Bodybuilders have a significant amount of muscle mass that comes from frequent, high-volume weight training. It's typical for a bodybuilder to lift weights nearly every day of the week to adequately overload his muscles and stimulate the kind of growth he wants. The best bodybuilding training program is one that is of the highest training frequency and volume. Both men and women will significantly increase their muscle mass by following muscle building training principles.
Frequency
To build the amount of muscle mass required of a bodybuilder, you must train frequently. Muscle building occurs from training three days per week, but to see maximal results, you should use a split routine structure. Instead of full body workouts each time you train, you should increase the number of days you train and split your muscle groups into different days so that you can complete more exercises for each muscle group, yet allow enough time to rest muscles between workouts. Mondays and Thursdays, you will focus on chest and shoulders. Tuesdays and Fridays you will develop your legs and back. Wednesdays and Saturdays you will train your biceps, triceps and abdominals. Sunday will be your rest day.
Volume
Each workout session will consist of 8 to 10 exercises. Each exercise should be completed at three to five sets of 6 to 12 repetitions each. Rest one to three minutes in between each set. Because you're going to be significantly overloading your muscle groups with numerous exercises, it's likely you'll need closer to three minutes of rest. Be sure that the amount of weight you're using is appropriate for each exercise. The weight should allow you to complete the assigned number of repetitions. If you're unable to reach six repetitions, decrease the weight you're using on subsequent sets. If you're able to complete more than 12 repetitions easily, increase the weight.
Exercises
On chest and shoulder days, complete bench presses, push-ups, incline chest presses, chest flies, shoulder presses, upright rows, lateral raises and front raises. On back and leg days, complete lateral pulldowns, pull-ups, rows, squats, lunges, deadlifts, leg curls and calf raises. Bicep, tricep and abdominal days should consist of bicep curls, isolation curls, hammer curls, overhead tricep extensions, tricep pushdowns, kickbacks, standard crunches, bicycle crunches and oblique crunches.
Considerations
To build muscle mass, you must provide your body with the fuel and protein it needs to complete the physiological process. To gain one pound of muscle, you must create a caloric surplus of 3,500 calories. It's important that this surplus be created over time. According to Dr. Joseph Chromiak of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, a healthy goal is to build half a pound of muscle per week, which would involve increasing your calorie intake by 1,750 per week, or 250 calories per day.
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