The 12-Week Shortcut To Size

Maybe you've never lifted anything heavier than your coffee mug. Maybe you once lifted regularly, but of late, your trips to the gym have become as infrequent as a day of sobriety for Charlie Sheen. In either case, we have good news, in the form of the perfect 12-week plan for going from beginner to advanced. Personal trainers are gonna hate us for this one; it might even put a few of them out of business. You, on the other hand, are going to love us. But enough about us; this is about you, only bigger, stronger, better. No, three months from now, Jay Cutler and Dexter Jackson won't quake in their flip-flops when you shed your sweats. But your physique will be vastly improved and ready to handle even more advanced training techniques.

How can anyone run the rack that fast? This beginner-to-advanced program is all about progression--of the exercises you perform, in the number of sets you complete per workout, in the amount of weight you hoist, and most important, in your training split. A training split refers to the way in which muscle groups are divided for training purposes. For example, some pro bodybuilders train only one major muscle group each workout. That's it.

So on Monday, they might train chest; on Tuesday, back; on Wednesday, legs; on Thursday, shoulders; and on Friday, arms; with abs thrown in on one or two of those days for good measure. This would be considered a five-day training split.

Splits come in all sorts of variations, but specific splits are better at certain points in your training evolution. The pro bodybuilder's example above isn't right for a beginner; it's not the best way to gain size and strength at that point.

The key is adjusting your training split as you advance. We've done some of the heavy lifting, by telling you what to do and when to do it. The rest is up to you.

The Smart Man's 12-Week Program

Say Hello to whole-body training, and teach your muscles how to contract properly with classic lifts designed to generate strength and mold muscles. By: Jim Stoppani Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | Phase 4 The 12-Week Shortcut to Size Phase 1: The One-Day Split Weeks 1-3 You don't need Einstein's IQ to guess that a whole-body training split involves training the entire body in every workout. It's ideal for beginners, allowing them to train each muscle group multiple times each week. With a whole-body training split, you can train each muscle group three times per week--say, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That sort of repetition helps train train the body's nervous system. See, before you can focus on muscle building, those muscles must first learn to contract properly. Learning how to bench pressor squat is like learning to ride a bike, and just as painful if you don't know what the heck you're doing. Your muscle fibers must learn how to contract in concert, allowing you to perform exercises correctly, and apply the most strength when you do it. We suggest training Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but any three days of the week will do, as long as training days are separated by rest days. Your body needs time to recover from the previous workout. Recovery is critical for becoming bigger and stronger. Weeks 1-3 Workouts Complete this workout three times per week with at least one full day of rest between workouts (e.g., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Bent-Over Barbell Row: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Squat: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Barbell Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Triceps Pressdown: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Barbell Curl: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Standing Calf Raise: 3 sets of 12-15 reps 1-2 minutes rest Crunches: 3 sets to failure 1-2 minutes rest Get A Printable Log Of The Phase 1 Workout. Printable Page PDF Document Click To Enlarge. Your Muscle Fibers Must Learn How To Contract In Concert, Allowing You To Perform Exercises Correctly. Phase 1 Rundown: Exercises: The exercises you'll be using are the tried-and-true mass builders, such as the bench press, squat, and barbell curl to name a few. The kind of stuff Arnold did. You'll be performing only one exercise per muscle group during this phase. More than that, and the workout would become prohibitively long and excessive for muscles not yet accustomed to such stimulus. Reps: Rep is the abbreviated term for repetition, which involves doing an exercise one time through its full range of motion. In this phase, aim for 10-12 reps per set. That is a good range in which to learn the exercise and build size and strength in the beginner's body. Exception: calves and abs. For those stubborn muscle groups, higher reps will stimulate more muscle growth. And when doing body weight ab exercises, such as the crunch, do as many reps as you can until reaching muscle failure. Weight: The amount of weight you use is determined by the rep range. Since you'll be doing 10-12 reps per set, choose a weight that prevents you from doing any more than 12 reps, but allows you to complete at least 10 reps. You should grow stronger over these three weeks, so once you can exceed 12 reps with the weight you're using, increase the weight by 5 or 10 pounds. Sets: A "set" refers to doing all reps for an exercise. Picking up the bar and performing as many reps as you can before putting down the bar completes one set. Typically you do several sets per exercise, resting in between those sets. In this phase you'll do three sets per exercise, just enough repetition to learn the exercise, yet not too much to over-extend the workout. Rest: During this phase, you'll rest 2-3 minutes between sets. The goal is to allow enough rest for you to stick fairly close to the rep range using the same weight on all three sets. This will help you gain more size and strength. In fact, research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that beginning lifters resting 2.5 minutes between sets gained more than twice as much muscle size on their arms as those taking one minute between sets. The exception here is calves and abs, which tend to recover faster between sets. For these exercises, rest 1-2 minutes between sets. Click To Enlarge. The Exercises You'll Be Using Are The Tried-And-True Mass Builders.

Arms and legs one day, torso the next - time to make your core and extremities earn their keep. By: Jim Stoppani Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | Phase 4 The 12-Week Shortcut to Size Phase 2: The Two-Day Split Weeks 4-6 After three weeks of whole-body training, your muscles need a new challenge. For the next three weeks, follow a two-day training split repeated twice a week, for a total of four weekly workouts. A two-day training split means splitting up your entire body into two separate workouts, training half in one workout and the other half in a second. In this particular two-day split, train all torso muscle groups (chest, back, shoulders and abs) in Workout 1 and all limb muscles (biceps,triceps, legs and calves) in Workout 2. A two-day training split allows for more exercises per muscle group. It also allows for training each muscle group with greater intensity. Upping the volume and intensity both produce progress. Training fewer muscle groups means more effort applied to each one in turn. This allows for going heavier and making sure each set goes to muscle failure. Weeks 4-6 Workouts Do each of the following workouts twice per week. For example, do workout 1 on Monday and then again on Thursday and do workout 2 on Tuesday and then again on Friday. Workout 1: Bench Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Barbell Row: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Barbell Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Barbell Shrug: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Reverse Crunch: 3 sets to failure 1-2 minutes rest Crunch: 3 sets to failure 1-2 minutes rest Get A Printable Log Of Phase 2 - Workout 1. Printable Page PDF Document Workout 2: Barbell Curl: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Incline Dumbbell Curl: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Close-Grip Bench Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Triceps Pressdown: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Squat: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Leg Extension: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Lying Leg Curl: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 2-3 minutes rest Standing Calf Raise: 2 sets of 15-20 reps 1-2 minutes rest Seated Calf Raise: 2 sets of 15-20 reps 1-2 minutes rest Get A Printable Log Of Phase 2 - Workout 2. Printable Page PDF Document Click To Enlarge. A Two-Day Training Split Allows For More Exercises Per Muscle Group. Phase 2 Rundown: Exercises: The exercises you'll be using will be the major mass builders you started in Phase 1, along with an added exercise or two for that same muscle group. For most muscle groups, this will allow you to do one multijoint mass builder and one single-joint or isolation exercise to build both overall size and shape. You'll also be able to work a new muscle group in this phase, the trapezius, the kite-shaped muscle at the base of your neck. Sets: You'll still doing three sets per exercise. However, since you're now doing two or three exercises per muscle group, total sets jump from 3 per muscle group to 6 (or 9, for legs). This increase in the amount of work done for each muscle group is important for continued progress. Reps: In this phase you'll drop reps down to 8-10 on the first exercise for each muscle group. This allows you to train a bit heavier than in the previous phase. Result: more strength, more muscle mass. On the second (and third) exercise, keep the reps higher at 10-12. Since these exercises will likely be new to you, the higher reps will help you to perfect them. For calves, increase the reps to 15-20. Weight: You'll be going heavier this phase, at least on the first exercise for each muscle group. Find a weight that limits you to 8-10 reps on the first exercise; and then a weight that allows you to complete 10-12 reps on the second and third exercises. Again, once you can do more than the rep range listed for each exercise, add 5-10 pounds, or whatever weight brings your reps into the listed rep range. Rest: During this phase, rest 2-3 minutes between sets. That way you can stick with heavier weight and compete more reps for maximizing strength andsize gains. Click To Enlarge. Upping The Volume And Intensity Both Produce Progress.

Push movements, pull movements, leg movements... you're already sweating, we know. By: Jim Stoppani Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | Phase 4 The 12-Week Shortcut to Size Phase 3: The Three-Day Split Weeks 7-9 After 6 weeks of consistent training you should be nailing your form on the exercises you've been doing. That's because your nervous system and muscle fibers are getting properly trained through the constant repetition. In week nine, step up the amount of work you're doing for each muscle group and the intensity, yet again. Remember, the goal here is to keep progressing. The only way to do that is to keep raising the bar with more work and higher intensity. Phase 3 progresses you to a Three-Day Training Split. So instead of dividing your body up into two different workouts, divide it among three different workouts. You'll train fewer muscle groups each workout, allowing you to do more exercises per muscle group while training each muscle group with even greater intensity. Although there are numerous ways to pair muscle groups to work with a three-day split, one of the most effective is also known as a push/pull/legs split. That means the body is broken down into a push day, where you train all the pushing muscles of the upper body (chest, shoulders, and triceps); a pull day, where you train all the pulling muscles of the upper body (back, trap, biceps, and forearms); and a leg day (legs and calves). Weeks 7-9 Workouts Workout 1: Push Day Bench Press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps 2-3 minutes rest Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 3 sets of 12-15 reps 2-3 minutes rest Barbell Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps 2-3 minutes rest Smith Machine Upright Row: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 12-15 reps 2-3 minutes rest Close-Grip Bench Press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps 2-3 minutes rest Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Triceps Pressdown: 3 sets of 12-15 reps 2-3 minutes rest Get A Printable Log Of Phase 3 - Workout 1. Printable Page PDF Document Workout 2: Legs Day Squat: 3 sets of 6-8 reps 2-3 minutes rest Leg Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Leg Extension: 3 sets of 12-15 reps 2-3 minutes rest Lying Leg Curl: 3 sets of 12-15 reps 2-3 minutes rest Standing Calf Raise: 3 sets of 20-25 reps 1-2 minutes rest Seated Calf Raise: 3 sets of 20-25 reps 1-2 minutes rest Reverse Crunch: 3 sets to failure 1-2 minutes rest Crunch: 3 sets to failure 1-2 minutes rest Oblique Crunch: 3 sets to failure 1-2 minutes rest Get A Printable Log Of Phase 3 - Workout 2. Printable Page PDF Document Workout 3: Pull Day Barbell Row: 3 sets of 6-8 reps 2-3 minutes rest Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Seated Cable Row: 3 sets of 12-15 reps 2-3 minutes rest Barbell Shrug: 3 sets of 6-8 reps 2-3 minutes rest Barbell Curl: 3 sets of 6-8 reps 2-3 minutes rest Incline Dumbbell Curl: 3 sets of 8-10 reps 2-3 minutes rest Preacher Curl: 3 sets of 12-15 reps 2-3 minutes rest Wrist Curl: 3 sets of 10-12 reps 1-2 minutes rest Get A Printable Log Of Phase 3 - Workout 3. Printable Page PDF Document Click To Enlarge. Instead Of Dividing Your Body Up Into Two Different Workouts, Divide It Among Three Different Workouts. Phase 3 Rundown: Exercises: The exercises in this phase are the ones you've been using in the previous phases with yet again another additional exercise added to most muscle groups. The point is to increase the amount of work for each muscle group. Although you could increase the amount of work simply by doing more sets per exercise, better to add more exercises. Different exercises target different areas of the muscles, a necessity for overall development and balanced shape. You'll also add an exercise for a new muscle group to target - the forearms. Sets: You'll still be doing 3 sets per exercise. However, since you're now adding another exercise for most muscle groups, you'll be doing an extra 3 sets per muscle group. Reps: In this phase, drop the reps to 6-8 for first exercise for each major muscle group, excluding calves, abs, and forearms). On the second exercise, drop down to 8-10 reps. But on the last exercise, increase to 12-15 reps per set. This will help you to develop muscle strength, muscle size, and muscle definition. Weight: As you have been doing in phases 1 and 2, choose the proper weight that allows you to hit the listed rep range for each exercise. And continue to add weight as you can compete more reps than the listed rep range. Rest: During this phase, rest 2-3 minutes between sets, allowing you to stick with heavier weight while complete more reps for maximum size and strength gains. Do each workout once per week allowing at least one day of rest between workouts Click To Enlarge. Different Exercises Target Different Areas Of The Muscles, A Necessity For Overall Development And Balanced Shape. Multiple muscle groups worked daily over a 4-day split for a complete body construction. By: Jim Stoppani Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | Phase 4 The 12-Week Shortcut to Size Phase 4: The Four-Day Split Weeks 10-12 After 9 weeks of consistent training with gradual progression in your exercises, total sets, weight, and your training split, you're in the home stretch to becoming an advanced bodybuilder. By now you should be realizing incredible gains in your muscle strength, as well as in your mass and muscle definition. This phase completes your transition. When finished, you'll be ready to train with the best of them. Now you'll be training your entire body over the course of four workouts. This will help you to further increase the amount of work you can do for each muscle group and the intensity you can put into training each muscle group. This four-day training split will split up your body into a chest, triceps and abs workout; back, biceps and forearms workout; legs and calves workout; and shoulders, traps, and abs workout. Yes, ab day comes twice per week now. Since abs help maintain your upright posture all day, they can withstand more frequent training. In fact, they respond well to it. Once you've completed this final phase, you will be ready to take on advanced high intensity training techniques such as - supersets, drop sets, rest-pause, and extended sets to name a few. You can find more info on these techniques right here at Bodybuilding.com, as well as my own website www.jimstoppani.com. Weeks 10-12 Workouts Do each workout below once per week--for example, Workout 1 on Monday, Workout 2 on Tuesday, Workout 3 on Thursday, and Workout 4 on Friday. Workout 1: Bench Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps 2-3 minutes rest Dumbbell Incline Bench Press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps 2-3 minutes rest Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 3 sets of 15-20 reps 1 minute rest Cable Crossover: 3 sets of 15-20 reps 1 minute rest Close-Grip Bench Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps 2-3 minutes rest Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension: 3 sets of 6-8 reps 2-3 minutes rest Triceps Pressdown: 3 sets of 15-20 reps 1 minute rest Hanging Leg Raise: 3 sets to failure 1 minute rest Bicycle Crunch: 3 sets to failure 1 minute rest Plank: 3 sets of 1 minute holds 1 minute rest Get A Printable Log Of Phase 4 - Workout 1. Printable Page PDF Document Workout 2: Barbell Row: 3 sets of 4-6 reps 2-3 minutes rest Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 6-8 reps 2-3 minutes rest Seated Cable Row: 3 sets of 15-20 reps 1 minute rest Barbell Curl: 3 sets of 4-6 reps 2-3 minutes rest Incline Dumbbell Curl: 3 sets of 6-8 reps 2-3 minutes rest Preacher Curl: 3 sets of 15-20 reps 1 minute rest Wrist Curl: 3 sets of 12-15 reps 1 minute rest Reverse-Grip Wrist Curl: 3 sets of 12-15 reps 1 minute rest Get A Printable Log Of Phase 4 - Workout 2. Printable Page PDF Document Workout 3: Squat: 3 sets of 4-6 reps 2-3 minutes rest Leg Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps 2-3 minutes rest Leg Extension: 3 sets of 15-20 reps 1 minute rest Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets of 4-6 reps 2-3 minutes rest Lying Leg Curl: 3 sets of 15-20 reps 1 minute rest Standing Calf Raise: 3 sets of 25-30 reps 1 minute rest Seated Calf Raise: 3 sets of 25-30 reps 1 minute rest Get A Printable Log Of Phase 4 - Workout 3. Printable Page PDF Document Workout 4: Barbell Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps 2-3 minutes rest Smith Machine Upright Row: 3 sets of 6-8 reps 2-3 minutes rest Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 15-20 reps 1 minute rest Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise: 3 sets of 15-20 reps 1 minute rest Barbell Shrug: 3 sets of 4-6 reps 2-3 minutes rest Dumbbell Shrug: 3 sets of 15-20 reps 1 minute rest Reverse Crunch: 3 sets to failure 1 minute rest Crunch: 3 sets to failure 1 minute rest Oblique Crunch: 3 sets of 15-20 reps 1 minute rest Get A Printable Log Of Phase 4 - Workout 4. Printable Page PDF Document Click To Enlarge. Once You've Completed This Final Phase, You Will Be Ready To Take On Advanced High Intensity Training Techniques. Phase 4 Rundown: Exercises: The exercises in this phase are ones you've been using in the previous phases, with yet another additional exercise added to most muscle groups. Triceps and biceps will not need an additional exercise added. These smaller muscle groups generally require less total work than the larger muscle groups (i.e., chest, back, shoulders and legs). Arm progress will come from the weight and rep ranges used. Sets: Continue doing 3 sets per exercise. However, since you're now adding yet another exercise for most groups, you'll be doing an extra 3 sets for these muscle groups. Reps: In this phase, drop the reps to 4-6 on the first exercise you do for each muscle group, excluding calves, abs and forearms. This will maximize your strength gains. On the second exercise, drop to 6-8 reps per set for building strength and muscle mass. The final exercise or exercises will see the reps jump to 15-20 per set. Research from Japan has shown that combining heavy weight and lower reps with lighter weight sets for higher reps enhances both strength and muscle mass gains. Weight: As you have been doing in the previous 3 phases, choose the proper weight for each exercise that allows you to hit the listed rep range. Continue to increase the weight as you can compete more reps than the listed rep range. Rest: During this phase, rest 2-3 minutes between sets where you are using heavier weight and fewer reps. However, drop rest periods between sets down to one minute on the lighter weight sets where higher reps are performed. Doing higher reps with shorter rest periods will help to maximize growth hormone levels, which will lead to further gains in size and strength, as well an encourage fat loss for greater definition. Click To Enlarge. The Exercises In This Phase Are Ones You've Been Using In The Previous Phases, With Yet Another Additional Exercise.