10 Week Mass Building Workout Plan

You have 10 weeks to make gains.

What's the best plan of attack? What workout plan would I recommend? I get these questions a lot. I'm here to answer them. Today. Right now. Let's roll.

So you're a beginner. Or you're a gym veteran that can't seem to pack on any decent muscle mass. You're feeling hopeless. Helpless. Why even bother trying? Your gains suck.

We're going to turn that around.

Related: The Ultimate Muscle Building Diet

This 10 week mass building workout will deliver results... If you stick to the plan. In fact, you can run it as long as you'd like.

A rank beginner could see a three pound increase in muscle gains during this period of time. That should be the norm. A more seasoned lifter who hasn't seen the best muscle gains should add about two pounds of muscle during these 10 weeks.

That doesn't seem like much? It is. Let's visualize for a moment...
A three ounce steak is equal to the size and thickness of a deck of cards. Three pounds of muscle is equivalent to 16 of these steaks, or 16 decks of cards. Imagine 16 decks stacked on top of one another. That's a substantial muscle mass accumulation for only 10 weeks.

10 weeks is 70 days. Basically, you'll be adding a deck's worth of muscle mass every 4.4 days. A late beginner who has added some muscle mass, but not an exceptional amount, might "only" be adding a deck's worth of mass every 6 to 7 days.

So to recap, here are the expectations during the coming 10 weeks:

• Beginner - 2 to 3 pounds of muscle, or up to 16 decks of cards or three ounce steaks.
• Late Beginner, or Previously Slow Gaining Lifter - 1.5 to 2 pounds of muscle, or up to 8 to 11 decks of cards or three ounce steaks.
• Intermediate - 1 to 1.5 pounds of muscle, or up to 5 to 8 decks of cards or three ounce steaks.

What about women? Good question. I will admit, muscle gain rates for women haven't been studied much. With that said, a proper diet should yield about one third of the gains that men experience.

The Mass Building Workout

You will be lifting four days per week using an upper lower split. Major muscle groups will be targeted with:

• Heavy Work
• Rest-Pause Work

Heavy Work. During your heavy sets, there is one rule to remember: Push each set for as many reps as possible. Stop a set when you feel like you might fail on the next rep, or if your form starts to deteriorate. We want progress, but only quality progress.

No reps with sloppy form. Stay healthy.

Rest-Pause Work. Perform as many quality reps as you can during a given block of time. Rest as needed.

No need to train to failure. That's not the point. We are trying to fatigue a muscle, and beat it while it's down. This is an excellent way to stimulate muscle growth and experience a mind-blowing pump.

It will also keep your heart rate elevated, help you to build strength, and strength endurance.

Progression. The focus of every exercise is progressive overload. We are trying to make every set count, and add reps and weight when possible. Without this pillar in place, you're not forcing the body to respond and grow.

No progression, limited gains. Got it? Good.

We are using my Rep Goal System. For heavy work, add weight to the bar when you reach your rep goal total. Add up reps for each set. If this total is equal to or greater than your rep goal, add weight the next time you perform that exercise.

For rest-pause work, add weight to an exercise when you are able to perform the number of reps (or more) listed as the rep goal for that block of time.

Here is a sample schedule:

• Day 1 - Lower Body A
• Day 2 - Upper Body A
• Day 3 - Off
• Day 4 - Lower Body B
• Day 5 - Upper Body B
• Day 6 - Off
• Day 7 - Off