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[WOTM, 11/2014] Build An Elite Physique With The 4-Day Muscle Thrashing Workout Program

Posted by on Nov 4, 2014 in Ab Workout Plans, Beginner's Workout Plans, Biceps & Triceps Workout Plans, Chest Workout Plans, Featured Article, Full Body Workout Plans, Legs & Butt Workout Plans, Muscle It UP, Shoulder Workout Plans, Workout Of The Month, Workout Plans | 40 comments

Workout D — Chest & Triceps

 

1. DROP SET — Dumbbell Chest Press 

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Image: Bodybuilding.com

How To:

Protocol: 3 drop sets — 12 reps + 12 reps + 12 reps

Target Muscle(s): Chest, Triceps

If you’ve never done a drop set, here’s how it works. They’re evil, but oh-so-potent.

  • Complete 3 sets of the Dumbbell Chest Press—without rest—decreasing the weight used in each subsequent set. Drop the weight by roughly 25% from set-to-set.
  • For example, you could do 12 reps with 60 pounds, 12 reps with 45 pounds, and then 12 reps with 30 pounds in a row. Don’t worry if you fatigue and can’t bang out a full 12 reps on sets #2 and #3. Push through the burn and do as many as possible.

We’re doing three TOTAL drop sets.

 

 

2. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press

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How To:

Protocol: 3 sets — 12 reps

Target Muscle(s): Chest (Upper), Triceps

  • (1) Set up a bench so that it’s at a 45º angle.
  • (2) Dig your feet into the ground and press the dumbbells straight up over the upper part of your chest. Keep your arms at 60º with your torso.
  • (3) Slowly lower the dumbbells until they’re in line with your collarbone. Powerfully press up and SQUEEZE your pecs together at the top.

 

 

3. SUPERSET — Dumbbell Pullovers + Dumbbell Chest Flies

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How To:

Protocol: 3 supersets — 12 reps + 12 reps

Target Muscle(s): Chest, Lats

  • (1) Complete 12 reps of the Dumbbell Pullover. Lie perpendicular across a flat bench with a dumbbell directly over your chest. Keep your arms extended and slowly lower the weight behind your head.
  • (2) Contract your lats and lower chest and pull the dumbbell back up to start. Thrust your hips up so that your body is flat. Your abs should be tight the entire time.
  • (3) Immediately, without rest, grab a second set of dumbbells and do 12 Dumbbell Chest Flies. Squeeze your chest at the top.

 

 

4. Dips

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How To:

Protocol: 3 sets — 15 reps

Target Muscle(s): Triceps, Chest

  • (1) Set-up on parallel bars. Lean forward slightly and slowly lower your body until your triceps are parallel with the ground.
  • (2) Powerfully contract your triceps + chest and press all the way up. SQUEEZE at the top.
  • (3) Repeat for 15 total reps. If you’re strong enough, hold a dumbbell between your feet — you’ll crank up the difficulty and put more pressure on your chest/triceps.
  • If regular dips are too hard, do bench dips.

 

 

5. Overhead Triceps Extensions

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How To:

Protocol: 2 sets — 12 reps

Target Muscle(s): Triceps

  • (1) Sit down on a flat bench and hold a dumbbell straight up above your head.
  • (2) Keep your core tight, back straight, and the lower part of your arms stationary. Slowly hinge at your elbows and lower the weight behind your head. Your forearms should be slightly further than parallel with the ground. Make sure that your elbows stay tucked in tight.
  • (3) Powerfully contract your triceps and press the dumbbell straight overhead.

 

 

6. Twisting Push Ups

How To:

Protocol: 2 sets — 10 reps/side

Target Muscle(s): Chest, Triceps

  • (1) Do a regular push up, but at the top of the movement, rotate onto your right hand and twist up into a side plank. Reach your left hand up as far as possible.
  • (2) Continue to alternate until you’ve done 10 twisting push ups per side (or until failure).

 

 

7. Lying Triceps Extensions

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Image: Bodybuilding.com 

How To:

Protocol: 2 sets — 15 reps

Target Muscle(s): Triceps

  • (1) Lie down on a flat bench and raise 2 dumbbells straight above your chest. Maintain a tight core.
  • (2) Keep the lower part of your arms straight and locked, hinge at your elbows, and slowly lower the dumbbells down beside your head. DO NOT lower them on top of your face. Teeth are important. Also, keep your elbows tucked in — don’t flare them out.
  • (3) Powerfully contract your triceps and shoot the dumbbells back up to starting position.

 

Pages: Legs/HIIT | Shoulders/Abs | Back/Biceps | Chest/Triceps | Recap
Bryan DiSanto

Bryan DiSanto

Owner & Editor-in-Chief at Lean It UP
Bryan DiSanto is the Owner & Editor-in-Chief of Lean It UP, a culinary student at Le Cordon Bleu – Paris, an ACE-CPT & CSN, NYU graduate, ex-fat kid, and all-around fitness/nutrition nutjob.

He also contributes to Men's Health Magazine.

When he’s not working on his (or somebody else’s) abs, whipping up Eggocados, or running a Tough Mudder, he’s probably off yelling at a Carolina Panthers game somewhere.
Bryan DiSanto

Latest posts by Bryan DiSanto (see all)

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  • Allen Cagle

    Like the multi day plans! Starting next week, thanks.

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

      Definitely, we’ll try to blend more full splits with one-off workouts. Keep me posted on how it goes!

  • jazzman

    This looks like a great routine ! Can’t wait to start it next week. Got to get shredded by Christmas to justify that food fest

  • Dave Keirstead

    Starting this today and really excited! Had a ton of success with your Tough Mudder routine and plan to do so with this one as well!

    • Dave Keirstead

      Soooo after doing workout A yesterday and continuing on with B today I was definitely feeling like I needed one of those special post-leg day parking spots at the gym. My glutes and hamstrings hurt so good!!

      • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

        Hahaha, you really should win one of those parking spots after finishing the program.

        Awesome, keep pushing, I’m very curious how the entire plan goes for you.

  • Ashlee

    THANK YOU for all of the WOTM plans. I’ve been loving them! Keeps my workouts on track and efficient. I’m on day 3/Workout C. Definitely feeling it from A & B workouts. Totally agree with Dave down there… my glutes and hamstrings were killed. Thanks again!!

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

      Hey Ashlee — YOU GOT IT! So glad that it’s been working for you so far, I love murdering legs/hammys/glutes :).

      If you ever have any questions at all, feel free to throw them up on our message boards: https://www.leanit-up.com/chat/forums/

  • jim

    Bryan, I love this workout. I just had one question on the first set of Chest. You say do 3 Total drop sets. If I read that right, that be 108 total reps?

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

      Hey Jim — Sorry for the delay. Yup, it’s a max of 36 reps per drop set, so 108 reps total. Of course, it’s okay if you can’t hit the full 36, there’s a high chance you’ll fatigue before finishing.

  • Younes

    Thanks for the workout i have been enjoying it so far i just wanted your input on something, I manage to finish each workout in approximately an hour.. and i wanted to up my training to two hours a day in the coming month 1hour in morning & 1hour in evening.. the question is shall i do the same workout twice a day or try something else and could you give an example if so ? my main goal is to get to 13% body fat in the next month i am currently at 15%.. thanks for your time

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

      Hey Younes — Generally I wouldn’t recommend doing THAT much, as the workouts are already hyper-intense. Over time it’s really hard on the body and can actually be counterproductive.

      That said, if you’re going that route, I’d follow the routine above and then supplement with targeted moves for any areas that you REALLY want to focus on.

      Maybe that’s more abs, HIIT cardio to tear off extra fat, or additional biceps/triceps work. Find your weaknesses/goals and emphasize them.

  • lisa poss

    Love all your workouts. I recommend you all the time. Love this one. Thanks!

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

      Thanks a ton Lisa, you’re so welcome!

      If you ever have any questions feel free to stop by our message boards: https://www.leanit-up.com/chat/forums/

      -Bryan

  • Leigh Anne

    Hi…I am new to this site and am interested in the workout above. 4 day muscle thrashing routine. Question: Can I add more cardio? and Ab work is only on 1 day? Can I do more?

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

      Hey Leigh — So awesome to have you here. Definitely. Feel free to modify the plans however you’d like to your own needs. And you can absolutely add additional ab work, I’ll never be opposed to that.

      Just keep in mind that in addition to the direct ab exercises, the majority of the exercises included do hammer the core and work the abs indirectly. And if you follow the “hardcore” 6 day/week schedule you’ll get 2 ab days during most weeks.

      Check out our ab workout section if you want to include an additional circuit: https://www.leanit-up.com/category/muscle-it-up/workout-of-the-month/ab-workout-plans/

      And if you ever have any additional questions, feel free to drop them on our message boards: https://www.leanit-up.com/chat/forums/

      -Bryan

  • Saurabh

    Hi,

    My gym is very crowded (public gym) and sometimes the equipments are occupied. Can I shuffle the exercises so that I can maintain the intensity? Like do exercise 1, then 3 and then 2? Of course I’ll maintain the supersets and not shuffle that combination.

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

      Hey Saurabh — Of course, definitely shuffle as much as needed, I basically never get to do my workouts as they’re planned for just that reason.

      Keeping the workout moving (and highly intense) is the most important factor.

      -Bryan

  • Andy

    Hi, I am going to start with this routine today. Do I have to do this in the order you specified or can I do shoulders first then abs?

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

      Hey Andy — If possible, try to run it in the order I laid out. It’s designed that way intentionally.

      Obviously if equipment is a problem though and it’s preventing you from doing the workout, adapt as needed.

  • Perris

    Hello. I have an athletically shaped body. I am kind of at the point now that if I lose more weight I feel I will not look as good. I do still have a layer of fat over my abs though…but that is my only problem area. I know most people say this but I really do just want to cut up and to be stronger. Would you say this workout plan would be good for me? I am 5’7, 174lbs, but I am built like an athlete…from running track for so long, so I carry my weight well.

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

      Definitely. Given your measurements/body type, it looks like you just need to recompose your body while you’re maintaining your weight.

      This plan is fantastic for slapping on new strength and muscle mass, while cutting fat. It does it in a slow calculated way, but you’ll gradually find yourself dropping BF% while gaining muscle over time. That’s a net gain.

      That said, most of your progress will be determined by your diet/calories consumed. For the above, I’m assuming you’re eating around maintenance, which produces a slow calculated transformation. If you increase calories you might more gain muscle mass, while fat weight stays relatively constant (which is a net decrease in BF%). Conversely, if you drop calories, you’ll accelerate BF loss, but muscle mass will likely stay the same/increase slowly.

      • Perris

        Thank you so much for taking the time to respond back. I probably need to cut back on my calories a bit. Thanks again.

        • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

          You got it. I’d drop them very slightly (200-300 calorie deficit), but don’t do anything too drastic.

          The workout itself churns up calories like crazy, so a big deficit really isn’t needed.

  • Knucklehead

    I’ve now gone through this 8 week program with really good results, but I’m starting to feel stagnant. What plan would you recommend I go to next?

  • Rhys Niemann

    Hey, thinking about starting this routine with 6 sessions a week. Any advice for fat loss alongside this plan ? Would it be worth doing if fat loss is a goal? (As well as maintaining/increasing muscle mass)

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

      Hey Rhys —

      The beauty of intense resistance training is that it’s probably THE most effective way to burn fat and recompose the body.

      Follow it as-is for 4 weeks and monitor your progress — you can always throw in an extra HIIT session each week.

      Really, the best advice I can give you is to focus heavily on maintaining a clean diet. Eat well to supplement your training—and definitely up your protein, to support the increased muscle breakdown—and you’ll see extremely exciting results.

      I love your drive. Keep killing it and let me know if you have any questions!

      -Bryan

      • Rhys Niemann

        So should I be going for as heavy as I can do for that rep range? Made some decent strength gains recently in terms of squat, deadlifts and presses

        • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

          Exactly! Use the heaviest weight possible that lets you hit the prescribed # of reps (12, 15, whatever).

          Once you hit that number with a given weight, increase it during your next set and workout. That’s the basic concept of “progressive resistance,” which is absolutely key for strength gains.

          As you up the weight, it’s okay if you can’t initially hit the given # of reps. It’ll come with time.

          • Rhys Niemann

            Thanks Bryan! Great website too by the way, been looking through for a while now!

  • Luis

    Hi Brian. Awesome workout! Quick question- I used to be a long distance runner but I permanently damaged my aquiles heel and I can’t run anymore. Any advice on how to do the HITT cardio workout without having to run on the treadmill?

    • patrick

      Bike?

  • Patricia

    I love it. I like how each day is working a combination of muscle groups and not just focusing on one. Will definitely be doing this for the next weeks to come.

  • Sara

    Hi Brian. I’ve been using your plan for about 6 weeks and i think it’s great, i’ve improved greatly and see changes in my body… however the only exercise where I haven’t increased weight is squats….I still get DOMS after a leg day so I know I’m working my muscles. Any ideas why that might be? Thanks!

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

      Hey Sara! It’s hard to say without seeing your workouts personally, but try dropping the reps and increasing the weight. You might’ve hit a plateau and it could be as simple as switching up your rep schemes,

      Try this — instead of squatting for 12 reps, try 5 rep sets at a heavier weight. You’ll automatically increase the weight and spark new gains, and hopefully see pretty substantial strength increases over time.

      Make sure you keep your form on point.

      • Sara

        Great, thanks Bryan. I strictly follow your routine (and try to eat as clean as possible) and on average I increase weights every 1.5-2 weeks or so…I’ll try to do what you suggested when squatting and hopefully it helps. I always keep my form on point though, not worth risking an injury! Thanks again!

      • Sara

        Brian, just to let you know I’ve increased the weight and dropped the reps, and I’ve seen immense gains, I went from 30kg to 40kg squat in just 2 weeks!
        On a different note, been doing this plan for 9-10 weeks now, would you recommend to switch to a different one? If so, do you have any to recommend?
        Thanks for everything!

  • Sara

    Bryan, just to let you know I’ve increased the weight and dropped the reps, and I’ve seen immense gains, I went from 30kg to 40kg squat in just 2 weeks!
    On a different note, been doing this plan for 9-10 weeks now, would you recommend to switch to a different one? If so, do you have any to recommend?
    Thanks for everything!

  • http://rebeccaslosberg.com/ Rebecca Slosberg

    Hi Brian, I just started this plan today, and im super excited. I did sprain my shoulder three weeks ago, not better yet, but getting there. Tomorrows Shoulder/AB workout may not be a great idea for me yet, is there something else I can do this week, and possibly next in place of the B day while I wait out the shoulder issues :(

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