Sample Intermediate/Advanced  Weight Training Program

Before I actually explain the specifics of a full sample program, let’s first go over a few
important details about intermediate/advanced weight training programs.

How to tell if you are an intermediate or advanced trainee.

If you’ve been weight training consistently and at least somewhat intelligently for the last
6 months (or more), then you most likely qualify as (at least) an intermediate trainee.

Usually by this point you would have, at the very least, already been on some type of
beginner program that allowed you to build up at least some base level of strength and
muscle, improved your work capacity to some degree, and learned (and mastered)
proper form on every exercise you’ve done thus far.

If this describes you, then you are probably ready to move on to a program like this.

The general guidelines of an intermediate/advanced program.

Unlike beginners who all typically tend to benefit most from the same type of program
regardless of their specific goals, programs for intermediate and advanced trainees can
vary greatly depending on exactly what the person is looking to get out of weight
training.

For example, a program geared strictly towards strength or performance can look a lot
different than a program geared strictly towards building muscle and looking good.

However, on average, certain general guidelines will still stand in most cases:

• Moderate frequency. Each muscle group should typically be trained to some
degree somewhere between once every 3rd and 5th day.
• Moderate volume. Most of the larger muscle groups should get about 60-120
total reps per week. Most smaller muscle groups should get about half that.
• A primary focus on free weight compound exercises. A smaller secondary focus
on certain machines and isolation exercises is perfectly fine for some goals, less
fine for others.

So, let’s now get to the details of a full sample program that puts everything together.

 

 

The Ultimate Muscle Building Program

 

• Best Suited For: Intermediate or advanced trainees whose primary goal is
building muscle, getting “toned” or really just improving the way
their body looks in virtually any capacity.

Here’s the weight training program that I recommend most often to most people who
are past the beginner’s stage.

So yes… this is officially my “most of the people, most of the time” type of program.

What I mean is, unless your #1 weight training goal is improving athletic performance
for a specific sport or activity, or something strength oriented like becoming a
competitive powerlifter, then this is the type of weight training program that I
consider to be the best possible choice for the majority of the population.

Oh, and don’t get me wrong. This program will certainly allow you to increase strength
and improve performance (and your overall health and fitness level) as well.

It’s just not the primary focus of this program.

Instead, the primary focus of this program is building muscle and looking great naked.

And, since I can only assume that most of the people reading this guide are more
interested in that type of goal (muscle, tone, fat loss, looking good, being fit and healthy
overall, etc.) rather than some sport or activity specific goal, I decided that it would
make the most sense to make this the sample program that I include in this guide.

But how can I be sure this program is right for me?

More specifically, this program is for:

• Men AND women.
• Old and young.
• People who want to add a significant amount of muscle to their body and get
“big.”
• People who only want to add a small amount of muscle to their body and just get
“toned.”
• Any healthy adult past the beginner’s stage who wants to improve their body.

Are we all clear on that now? Good. Let’s get to the details…

The Split

The Ultimate Muscle Building Program uses an upper/lower split with a training
frequency where every muscle group gets trained to some degree between once every
3rd and 5th day depending on which variation of the split you end up choosing (more on
that in a second).

If you paid attention earlier, then you probably saw all of this coming. After all, this is the
exact training frequency and the exact training split that I explained were most optimal
for the majority of the population.

Meaning, for anyone past the beginner’s stage… this is what will usually give you the
best results in the shortest amount of time.

Here now is a reminder of the upper/lower split and its 4 possible variations…

The Upper/Lower Split
(and its 4 variations)

 

 

Choose your split option.

Above is a chart showing the 4 possible and equally acceptable variations of the
upper/lower split that The Ultimate Muscle Building Program will use. No matter which
split option you choose, the program will still work perfectly fine.

With the exception of a few small differences (most of which have less to do with weight
training and more to do with your own schedule and personal preferences), they all
allow for an optimal amount of frequency and recovery.

All you need to do is pick one.

If you are wondering which of the 4 upper/lower split options is right for you, I’d suggest
going back to the section on weight training splits where I explained the pros and cons
of each variation and told you pretty much everything you’d need to know to figure out
which is best for you.

More often than not, the classic 4 day or the classic 3 day version will be the most
common choices.

The Workouts

As I explained earlier, an upper/lower split divides everything up into 2 types of
workouts.

One will train your entire upper body to some degree (chest, back, shoulders, biceps,
and triceps), and one will train your entire lower body to some degree (quads,
hamstrings, calves, and usually abs as well).

You will end up doing 2 (or about 2) of each workout per week depending on exactly
which variation of the split you decide to use.

And, like I said, no matter which upper/lower split variation you end up using, the
workouts will all still get done within the optimal frequency range and everything will still
work perfectly fine.

So, with all of that out of the way, let’s now get to the actual workouts themselves…

 

 

 

As you can see, there are 4 different workouts… 2 upper body workouts (A and B) and
2 lower body workouts (A and B). In case it isn’t obvious enough, they are meant to be
done in this order:

1. Upper Body A
2. Lower Body A
3. Upper Body B
4. Lower Body B

(If this is in any way confusing, check out the upper/lower split chart I showed you a
minute ago to see how you’d schedule the 4 workouts over the course of the week with
each of the 4 different split options.)

As you can see from the workouts, each one is focused primarily on the most effective
compound exercises with just the right amount of secondary focus on isolation
exercises as well.

There is also damn near 100% perfect and identical balance among the opposing
movement patterns and around the joints, and the exercises in each workout are
ordered in terms of most demanding to least demanding (the exact way it should be).

As you can also see, the intensity/rep range and rest intervals between sets for each
exercise is exactly what it should be for this set of goals, and the volume per muscle
group per workout (and per week total) is all perfectly within the optimal volume range
for intermediate/advanced trainees.

So, what I’m trying to say is, all of the factors and components I’ve explained throughout
the first half of this guide have been brought together perfectly.

For most of the people, most of the time… this is the weight training program that will
give you the best results possible.

Now to clear up anything you might be a little confused about and answer every
question you might have about this program now or in the future.

The General Guidelines of The Ultimate Muscle Building Program:

• Use straight sets (which means lift the same weight each set). So if it says to do
3 sets of an exercise, you’d use the same weight on all 3 sets. For example…
Right Way: 100lbs, 100lbs, 100lbs.
Wrong Way: 95lbs, 100lbs, 105lbs.
When you are able to lift a given weight for however many sets of however many
reps the program has prescribed for that exercise, you’d then increase the weight
by the smallest possible increment the next time you do that exercise. You’d then

repeat this process of progression as often as you can. (I’ll explain this in much
more detail in a minute.)
• The number of sets listed does NOT include warm-up sets. Those are the actual
work sets only. Warm-up as needed. (More on that later too.)
• The order the exercises are listed in is the order they are supposed to be done
in. Don’t change it.
• You are meant to be doing all of the exercises listed for each workout. However,
if you come across something your gym doesn’t have or something you honestly
cannot do due to some preexisting injury, do the next closest match instead. (I’ll
give some suggestions below.)
• The split, the frequency, the exercise selection, the prescribed amount of sets,
reps and rest intervals for each exercise, the total amount of volume… it’s all for
a reason and it is all meant to remain and be done EXACTLY as I have written it.
DO NOT SCREW WITH IT LIKE AN IDIOT. Don’t add things, don’t change
things, don’t remove things.

Details and clarifications for Upper Body A:

• The Upper Body A workout starts with the bench press. This is meant be a flat
barbell bench press. I recommend having a spotter if possible. Besides being
important for obvious safety reasons, not having one may make you afraid of
trying for an additional rep, and this could hinder your progress.
• Up next is a row, which basically means some type of horizontal pull (meaning
back row exercise). Pretty much any type of back row would be fine here, so pick
your favorite. If I had to make a suggestion, I might go with a chest supported
row of some sort because chest supported rowing doesn’t require any real lower
back stabilization like a bent over barbell row would. And, since you will be
deadlifting the next day, this may be a beneficial choice for some people.
Otherwise, feel free pick any type of horizontal back row you want (chest
supported row, any Hammer Strength machine row if your gym has them, a bent
over barbell or dumbbell row, t-bar rows, whatever). As long as it’s a back row of
some sort, it’s fine. If you think you’d benefit from not using any lower back the
day before doing deadlifts, then stick with something chest supported to give
your lower back a break. If not, pick anything.
• For incline pressing, I recommend incline dumbbell presses. Technically any
type of incline press will do here. Barbell, dumbbell, machine (Hammer Strength

makes an incline chest press that I love). But, my first choice recommendation
would definitely be for the incline dumbbell press.
• For lat pull downs, I recommend using an underhand grip (meaning your palms
will face you). This is because I’m going to recommend an overhand grip (palms
face away from you) during the Upper Body B workout. You’ll see. Also, these
are to be done in front of your head… never behind the neck.
• For laterals raises, you can really do whatever lateral raise you want. With
dumbbells (seated or standing, one arm at a time or both together), with cables,
with a lateral raise machine if your gym has a decent one. Just pick your favorite.
• For the triceps exercise, I recommend press downs (overhand grip or
underhand grip, it really doesn’t matter). I’d actually suggest doing them one arm
at a time if possible. This is only because I tend to prefer an even mix of single
arm/double arm stuff whenever possible. The triceps exercise I recommend for
Upper Body B will use both arms together, so it makes sense to do something
single arm this time.
• For the biceps exercise on this day, I recommend dumbbell preacher curls. You
could just as easily do any other biceps curl (preferably with dumbbells for the
same reasons mentioned above) instead if you really needed to.

Details and clarifications for Lower Body A:

• The Lower Body A workout begins with the Romanian deadlift. I recommend
using a double overhand grip as opposed to a mixed grip (which would be one
hand over, one hand under). I’ll get to form a bit later, but the basic cues you
need to remember are: keep your head and chest up, shoulders pulled back,
upper and lower back tight and solid with a slight arch in the lower back, and then
basically try to make your butt touch the wall behind you as you bend from your
hips. Keep a very slight bend in your knees as you lower the bar, and keep the
bar pretty close to your body so that it almost touches your thighs as it lowers.

• For the leg presses, you can do these the traditional way (both legs at the same
time) or single leg if possible. Also, this is meant to be done in a 45 degree leg
press. If your gym doesn’t have one, then use whatever leg press they do have.

• For the leg curls, some gyms have a few different types of leg curl machines…
seated, standing, and laying. Pick any one you want. However, if possible, I
recommend doing them 1 leg at a time. If not, both legs at the same time will still
be just fine.

• Next up is standing calf raises. If your gym doesn’t have a standing calf raise
machine, feel free to do calf presses in the 45 degree leg press.
• For abs, do a few sets of whatever you want. Just don’t go too crazy… no more
than 10 minutes or so. I’m a big fan of weighted crunches, hanging leg raises,
planks and some type of weighted side bend or twist. Keep it simple.

Details and clarifications for Upper Body B:

• The Upper Body B workout starts with pull-ups. Use an overhand grip. If you are
unable to do pull-ups, you can do lat pull-downs or an assisted pull-up machine
in its place (still using an overhand grip). It’s fine. However, you should make it
your eventual goal to be able to do pull ups and actually work towards eventually
doing them here. These are still to be done in front of your head… never behind
the neck.
Also, if you are someone who can already do 4 sets of 6-8 pull ups, then you
need to add weight. Search around online for what’s called a “pull-up belt”
(sometimes called a “dip belt”) and buy one. It will allow you to add additional
weight to body weight exercises like pull-ups and dips. At the time of writing this,
I can do about 8 reps with an additional 65lbs strapped to me. It’s one of the only
training products I fully recommend, and when your own body weight becomes
too easy for you, it’s a requirement for progressive overload to take place.

• For the overhead shoulder press, I recommended doing seated barbell presses
(in front of you, not behind the neck). You could just as easily do seated
dumbbell presses if you’d prefer to, although my first choice would be barbell
presses.

• Up next are seated cable rows, which would ideally be done with a parallel grip
(palms facing each other). If your gym doesn’t have a handle like that, any other
grip is fine. If your gym doesn’t have a seated cable row altogether for some
reason, feel free to do any other similar horizontal back row in its place. Seated
cable rows are definitely my first choice though.

• Up next are flat bench dumbbell presses. Nothing more to add here really.

• For the biceps exercise, I recommend standing barbell curls. You could
technically do any other type of curl instead if you absolutely needed to change
something, but barbell curls are what I would recommend.

• For the triceps exercise, I recommend skull crushers. If your gym has them, I
recommend doing these with an EZ curl bar. It’s much more comfortable on the

wrists than a straight bar. These can be done on a flat or decline bench. Either is
just fine. And again, if you absolutely needed to change it, any similar triceps
extension exercise would be perfectly suitable in its place.

Details and clarifications for Lower Body B:

• The Lower Body B workout starts with squats. That means barbell back squats,
by the way.

• For the split squats, feel free to use a barbell or dumbbells. If you’ve never done
any kind of split squat or lunge variation before, I’d recommend starting with
dumbbells instead of a barbell. It will be easier (and safer) to learn how to
balance yourself properly.

• For the leg curls, I’d recommend using a different type of leg curl machine than
you used in the Lower Body A workout, assuming your gym actually has more
than 1 type of leg curl machine. If your gym only has one kind, do it one leg at a
time in the A workout, and both legs together in this workout.

• Up next is seated calf raises. Not much more to add here.

• For abs, do a few sets of whatever you want. Just don’t go too crazy… no more
than 10 minutes or so. I’m a big fan of weighted crunches, hanging leg raises,
planks and some type of weighted side bend or twist. Keep it simple.

The Method of Progression:

When I explained progressive overload before, I also explained the most common way
you should progress on most weight training programs.

Everything I explained then applies just the same to The Ultimate Muscle Building
Program, with one tiny change. You may have noticed that I prescribed a range of reps
for each exercise (6-8, 8-10 or 10-12) rather than 1 exact number.

All this means is, when you are capable of doing all of your prescribed number of sets
for somewhere within that prescribed rep range, that’s when you increase the weight by
the smallest possible increment the next time you do that exercise.

If you are unable to reach the set and rep range with a given weight, then your goal is to
simply get additional reps in each of your sets until you reach that prescribed set and
rep goal.

Still confused? Here’s a full example of exactly what I mean…

For the bench press on the Upper Body A workout, I prescribed 3 sets of 6-8 reps. Now,
let’s pretend you currently bench press 100lbs. Your workout may look like this:

 

In this example, you have successfully reached the prescribed 3 sets of 6-8 reps with
whatever weight you were using (100lbs in this example). Congrats. You were able to
do between 6 and 8 reps in all of the 3 sets. This means that the next time you do this
Upper Body A workout, you should increase the weight you lift on the bench press by
the smallest increment possible (usually 5lbs). This means next time your workout may
look like this:

 

In this example, you increased your bench press by 5lbs. This is good and means
progressive overload has occurred. However, in this example you failed to get all 3 sets
in the 6-8 rep range. Don’t feel bad, it’s perfectly normal and expected to happen. It just
means that during your next Upper Body A workout, your goal is to increase in reps
instead of weight. So, the next time you bench press it may go like this:

 

In this example, you were able to successfully add an additional rep to your first and
second set, and 2 reps to your third set. Congrats, progressive overload has occurred
once again. This also means that the all of your sets are now in the 6-8 rep range, and
this means you can go up to 110lbs the next Upper Body A workout. It may go
something like this:

 

In this example, more progressive overload has occurred as you have gone up 5lbs on
your bench press. However, you’ll notice that the second and third sets are below your
prescribed 6-8 rep range. As you just learned, this is perfectly normal. It just means your
goal next time is to try to get an additional rep or 2.

So, let’s say next time comes around and you get reps of 7, 6, 5. Good job, more
progressive overload has been made.

Then, the next workout comes along and you get 8, 6, 5. Congrats again.

And then the next workout comes along and you get 8, 7, 6 or 8, 7, 7 or 8, 6, 6, or 8, 8,
7 or 8, 8, 8 or anything similar.

Perfect… all 3 sets are now within the prescribed 6-8 rep range. You’d then go to 115lbs
the next time and repeat this whole process all over again.

And, just in case it needs to be said, this is EXACTLY how you should progress with
every exercise and every prescribed set and rep goal. Whether it’s 3 sets of 6-8, 3 sets
of 8-10, 2 sets of 10-12 or whatever else. This process of progression should happen
just like the above example, with the only difference being that you’d be going for a
different set and rep range goal for different exercises.

I will also mention again that you will have workouts where you are unable to progress
on certain exercises, but are able to progress on others. You’ll also have workouts
where you may not be able to progress on anything in any way. In some cases this may
go on for a while with certain exercises.

Don’t worry about it. Don’t get pissed off. Don’t feel bad. Don’t think you had a useless
workout. Don’t think you need to change anything. You don’t. This is normal.

Weight training progression is a slow, gradual process. Like I said earlier, if we could all
add 10lbs to every exercise every workout, we’d all be lifting thousands of pounds by
now. It just doesn’t work like that.

All you need to do is make it your goal to make some form of progression take place on
every exercise as often as you can (while still using perfect form, of course). Whether
it’s as little as 1 extra rep or as much as 5 more pounds, it’s all progression just the
same.

As long as you are doing this and are gradually progressing in some way over time, the
progressive overload principle will be in effect and the results will follow.

Don’t forget your diet.

No matter how perfectly designed your weight training program is and no matter how
much you focus on progressive overload, this still only accounts for just half of the
equation.

The other half is your diet. Whatever your specific weight training goal is, you MUST eat
right to support it. If you don’t, it just won’t work.

The full diet and nutrition details are coming up later, but it’s worth mentioning now just
so you keep it in mind. Your diet is key.

 

The Ultimate Muscle Building Program FAQ

 

Still have more questions about this program? That’s cool, because I have a few more
answers to give you. Here we go…

What if it all just seems like it’s too much for me? Like I need to do
a little less or something? What’s the best way to do that?

You have 3 choices here.

1. You can reduce frequency. This would probably be my first choice. If you’re using
the classic 4 day upper/lower split, just switch to the classic 3 day variation. The
slightly lowered frequency/extra day of rest between each workout should greatly
help with any recovery issues you may have.
2. You can reduce volume. Change all of the exercises that call for 3 sets of 8-10 to
2 sets of 10-12 instead. If you still feel like you need to reduce volume more than
that, change the exercises that were already calling for 2 sets of 10-12 to just 1
set of 10-12.
3. You can do some combination of the 2 choices above.

I’m a beginner whose been doing a 3 day full body beginner
program (such as the Basic Beginner Workout recommended
earlier) for the last 6 months. I feel like I’m ready to switch to
something a bit more advanced like The Ultimate Muscle Building
Program. Should I just switch right into it just like that? Or should I
slowly transition into it somehow?

Whenever you are making any changes to your program that involve increasing
frequency and/or volume (as is the case when switching from the beginner program to

this intermediate/advanced program), you definitely want to do it slowly rather than just
jump right in.

I’d recommend going from the 3 day full body split to the classic 3 day upper/lower split
(even if the classic 4 day upper/lower split seemed ideal for you). That should definitely
ease transition for most people. In fact, you may even find that you’ll want to remain on
the 3 day version without ever switching to the 4 day. Everything will still work perfectly
fine, maybe even better for you.

Some people may also benefit from starting off with a reduced amount of volume by
doing a slightly reduced number of sets (meaning 2 sets of 6-8 instead of 3, and 2 sets
of 8-10 instead of 3) and then taking a couple of weeks to add a set in here and there
until you’ve slowly worked up to the prescribed volume and number of sets.

Any (or all) of the above will make the transition from beginner to intermediate go as
smoothly as possible and ensure you progress consistently all the way through.

Exactly how should I warm-up for this program?

As I explained in way more detail earlier, the proper warm-up sequence for a weight
training exercise goes like this in most cases:

The Proper Warm-Up Set Sequence

I then mentioned that this exact warm-up sequence is only needed when doing the first
direct or indirect exercise for a given muscle group (or movement pattern, joint, etc.)
that day. After that, you are already warmed up for various other exercises that target
the same muscle, pattern or joint and therefore require little to no warm-up sets at all.

However, to clear up any possible confusion, here is a full break down of exactly which
exercises in this program should use this warm-up sequence, and which should not.

• In the Upper Body A workout, you’d only need to warm-up like this for bench
press and rows. Incline dumbbell presses (warmed up from benching), lat pull-
downs (warmed up from rowing), lateral raises (warmed up from both bench
pressing and incline pressing), and the biceps and triceps stuff (warmed up from
all of the chest and back work thus far) would not require a warm-up sequence
anywhere near as thorough as this (or really, none at all).

• In the Lower Body A workout, you’d do this warm-up sequence for Romanian
deadlifts and leg presses, and maybe calves too (or more likely just half of this
warm-up sequence).

• In the Upper Body B workout, you’d only use this warm-up sequence for pull-ups
and overhead presses, and maybe dumbbell presses as well (or again just half of
this warm-up sequence). Nothing else.

• In the Lower Body B workout, you’d really only need to do this warm-up
sequence with squats, and maybe just half of this sequence for leg curls and
calves.

• However, for all of the exercises that DON’T need this warm-up sequence, you
can still throw in 1 VERY light set of 5-8 reps just to prepare yourself for the
actual movement and get into a good groove. I personally like doing this for
certain exercises (usually only compound exercises), but don’t seem to need it at
all for others (such as most isolation exercises).
Just a personal preference, really. Nothing more than that, though. And make
sure it’s VERY light and easy if you decide to do it.

Anything else you need to know about warming up was already explained in detail
earlier. Feel free to re-read that section if you need to.

I noticed that there is no direct trap work (like shrugs) included in
this weight training program. Can any be added?

While the traps do get hit indirectly in a variety of exercises that are part of this program
(like rows and deadlifts, for example), direct trap work is one of the VERY few things
that can be added to this program if you really want to add it.

It definitely isn’t necessary, but it can be added if you feel you need some direct trap
work.

As for how much and where to add it, I’d recommend adding 2 or 3 sets of 8-10 reps of
shrugs (barbell or dumbbell, it doesn’t matter which) to your Lower Body A workout. I

know it’s not a lower body exercise, but it fits there just fine. No more than that, though,
and not more often than that. Do them after calves/before abs.

 

I also noticed that there aren’t a lot of sets and exercises for biceps
and triceps. And then I noticed that there are less exercises than
I’ve always done for certain muscle groups. And I see less sets than
someone else recommended in some other workout routine. And
my friend said I should do more of this. And this article said I
should do more of that. And there isn’t any direct work for forearms
and toes and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Should I add more?

No! No! No!

And here’s one more bonus “no” for added emphasis… NO!

For the sake of all humanity, don’t add anything more to it. The Ultimate Muscle Building
Program is meant to be done as is. It has been designed to be effective with all of its
specific components (frequency, volume, intensity, rest intervals, exercise selection,
etc.) in place.

The second you start messing around with it and adding stuff or taking stuff out or
changing things in any way, you instantly void that effectiveness.

So, like I said earlier, if you want it to work… don’t screw with it like an idiot.

How often should this program be changed? What kind of changes
should be made?

This question was actually answered in detail earlier in this guide in its own section.

The short version: not too often, and small changes.

For the longer more useful version, just go back to the section on Workout Variety: How
& How Often to Change Your Program.