Elite Physique The New Science of Building a Better Body

CHAPTER 8
Muscle-Building
Programs
In chapter 3 we cover the rules for building muscle. Those principles and other
important factors help you get the most out of the following muscle-building
programs. This chapter covers the components of designing workouts that
maximize the principles for muscle and strength development. It also discusses
ways to perform your sets; how to structure those sets; and how to choose the
right exercises, loads, and frequency.
Structuring Your Workout to Build Muscle
As mentioned throughout this book, full-body training is the preferred workout
structure because it stimulates the greatest amount of muscle building. It is also
the most efficient, meaning it requires the fewest workouts per week to achieve
the greatest frequency per muscle group. Perform a dynamic warm-up (see
chapter 3) before any of the workouts in this chapter. When your body is ready,
perform the first exercise.
Exercise Movement Patterns
It is generally accepted that an upper body pull (e.g., row) is less stressful on the
shoulder joint than an upper body push (e.g., bench press). Therefore, your first
exercise in these workouts will be an upper body pull, which increases blood flow
to the shoulder joint and better prepares it for the upper body push that follows.
After the upper body push you’ll perform a lower body–dominant exercise. This
makes up the three necessary movement patterns for a full-body workout:
• Upper body pull movement
• Upper body push movement
• Lower body–dominant movement
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