elevations in hormone levels triggered by training are not necessary for muscle growth, nor do they enhance it [26].
Considering that mechanical tension and total training volume are the primary drivers of muscle hypertrophy, rest times that are too short might not be ideal. When rest periods are less than 60 seconds, the load and/or repetitions achieved across multiple sets may decrease due to fatigue. Hypertrophy can be attained with short and long rest intervals; however, there seems to be a slight advantage to using longer rest intervals of over 60 seconds, as these allow for greater training volumes [27].
To achieve similar muscle growth with shorter rest times compared to longer ones, extra volume, such as an additional set, must be added to compensate for the reduced volume that results from shorter rests. This highlights the importance of total training volume in optimising muscle growth [28].
Rest time requirements differ between exercises. For example, longer rest is usually needed with compound multi-joint exercises like squats to recover between sets relative to less fatiguing single-joint exercises like bicep curls. It is recommended to use a rest interval length that is long enough that there is a minimal drop-off in performance (reduced load or repetitions) between sets due to fatigue accumulated from previous sets, which in most cases will be at least > 60 sec of rest between sets.
How To Progress Lifts
We can use different methods to increase the training stimulus to impose new adaptations. One way is to increase training volume by adding more sets, which was discussed in a previous section. However, we can’t just keep adding sets as there will come a point when we’re accumulating too much fatigue, and our training sessions will take too long. Therefore, we can use the double progression method. This involves increasing the load once hitting a total repetition target.
In your program, you can use repetition ranges for each exercise – For example – 5-8 reps, 8-10 reps, 10-12 reps, etc. Once you have hit the top end of the repetition range on a selected exercise using a particular load for all sets, then you increase the load next session.
Example
Barbell back squats 4 sets for 6-10 reps
In the above example, you hit the high end of the rep range for all sets using 100kg. So, in the next session, increase the weight to the next smallest increment (2.5kg) and repeat (4 sets x 10 reps @ 102.5kg).
Eventually, you’ll reach a weight that is challenging, and you’ll be unable to hit the high end of the rep range for all sets.
Example
Barbell back squats 4 sets for 6-10 reps using 115kg
In the above example, you couldn’t hit the high end of the rep range for all sets. In this case, you will use 115kg again in the next session, but try to do more reps. Once you can hit the high end of the rep range on all sets with 115kgs (which may take multiple weeks), increase the weight to the next smallest increment in the next training session.
For some exercises, if you hit the high end of the rep range but the next weight increment is too heavy, do more reps, even if it’s beyond the rep range you have set.
For example, you have programmed 4 sets of dumbbell bicep curls using an 8-12 rep range. You might be able to bicep curl 12 reps with 12.5kg dumbbells, but when you try 15kg dumbbells, you can only do 7 reps. In this case, you can stay with the 12.5kg dumbbells and do more than 12 reps, such as 15+. Once 12.5kgs becomes easy and you’re doing 15+ reps for all sets with this weight, retry the next weight up (15kg dumbbells), and you’ll probably be able to do more reps relative to when you initially tried because you got stronger.
What Happens if You’ve Maxed a Rep Range and Cannot Increase the Load?
You can drop the repetitions and continue the same progression scheme above.
For example –
Reduce the repetition range to 5-8 and continue the progression.
What Happens if You’ve Reduced the Repetitions Multiple Times and Can’t Go Any Lower?
Say you started at 10-12 reps, then reduced to 8-10, then 5-8 over months, and you don’t want to perform less than 5 repetitions. In this scenario, you can return to 10-12 repetitions, reduce the load, and repeat the cycle. You will likely find that you will start at higher training loads at the same RIR relative to last time.
For example, let’s say you began your training program by squatting 100 kg for 10-12 repetitions. You then progressed to 107.5 kg for 10-12 repetitions before your reps dropped to 7-9. When you return to the 10-12 repetition range in your next training program, you can start that training block at 107.5 kg for 10-12 repetitions. From there, you could work your way up to 115 kg before dropping to 7-9 repetitions, as you are now stronger than you were in the previous training block.
Back-off Sets
On technically demanding compound lifts like squats, bench presses and deadlifts, it can be difficult to use the same load for all sets as the RIR may increase too high from set to set. To avoid the RIR climbing too high on exercises, you can use a top set with back-offs.
For example
Squat
Set 1 – 150kg x 5 reps
Set 2 + 3 = 10kg back off – 140kg x 5 reps
The amount of load you want to drop in the back-off sets is up to you. It will depend on what RIR you aim to achieve on each set. Anything between a 5-15% load reduction from your top set should be sufficient.
Deloads
What Is a Deload?
Deloading is a period of reduced training stress designed to mitigate physical and mental fatigue, promote recovery, and prepare for the next block of training [29]. The typical length of a deload is generally one week, but this can be reduced or increased depending on your recovery.
Deloads can be reactive or proactive. The reactive approach means you will deload when you feel you need it, whereas a proactive deload will be pre-planned every X week within your training block. Generally, reactive deloads are ideal. Think of the scenario that you’re 5 weeks into a training block; you’re feeling strong, not tired, and making good progress; it wouldn’t seem required to deload just because it’s pre-scheduled in your program. As such, it’s likely better to take deloads as needed.
However, in some cases, proactive deloads do have their use. If you have training experience and, for example, know that you consistently get very fatigued every 5th week, then setting proactive deloads may be suitable if you have a consistent fatigue pattern.
What Are Some Signs You Need a Deload?
The main indicator of whether you need a deload is if your performance has significantly declined for multiple sessions in a row, although no outside variables that affect stress have changed, such as poor sleep, nutrition, increased work hours, or other stressors [29]. One poor session may not indicate you need a deload, but if you have been training for 3 or more weeks in a row and are seeing performance decrements for multiple sessions within the same week, it might be a sign you need a deload.
If you feel like you consistently need to deload after just 2 weeks of training, it is likely that you’re doing too much training for what you can handle at the time and should reduce either the volume, intensity or both so you can train for more weeks in a row without needing to deload.
Other signs outside of performance decrements which may indicate that you have accumulated a high amount of fatigue and need to deload can range from (but not limited to) –
- Persistent stiff and sore muscles
- Achey joints/overuse-type injuries
- Persistent tiredness and fatigue, although you regularly sleep 7-8+ hours per night
- Increased susceptibility to infections, colds or headaches
- Sleep disturbances / find it difficult to fall asleep
- Decreased mental concentration and restlessness
- Increased irritability
- Feeling anxious
- Feeling depressed
- Lack of motivation to train
- Loss of appetite [30]
If your stressors outside of training haven’t changed significantly, but you’re experiencing several symptoms from the list and more fatigue than usual, it could be a sign that you need to deload. Sometimes, you might find that your performance is up (feeling strong in the gym) while also experiencing symptoms of overreaching, indicating that a deload may be necessary. This phenomenon is known in powerlifting as “peaking.” Essentially, you may be strong but feel exhausted, which puts you in a tricky situation.
If possible, I recommend continuing your training for another week or two (as long as you can manage) to take advantage of this high performance. Pushing your body a little beyond its previous limits can be beneficial, after which you can deload. Since adaptations are cumulative, reaching peak strength in your training block might require several consecutive weeks of hard work. Given that you’ve put in significant effort to reach this level of peak strength, it may be wise to capitalise on it rather than deloading too soon.
How Do You Program a Deload Week?
There are many different ways to implement a deload, so I will use the most common method suitable for people with goals of building muscle mass.
Training volume – Reduce total sets from 30-60% of your usual. For example, if your total weekly sets = 100, then drop this by 30-60 sets.
Intensity – Either reduce the load you normally use by 10-20%, or you can reduce the number of reps you perform and maintain the same load so you’re a few reps out from failure compared to what you normally would train at. Or, use a combination of reducing loads and reps.
For example, you squatted 100kg x 7 reps in your last heavy training week. During your deload, you could do –
100kg x 4 reps – Maintain load but reduce reps
OR
92.5kg x 7 reps – Maintains reps but reduce load
OR
95kg x 5 reps – Reduce load and reps
All three intensity reduction methods above will likely end in the same result (maintain performance whilst reducing fatigue), and you likely do not need to be over-critical in selecting the best method. Essentially, use whichever method feels right. Likewise, you may mix using different methods for different exercises [29, 31].
Exercise selection – You can use the same exercises you’ve used in the last training block. Or you can rotate to new exercises you’ll use in your next training block. However, make sure not to go too heavy on new exercises, as you may get increased muscle soreness in the first week of performing new exercises, which may add extra fatigue and take away from the purpose of a deload.
Remember, the goal of a deload is to alleviate both physical and mental fatigue to prepare you for the next training block. It’s important not to push too hard during this period, as doing so can increase fatigue. You won’t lose muscle mass during a deload with reduced training loads. In fact, taking an entire week off from training typically doesn’t result in any muscle loss. Thus, the chances of losing muscle mass during a 1-2 week deload with decreased volume and training loads are very low. In the worst-case scenario, if you do lose a tiny amount of muscle during deloading, it will come back quickly—within a week or two—after resuming your next training block.
How Long Should You Deload?
If you’re in a deload phase and experiencing symptoms of overreaching, along with reduced performance, it’s important to continue the deload for as long as you need until you start feeling back to normal. On average, this recovery period takes about one week but can range anywhere from 4 to 14 days [31].
You probably won’t feel better within the first few days of a deload. Anecdotally, I’ve had clients report during the beginning and midpoint of the deload that their symptoms can feel worse along with not feeling strong. However, you’ll likely notice an improvement after 5+ days of deloading.
So, if you initially feel worse during the deload, don’t worry. Just give your body some time and you’ll eventually feel recovered.
Summary Notes for Creating Your Own Muscle-Building Focused Training Programs
Volume
10-20 sets per muscle/per week
Novice lifters may start on the lower end of this range
Advanced lifters may start on the higher end of this range
Advanced lifters may exceed the 20 sets per muscle/week on some muscles. But it’s probably ideal to limit this to 1-2 muscle groups within a training block and then rotate to high volumes on different muscle groups in other training blocks
Primary muscles trained in an exercise can be counted as 1 set per set performed
Secondary muscles trained in an exercise can be counted as 0.5 sets per set performed (refer to counting table below)
A 20% increase from the previous training block will suffice when increasing sets. Wait at least 4 weeks before making another increase in training volume
Sets can be incrementally added over a training block to reach your weekly set volume target rather than adding all the volume at the start of a training block
Frequency
If training volume is <10 sets per week on a muscle group, a training frequency of once or multiple per week will likely be no different for optimising muscle gain
If training volume is >10 sets per week on a muscle group, it’s advised to split this volume over two or more training sessions
Training frequency in itself does not appear to improve muscle gain. However, increasing training frequency can be used to distribute additional training volume.
Days per week to train
3-6
Repetition and RIR Targets Per Exercise
| Exercise Type | Rep Range | RIR Range |
| Lower body free weight compound exercises Examples – Squat, deadlift, good morning, SLDL, etc | 5-10 | 5-2 reps left in reserve |
| Lower body machine compound exercises Examples – Leg press, hack squat, smith machine squat, etc | 5-12 | 5-1 reps left in reserve |
| Lower body isolation exercises Examples – Leg extensions, hamstring curls, calf raises, etc | 8-20 | 4-0 reps left in reserve |
| Upper body free weight compound exercises Examples – Bench press, OH shoulder press, barbell back rows, etc | 5-12 | 5-1 reps left in reserve |
| Upper body machine compound exercises Examples – Machine chest press, machine shoulder press, seated cable rows, etc | 6-15 | 5-0 reps left in reserve |
| Upper body isolation exercises Examples – Bicep curls, tricep pushdown, side lateral raises, etc | 8-20 | 4-0 reps left in reserve |
Exercise Selection
| Movement Pattern | Primary Muscles Trained | Secondary Muscles Trained |
| Barbell and Machine Squat Patterns – (Squats, Leg press, hack squat, lunge | Quadriceps | Glutes |
| Hip Hinge (Deadlift, SLDL, Goodmornings, back extensions) | Glutes, hamstrings, lower back | Upper back depending on the exercise |
| Vertical Pull (Lat pulldown, chin ups, machine pulldowns) | Lats | Biceps, Rear Delts |
| Horizontal pull (Cable rows, Barbell Row, Machine Row | Lats | Biceps, Rear Delts, Mid back |
| Vertical Push (OH Shoulder press) | Front delts | Triceps |
| Horizontal Push (Bench press, DB chest press flat, incline, decline, machine chest press | Chest | Front Delts, Triceps |
| Chest Fly (Cable, machine, DB fly) | Chest | Anterior delts |
| Rear Delt Fly/Isolation | Rear Delts | Mid Back |
| Bicep Isolation | Biceps | |
| Tricep isolation | Triceps |
Choose 1-2 Compounds for
Squat
Vertical Push
Horizontal or Vertical Pull
Horizontal Push
Hip Hinge (Optional) – You can do isolation exercises for hamstrings and glutes if preferred
Keep the same compound exercise or a close variation of that compound in most of your training blocks to measure progress
Choose 1-3 isolation exercises for all other movements
Do the same isolation exercise for at least 4 weeks to overload the muscles being worked before rotating to new exercises
Rest Time
Rest long enough between sets that you have minimal fatigue lingering around from the previous set, which may affect performance on the upcoming set. You will likely need longer rest for compound exercises 2min+ and can get away with shorter rests for isolation exercises 1min+
Deloads
Deload on an as-needed basis.
If you’re a beginner, you can likely train for many weeks and months without needing a deload. Looking at the assessment list below, if you say yes to 2 or more of those symptoms and you’ve been training consistently for a minimum of 4 weeks, you may take a short deload to recover. You may not need a full 7-day deload. 2-5 days of easy workouts or total days from the gym may be enough to feel recovered and clear fatigue symptoms.
If you’re an intermediate to advanced lifter, at the end of your training block, use the below assessment list to determine if you need a deload week
- Always feeling tired although having long sleep
- Sore and achy joints more than normal
- Muscles feeling more sore than normal
- Performance in the gym feels consistently down every session
- Less than normal training motivation
If you answer yes to 0-1 of the above, you can start the next training block without deloading
If you answer yes to 2 or more of the above, take a deload week before starting your next training block
Sample Programs
Note – It’s impossible to make a one-size-fits-all program. The programs below are examples using the information from this article and do not need to be followed exactly. Yes, the example programs can work for a lot of people. However, it should be tweaked depending on an individual’s preferences and capacity. For example, some people may need more or less volume, prefer different repetition ranges, need to train closer or further to failure, and so forth.
If you need help creating a program specific to your needs, whether for putting on muscle size, getting strong and/or reducing body fat or you just need help with exercise technique – Fill out a free consultation form HERE, and someone will be in touch within the next 24 hours.
3 Day Hypertrophy Program Example
4 Day Hypertrophy Program Example
5 Day Hypertrophy Program Example
Exercise Selection Ideas
Note – You are not restricted only to these exercises. Use this list for ideas, but feel free to add whichever exercises you like
| Movement Pattern | Exercises |
| Squat Patterns | Barbell Back Squat, Barbell Front Squat, Smith Machine Squat, Hack Squat, Goblet Squat, Belt Squat, Leg Press, Machine Squat, Lunge Variations |
| Hip Hinge | Conventional Deadlift, Sumo Deadlift, Hex Bar Deadlift, Stiff-Legged Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Good Morning, Hyper Extension |
| Vertical Pull | Any Lat Pulldown Variation, Pullups/Chin-ups, Machine Lat Pulldowns, Seal Row |
| Horizontal Pull | Any Seated Row Variation, Barbell Row, T-Bar Row, Incline Bench DB Row, Single Arm DB Row |
| Vertical Push | OH Barbell Press, DB OH Press, Machine Shoulder Press |
| Horizontal Push | All Barbell Bench Press Variations, All DB Pressing Variations |
| Chest Fly | All DB Fly Variations, All Cable Fly Variations, Machine Chest Fly, Pec Dec |
| Rear Delt Isolation | Rear Delt DB Fly, Rear Delt Cable Fly, Face Pulls |
| Side Delt Isolation | DB Lateral Raises, Cable Lateral Raises |
| Bicep Isolation | Barbell / DB Curls, Incline Bench DB Curls, Preacher Curls, Machine Curls |
| Tricep isolation | Cable Pushdowns Barbell / DB Skull Crushes Overhead Cable Pull |
| Abdominal Exercises | Ab Roller, Hanging Leg, Raises GHD Crunch, Crunches with Hands Overhead, V-Situp |
| Leg Extension Isolation | Leg Extensions, Single-Legged Leg Extensions, Standing Cable Leg Extensions |
| Hamstring Isolation | Laying Hamstring Curl, Seated Hamstring Curl Nordic Curl |
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