Day 2 – Chest & Triceps
Chest
(1) Flat Dumbbell/Barbell Bench Press
(2) Flat Dumbbell/Barbell Bench Press
(3) Incline Dumbbell/Barbell Bench Press
(4) Incline Dumbbell/Barbell Bench Press
(5) Flat Dumbbell Flies
(6) Flat Dumbbell Flies

Triceps
(1) Decline Tricep Extensions or Flat Overhead EZ Bar
Extensions (French Curls)
(2) Decline Tricep Extensions or Flat Overhead EZ Bar
Extensions
(3) Decline Tricep Extensions or Flat Overhead EZ Bar
Extensions
(4) Tricep Cable Push Downs (or Close Grip Bench Press if you
don’t have access to the necessary equipment)
(5) Tricep Cable Push Downs
(6) Tricep Cable Push Down

Day 3 – Biceps, Forearms & Abs
BICEPS
(1) Standing Dumbbell Curls (Alternate)
(2) Standing Dumbbell Curls
(3) EZ Bar Curl
(4) EZ Bar Curl
(5) EZ Bar Curl
(6) Barbell Curls (or Incline Dumbbell Curls)
(7) Barbell Curls

FOREARMS
(1) Dumbbell Wrist Curls
(2) Dumbbell Wrist Curls
ABS (for picture guides see Total Six Pack Abs)
(1) Weighted Decline Sit-Ups
(2) Weighted Decline Sit-Ups
(3) Crunches
(4) Crunches
(5) Weighted Leg Raises
(6) Weighted Leg Raises

Day 4 – Shoulders & Traps
SHOULDERS
(1) Standing Dumbbell/Barbell Shoulder Press
(2) Standing Dumbbell/Barbell Shoulder Press
(3) Flies (Dumbbell Lateral Raise)
(4) Flies
(5) Flies
(6) Bent Over Rear Lateral Raises
(7) Bent Over Rear Lateral Raises
TRAPS
(1) Upright Rows
(2) Upright Rows
(3) Upright Rows

Day 5 – Back
BACK
(1) Barbell Row
(2) Barbell Row
(3) Barbell Row
(4) Deadlift
(5) Deadlift
(6) Deadlift

with a certain amount of sets and stuff for the full 8-12 weeks would i just want to keep these exact same exercises for all of these diff body parts or switch them up? or would i wait to switch them up on the next 8-12 week cycle. thanks for your time

it’s bet to keep the schedule for the full 8-12 weeks. This is not set in stone, but generally prorgessive overload means increasing one of the training modalities, while keeping the others the same. If you switch the schedule around, an increase in the poundage (or even a decrease!) may come as a result of changing the order of the exercises or the split, instead of from you actually getting stronger.

Make sense?

So the short answer is keep it the same and PUSH HARD.

Cheers,

Yavor

thanks man! Mark is ripped and knows his stuff too! I think your approach is spot on – emphasizing fun activities and increasing strength gradually. I follow your, as well as Alex’ and Glenn’s blogs and you all guys look great. And have too much fun lol.

Cheers,

Yavor

Cool site you have here, I can really relate to it.
Man your friend is ripped!

I go to gym a little but don’t really have the desire to get that big and go on massive supplement/diet/training regimes.

I like being fit,lean,toned and making a little progress in size over time. I prefer cardio and martial arts, rather be able to fight than bench 150kg’s

Keep up the cool site!
Diggy

Mark is spot on. Me and my personal training clients have benefited from his workout approach when it comes to pure hypertrophy. Make sure you are aggressively pursuing the next increase – whether more reps or more weight, and you can’t help but become more muscular!

Keep kicking a** with your blog!

Cheers,

Yavor

I have followed Mark’s advice for quite some time and I must say that I like his sensible approach – espcially emphazising on progressive overload and great technique (and not always “right form”, but bio-optimized as I am pretty sure he calls it)

Take care brother,
Alex

6-10 is good for muscle growth. For abs – once in a while switch to low (1-3, 3-6) and high (20-30+) reps.
Mark’s book is solid if you want pure hypertrophy.

Good luck!

Yavor

exactly man – but people don’t realize they need to HUSTLE in their workouts. Doing 3 sets of 10 or 5 sets of 5 or whatever isn’t enough. But doing those sets and giving all you got, AND coming next workout and improving upon your last workout – now this would give results…

Yavor

size will come buddy – just need to use progressive overload, hustle each workout, eat enough to have energy for your workouts and recover for the next. You can be in deficit the rest of the time.

Cheers,

Yavor

No man – don’t evert stuff yourself like a pig – most of the weight you gain will be fat. Just focus on progressive overload and you will gain muscle.

YAvor