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Cutting The Confusion On Training Splits

Unfortunately there are so many different views on training methods that it can all be a little confusing. The trouble is that every persons body will not act in the same way when put under serious microtrauma or muscle damage. Some of the various problems body-builders encounter are over-training, under-training and poor nutrition, resulting in a plateau. For optimum results you need to give your body the correct amount of training, combined with the right delivery of nutrients and adequate time to repair. Everyone responds differently to training and the amount of repair time needed vary greatly.

Ever see that guy in the gym and watch the workout he does and wonder how he gets so huge? I know I have in the past witnessed huge guys doing triple drop sets and chuckled about their lack of training knowledge. The guys which grow easily using traditional body-building workouts are genetically gifted mesomorphs. There’s also the guys who’s bodies respond well to heavy training and need little effort to maintain mass, and lets not forget the guys who take advantage of steroids and use the anabolic route to get huge.

When most body-builders share advice they tend to see things from only one perspective. If they used an isolation split workout doing single body parts each day and they got huge by doing it, they assume that every person will get huge by following this workout and as a result they recommend this workout to everyone. This presents problems since people tend to follow a training path which is of little benefit to their body type.

A Bit About Muscle fibers

  • Type I :- These are known as slow twitch endurance fibers. They prefer to use fat as a primary energy source and contract slowly. These have little impact on mass gain. They are generally stimulated when when an activity is greater than 2 minutes.
  • Type IIa :- These are known as fast twitch oxidative-glycotic fibers. These are somewhere between type I and type IIb, however training can have a large influence on how these fibers act. Endurance training makes them take on a role more like type I and strength training makes them take on a role more like type IIb. They are relied on in exercises between 15 seconds – 2 minutes.
  • Type IIb :- These are known as fast twitch glycotic fibers. They prefer to use glucose as a primary energy source and contract quickly. They perform explosive movements and have the most influence on mass gain.

Performing high repetition exercises with light weights stimulates type IIa fibers to act more like type I fibers and take up an endurance type role. Performing less repetitions with a heavier load stimulates the type IIa fibers to take on an explosive movement role and act more like type IIb fibers. This should be taken into consideration when conducting a training split as your growth potential will be reduced by performing low repetition training, as well as the needless consumption of energy which could be used to build other muscles.

Enough Of This Rubbish Where’s My Split…..

Ok! ok! relax it’s coming but first lets just get a few things straight. This training split is a mass gaining split, aimed at someone who is hyper-tropically challenged or in other words - finds it difficult to add mass but with an advanced training background. It will deliver a sufficient amount of proportionally correct muscle damage , without over-training and also give adequate time for recovery when combined with a good nutritional program.

The split consists of four workouts per week consisting of an upper body and lower body split.

Monday – Upper Body Workout 1

Close Grip Incline Bench Press

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Close Grip Row Grip Pull Ups

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps
  • Perform with additional weight if needed

Close Grip Seated Rows

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Upright Rows

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Dips

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps
  • Perform with additional weight if needed

Hammer Curl

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Skull Crushers

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Tuesday – Lower Body Workout 1

Front Squat

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Lunge

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Deadlift

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Abdominal Crunch

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Back Extension

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps
  • Perform with additional weight if needed

Calf Raise (45 degree)

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Seated Leg Curl

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Friday – Upper Body Workout 2

Incline Dumbell Press

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Dumbell Flye

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Military Press

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Reverse Flye

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

T-Bar Row

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Dumbell Tricep Extension

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Shrug

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Saturday – Lower Body Workout 2

Hack squat

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

45 Degree Leg Press

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Trunk Twist

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Donkey Raise

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Stiff Leg Dead Lift

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Single Leg Lunges

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Bent Over Rows

  • Perform 3 Sets of 5-7 Reps

Additional Information

Do not attempt this split unless you have an intermediate fitness level

This program is designed for a hard gainer

Workouts are to be no longer than 60 minutes

Any questions please email Ste

— Ste @ 11:57 pm, November 17, 2006


8 Comments »

  1. any suggestions for a 4 days upper-lower body split for beginner/intermediate?

    Comment by Stone69 — July 26, 2007 @ 9:47 pm

  2. Sure, the one above :)

    Comment by Ste — July 27, 2007 @ 1:11 pm

  3. I notice on the above split, there is only one exercise directed to the biceps, (hammer curls). Is this because the biceps get enough work with all the other exercises combined?

    Comment by Darren Dame — February 9, 2008 @ 7:34 pm

  4. The lower number of bicep exercises is due to the biceps being trained on nearly every back exercise. People focus too much on biceps when really the main strength gains come from the compound exercises.

    Any more comments and questions please start a forum topic, many more eyes will see it and much more advice will be given.

    Comment by Phil — May 25, 2008 @ 4:14 pm

  5. great trainings cheers every1!

    Comment by Filip — October 15, 2008 @ 10:32 am

  6. Since there is only 1 bicep workout is that enough or can i add something of my own? If so do u have any suggestions.

    Comment by Erich — January 29, 2009 @ 3:52 am

  7. Hi Erich,
    The lower number of bicep exercises is due to the biceps being trained on nearly every back exercise. People focus too much on biceps when really the main strength gains come from the compound exercises.

    Comment by Phil — March 30, 2009 @ 4:48 pm

  8. To All,
    Please post comments and questions in the forums.
    Site posts are rarely checked whereas forums posts are viewed daily.

    Comment by Phil — March 30, 2009 @ 5:22 pm

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