Do you want to get stronger and build muscle? But you just can’t find a program on how to do it. In short, if that’s you. Then this strength training program for men is exactly what you need.
Moreover, I’ve used this type of training for years and it’s always served me well. Here’s a picture of me before and after following the principles I talk about in this article.
Not only do these principles work for me. But most importantly they’re universal and they can work for you too.
What Is Strength Training? – A Strength Training Program For Men
Strength training is the lifting of weights to improve your whole-body strength.
This is best done by performing heavy compound weightlifting exercises.
These exercises are the barbell squat, bench press, deadlift and overhead press.
And these are the exercises that I’m going to prescribe to you in the workout program.
5 Timeless Muscle Building Tips – A Strength Training Program For Men
1. Get Super Stong At The Big 5
The big 5 relates to the exercises that give you the biggest bang for your buck. The big 5 are:
- The barbell squat.
- The deadlift.
- The bench press.
- Overhead press.
- Chin-ups.
If you get as strong as you physically can at these exercises you’ll have a good physique. This is because they train your whole body musculature.
2. You Have Got To Move The Big Iron To Get Big Muslces
At the forefront of your mind, if you want to get bigger and stronger you need to lift progressively heavier weights.
If you can deadlift 500 pounds, squat 400 pounds and bench press 300 pounds you’ll become a much bigger and stronger version of yourself.
3. You Need To Train Your Patience Muscle
Getting stronger and forging the body of your dreams with the iron doesn’t happen overnight. You need patience and if you want to get in the best shape of your life you need to enjoy the process.
And accept that it might take longer than you think.
4. You Don’t Enter The Weight Room To Mess Around, You Go There To Get Strong
You must always go to the gym with a plan. Never go there to mess around. If you don’t go to the gym with a plan you’re exercising and not training.
Exercise won’t get you to your goal. But training will.
5. Don’t Compare Yourself To Others, It’s Bettering Yourself That Matters
Building muscle and getting stronger is a long process. And the industry is already filled with so many people on steroids that it can sometimes be easy to compare yourself to others who are injecting into their butts like it’s going out of fashion. Don’t compare yourself to others.
3 Fundamental Things That A Good Workout Program Includes
1. A Progression Model
When I first started training I tried a lot of shitty workouts. Most of them never had a progression model built-in. And just to clarify a progression model is a rep range that you use to progressively overload your muscles (get stronger).
For example in the program that I’ll be giving you, you’ll be using the 3-5 rep range for your compound exercises. This means that you’ll be using a weight until you can get 5 reps with it.
As soon as you get 5 reps with a given weight you’ll put the weight up by 2.5 /5kg depending on how easy the previous set was.
2. You Need To Be Doing Enough Hard Sets (Volume)
Volume can be thought of as sets x reps x weight. But to keep it short and sweet just think of your hard sets as the amount of volume you do. And you must do enough.
If you do 10-20 hard sets per major muscle group you’ll set yourself up to make good muscle and strength gains.
3. You Need To Be Having Effective Rest Periods
It’s very common to see people jumping from one machine to the next in the gym and going from set to set. But this is killing your gains. You want to be resting 3-5 minutes, especially between your heavy, lower rep sets.
Your Number 1 Goal Should Be To Get Stronger From Workout To Workout – A Strength Training Program For Men
Your main focus when you’re in the gym should be to beat the previous week’s numbers. Meaning adding more weight/ reps to the bar.
There’s No Secret To Building Muscle You Simply Need To Focus On Progressive Poundages With Correct Form
You must track your workouts down and focus on becoming the strongest version of yourself. If you do that, the muscle will follow suit.
It’s also important that you recover properly and get adequate protein and calories.
Click on the link below for more information on how to set your calories up for strength/ muscle gain.
A Strength Training Program For Men
As you can see the push day that you’ll be doing is centred around getting stronger at the barbell bench press and overhead press.
Getting stronger at these pressing movements is the best possible thing you can do to improve your upper body strength.
With the pull day that you’ll be doing you’ll be getting stronger at compound exercises like the deadlift, rows and chin ups (weighted if you can) this will result in a well rounded back.
With the leg day that you’ll be doing you’ll be getting stronger at barbell squats and some other compound exercises such as the leg press and hack squat then you’ll be doing your isolation exercises.
Here’s A Cheat Sheet So You Know Exactly How To Progress
How To Pick Your Starting Weights – A Strength Training Program For Men
Its super simple to pick your starting weights you simply choose a weight that you can do within the rep range.
So say that you do deadlifts and you can easily lift a given weight for 5 reps. Put the weight up so that getting to 3-4 reps is pretty tough. You should be training hard. On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being training not very hard and 10 being training very hard.
I want you to train at an 8-9/10 for your hard sets.
This requires trial and error. But after the first week you’ll know how strong you are.
When you’re first starting out on the program make sure that you learn proper form and use a full range of motion with all the exercises I prescribe. For squats make sure you’re at least squatting to parallel.
How Long Should I Rest In Between My Sets?
I recommend that you rest at least 3 minutes between your compound exercises and 2 minutes between your isolation exercises.
What If I Can’t Perform All Of These Exercises?
Simply pick an exercise that you can do for example If you struggle to deadlift with proper form. Swap out deadlifts for a barbell row, T bar row, or Dumbbell row.
If you cant barbell squat properly do more Bulgarian split squats, safety bar squats or even the hack squat or the leg press.
Now That You Have The Workout, Make Sure That You’re Tracking Your Workouts Down
One of the biggest mistakes I made and that I see many people making is not tracking their workouts down.
If you’re not tracking your workouts down how the hell can you get stronger and build muscle?
Track your workouts down on a note pad, app on your phone or spreadsheet.
What Days Should I Train? – A Strength Training Program For Men
I recommend that you train on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Or you can train on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It’s best to have at least one day of rest between your workouts.
Why Is This Workout Only 3 Days Per Week?
You can do very well and make great progress following a 3 day per week push, pull, legs split like the one above in your first 1-2 years of lifting.
Although, If you want to add more days send me an email at henrypaget@hotmail.co.uk and I’ll help you with the programming.
Although doing more days isn’t really necessary for a beginner.
How Do I Warm Up?
Firstly, your warm-up doesn’t need to be complicated. Furthermore I’ve made an infographic that shows you exactly how to warm-up below.
The Bottom Line On A Strength Training Program For Men
- To build muscle as a natural weightlifter your main goal should be to get stronger. If you’re ruthlessly consistent with this goal you’ll make great progress.
- You must be doing the big 5 exercises such as the squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press and chin-ups for the best results.
- Forging the body of your dreams takes time. You need to accept that and enjoy the process.
- If you want a solid push, pull legs routine follow the strength training program for men in this article.
Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think of this article by commenting below or sending me a message at henrypaget@hotmail.co.uk
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