Depending on your fitness goals, understanding the difference between hypertrophy vs. strength training could be key to your success. Strength training focuses on increasing raw force production with heavy weights and low repetition schemes. Hypertrophy workouts typically target muscle growth and definition using moderate weights and repetitions.
Hypertrophy workouts are fundamental to bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts looking to enhance their physique. By manipulating specific training determinants, such as rest periods and reps, lifters can emphasize their efforts toward building bigger muscles.
Make the most of your time in the gym with this detailed hypertrophy workout plan. Whether you’re an advanced lifter or just starting your fitness journey, this plan can help you achieve a more sculpted look.
Hypertrophy Workout Plan
Follow this 8-week hypertrophy workout to build muscle size and improve your body composition. You can change the workout days as needed to fit your schedule.
- Monday: Chest And Side Delts.
- Tuesday: Upper Back And Rear Delts.
- Wednesday: Off.
- Thursday: Arms And Abs.
- Friday: Legs.
- Saturday and Sunday: Off.
Each workout starts with multi-joint compound movements to build serious volume and strength. They end with isolation movements for targeted muscle growth.
Hypertrophy Workout Routine
This 8-week hypertrophy workout plan is split into four workout days per week. Each routine is performed once per week with rest days between. Below, you will find the optimal way to schedule this split. You can modify as needed, but avoid three training days in a row to allow for adequate recovery.
- Monday: Chest And Side Delts.
- Tuesday: Upper Back And Rear Delts.
- Wednesday: Off.
- Thursday: Arms And Abs.
- Friday: Legs.
- Saturday and Sunday: Off.
Program Principles
This workout plan implements advanced training techniques to maximize your time and effort in the gym. Use these to encourage progressive overload in your next workout.
Rest-Pause Sets — Rest-pause sets are designed to increase the training volume needed for muscle hypertrophy. When done correctly, your 2–3 extra reps will feel like so much more!
Perform your regular set to failure with your chosen weight. Put the weight down and rest for 10–15 seconds. Pick up the weight and perform as many additional reps as possible. Repeat as desired; most lifters do this twice.
Drop Sets — Drop sets are a popular way to get the most out of your muscles in a short amount of time. This type of set is particularly well suited to pin-loaded gym equipment, which makes decreasing the weight very easy.
Start by performing a set to failure, meaning you cannot perform another rep, or your form breaks down. Once failure is reached, reduce your weight by 10%–30% and complete another set of 10–12 reps. Usually, this is repeated twice.
Negatives — Negatives focus on extending the eccentric, or lowering, phase of the exercise. This has been shown to benefit muscle hypertrophy.
With a typical repetition, it takes only one second to lower the weight. With negatives, you take up to 10 seconds to lower the weight after lifting it. Remain in control of the weight throughout the repetition to force the muscle to work harder.
Workout 1: Chest And Side Delts
Workout 1 focuses on the chest and lateral deltoids. The chest is made up of several muscles that move the arms and shoulders, producing pushing movements. The lateral deltoids move the arm away from the body and rotate the shoulder outward.
You will perform negatives during the last set of the single-arm cable lateral raise. This allows you to use your non-working arm to assist your working arm during the concentric, or lifting, phase. Focus on control during the lowering phase, taking at least five seconds to return to the starting position.
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest (between sets) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incline Barbell Bench Press | 3 sets | 12* reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Dumbbell Bench Press | 3 sets | 10-12** reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Cable Crossover | 3–4 sets | 12 reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Seated Lateral Raise | 3–4 sets | 12 reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Single Arm Cable Lateral Raise | 3 sets | 12*** reps | 60–90 seconds |
* Rest-pause set on the last set
** Drop set on the last set
*** 5-second negatives on the last set
Workout 2: Upper Back And Rear Delts
Workout 2 targets the upper back and rear delts. The upper back muscles help to control the arms and shoulders while stabilizing the spine. The rear delts assist with pulling movements and stabilize the joint.
Dumbbell shrugs are a great exercise to incorporate drop sets for a bigger, broader upper back. Remember to maintain proper form throughout the sets to maximize stimulus to the target muscles and reduce injury risk.
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest (between sets) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bent-Over Barbell Row | 3 sets | 12* reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Dumbbell Pullover | 3 sets | 12 reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Wide Grip Lat Pulldown | 3 sets | 10–12*** | 60–90 seconds |
| Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly | 3–4 sets | 12 reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Cable Face Pull | 3–4 sets | 12 reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Dumbbell Shrug | 3 sets | 12** reps | 60–90 seconds |
* Rest-pause set on the last set
** Drop set on the last set
*** 5-second negatives on the last set
Workout 3: Arms And Abs
Workout 3 focuses on the arms and abs. The arms comprise the biceps, triceps, and forearm muscles. The biceps flex (bend) your elbow while the triceps help extend (straighten) your elbow.
The forearm muscles are split into two groups: the wrist flexors and wrist extensors. The wrist flexors flex (bend) your wrist toward your palm side and the wrist extensors extend your wrist backward.
Perform a rest-pause set on the last set of the close grip bench press while you’re still relatively fresh. In addition to increasing volume, rest-pause sets force you to work to failure. This is important for gains in strength and hypertrophy, especially for trained individuals.
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest (between sets) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close Grip Bench Press | 3 sets | 12* reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Weighted Dip | 3 sets | 12*** reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Rope Tricep Extension | 3 sets | 12** reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Lying Leg Raise | 3 sets | 12–15 reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Cable Crunch | 3 sets | 12–15 reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Barbell Curl | 3 sets | 12* reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Hammer Curl | 3 sets | 12** reps | 60–90 seconds |
| Cable Curl | 3 sets | 12*** reps | 60–90 seconds |
* Rest-pause set on the last set
** Drop set on the last set
*** 5-second negatives on the last set
Workout 4: Legs
Workout 4 targets the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. The quadriceps are responsible for extending (straightening) your knee and flexing (bending) your hip. The hamstrings help flex (bend) your knee and extend (straighten) your hip. The calves flex the knee and point your toes.
How many exercises per muscle group will depend on individual factors like recovery capability and injury status. However, most agree 2–4 exercises per major muscle group are adequate for muscle growth.
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest (between sets) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadlift | 3 sets | 12* | 60–90 seconds |
| Lying Leg Curl | 3 sets | 12** | 60–90 seconds |
| Walking Lunge | 3 sets | 12 | 60–90 seconds |
| Front Squat | 3 sets | 12* | 60–90 seconds |
| Leg Extension | 3 sets | 12*** | 60–90 seconds |
| Dumbbell Side Lunge | 3 sets | 12 | 60–90 seconds |
| Seated Calf Raise | 3–4 sets | 12*** | 60–90 seconds |
| Calf Press | 3–4 sets | 12** | 60–90 seconds |
* Rest-pause set on the last set
** Drop set on the last set
*** 5-second negatives on the last set
Benefits Of A Hypertrophy Workout Routine
Hypertrophy workouts have many benefits beyond bigger muscles. We’ve outlined three of the most important ones below.
Better Body Composition
For bodybuilders and other fitness enthusiasts, chiseling an impressive physique is a top priority. Typically, this means achieving an aesthetically pleasing figure with well-developed muscle definition and low body fat percentage.
With consistency and dedication, hypertrophy workouts can lead to positive changes in body composition. As your muscles adapt, lean body mass, or muscle mass, increases while your fat mass decreases. This results in bigger, more defined musculature and lower overall body fat percentage.
Improved Cardiometabolic Health
Cardiometabolic health refers to the health of your heart, blood vessels, and metabolism. Conditions that may arise due to poor cardiometabolic health include heart attacks, strokes, and type 2 diabetes.
Hypertrophy workouts focus on building muscle mass. Increased muscle mass has been shown to improve cardiovascular health, blood lipid profile, and insulin sensitivity. Therefore, when hypertrophy workouts are correctly implemented, they can result in these same benefits.
Increased Bone Mass
As society ages, the incidence of age-related diseases like osteoporosis continues to rise. Osteoporosis is defined by a marked loss of bone mass and an increased risk of fracture. Over 10 million Americans are affected by this disease, with an additional 34 million at risk.
Resistance exercise, including hypertrophy workouts, has been shown to help maintain musculoskeletal health as you age. The mechanical load placed on the bones by lifting weights can stimulate osteoblast activity, increasing bone mass and strength. Hence, hypertrophy workouts are effective tools in reducing the risk of age-related diseases like osteoporosis.
Other Things To Keep In Mind
Cardio
Cardio will not kill your gains. In fact, a 2023 study showed that combining aerobic exercise and hypertrophy training positively impacted chest and thigh girth measurements.
Three to four sessions of moderate cardio per week are sufficient. Limit the time to 20 minutes per session to avoid burning the calories your body needs to build muscle.
Nutrition
Growing muscles requires optimal nutrition and protein intake. Your body breaks down the protein you eat into amino acids. These amino acids are then used to build your muscles bigger and stronger after workouts.
Current guidelines recommend consuming 1.4–2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Break this down evenly throughout your meals each day. This will result in consuming approximately 20–40 grams of protein per meal.
Studies show that this recommendation is adequate for most lifters. However, advanced individuals may benefit from increased protein intake, consuming more than 3.0 g/kg/day. This may require supplementation to achieve protein intake goals.
Weight Selection
How much weight should I use? The answer is to choose a weight that allows you to complete the desired sets and reps. You must consider your fitness goals when determining how many sets and reps you should do.
In this workout plan, the goal is hypertrophy. A typical scheme is to perform 3–5 sets of 6–12 reps. Therefore, if you can do 20 reps with your chosen weight, it’s too light. Conversely, it’s too heavy if you can only perform three reps with your chosen weight.
This can be figured out by trial and error, or you can use the one repetition maximum method as a guideline. Your one repetition maximum, or 1RM, is the maximum amount of weight you can lift for one repetition with proper form. For hypertrophy workouts, you will lift 60%–80% of your 1RM for each exercise.
Conclusion
Make the most of your time in the gym over the next eight weeks with this hypertrophy workout plan.
Implement the program principles outlined above to provide variety to your workouts and push yourself to failure. This is a key component of muscle hypertrophy, so hit the gym and get started today!
Frequently Asked Questions
A hypertrophy workout focuses on building muscles and reducing body fat to improve definition. This means lifting moderate loads in a moderate repetition scheme to stimulate muscle growth.
There will be an overlap with other fitness goals, like strength and endurance. However, aiming for 6–12 reps with 60%–80% of your 1RM will optimize muscle growth. Perform each exercise 2–3 times per week to achieve your goals.
Yes, beginners, in particular, will achieve noticeable muscle gains in eight weeks. Bodybuilders typically bulk for 8–12 weeks before beginning a cutting phase. Seasoned lifters may need a longer time frame to see significant results.
Yes, 20 minutes can be enough for hypertrophy. Ensure you follow established guidelines for hypertrophy, like how many sets per muscle you should perform. Research suggests that 12–20 sets per muscle per week are enough to increase hypertrophy.
Resources
Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.
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About the Author
Tara Mitchell, DPT Doctor Of Physical Therapy
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