Hypertrophy/Bodybuilding Routine

[Kelei]

This routine is designed for hypertrophy/bodybuilding (physique development) purposes, it is not designed with sports/functional performance in mind. I have done my best to make it an effective, practical and flexible routine so as to be suitable for almost anyone. This routine is a culmination of all my previous routines and includes all of my updated recommendations, as such I will no longer be supporting/recommending my previous superseded/obsolete routines.

In my experience/opinion training each muscle group twice per week (or every 3-4 days on average) works well for just about everyone, assuming all other variables are appropriate of course. I believe that a 3 day split provides an ideal balance between volume per session and frequency of sessions.

In an effort to keep the routine flexible I prefer to not assign workouts to specific days of the week, rather I recommend that you simply rotate through D1, D2 and D3 workouts regardless of what day of the week it happens to be, if you performed a D2 workout the last time you were in the gym you should perform a D3 workout the next time you're in the gym. Rest days are taken whenever you feel as though you need one, just pick up from where you left off.

D1 - Chest, front delts, triceps
D2 - Upper back, rear delts, biceps
D3 - Thighs, lower back

* Side delts, calves and abs can be trained daily, these muscle groups respond exceptionally well to high frequency training.

I believe that training at a moderate intensity (75% etc) with moderate reps is the most efficient way to promote hypertrophy, your primary goal should be to increase your moderate rep strength.

I believe that training to/near failure (with failure being defined as performing as many full reps as possible, you should never actually fail to complete a rep) is important for promoting neural strength adaptions.

I believe that aiming for a total rep target rather than counting the number of sets you perform is the best way to manage total tonnage (volume), instead of aiming to complete a particular number of sets per exercise you should instead aim to complete a particular number of total reps per exercise and perform as many sets as it takes until you reach your total rep target.

In the past I have recommended rest-pause training and i still stand by this recommendation although I want to make it clear that straight sets are a perfectly acceptable option as well, at the end of the day it doesn't really mater how long you choose to rest between sets, short rest periods between sets will result in a greater number of sets being required to reach your total rep target, long rest periods between sets will result in a fewer number of sets being required to reach your total rep target, go with personal preference.

I recommend using an 8-15RM for most exercises, you should use your first set of each exercise as your measure of progress and add more weight once you can complete 12 reps in your first set for large exercises and 15 reps in your first set for small exercises. For calves and abs I recommend 15-30 reps.

It's practically impossible to recommend exercises suitable for everyone so I'll simply list my personal selections and you can substitute where necessary:

D1 - Wide grip bench press (elbows flared, bar lowered to upper pecs, feet on bench, no back arching), incline bench press (low incline, moderate grip width, no back arching), flyes/crossovers, rope pressdowns

D2 - Wide grip pull-ups (or pulldowns), seated rows, reverse flyes/crossovers, preacher curls

D3 - Romanian deadlifts, front squats, leg curls, leg extensions

* Side delts, calves, abs - Side lateral raises, standing calf raises, seated calf raises, ab rollouts.

In regards to volume (number of total/target reps per exercise) recommendations I firmly believe that more is better (within reason), I recommend performing as much volume as you have time for and can tolerate without exhausting yourself. 30-50 total reps per exercise (double or triple that for calves and abs) is a good starting point although don't be afraid of going even higher if you have the time and work capacity.

Due to the high training volume recommended in this routine it's essential that deloading periods are incorporated, I recommend 4 week blocks/cycles wherein you train (load) for 3 weeks followed by 1 week of complete rest (deload) from the gym. Deloading is mandatory and will make or break the entire routine, I can't stress enough how important/essential deloading is.

In regards to nutrition my general advice is:

- Most of your protein intake should come from meat, eggs and dairy products
- Most of your carbohydrate intake should come from starch (rice, pasta, potatoes, bread etc)
- Don't attempt a low carb diet during this routine, you'll hit a wall very quickly, aim for 200 grams per day as a bare minimum
- Most of your fat intake should come from animal sources, you need ample amounts of saturated fat, cholesterol and arachidonic acid in your diet

Disclaimer: Please be mindful of where your food comes from and try to keep animal welfare in mind, I'm an animal lover and as such I do my best to avoid unnecessary animal cruelty, even simple things like buying free range eggs instead of cage eggs will make a difference. I would urge you all to research the meat/dairy/egg industries in your respective countries/states and come to your own conclusions as to what animal products you are/aren't willing to eat, I have a moral responsibility to bring this to your attention.

[EmperorRyker]

In case this doesn't get addressed in the other thread (sorry for the double post), I have another deload question for Kelei and others doing the routine. I got injured and I'm not doing the RDL right now, and I've only replaced it with ham curls for the time being. Everything else I'm kind of stubbornly pushing through without change. Even though my back hurts on some stuff, I don't think I'm weaker on those other lifts. So should I still deload as scheduled, or wait for my back to heal, and then treat the injury as kind of suspending the deload (i.e. say I got injured on day 15, so that when I can start with RDLs, I'd have 6 more days before taking a deload)?

[klaximilian]

Thanks Kelei. Routine as always looks solid. A couple questions:

1) Are you suggesting that we can add lateral raises, calf raises, and ab work daily?

2) Why ab rollouts vs. other abs exercises?

[MichielN]

Subbed.

[xxx_jfb_xxx]

Subbed

[davo26]

subbed

[Yeahbrah333]

Looks good but Wide grip bench press (elbows flared, bar lowered to upper pecs, feet on bench this I cannot comprehend


Can u also give recommendation for weight gain during bulk weight loss during cut ? Lower calories on rest days ?






^ pls give recommendations as to conclude the diet advice

[CrayJay]

I'm in.

[Vytt]

Looks good. Thanks Kelei!
Do you recommend to keep carbs level same even during de-load week?

[Squid24]

Looks good but Wide grip bench press (elbows flared, bar lowered to upper pecs, feet on bench this I cannot comprehend

I did not know ppl still did it this way. I did this 30ys ago

[marcellonez]

Nice. Seems like a "bro split" (push, pull, legs) that would actually work!

[nerynery]

Nice, very similar to the previous routine, just with some minor updates (deload, side delts any day, etc).

Two questions though:

1- Why the big break-up with chin-ups? You used to love them, but don't recommend them anymore since last routine.

2 - Would it be better to add chin-ups to day 2, or just increase the volume, lets say, from 40 reps to 60 per exercise?

Thanks


Edit: Is this a list of acceptable subs?

Any BB Press with DB Press
Preacher Curls with Incl. DB Curls
Front Squats with High-bar Back Squat or Leg Press

[Jasonk282]

Nice. Seems like a "bro split" (push, pull, legs) that would actually work!

Bro splits are not done 6 days a week.

In my experience/opinion training each muscle group twice per week (or every 3-4 days on average) works well for just about everyone

So D1 then 3 days later D1 again. So if you do D1 on say Monday, on Thursday you'll do D1 again.

[grouchyjarhead]

Looks good but Wide grip bench press (elbows flared, bar lowered to upper pecs, feet on bench this I cannot comprehend

Flaring elbows on a bench press seems like a good way towards a shoulder injury in my personal opinion.

This is why I personally wouldn't follow the advice of someone you know nothing about, has no pictures or training videos, claims insanely high PRs, and has no credentials to speak of. Just my opinion.

[Jasonk282]

Flaring elbows on a bench press seems like a good way towards a shoulder injury in my personal opinion.

This is why I personally wouldn't follow the advice of someone you know nothing about, has no pictures or training videos, claims insanely high PRs, and has no credentials to speak of. Just my opinion.

BTW...

It's practically impossible to recommend exercises suitable for everyone so I'll simply list my personal selections and you can substitute where necessary:

[grouchyjarhead]

I'm just scratching my head at even mentioning for people to do those. That's like a Bench Press 101 mistake.

But hey, if he shares videos of him moving the weights he claims, I'll flare my elbows too.

[img]http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/********/000/912/212/a8e.jpg[/img]

[EmperorRyker]

Flaring elbows on a bench press seems like a good way towards a shoulder injury in my personal opinion.

I agree and also think that it's better to bench as you would normally. This seems like a valid criticism of the routine. Having said that, I like all of Kelei's routines and go with the setup and most of his advice regardless, because from his posts he does seem knowledgeable and isn't just pulling stuff out of thin air. And, as Jason mentioned, you can do the routine, but bench with elbows tucked. That's what I do, at least. Other than that, I try to stick to his exercise recommendations as best I can.

As for following Kelei's advice, I don't think anything you mentioned should play much of a role. The credentials are in people anecdotally having success with his routines, and everyone should choose a routine based on how sound it is rather than who's recommending it anyway.

[grouchyjarhead]

I have no problem with rest pause training. I think it's just a silly thing to recommend to beginners and to do for as high of reps as he claims.

[Jasonk282]

I have no problem with rest pause training. I think it's just a silly thing to recommend to beginners and to do for as high of reps as he claims.

His previous programs had them doing them for 20-30 total reps a workout. That's about the same volume as Stronglifts per lift.

[grouchyjarhead]

His previous programs had them doing them for 20-30 total reps a workout. That's about the same volume as Stronglifts per lift.

Yeah but that was just for "beginners" which shouldn't be doing this anyways. And that should probably be the upper limits of what you do.

Then again, this is the same guy who claimed he was squatting 295kg/649 pounds for 100 reps total in this style, at a BW of 250.

Take it with a grain of salt, that's all I'm saying.

Off my soapbox now, and taking my popcorn with me.

[EmperorRyker]

His previous programs had them doing them for 20-30 total reps a workout. That's about the same volume as Stronglifts per lift.

Plus, if you think about it, the first set is a 10 RM, and there's a big difference between a proper 5 x 5 and a 25-rep workout going 10, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3.

I will say, though, that switching to rest-pause training has made me focus more on form than before. Sure, I'm grinding some reps out, but when doing later sets, it's easier for me to justify that I should, say, bench properly and focus on form, rather than just push the weight to get the rep count. Because in the end, the logic is that it doesn't matter whether you get 3 or 4 reps, as long as you go to positive failure on that set.

Oh, and personally, I'm doing 30 reps for each exercise, and I can't see myself going any higher anytime soon, to be honest. Doing 50 reps on front squats seems brutal, especially when your breaks are 10 - 15 seconds

[Yeahbrah333]

I have no problem with rest pause training. I think it's just a silly thing to recommend to beginners and to do for as high of reps as he claims.

He said rest-pause training is just a method of getting the reps done and that straight sets are a perfect alternative which would just take less sets per lift.

[EmperorRyker]

Yeah but that was just for "beginners" which shouldn't be doing this anyways. And that should probably be the upper limits of what you do.

Then again, this is the same guy who claimed he was squatting 295kg/649 pounds for 100 reps total in this style, at a BW of 250.

Take it with a grain of salt, that's all I'm saying.

Why do you say beginners shouldn't do this, though?

Also, I agree with the taking it with a grain of salt recommendation, but that goes for everything. Personally, I am taking everything given here with a grain of salt, but it seems to pass the test. However, I don't know why you keep referring to his claims (when did he claim that anyway?), because that's actually irrelevant to the routine. You can't just discard the latter based on something he might have said however much time ago.

[xxx_jfb_xxx]

Tom Brady's grandma could do this routine, beginners should be able to.

[Vytt]

It's not easiest routine for beginners but you get used to it. I don't see any issues with recommending it to beginners ... I did it myself and got really great gains from it.

[64509chvl]

Good stuff

[klaximilian]

Kelei,

What % of your daily fats would you suggest for saturated fats? How about MUFA/PUFA? Would you alter the %'s if your goals were altered to cut rather than to bulk or recomp?

thanks.

[ThatOneLurker]

His previous programs had them doing them for 20-30 total reps a workout. That's about the same volume as Stronglifts per lift.

Looking a lot leaner since last I saw you. Nice.

[Dan3317]

I don't do Kelei's routine, but I read his info in his other thread and ended up switching out movements for the ones he recommend; RDL, Front Squats, and Seated Cable Rows as I have never actually used those movements before except just recently, and I'm glad I did, I like them a lot. So definitely props on that advice.

[Jasonk282]

Looking a lot leaner since last I saw you. Nice.

Down 30 lbs since Oct and been recomping since Nov.