Weight Lifting & Weight Training for Bulk

3 Day Per Week Workout 

3 Day Workout, Bodybuilding and Weight Training for Bulk

Note: Do a short warmup set before each exercise with approximately 50% of the weight you will use for the main working set. Do about 4 - 6 reps with this lighter weight, just enough to get warmed up.

Squats 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Leg Extensions 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Leg Curls 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Dumbbell Pullovers 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Barbell Overhead Shoulder Press 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Seated Rows 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Bench Press 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Barbell Bicep Curls 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Tricep Extensions 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Weighted Pullups 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Weighted Dips 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Standing Calf Raises 1 X 8 - 12 reps
Abs - 1 X 10 - 15 reps

Click here for a printable version of this workout!

The workout should last no longer than 45 minutes! Plan your rest between sets accordingly so that you finish in this time period. Studies have shown that after 47 ½ minutes of intense weight training, your cortisol levels shoot up. This means that the longer you workout AFTER 47 minutes, the LESS results you will get and the more likely you will overtrain. So get in the gym, lift hard, stay focused, and get out.

The most important thing is that you lift to absolute FAILURE! This is not an option. It is almost 100% necessary to have a workout partner. If you need to get 8 - 10 reps, choose a weight that allows you to get 8 - 10 reps… but not even ONE more. I am serious! Once you reach your last rep, you should not be physically able to do another one, no matter what. If Britney Spears promises to date you if you get one more, it wouldn't matter. You should NOT be able to do it. Only you can judge if you are truly putting all possible effort into each set.

Unlike programs where you are doing 4 or 5 sets per exercise, you only have one chance to blast your muscles. Don't waste it!

You will also notice that all the exercises are compound movements. We are NOT doing any isolation exercises. Let Richard Simmons do them. We want to get huge and strong and the only way to do it is by using these exercises.

Perform each set with good form. Cheating will only hurt your gains. Do each rep slowly and do not use momentum. Each rep should use a full range of motion and take approximately 2 seconds on the way down and 2 seconds on the way up. Do not "jerk" the weight up. Slowly move it up and down. Use lighter weight if you must. This is VERY important to your gains so don't ignore this!

Do not stop moving during any part of your set. Some people will go all the way down on squats, then come back up and lock their knees, rest for a second or two, then go back down. Do NOT do this or you will be making Baby Jesus cry. You should stay in constant motion without locking out on any exercise. Do not stop at the bottom of your bicep curls or any other exercise. Again: Keep moving for the whole set and do not lock out your arms or legs.

Weight Lifting Schedule

That's it. A full body workout that you will complete 2 1/2 or 3 days per week on one of the following schedules:

3 Days A Week

1 on, 1 off, 1 on, 1off, 1 on, 2 off. Usually people will do this by working out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with the other days completely off from weight training.

2 1/2 Days A Week

Experienced lifters may benefit even MORE from taking more rest days. Have you ever noticed that after a two day rest period, your next workout is awesome? You feel good, your strength is up, and you have a great workout. Then, near the end of the week you feel tired and drained? Lifting on the following schedule allows you to get full recovery and have a record-breaking workout each time: 1 on, 2 off, repeat over and over again.

Progression - You Need A Log

You must lift heavier each workout. If you live 100 pounds for 10 reps each workout for months, your body will have no reason to get bigger and stronger. You will not grow unless your weights are going up repeatedly. The only way to fully track this is to write down everything you do in a workout log.

If last time you did 225 lbs for 10 reps on the bench press, you must go to at least 230 lbs for 8 reps on your next workout. If you do get 8 reps, then on your next workout you should get at least 9 reps with the same weight. Once you can get 10 reps, you must raise the weight again. Don't wuss out! Look at your log from your last workout, and beat it on every exercise. Even if you only get ½ a rep more than before, you will be gaining.

It is very important that you also track your bodyweight and measurements so you can see how much progress you have made. I recommend weighing yourself before each workout and measuring a few of your important body parts (like arms, thighs and waist) before you go to the gym.

Cool! Click here to calculate your one rep max!

That's It? Why Does This Work?

Yes, that's it! It may sound crazy to somebody who is used to doing 30 sets for biceps and working out 6 days per week. Even crazier is lifting 6 days per week and not growing! Stop thinking that more is better! If you are a natural bodybuilder, you will not have near the recovery of a steroid user. Somebody on steroids can lift 6 days per week without overtraining, but you can't.

Many bodybuilders who are used to high volume training would laugh at a bodybuilder who does one set per exercise and only works out three days per week. I ask them how many times a week they work their biceps. Almost always, they say once per week on "Bicep Day". Once per week!? So they work their biceps, then they let them rest for 7 days in a row? After 1 or 2 days, their biceps are no longer sore... yet the wait another 5 or 6 days to work them again. Their biceps are slowly shrinking during this long rest period.

In our workout you isolate each bodypart THREE times per week with a full, heavy set. You hit it on Monday, let it rest one day, hit it on Wednesday, let it rest, hit is on Friday and then give the poor muscle a two day break... before starting the cycle again. So we work our biceps (and all muscles) three full times per week which is 12 times per month. They work their biceps 12 times in 3 months! And they call us lazy...

Why is this good for muscle building? Think about when you build a callous on your hand. If you were to rub your hand until is was cut and started bleeding, then wait a week, then do it again, you would simply have a scar. On the otherhand, if you were to rub it a little each day or every other day, it would slowly build up a resistance to the rubbing, thus forming a protective callous. This is the same idea with our workout.

Another interesting thing is that people who do 12 sets per bodypart usually do not go to full failure on each set. This would be almost impossible as it would nearly kill them! They will usually do their first few sets with ease because in the back of their mind they are saving their energy for the last few sets. Most of their sets are worthless since they are not going to failure. How often do you see somebody in your gym perform a full, balls to the wall set where they are almost about to die from the pain and effort. Not often. Usually these people are just going through the motion, getting a good "burn", while making a few grunts. Then they walk out feeling better than you because they did 12 sets for biceps and you only did one. Your muscles will only grow if they are forced too! Otherwise, we would all have huge legs just from walking around all day.

Our workout LOOKS easy on paper, since you are only doing one set per exercise. Trust me, if you go to failure on each exercise, you will be more physically exhausted than ever before. Usually, a person works just one or two muscles groups. They walk out of the gym with burning biceps or triceps. "Oooohh... my biceps are tired! I am da man!" With our workout, your entire body is being worked. You will walk out with every muscle screaming at you.

Tips On Each Exercise

Here are some tips for each exercise.

Squats: Since this is your first exercise, you may want to do 2 or 3 short and easy warm up sets to get ready. This will be your hardest exercise most likely, so we put it at the beginning so you can throw everything you can at it. Lifting to failure on squats means almost falling down on your last rep. Be sure to go all the way down and have a partner or rack there to help you if needed.

Leg Extensions: Use a full range of motion. Go all the way up and all the way down.

Leg Curls: Use a full range of motion and do not "jerk" the weight up.

DB Pullovers: Your first upper body exercise. Be sure to do a good warm up set so you do not injure yourself. Lift heavy and do not rest at the top of the movement.

BB Overhead Shoulder Press: Do these in front of your face, not behind the neck. You can injure your rotator cuff when doing them behind the neck. Go down until the bar is about at chin level, not lower. Slow, slow, slow reps!

Seated Rows: Keep your back straight up and down. Do not move far forward or lean far backwards. You want to be squeezing together your shoulder blades!

Bench Press: Slowly, go down and touch your chest around your nipple area. Do not use momentum to get the weight up. Use a spotter and get an extra rep with his help to really blast the muscle.

Barbell Bicep Curls: Do not sway! Keep your elbows at your side and do not move them. Squeeze your biceps upward.

Tricep Extensions: Keep your body straight up, do not lean over too much.

Weighted Pullups: If you can't do pull-ups, do pulldowns. Do these slowly and go all the way up and down. Use the wide-grip bent bar.

Weighted Dips: Strap on the weight! Keep your body straight up and down, do not lean over too much. You want to be working your triceps, not your lower chest.

Standing Calf Raises: Go all the way down and up. Don't use too heavy of a weight where you can only do partial reps. Feel the burn!

Abs: Choose a good exercise that uses some resistance. Don't work your abs on any off days. Abs are normal muscles just like your shoulders and chest!

Nutrition and Supplements

As you may have heard, nutrition accounts for at least 70% of your success. Try to build a brick house without bricks! It ain't happening. Your body can not build without building blocks like protein. Your body must also have a positive calorie balance so that your body is in weight gaining mode. The important thing is to be sure that you are getting enough calories and protein. If you aren't gaining, up your calories until you are. You should not be gaining fat, so cut your calories down if your bodyfat percentage starts to rise. There are many good articles on nutrition for mass gain here on Bodybuilding.com.

Cardio?

It is recommended that you keep your cardio down while doing this workout program. This is a bulking workout to use when you want to gain muscle mass. The more calories and energy you put towards cardio or other types of exercise, the less ability your body will have to grow muscle. If you must do cardio, keep it to no more than 20 minutes at a time, three days per week. Save the cardio for your cutting cycle!

Conclusion

Okay, your brain now has the knowledge it needs to turn your body into a muscular freak. You just have to get the motivation to actually do the program, follow it perfectly, take your supplements and eat right. Do you have what it takes? Are you going to have the body that other people are jealous of? Will you get stares from girls and guys everytime you walk into a room? Will you catch people staring at your biceps out of the corner of their eye? That is 100% up to you now. Try the program, follow it perfectly for at least 6 weeks and you will be on your way.

(c) Copyright 2000 The Pumping Station Weight Training

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