The Three-Month Mass-Gain Plan

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The Three-Month Mass-Gain Plan

Filling out your frame with new muscle isnt as hard as you might
think. This 12-week, back-to-basics approach is all you need.
By Eric Velazquez
Photos by Robert Reiff
When it comes to gaining mass, everybodys an expert. From the late-night

infomercial guru to the chatty, grizzled gym veteran, it seems that everyone
has a gimmick for getting huge. This pervasion of mass-gain punditry
makes it difficult for the average lifter to zero in on what exactly needs to
be done.
Luckily, there are a few universal truths that anyone can apply to elicit the
gains he or she is looking for. We not only present three of them here, but
our expert also used each of them to craft the accompanying mass-gain
program, making it a proficient and practical method to gain an appreciable
amount of new muscle over the next three months.
TRUTH NO. 1 | MUSCLES GROW WITH BIG LIFTS IN THE EIGHT TO

12 REP RANGE
Some people like to take a high-volume approach to muscle growth,
insisting that challenging, high-rep sets flush the muscles with blood and
trigger new growth. Other lifters are monogamous to big-weight lifts,
clinging to the fact that to-the-brink sets will build the most muscle, even
with very few reps. The middle ground, however, works for everyone if
its done right.
Jimmy Pea, MS, CSCS, a Los Angeles-based fitness expert, celebrity
trainer and founder of PrayFit (www.prayfit.com), insists that the greatest
gains in muscle come to those who stick to the most proven rep range for
muscle growth eight to 12 reps. This is the range that is most known,
physiologically and anecdotally, to elicit muscle growth, he says.
Amazingly, there are still debates in fitness circles about which exercises
should be used to build mass. Some argue that the greater the variety of
exercises, the greater the stress placed on your musculature, the greater
your growth in the long run.
Thats ridiculous, Pea says. You can always add variety with single-joint
moves, but if gaining mass is your primary goal, you need to stick to breadand-butter, compound exercises like the bench press, squat and deadlift.
Forcing multiple muscle groups to work in concert against progressively
heavier resistance is the way to go, period.
http://www.muscleandperformancemag.com/training/2010/7/the-three-month-mass-gain-plan[2014/09/09 03:33:28 PM]
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Applied Truth: In this program, you wont ever perform a set with less than
eight or more than 12 reps. Because this is the optimum rep range for
hypertrophy your main goal these 12 weeks it makes no sense to
deviate from it for noveltys sake. Also, single-joint movements will be a
rare find. Major lifts comprise the bulk of the exercises here.
TRUTH NO. 2 | PROGRESSION IS THE KEY TO GROWTH

Show us a person who has stopped growing and well show you a person
who has stopped challenging his or her body. Sure, sometimes a break is
all thats needed to get back into the growth zone, but more often than not,
a plateau is because of a lack of creativity and ambition; once your body
gets too accustomed to one routine, you can say goodbye to gains.
The best way to avoid that is to insist on progression and to build it into
your plan. Comfort is the worst thing that can happen to your physique,
regardless of your goal, Pea insists. Remember, your body will only
change to the degree at which it is stressed. Put another way, without
throwing in new variables in this case, more weight and varying rep
protocols your body will not respond well, if at all.
Applied Truth: For the next three months, youll continually switch things
up. Each month, youll handle progressively heavier weight loads in more
challenging rep schemes (still within the eight to 12 window) to confuse
your muscles and spur new growth.
TRUTH NO. 3 | TRAINING TO FAILURE (AND BEYOND) IS REQUIRED

One of the most misguided gym practices is stopping a set at a certain
number when you clearly had more in the tank. Almost every time you see
a prescribed rep range, in this magazine or elsewhere, the goal is to hit
failure at that number. Failure is the point at which you can no longer
perform reps with good form on your own. So if you bang out 12 reps when
you could have done 15 or 16, youre missing out on a slew of anabolic
benefits.
The key for any set that is based on a particular rep or rep range is to
select a weight that causes you to fail at that particular rep, Pea says.
Weight selection is of paramount importance to this program and just
about any other. Hitting failure at these rep ranges triggers the pathways in
your body where growth occurs. Going with a weight where you can
complete more than 12 reps will instead move you more into the
endurance-building zone.
You can also get additional hormonal benefits by adding key intensity
techniques to your sets. Extending sets by lowering the weight and
continuing to perform reps after initial muscle failure, also known as drop
setting, is one easy way to squeeze even more growth-inducing intensity
into your workouts. Another way to build mass fast is by taking short,
calculated breaks to take advantage of your bodys rapidly replenishing,
explosive-energy stores so you can continue for a few more reps. This is
known as rest-pause training. Variations on both techniques will be used in
this program.
Training to failure, and beyond, causes additional damage within the
muscle bellies which, when paired with proper nutrition, is the ideal
environment for exponential growth.
Applied Truth: While you will be striving to reach muscle failure with each
set in this program, you will add some intensity boosters in the second and
third phases that are designed to help you take your muscles beyond
failure.
Plan of Attack
Now that you understand the underpinnings of the program, heres more
detail on how youll be spending the next 12 weeks in the gym. In Phase 1
(weeks one to four), youll lay the foundation for future size gains. In this
phase, youll select your 12 rep max for your base line working weight,
Pea says. After your first set of 12, youll rest no more than one to two
minutes, then perform another two sets with that same weight, achieving no
more than 12 but shooting for at least 10 on the second set and eight on
the third set.
In Phase 2 (weeks five to eight), youll bring on more poundage. This
month, youll go a little heavier, selecting your 10 rep max, right in the
middle of the magic growth range, Pea explains. Youll do your first set
so that you fail at 10. After your first set, youll be noticeably fatigued, but
your second set is another 10 rep-max set. This means you will probably
need to drop the weight slightly to achieve another 10 reps on each of the
next two sets. Remember, the key is to fail at 10 reps. If you can do more,
you went too light. If you cant quite reach 10, you need to lower the weight
a bit.
Finally, in Phase 3 (weeks nine to 12), youll put your expanding muscles to
maximum use. Keeping with the theme of progression, your eight rep max
will serve as your base weight, Pea says. And as youll see, we have
you going for 10 and 12 reps after your initial set of eight. You might be
asking how its possible to get 10 or 12 reps using a weight that causes
you to fail at eight. The answer is you wont, technically. When you get to
eight on your second set, we want you to rest for roughly 15 seconds, then
do another two reps to get you to 10 total. And on your third set, we want
you to rest for 30 seconds before attempting an additional four reps to get
you to 12 reps. Its not necessarily a true rest-pause set, but the mentality
is identical. You rest long enough for your explosive energy stores to
replenish, then perform more repetitions, paving the way for more growth.
One more note to keep in mind: These protocols will not apply to abs,
which you will instead train twice per week at a standard rep range for all
12 weeks. Because youre focused on getting bigger, you just want to keep
your abs conditioned, but save the hardcore ab work for your get-lean
plan.
Now, before you begin, one more truth to mention: Any training program is
only as good as the effort youre willing to put in. We assume you want to
pack on impressive muscle gains and are willing to put in the intense work
required now its your turn to prove us right.
THE THREE-MONTH MASS-GAIN PROGRAM

WEEKLY SPLIT:
Day
Bodyparts Trained
Chest, triceps
Legs, calves, abs
Rest
Shoulders, traps
Back, biceps, abs
Rest
Rest
DAY 1: Chest & Triceps
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Sets*
Reps
Reps
Reps
Incline Dumbbell Press
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Flat-Bench Barbell Press
12
10
10
10
10
Exercise
Chest:
10
12
Incline Cable Flye
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Weighted Dip
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Close-Grip Bench Press
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Cable Pressdown
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Triceps:
*Does not include warm-up sets.
DAY 2: Legs, Calves & Abs
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Exercise
Sets*
Reps
Reps
Reps
Barbell Squat
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Romanian Deadlift
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Leg Press
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Leg Extension
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Lying Leg Curl
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Standing Calf Raise
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Weighted Crunch
12
12
12
Hanging Leg Raise
To failure
To failure
To failure
Legs:
Calves:
Abs:
*Does not include warm-up sets
DAY 3: Rest
DAY 4: Shoulders & Traps
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Sets*
Reps
Reps
Reps
Seated Barbell Press
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
EZ-Bar Upright Row
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Bent-Over Lateral Raise
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Dumbbell Shrug
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Smith Behind-the-Back Shrug
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Exercise
Shoulders:
Traps:
DAY 5: Back, Biceps & Abs
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Exercise
Sets*
Reps
Reps
Reps
Deadlift
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Bent-Over Barbell Row
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Seated Cable Row
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
T-Bar Row
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Decline Barbell Pullover
12
10
Back:
10
10
10
10
12
Standing Barbell Curl
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Incline Dumbbell Curl
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Hammer Curl
12
10
10
10
10
10
12
Weighted Crunch
12
12
12
Hanging Leg Raise
To failure
To failure
To failure
Biceps:
Abs:
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The Three-Month Mass-Gain Plan | Muscle & Performance Magazine

When it comes to gaining mass, everybodys an expert. From the late-night

TRUTH NO. 1 | MUSCLES GROW WITH BIG LIFTS IN THE EIGHT TO

http://www.muscleandperformancemag.com/training/2010/7/the-three-month-mass-gain-plan[2014/09/09 03:33:28 PM]

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