Minimum exercise – maximum result

You don’t have to go to the gym all day to build up that muscle. Try this 4 Day Split: Its extreme intensity will maximize your results in no time!

Author: Janine Detz

Summer is no longer knocking on the door; it tore this door off its hinges and sprawled imposingly in a chaise longue. Behind the weeks and months of training your biceps, chest, and calf muscles, it’s too late to pull up the lagging groups for beach season. The sun is shining with might and main, but what can you tell the guys who have not met the schedule and now want to pump up their biceps in record time?

This is the question we asked Chris Smith, Certified Strength and Functional Training Specialist (CSCS). His bulking program is designed for four days and is based on the concept of “tight training”.

The program is unique in that it forces you to do more and more work per unit of time. As a result, you can achieve impressive muscle growth without the time-consuming regimen of six workouts per week. And by the way, if you train conscientiously, you can leave the gym in less than an hour!

You will train your upper and lower body twice a week using high volume strength training. For the remaining three days, you can forget about training and fry in the summer sun. Just do not think that in training you will have to get bored, repeating the same routine. Each workout in this program has its own goals and emphasizes in different ways.

Before we dive into the training process, a warning. The training will be extremely hard. Your legs will tremble, your forearms will burn, and in general you will puff like a truck. The point is that a busy schedule forces you to work to the limit, albeit for a short period of time. But there is good news: you can only train 4 times a week, so don’t forget about the reward – absolutely free weekend without the slightest remorse!

So, are you ready to put on some serious mass while continuing to live a fulfilling life? Then let’s go.

Choosing a split

To gain mass, you need to force muscle hypertrophy. Everyone who lifts weights – your work partner or someone you know at the gym – has their own idea of ​​how to do it best. Let’s not argue, there are really many options. For example, contrary to popular belief, full-body training can be an effective muscle-building strategy. By the way, Smith often uses it. But to increase the intensity during the 4-day program, he chooses the split.

By training 1-2 body parts per session, you get the opportunity to focus on target groups and focus on their growth.

“I use split training as part of my training volume accumulation cycle,” explains Smith. – “It allows you to dramatically increase the amount of load over a period of time.” By training 1-2 body parts per session, you get the opportunity to fully focus on the target groups and focus on their growth. As you end up doing more reps per muscle group, you will increase your time under load, which is an important stimulus for muscle growth.

During this program, you will have two days for your lower body, one built around the quads, and the other focused on the hamstrings. The remaining two workouts will be devoted to the upper body: the first to the shoulders and arm muscles, the second to the chest and back. Such a split, of course, cannot be called revolutionary, you probably already trained according to a similar scheme. The fundamental difference between this program and other mass-gathering protocols in Smith’s approach to sets and reps is that the factor of a tight schedule creates an increasing overload.

Time is above all

The easiest way to add variety to your workouts – and training volume – is to change the number of sets and reps. The Smith Protocol achieves this goal with a timer. “You end up supersets in your target rep range, but as part of a tight workout schedule, you do as many sets as you can in the superset time frame,” says Smith.

“The goal is to move from exercise to exercise in minimal intervals and try to add as many sets and reps as possible,” he adds. This will force you to do more and more work per unit of time. Each workout on a tight schedule becomes a challenge, and the total amount of work will be an excellent tool for assessing your achievements. The challenge is simple – get stronger and do more work per unit of time.

Barbell Chest Squat

You start each workout with a main exercise. Perform it without a stopwatch, according to the traditional scheme for hypertrophy: 4 sets, 8-10 reps. When done, turn on the timer on your smartphone. In each superset of two exercises, you will do the recommended number of repetitions in the first exercise, and then the target number of reps in the second. If you are tired, quickly catch your breath and repeat the superset again. Continue like this for 8 or 10 minutes (depending on the superset).

As you catch your breath between superset exercises, remember that you are trying to squeeze in as much work as possible in the allotted time. The number of repetitions in the set is predetermined, but the number of sets is up to you. The longer you scroll through mail or read messages, the fewer approaches you can complete. “Try to keep building up your total reps over your last workout,” advises Smith. Rest for 2 minutes only after you have worked conscientiously for the entire time allotted for the superset (8-10 minutes).

Weight Games

You should know this rule by heart, but it doesn’t hurt to repeat: choose a weight based on the intended range of repetitions for one set. Use as much weight as you can on the last rep of your ideal technique set. Cheating reps are not counted because they not only include other muscles in the equation, but they also increase the risk of injury.

If you still have a few rows to do and are barely flexing your elbows, you need to reduce the weight. Although the system is built on time, don’t make your workout a race: you still have to use the right technique to stimulate muscle development. Reps done in a hurry, half or with a cheat – none of this counts.

Romanian deadlift

Because supersets are timed, you will grow with yourself doing more and more work. However, you should also increase the weight periodically so that you can stay within the target rep range.

Distractions

Are you ready to lift weights? Then plug in your headphones, put together an inspiring tracklist, and get ready to put all distractions away. You won’t have time to chat with your buddies or your coach. Since you train for an hour and some 4 times a week, you should focus on your work and use every second to gain muscle mass. This protocol will help you build muscle in no time, but only if you push yourself to do your best!

Maximum mass in four days

Warm-up sets are not included. Don’t push your warm-up sets to muscle failure.

Day 1: lower body

Day 2: chest and back

Day 3: lower body

Day 4: shoulders and arms

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