Hypertrophy Workout Program
Five days, every muscle twice a week, and a ledger of weekly sets so you can see the volume you're actually doing. The progression rules are written out, not implied.
The week
Day 1 Push
Chest, shoulders and triceps5 moves · 17 setsIncline press goes first, while you're fresh. The rest of the session is built around it.
| Movement | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
Alternating Dumbbell Incline PressPress one arm at a time, so the working side does the job without help from the other. | 4 | 8-10 | 120s |
| 3 | 8-12 | 90s | |
Low Cable Chest Fly WorkoutSweep up and in, ending around chin height. Stop a rep or two short of failure. | 3 | 12-15 | 60s |
| 4 | 12-15 | 60s | |
| 3 | 10-12 | 60s |
Day 2 Pull
Back, rear delts and biceps5 moves · 17 setsTwo heavy back movements, then rear delts, then biceps. Rest long between the first two.
| Movement | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 8-10 | 120s | |
| 4 | 8-12 | 90s | |
| 3 | 12-15 | 60s | |
| 3 | 10-12 each arm | 60s | |
Eccentric Bicep CurlThree seconds down on every rep. | 3 | 8-10 | 60s |
Day 3 Legs
Quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves5 moves · 17 setsThe longest session of the week. Rest properly between squats and don't skip the calf work at the end.
| Movement | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 8-12 | 150s | |
| 3 | 10 each leg | 90s | |
| 3 | 12-15 | 90s | |
| 3 | 12-15 | 75s | |
Donkey Calf Raise: Bent-Over Calf BuilderA full stretch at the bottom, a pause at the top. | 4 | 12-15 | 60s |
Day 4 Upper
Whole upper body, higher reps5 moves · 15 setsLighter loads, shorter rests, and every muscle you trained on Days 1 and 2 gets a second hit.
| Movement | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 12-15 | 75s | |
| 3 | 12-15 | 75s | |
| 3 | 10-12 | 75s | |
| 3 | 12-15 | 60s | |
| 3 | 12-15 | 60s |
Day 5 Lower
Whole lower body, hinge first5 moves · 18 setsHamstrings lead today because they had the smaller share of Day 3.
| Movement | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 8-10 | 120s | |
| 4 | 10-15 | 120s | |
| 3 | 12-15 | 75s | |
| 3 | 15 | 60s | |
| 4 | 12-15 | 60s |
Weekly sets per muscle
Counted from the rows above, not typed in by hand. A movement that trains three muscle groups is counted for all three, so these add up to more than the 84 sets in the plan.
What Is the Training Ledger For?
Most programs tell you what to do and never tell you how much of it there is. This one counts. Chest gets 10 hard sets a week, back 11, shoulders 13, quads 14, hamstrings and glutes 13, biceps 9, triceps 6 and calves 8.
Those totals come from my own count of each exercise's main muscle. The bars on this page tally every muscle an exercise is tagged with, so they'll read higher. Triceps look low at 6 because chest and shoulder presses add plenty more.
Why bother counting? Because volume has the clearest dose-response of any variable in the research. A 2017 meta-analysis found a graded dose-response between weekly sets and muscle growth, and a 2026 meta-regression of 67 studies found gains keep rising with volume while the returns shrink.
Why Train Each Muscle Twice a Week?
Every muscle is trained twice. A 2016 meta-analysis of volume-matched studies found twice a week produced bigger hypertrophy effects than once (0.49 against 0.30), and nothing settled about three times.
Here's a nuance I like. In a 6 week trial of 49 trained men, doing 9, 18 or 27 weekly sets of biceps work all increased muscle thickness, with no significant difference between the groups. More isn't always visibly better in a short window, which is why the ledger tops out at 14 and not 25.
How Does the Progression Ladder Work?
Rules beat vibes. Here's the ladder, in order.
First, work inside the rep range. When every set of an exercise reaches the top number, move up. Second, add the smallest weight your gym has and drop back to the bottom of the range. The ACSM position stand suggests a 2 to 10 percent increase once you can complete one or two reps beyond the target.
Third, and only if an exercise has stalled for three sessions in a row, add one set. Add it to one or two muscles at a time, never to everything at once. Fourth, if sleep, appetite or enthusiasm collapse for a fortnight, take a set off most exercises. Don't wait for a calendar to tell you.
Do you have to train to failure? No. A 2023 meta-analysis found no evidence that going to momentary failure builds more muscle than stopping short. I'd finish most sets with a rep or two spare and save the grinders for the last set of an exercise.
Why Is There No Scheduled Deload?
Plenty of programs insert an easy week every fourth week. The evidence for it is thin. In a 2024 trial of 39 resistance-trained people, one full week off in the middle of a 9 week program left lower-body muscle size unchanged and reduced strength gains. That was a complete break, not a lighter week, so it doesn't settle the question, but it's reason enough not to schedule one by default.
How Is the Week Laid Out?
Monday Push, Tuesday Pull, Wednesday Legs, Thursday off, Friday Upper, Saturday Lower, Sunday off. The two rest days split the week so neither half runs more than three days without a break.
Warm up with two ramp-up sets on the first lift of each day, then go straight to your working sets. Nothing else is needed.
Why Is Logging the Engine of Progress?
The ladder only works if you know what you did last time. Write down weight and reps for every set, in a notes app or on paper, and look at it before you start each exercise. Ten seconds of reading saves you from guessing, and guessing is how people repeat the same weights for six months.
That's the whole system. A log, a rep range, and the patience to let the numbers climb slowly.
How Much Do Food and Sleep Matter?
Training only supplies the signal. In a 2018 meta-analysis of 49 trials, extra protein stopped adding to gains in fat-free mass at a total intake of about 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight a day. Eat near that figure, eat enough overall to support the work, and protect your sleep, because five sessions a week will expose a bad week of both quickly.
Is Five Days a Week Realistic?
The ACSM position stand on progression suggests 3 to 4 days a week for intermediate lifters and 4 to 5 for advanced ones. Five sits at the top of that. If you can't recover from it, the4 day torso and limbs planuses the same ideas with less to recover from. If you want more frequency of a different sort, thepush pull legs planruns six days.
Who Should See a Doctor First?
This is general information, not medical advice. If you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, an injury or pain during exercise, check with a doctor before starting.
Where Do the Numbers Come From?
I built this plan from published research rather than from a coaching practice:Schoenfeld et al. on volume, 2017,Pelland et al., 2026,Schoenfeld et al. on frequency, 2016,Heaselgrave et al., 2019,ACSM progression models, 2009,Refalo et al., 2023,Coleman et al., 2024,Morton et al., 2018andSchoenfeld et al. on load, 2017.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a hypertrophy program, in plain terms?
A program built to grow muscle rather than to maximise a single heavy lift. In practice that means moderate loads in the 6 to 12 rep range for most work, enough weekly sets for each muscle, each muscle trained about twice a week, and a rule for adding load over time. This page writes out all four.
Do I need to stay in the 6 to 12 rep range?
Not strictly. A 2017 meta-analysis found muscle growth was similar across a wide spread of loads when sets were taken to failure. The ACSM still emphasises 6 to 12 repetitions for hypertrophy, so most work here sits there.
Is five days too many?
It may be. The ACSM position stand on progression suggests 3 to 4 days a week for intermediate lifters and 4 to 5 for advanced ones, so five is the top of the range. If your sleep or appetite suffers, drop to four days by cutting the Upper day, or run the 4 day torso and limbs plan instead.
Should I schedule a deload week?
The evidence doesn't demand one. In a 2024 trial of 39 resistance-trained people, taking one full week off at the midpoint of a 9 week program didn't change lower-body muscle size and reduced strength gains. Cut volume when you're genuinely run down, rather than by the calendar.
5 sessions a week