Bulk-Up Workouts

Mass-building or bulk-up workouts are performed four days per week using moderate to heavy weights in which you can only complete six to 12 reps for the majority of your sets. One to two minutes of rest are necessary between each set to enable your muscles to replenish energy for the next set. Use progressively heavier weights as your strength increases to continue to build your muscles.

Chest and Back

The pectoral and back muscles are antagonistic muscles. This means the muscles produce opposite movements at the shoulder joints. An effective way to bulk up your muscles with a chest and back workout is to pair a chest exercise with a back exercise and alternate a set of each. For instance, do one set of flat bench presses for 12 reps, then do a set of one-arm dumbbell rows for 12 reps per arm. Complete six total sets of each exercise in order to build muscle, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Perform three more pairs of chest and back exercises, including incline bench presses with lateral pull downs, flat dumbbell flies with dumbbell pullovers and decline barbell bench presses with standing barbell rows. Rest for three minutes between pairs of exercises. Do this workout on Mondays.

Legs and Shoulders

A mass-building leg workout builds the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, inner thigh muscles and calves. Pair a shoulder exercise with a leg exercise to give your leg muscles time to recover. For example, do a set of squats for your quads followed by a set of dumbbell shoulder presses for the anterior and middle heads of your deltoids for six to 12 repetitions per set. Complete six sets of each exercise. Next, do straight-legged dead lifts for the hamstrings with one-arm bent-over dumbbell flies for the posterior head of your deltoid muscle. Then, perform walking dumbbell lunges for the glutes with dumbbell lateral raises for the middle head of your deltoids. Finally, do one-legged calf raises for your calves with dumbbell sumo squats for the inner thigh muscles. Perform this routine on Wednesdays.

Biceps and Triceps

Bulk up the muscles of your arms by performing bilateral and unilateral exercises. Start with two-arm exercises then finish your workout with one-arm exercises. Pair arm exercises like you did for the chest and back and legs and shoulders, and complete six sets of mostly six to 12 reps per set. First, do EZ bar curls with two-arm dumbbell triceps extensions. Then, do standing dumbbell curls with triceps dips. Next, do concentration curls with lying, one-arm dumbbell triceps extensions. Do this workout on Fridays.

Abs and Low Back

Round out your muscle-building workout with abdominal and lower back exercises on Saturdays. Hold weight plates or dumbbells to bulk up your core as you complete the exercises. Use ankle weights for hanging abdominal exercises. Pair weighted decline crunches with dumbbell side bends, weighted crunches on an exercise ball with hyperextensions on the hyperextension machine and hanging bent-knee raises with medicine ball oblique throws.