4-5 Day Workout for Building Muscle & Strength
Coming off a shredding phase and looking to build back some of the strength you lost while adding muscle size simultaneously?
The following workout was written just for you.
The workout is an 8 week program that uses an upper/lower workout split.
The majority of lifts are compound movements in the 2-8 rep range. Each day also has some isolation exercises that fall more into the muscle hypertrophy rep range of 8-20.
The goal is to start out using a higher rep range on your heavy lifts as you gradually increase the weight up until you are ready for a heavy triple and a heavy double. This not only promotes muscle growth, but also aids in preventing injury and CNS fatigue by not taking each lift to a heavy max out single.
For those of you wanting to add in a 5th workout day, there is an optional Upper C workout that can be performed during the week. This workout focuses more on isolating the arms and shoulders.
For rest periods, on all sets greater than 5 reps limit rest to 1 minute. For all sets less than 5 reps, rest for 3 minutes prior to performing your next set.
Lower Workout A
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell Back Squat | 5 | 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 |
| Trap Bar Deadlift | 5 | 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 |
| Leg Extension | 3 | 15-20 |
| Leg Curl | 3 | 15-20 |
| Seated Calf Raise | 4 | 20-25 |
Upper Workout A
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Chest Supported Row | 5 | 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 |
| Bench Press | 5 | 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 |
| Pull Up | 4 | 8-12 |
| Seated Cable Row | 3 | 12, 10, 8 |
| Standing Overhead Press | 4 | 12, 12, 10, 8 |
Lower Workout B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Front Squat | 5 | 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 |
| Romanian Deadlift | 5 | 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 |
| Lateral Lunge | 3 | 10-15 |
| Hyperextension | 4 | 10-15 |
| Standing Machine Calf Raise | 4 | 20-25 |
Upper Workout B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Overhead Press | 5 | 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 |
| Machine T-Bar | 5 | 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 |
| One Arm Dumbbell Row | 4 | 12, 10, 8, 8 |
| Chin Up | 3 | 8-12 |
| Dumbbell Incline Bench Press | 4 | 12, 12, 10, 8 |
Optional Upper C
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Close Grip Bench Press | 5 | 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 |
| Overhead Cable Tricep Extension | 4 | 12, 12, 10, 8 |
| EZ Bar Curl | 5 | 8, 6, 5, 5, 5 |
| A1. Incline Dumbbell Curl | 2 | 12 |
| A2. Preacher Dumbbell Curl on Incline Bench | 2 | 12 |
| Lateral Raise | 3 | 10-12 |
| Reverse Pec Dec | 3 | 10-12 |
As far as progression goes, my recommendation would be to perform the 4 day split for 8 weeks. Each workout, try to increase the total amount of weight used. After 8 weeks, you can perform the program again incorporating the 5th day as an added form of progression.
On bodyweight exercises, increase the number of reps. Once you are able to complete all of the higher end of reps listed, add weight to the exercise. On lateral lunges, for example, you can perform them holding a dumbbell in a goblet fashion.
If you struggle to perform pull ups and chin ups for 8 reps, begin by performing them to failure and finish the rest of the set by performing eccentric only pull ups and eccentric only chin ups.
If you’re concerned about abdominal isolation work not being present in the program, you can include them in your variation of this program. Simply tack on an abdominal exercise to the end of each workout (preferably targeting a different function of the abs each time).
Additionally, heavy row variations are performed as chest supported exercises to cut down on the amount of stress on the lower back. If you feel like you can handle heavy non-supported variations, you're more than welcome to substitute them in instead.
If you have any further questions about the workout program, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below for us to answer.