Hypertrophy Program for Aesthetics

About this program

In this program, I going to share my personal workout routines and experiences to guide you through a successful fitness
transformation. Throughout my years of training, I've discovered exercises and training styles that yielded the best results
for me personally to achieve an aesthetic build. I'll be providing my preferred workout split, outlining how I organize my
training days for optimal muscle development and overall recovery. Additionally, I'll provide a simple yet impactful nutrition
guide, sharing insights on how I would best approach a bulk or cut. Whether you're just starting out or a few months or
years into the gym this program will still be beneficial to your personal goals, offering valuable insights to help you achieve
your desired physique. Remember, consistency and dedication are key, and tailoring your approach to what works for you is
crucial in achieving long-lasting success. This program isn’t going to magically create a greek god physique for you if you
don’t put in the work. Consistency in diet and training will yield you the best and fastest results. Depending on your goals
this program will be able to provide valuable insight as I credit a lot of my current knowledge from known bodybuilders and
my personal experience with strictly hypertrophy training. This program is not about getting as strong as possible instead
putting on as much muscle tissue as possible with each training day.
Split
This is the current split I run obviously you can change the days around to whatever suits you, but this works best for me as
it aligns with my class schedule.

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - Chest / Triceps (I usually like to add a couple sets of lateral raises at the end of this workout)

Wednesday - Back / Biceps (Add in rear delt work if you lack)

Thursday - Rest

Friday - Legs

Saturday - Shoulders (PRIORITY) / Light chest work

Sunday - Arms
Exercises - Chest / Triceps (Tuesday)
Warm Up - Pec Deck Flies | 2 Sets of 8-10 Reps (LIGHT WEIGHT)

Compound - Smith Machine Incline Chest Press | 2 Top Sets of 7-10 Reps

Accessory E1 - High to Low Cable Flies | 3 Sets of 8-12 Reps

Accessory E2 - Plate Loaded Incline Chest Press | 2 Top Sets of 7-10 Reps

Accessory E3 - Pec Deck Flies | 3 Sets of 8-12 Reps

Accessory E4 - Low to High Cable Flies | 3 Sets of 8 -12 Reps

Triceps -

E1 - Tricep Pushdowns with bar or rope (Up to your preference) 3 Sets of 7–12 Reps

E2 - Overhead Tricep Extensions with cable or dumbbell (Up to your preference) 3 Sets of 7-12 Reps
Explanation of Execution of Chest Exercises
Warmup - Start on pec deck chest flies lightweight - 2 Sets / 8-10 reps( You don't want to get exhausted from this, this warm-up exercise is only to get blood into
your chest before we start our main compound lift) When doing this warm-up make sure you fully expand your chest on the pec deck when bringing your arms
out and squeeze your chest when bringing your arms inward. You want to control the eccentric portion ( expanding ) as much as possible. These reps should be
slow and controlled. Think and focus on your chest when doing this warm up.

Compound - Smith Machine Incline Chest Press ( Set up the bench around 45 degrees and u want the bar to land around your upper chest. I prefer gripping
around a little further from shoulder width) Again focus on going slow on the eccentric enough to feel the stretch on your chest when going down.
The second exercise - High to low flies on cables ( I set the cables pretty high but obviously accumulate depending on your height ) Ill first do a warmup set to
really get the blood into my chest before doing my actual counted sets. For the warm up just do a good 6-8 reps and really focus on squeezing your chest at the
end of the eccentric portion. After warm up i'll do 3 sets of around 10-12 reps, weight heavy enough to feel the cables wanting to pull me back. Even on your first
rep, the weight should feel heavy, but you’ll end up struggling around on your 7th or 8th rep. Try to really get these last reps you struggle on as these are the reps
that really count.
Third exercise - Plate loaded seated incline press - Again same logic as the smith machine incline press you want to build up to your weight. I'll do no weight first
and then slowly build up to my top weight where i'll do two sets at that weight which would be my top sets. After my top sets i'll go and do 1 or 2 back off sets
dropping weight each back off set.
Fourth exercise - Pec deck chest flies - Personally I do a good 4 sets on this exercise aiming for 8-12 reps. My last set will be a drop set, so I'll do my normal
weight to failure and then drop the weight enough to get at least a good couple of reps in. When doing these flies just really control and go slow on the part
where you expand your arms and really squeeze when you bring your arms inward. It should feel like your chest is ripping during the eccentric portion. I like
setting the pec deck a little further outwards so I can really get a nice stretch for my chest. Try closing your eyes when doing these reps it’ll help you really think
about the chest and feel the mind-muscle connection a lot better.
Fifth exercise - Low to High Cable flies - Keep your elbow locked you are only bringing your hand up in front of you. Think of squeezing your chest once your
hand reaches the top and during the eccentric think about stretching the chest to the side when bringing the handle down.
Exercises - Back / Biceps (Wednesday)
Warm Up - Pull Ups | 2 Sets of 6-10 Reps (If regular pull ups are too fatiguing use the assisted pull ups and just go extremely light focusing on opening up your
back/getting as much blood into the back as possible)

Exercise 1 - Chest Supported T - Bar Rows | 2 Top Sets of 7-10 Reps

E2 - Lat Pulldowns | 3 Sets of 8-12 Reps

E3 - Single Arm D - Handle Cable Rows | 3 Sets of 7-10 Reps

E4 - Plate Loaded Iso-Lateral Low Row | 2 Sets of 8-12 Reps

E5 - Seated Wide-Grip Cable Rows| 3 Sets of 8 -12 Reps

Biceps -

E1 - Bicep Curls or Preacher Curls (Up to your preference) 2 Sets of 8-12 Reps

E2 - Hammer Curls with rope attachment or dumbbells (Up to your preference) 2 Sets of 8-12 Reps
Explanation of Execution of Back Exercises
Warmup - Start on pull ups - 2 Sets / 6-10 reps( You don't want to get exhausted from this, this warm-up exercise is only to get blood into your back and open up
your back as much as possible before we start our exercises) When doing this warm-up make sure you fully go up and down stretching out your back on the
way down as well. Your main goal when doing this warm up is to really open up that back and get your lats pumped as this will help with mind muscle
connection during the other exercises.

First Exercise - Chest Supported T - Bar Row | Accumulate up to a weight where you can go heavy, but also be able to hit the 7-10 rep range, when doing this
exercise you really want to stretch your lats out in front of you on the way down. When pulling in the t bar squeeze your back as much as possible. Go extremely
slow as this will help keep constant tension throughout your back when doing your reps. Think about almost trying to bring your lats out in front of your chest
and remember to drive with your elbows avoid the use of shoulders / arms when pulling in.
The second exercise - Lat Pulldown | Pretty self explanatory remember to use a weight where you are able to control both the eccentric and concentric portion
of the movement. If you are dragging and pulling with your arms / swinging back and forth just to get the weight down you are going too heavy. When doing lat
pulldowns the intensity should be heavy enough, but you are able to pull without swinging. Remember to stretch your lats out during the eccentric portion (When
the bar goes up in this case).
Third exercise - Single Arm D - Handle Cable Rows - Again same logic as the t bar rows but instead for these cable rows I like to sit pretty far back and then lean
forward. This helps my lat get even more of a stretch when pulling out. I also like putting my other hand on the lat that is currently working just to help feel the
muscle working. Mind muscle connection is extremely important when doing any back movement. You should feel your lat stretching out almost in front of your
chest during the eccentric portion.
Fourth exercise - Plate Loaded Iso Row - Same concept as the t - bar rows | Accumulate up to a weight where you can go heavy, but also be able to hit the
desired hypertrophy rep ranges. Stretch and squeeze ( keep intensity high, but control every second of the rep)
Fifth exercise - Seated Wide Grip Cable Rows - Same concept as single arm cable rows, but instead this time with both lats working.
Exercises - Legs (Friday)
Warm Up - Treadmill 5-10 Minutes 10 Incline 2 Speed

Compound - Hack Squat | 2 Top Sets of 7-10 Reps - Include drop set for last set

Accessory E1 - Single Legged Quad Extensions | 3 Sets of 8-12 Reps

Accessory E2 - Lying Hamstring Curls | 3 Sets of 8-12 Reps

Accessory E3 - Quad Extensions | 2 Sets of 8-12 Reps

Accessory E4 - Single Legged Hamstring Curls| 3 Sets of 8 -12 Reps

Accessory E5 - Calf Raises | 2 Sets of 7 - 10 Reps

Don’t overcomplicate leg day, it’s the hardest yet simplest day of the week. Just go hard and keep intensity high throughout your workout.
Progressive overload on your compound and your legs will grow. You can swap out hack squat for smith machine squats with legs close
together. I usually avoid barbell squat for hypertrophy as you get so much more quad activation on hack squat. Remember the goal of this
program is to grow as much muscle tissue as possible. The fatigue to reward ratio for barbell squats is just not worth it.
Exercises - Shoulders(Priority) / Chest (Saturday)
Warm Up - Dumbbell Lateral Raises | 2 Sets of 6-10 Reps (Lightweight)

Exercise 1 (Compound) - Smith Machine Shoulder Press | 2 Top Sets of 7-10 Reps

E2 - Single Arm Cable Lateral Raise | 3 Sets of 8-12 Reps

E3 - Cable Lateral Raises| 3 Sets of 7-10 Reps

E4 - Dumbbell Lateral Raises | 2 Sets of 8-12 Reps

E5 - Pec Deck Rear Delt Flies or Cable Rear Delt Flies | 3 Sets of 8-12 Reps

Chest -

E1 - Pec Deck Chest Flies | 2 Sets of 8-12 Reps

E2 - High to Low Chest Flies | 2 Sets of 8-12 Reps

Explanation of Execution of Shoulder Exercises
Warmup - Start on dumbbell lateral raises - 2 Sets / 8-10 reps( You don't want to get exhausted from this, this warm-up
exercise is only to get blood into your shoulders before we start our main compound lift) When doing this warm-up make
sure you fully retract your shoulders and when doing any type of lateral raise your elbow should come up first before your
hand. Retracting your shoulders avoids the use of traps when doing lateral raises. Try to get your shoulders pumped as
much as possible when doing this warm up exercise.

Compound - Smith Machine Shoulder Press ( Set up the bench around 70 degrees. I prefer gripping shoulder width for this
compound lift) Accumulate weight up to your top set weight for example i’ll do a warmup set of 6-10 reps to get my form
down and make sure my shoulders/front delt is activating with no weight on the bar. I’ll move up to 135 for my second
warm up set but instead i’ll only do 3-4 reps. I’ll then move on to 185 and do 2-3 reps again to make sure my delts are
accumulating to the change in intensity/weight. These warm up sets are just to reduce the risk of injury and keep the
shoulders warm. I’ll then move on to my two top sets which would be 225 and i’ll try to aim for 6-10 reps during these two
top sets. Go slow on the eccentric and try to explode on the concentric, but remember keep each portion stable. Minimise
the use of lower back and leg drive when doing these reps.

Lateral Raises - Retract shoulders (Avoid use of traps) go slow on lateral raises.
Exercises - Arms (Sunday)
Triceps

Exercise 1 - Tricep Cable Rope Pushdowns | 3 Sets of 7-10 Reps

E2 - Tricep Cable Bar Pushdowns | 3 Sets of 8-12 Reps

E3 - Single Arm Tricep Pushdowns | 2 Sets of 7-10 Reps

E4 - Overhead Tricep Extensions Cable or Dumbbell | 2 Sets of 8-12 Reps

Biceps -

E1 - Bicep Curls or Preacher Curls (Up to your preference) 2 Sets of 8-12 Reps

E2 - Hammer Curls with rope attachment or dumbbells (Up to your preference) 2 Sets of 8-12 Reps

E3 - Single Arm Cable Curls with handle | 3 Sets of 8-12 Reps

E4 - Single Arm Hammer Curls with cable | 2 Sets of 8-12 Reps

Simple Nutrition Guide
First go to TDEE Calculator online ([Link] and input your stats. For activity input heavy exercise. This will calculate your maintenance calories. The site can
also be wrong at times as each individual is different so to accurately grasp your maintenance calories use the calculated maintenance calories and for a week keep eating at
that number. If your weight increases after a week your calculated maintenance calories is higher than calculated so subtract 200 or so vice versa with decrease in weight. After
finding your maintenance calories we are then able to use that number to start an efficient bulk or cut.

Cutting - Deficit of 200-300 Calories (As you get deeper into the deficit and into the low body fat ranges it gets harder to perform efficiently and keep workouts at high intensity,
but it’s important when even in a deficit that you keep intensity the same as when you were on the bulk. Train as hard as possible don’t lower the intensity of workouts even when
in a deficit) Cardio also helps I personally like to do fasted cardio in the morning for about 15 - 20 minutes. If you start to plateau in weight loss/body fat not decreasing you can
introduce carb cycling. For my most recent cut I tried out carb cycling and ultimately it was probably one of the most efficient deficits I had. Let me outline it out for you, so for
my carb cycling process I had 2 high carb days in a week and the other days were low carb. I would have my high carb day on Sunday and all the way until Thursday I would keep
my carbs at maximum of 50 grams of carbs total. On my high carb days i’ll stay at maintenance calories making sure not to go over into a surplus but instead i’ll have around
200 grams of carbs total for the day. I would do this on Sunday and Thursday as I generally want to have enough carbs in my system before my leg day which is Friday. Carb
Cycling is ultimately up to your preference such as you can have 1 high day in a week and all other low days other 1 high day and a few medium days. Personally it was easier for
me to track just 2 high days in a week and keep any other day as low as possible. Also total amount of carbs for the day will ultimately be up to you personally.

Bulking - Surplus of 200 Calories | Its very important when doing a bulk you minimize the amount of fat gained. Yes fat gain is inevitable on a bulk, but you can make the bulk as
efficient as possible by taking it as slow as possible. Your goal is to aim for around 0.5 lb gain per week. This is the most optimal amount of weight gain you should be having
each week. Accumulate calories every week, but make sure not to go into too heavy of a surplus. Gaining too much weight in a short period of time will have you gaining too
much fat and will lead the bulk to being inefficient. Remember your goal on a bulk is not to gain fat, but instead use those extra surplus of calories to gain more muscle tissue.
Keep foods clean even when on the bulk as digestion is the most important aspect when bulking. Better digestion will allow you to eat more and feel hungrier by the time your
next meal is up. Usually I try to stay away from chicken breast and stick to red meats or ground turkey/ground chicken as its easier to chew/digest after eating so many meals in
a day. Wake up early and time meals 2-2.5 hours apart. I wake up at 7 am and am able to get at least 5-6 meals in before 8 pm. Meal timing is extremely important as you don’t
want to wake up at 11 am and have to be up at 1 am at night trying to down your last meal in when your already exhausted.