3 circuit training programs to increase muscle mass

There are several ways to create a full body circuit training program. Determine which of the three options suits you best.

Author: Shannon Clarke

If your goal is to significantly increase muscle mass, then one of the best ways to achieve this goal is through circuit training. Circular workouts are such workouts in which all the main muscle groups are worked out in one lesson. Many of those who seek to gain muscle mass soon come to the conclusion that three workouts per week are not enough for effective weight gain, but this is not at all the case.

Often times, especially when the goal is to increase muscle volume, circuit training gives better results than training the upper and lower body separately or training specific muscle groups.

There are several ways to create a circular training program. Determine which of the three options suits you best

There are several ways to create a circular workout program that is aimed at increasing muscle volume, so check out the three different options below to find the one that works best for you.

1. Alternating upper and lower body workouts

The first version of the circular training program is that with each workout, the emphasis is on either the upper or lower body. So, for example, on the day of your upper body workout, you do a few sets of leg workouts, but your main focus is on the arm muscles.

During the second workout, during the week, on the contrary, you focus on leg exercises. Then you continue to alternate between these workouts: one week two workouts for the leg muscles, the other two workouts for the upper body.

The advantage of this program is that you can add a couple of additional exercises specifically aimed at developing the upper or lower body. With classic circuit training, this is a little more difficult, since you try to load all muscles equally.

In general, muscle groups that are not emphasized in this workout can be performed 2-3 approaches as support.

Here’s an example of what an upper body workout program might look like.

Upper body

On other days, the following program may be used for the lower body.

Lower body

You can add some of your own exercises to this set, but it is necessary to get a feel for the general direction of this program.

2. Training for hypertrophy

The second type of muscle building workout program is hypertrophy workout. The goal of this program is to increase muscle volume rather than strength, so the emphasis is on slightly more volume and reps.

Strength gains will also occur with this program, but they will not be as significant as with fewer reps (for example, the next program below).

It should be noted that this program is not recommended to be used for a long time. It puts a lot of stress on the central nervous system and can subsequently lead to.

This program also assumes a standard training scheme: three circuit workouts per week and at least one rest day between workouts.

1 training

2 training

3. Training program to increase strength

Finally, the last type of training to consider is strength training. This program provides fewer repetitions, which will allow you to lift more weight in order to increase strength, and build muscle volume along the way.

It should be borne in mind that to increase muscle volume with this program, or, in fact, any other program, you need an excess of calories. In some cases, you can get stronger without consuming more calories than you expend without increasing muscle mass.

This training program also includes the longer rest periods needed to recover when lifting heavy weights. The total number of sets and reps will be less for the same reason.

The following is an example of a training program that follows these principles. As a rule, the best option is to complete such a training program completely, three days a week, and then every three to four weeks you should change the exercises that are included in this complex.

Strength training

Conclusion

Take note of these three strength programs. The choice of programs for increasing muscle mass is quite extensive. Find a program for yourself that you will enjoy doing and that works for yours. This is the best guarantee that you will achieve great results.

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