Hard Gainer Workout Program

Hugo's Lean Gainer
Part 1

Click here for Part 2 of Hugo's Muscle Gain Program

Here is the first four weeks of my proposed 8 week plan (including diet as a bonus):

Week 1

Monday: Legs

Triset:
Lunges 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Leg Curls 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Squats 3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Triset:
Leg Press 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Leg Curls 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Leg Extensions 3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Modified Triset:
Calf Raises 3 sets of 8-20 reps (15 sec rest)
Calf Raises 3 sets of 8-20 reps (15 sec rest)
Calf Raises 3 sets of 8-20 reps (1 minute rest)

Notes:
1) Since all I have for calves at home is a standing calf raise machine, I loaded the stack up and did 20 reps to failure. Then I rested 15 seconds and did as many reps as possible to failure. After a 2nd 15 second rest I performed as may reps as possible again to failure with the same weight. After that, rested 1 minute and repeated the sequence.
2) The routine took me 35 minutes to complete

Tuesday: Chest & Back

Superset:
Incline Bench Press 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Wide Grip Pullups to Front 3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Chest Dips 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Chinups with reverse grip 3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Bench Press 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
One Arm Rows 3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Stiff Arm Pulldowns 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Flyes 3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Dumbbell Pullover 3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

1) The routine took me 40 minutes to complete

Wednesday: Shoulders and Arms

Giant Set:
Incline Curls 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Triceps Dips 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Hammer Curls 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Reverse Wrist Curls 3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Giant Set:
Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions 4 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Concentration Curls 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Triceps Pushdowns 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Wrist Curls 3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Upright Rows 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Lateral Raises 3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Behind The Neck Press 3 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Bent Over Lateral Raises 3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Notes:
1) This routine will pump every single fiber in your arms. Trust me :-)
2) It took me 50 minutes to complete

Thursday: Abs and Cardio

Giant Set:
Leg Raise + Crunch 3 sets of 25 reps (no rest)
Crunches 3 sets of 25 reps (no rest)
Knee Ups 3 sets of 25 reps (no rest)
Leg Raises 3 sets of 25 reps (1 minute rest)

Stationary Bike
20 minutes

Notes:
1) The Ab Routine took me 7 minutes to complete.
2) To perform the Leg Raise + Crunch exercise, just raise your legs to a 90 degree angle, crunch, lower your legs and torso. Repeat. It's a killer.
3) For the bike, I would start slowly for the 1st minute, accelerate on the 2nd, go faster on the 3rd, even faster on the fourth, go all out on the 5th. After the 5th minute I would just start the sequence again. I would do four of these sequences in the 20 minutes. If this technique looks familiar, it is. I borrowed it from Bill Phillips' Body for Life book. Its an awesome way to do cardio.

Friday: Legs

Repeat Monday workout

Notes:
1) Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday: Upper Body

Superset:
Behind the Neck Press 4 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Chinups with Reverse Grip 4 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Incline Bench Press 4 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Dumbbell Pullover 4 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
One Arm Dumbbell Row 4 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Bent Over Lateral Raise 4 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Barbell Curl 4 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Triceps Dips 4 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Reverse Barbell Curl 4 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Wrist Curl 4 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Notes:
1) I was thanking Dave on this one as soon as I was done and looked at the mirror. I had a massive pump Everywhere!!!!!!!! Awesome Routine!
2) It took me 60 minutes to finish.
3) Even though it looks like the arms are receiving less stimulation, they really aren't. Biceps are being hammered on the Chinups, Rows, and Reverse BB Curls. Triceps are being hammered on the Presses and Pullovers.

Sunday: Abs and Cardio

Repeat Thursday

Week 2

Notes:
1) Same Routine as Week 1 but increase the number of sets from 3 to 4. This will make every routine 10 minutes longer.
2) The Saturday Upper Body Routine changes to the following:

Superset:
Incline Bench Press 8x10 (no rest)
Wide Grip Pullup to Front 8x10 (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Dumbbell Curls 8x10 (no rest)
Lying Triceps Extensions 8x10 (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Upright Rows 3x10 (no rest)
Bent Over Lateral Raises 3x10 (1 minute rest)

This routine takes 55 minutes to complete

Week 3

Notes:

1) Same Routine as Week 1. Keep the number of sets at 4.
2) Perform the following Saturday Routine

Superset:
Behind the Neck Press 4 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Chinups with Reverse Grip 4 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Incline Bench Press 4 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Dumbbell Pullover 4 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
One Arm Dumbbell Row 4 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Bent Over Lateral Raise 4 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Barbell Curl 4 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Triceps Dips 4 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Reverse Barbell Curl 4 sets of 8-12 reps (no rest)
Wrist Curl 4 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)

Week 4

Notes:
1) Same Routine as Week 1. Increase the number of sets to 5. Each routine will now last 10 more minutes.
2) Perform the following Saturday Routine:

Superset:
Incline Bench Press 10x10 (no rest)
Wide Grip Pullup to Front 10x10 (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Dumbbell Curls 10x10 (no rest)
Lying Triceps Extensions 10x10 (1 minute rest)

Superset:
Upright Rows 3x10 (no rest)
Bent Over Lateral Raises 3x10 (1 minute rest)

The routine above will take a maximum of 70 minutes to complete.

BONUS: DIET

As far as diet, increase your food intake a bit in order to compensate for the increased activity. That way you avoid losing muscle mass and you increase your metabolism.

Meals 1, 3, & 5
Protein shake consisting of:
2 scoops of whey protein
12 oz of skim milk
1 banana
1 tablespoon of Spectrum flax seed oil

Note: I changed my Barleans Flaxseed Oil to Spectrum as the health food store owner told me that Barleans was not refrigerating the Oil while it was being delivered. Spectrum refrigerates on delivery.

Meals 2, 4, & 6
Chicken sandwich consisting of
2 whole wheat slices of bread
lettuce/tomato
8 ounces of chicken

Meal 7
1 scoop of whey protein
12 oz of skim milk

Beverages:
Plenty of water (1-2 gallons a day)

Saturday and Sunday Diet:
More of the same but slightly larger protein intake and carb intake to shock the metabolism. That way the body keeps responding to the diet.

Same diet described above with the following additions:

Meals 1, 3, & 5
Same as above plus an extra 1/2 scoop of protein to the shakes and 1 light all natural yogurt that contained 0 grams of fat, 10 grams of protein and 22 grams of carbs.

Meals 2, 4, & 6
Same as above plus fruit salad consisting of fresh bananas, mango and pineapples. Also added an extra 2 ounces of chicken to the sandwich.

Meal 7
1 scoop of whey protein
12 oz of skim milk
Banana

Supplements:
Creatine: 10 grams after weight training workout and 5 after cardio
Multiple Vitamin and Mineral Formula
200mcgs of Chromium Picolinate after the workout (weights or cardio)
1000grams of vitamin C after the workout.

Results:
With the routine above, expect to get a bit of more muscle but above all a decreased waistline. Also, expect getting more endurance and cardiovascular conditioning. Even though I usually recommend changing strategies every three weeks, since the requirement of the routine is to be 8 weeks long, I extended the loading phase an extra week. Will do the same with the growth phase. After these 8 weeks go for a weeks long Active Recovery Phase (which I will post later for everyone's benefit).

Take Care and Train Hard!
Hugo A. Rivera
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Click here for Part 2 of Hugo's Muscle Gain Program

Click here for Henrik's Weight Gain Routine and Eating Plan

Click here for Dave's simple weight gain tips

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