Press a barbell on an incline bench to target the upper chest.
Perform chest flyes using cables for constant tension.
Press dumbbells overhead to build shoulder and tricep strength.
Pull down the bar to build a wider back. Perfect for hitting those lats hard.
Build full-body strength and improve your posture.
Sit or lie on the leg curl machine, and lift your legs up towards your butt, focusing on squeezing your hamstrings.
A challenging single-leg exercise to build strength, balance, and stability in your legs and glutes.
A great exercise to isolate and build the soleus muscle.
Press weight on a decline bench to target the lower chest.
A shoulder press with a twist—literally!
A compound exercise that targets multiple back muscles.
Improve shoulder health and posture with face pulls.
Lower the barbell while keeping your legs straighter than in a conventional deadlift.
A safe and effective lower body exercise using a machine to build strength and muscle mass.
Strengthen your hamstrings and improve your lower body stability.
Strengthen your core and improve stability.
Common questions about this plan: schedule, goals, equipment, and substitutions.
Both are solid intermediate hypertrophy splits. The differences come down to frequency per muscle and sessions per week.
If you can commit to 4 days a week and want faster muscle growth, pick this plan. If your schedule only allows 3, pick Hypertrophy Focus Intermediate.
Working sets should land at RPE 7–9 — meaning you stop with 1–3 reps still in the tank. Concretely:
For most working sets in this plan, target RPE 8. The plan uses weekly weight progression, so if you can hit RPE 7 with last week's weight, bump it 2.5–5 lb (1–2 kg) for the same set this week. If RPE 9 doesn't get you to the prescribed reps, drop weight 5–10% on the next session and rebuild.
Yes, with caveats.
Arms day: a 5th day for biceps/triceps is fine if your arms feel undertrained. The plan already hits arms indirectly on upper days (presses, rows, pulls) but a dedicated session can speed development. Keep it short — 30 minutes, 4–5 isolation exercises.
Cardio: 2–3 sessions of low-to-moderate cardio per week (zone 2, 30–40 min walks/cycles) won't interfere with hypertrophy and can speed recovery. Avoid high-intensity intervals the day before lower-body sessions — they leave your legs too taxed for heavy squats and deadlifts.