If you have tried and failed in the past to make major changes to how you look with your top off, now is the time to make some major changes to the way you train. And making the requisite changes to your weights workouts couldn’t be easier thanks to this four-week workout that – if followed to the letter – will help add serious size and strength across your torso while also stripping away excess body fat to transform what you see in the mirror. The beauty of this plan is that you’ll train all the major upper-body muscles – chest, shoulders, arms and back – twice a week. That means the sessions are going to be tough, but with focus and dedication you’ll see your body change shape fast.
HERE’S HOW THE PLAN WORKS
This month’s four-week workout is made up of four sessions a week. Workout one targets your chest and back; workout two, your legs and shoulders; workout three, your chest and triceps; and workout four, your back and biceps. If that sounds like a lot of training time dedicated to your major upper-body muscles, that’s because it is. Training these important muscle groups either directly or indirectly twice a week is likely to be a significant increase in the amount of work you are asking them to do – and it’s this increase in training volume that will propel your body out of its comfort zone so that it is stimulated to add lean muscle mass quickly, while the extra demands will target your fat stores to burn them for energy.
Each workout is made up of five lifts which you will perform as straight sets. This means you do all the sets of the first lift, rest and then move on to the second lift and so on. Simply do the workouts in order, sticking to the sets, reps, tempo and rest periods detailed. Each week try to lift slightly heavier than before, but make sure that you prioritise maintaining good form for every rep of every set.
TEMPO TRAINING
To get the full effect from these workouts, you need to stick to the four-digit tempo code for each exercise. The first digit indicates how long in seconds you take to lower the weight, the second how long you pause at the bottom of the move, the third how long you take to lift the weight, and the final digit how long you pause at the top. The accumulated time under tension increases your heart rate to burn body fat and break down muscle tissue so it’s rebuilt bigger and stronger. Keep each rep smooth and controlled so your muscles – not momentum – do the work, and move through a full range of motion.
YOUR FOUR-WEEK MUSCLE PLAN
Here’s how each week is structured
WORKOUT 1
CHEST AND BACK
WORKOUT 2
LEGS AND SHOULDERS
WORKOUT 3
CHEST AND TRICEPS
WORKOUT 4
BACK AND BICEPS
WORKOUT 1 CHEST AND BACK
1 BENCH PRESS
Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Lie on a flat bench, holding a barbell with an overhand grip with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Brace your core and press your feet into the ground, then lower the bar towards your chest. Press it back up to the start.
2 BENT-OVER ROW
Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec
Hold a barbell using a shoulder-width overhand grip just outside of your legs. Bend your knees slightly, then bend forwards, hingeing from the hips and keeping your shoulder blades back. Pull the bar up towards your abs, leading with your elbows, then lower it back to the start.
3 CHIN-UP
Sets 4 Reps 8-12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec
Hold a chin-up bar using a shoulder-width underhand grip. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your chin is higher than the bar, keeping your elbows tucked in to your body. Lower until your arms are straight again.
4 INCLINE FLYE
Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Lie on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand above your face, with your palms facing and a slight bend in your elbows. Lower them to the sides, then bring them back to the top.
5 DIAMOND PRESS-UP
Sets 4 Reps 12-15 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Start in a press-up position but with your thumbs and index fingers touching to form a diamond. Keeping your hips up and core braced, bend your elbows to lower your chest towards the floor. Push down through your hands to return to the start.
WORKOUT 2 LEGS AND SHOULDERS
1 BACK SQUAT
Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Stand tall with your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell across the back of your shoulders. Keeping your chest up and core braced, squat down until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Drive back up through your heels to return to the start.
2 OVERHEAD PRESS
Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell across the top of your chest with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Keeping your chest up and core braced, press the bar overhead until your arms are straight, then lower it back to the start.
3 BARBELL SPLIT SQUAT
Sets 4 Reps 6 each side Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Stand tall with feet just wider than shoulder-width apart, holding a bar across the back of your shoulders. Keeping your chest up, take a big step forwards with your right foot, then lower until both knees at bent at 90°. Drive back through your right foot to return to the start. Repeat for six reps, then switch legs and do another six reps with your left foot forward.
4 BARBELL HIGH PULL
Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 1010 Rest 60sec
Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell with an overhand grip and straight arms. Keeping your chest up and core braced, pull the bar upwards, leading with your elbows, until it reaches chin height. Then lower it back to the start.
5 LATERAL RAISE
Sets 3 Reps 12-15 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec
Stand tall, holding a light dumbbell in each hand by your sides, palms facing each other. Keeping your chest up, your core braced and a slight bend in your elbows, raise the weights out to shoulder height. Turn your thumbs down at the top, then lower them back to the start.
WORKOUT 3 CHEST AND TRICEPS
1 INCLINE BENCH PRESS
Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2110 Rest 60sec
Lie on an incline bench, holding a bar with an overhand grip with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Brace your core and press your feet into the ground, then lower the bar towards your chest. Press it back up to the start.
2 SEATED DUMBBELL OVERHEAD PRESS
Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Sit on an upright bench holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height, palms facing forwards. Keeping your chest up, press the weights directly overhead until your arms are straight, then lower them back to the start.
3 HAMMER-GRIP DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS
Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Lie on a flat bench, holding dumbbells by your shoulders with palms facing. Drive your feet into the floor and press the weights straight up, then lower them slowly back to the start.
4 DUMBBELL TRICEPS EXTENSION
Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Stand tall holding a dumbbell in each hand over your head, with arms straight. Keeping your chest up, core braced and elbows pointing up, lower the weights behind your head, then lift it back to the start.
5 DIAMOND PRESS-UP
Sets 4 Reps 12-15 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Start in a press-up position but with your thumbs and index fingers touching to form a diamond. Keeping your hips up and core braced, bend your elbows to lower your chest towards the floor. Push down through your hands to return to the start.
WORKOUT 4 BACK AND BICEPS
1 PULL-UP
Sets 4 Reps 6-12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec
Hold a pull-up bar using an overhand grip with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar. Lower until your arms are straight again.
2 CHIN-UP
Sets 4 Reps 8-12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec
Hold a chin-up bar using a shoulder-width underhand grip. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your chin is higher than the bar, keeping your elbows tucked in to your body. Lower until your arms are straight again.
3 BARBELL BICEPS CURL
Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec
Hold a barbell with an underhand grip with your hands shoulder-width apart. Keeping your chest up, core braced and elbows tucked in to your sides, curl the bar up to your chest, squeezing your biceps as you go. Lower it back to the start.
4 REVERSE-GRIP BENT-OVER ROW
Sets 4 Reps 12 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec
Hold a bar using a shoulder-width underhand grip just outside of your legs. Bend your knees slightly then bend forwards, hingeing at the hips and keeping your shoulder blades back. Pull the bar up towards your abs, leading with your elbows, then lower it back to the start.
5 DUMBBELL BICEPS CURL
Sets 4 Reps 12-15 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec
Hold dumbbells by your sides with straight arms, palms facing forwards. Keeping your chest up, core braced and elbows tucked in to your sides, curl the weights up, squeezing your biceps as you go, then lower them back to the start.
