Based on The Muscle & Strength Training Pyramid by Eric Helms et al.

Program Overview

This 4-day novice bodybuilding program is designed for overall muscle development and building a balanced, symmetrical physique. The program focuses on compound movements for strength and muscle mass, supplemented with isolation exercises for complete development.

Program Structure:

  • 4 training days per week
  • Upper/Lower split with strength and volume days
  • 10-12 sets per muscle group per week
  • Linear progression for novice trainees

Important Guidelines

Before You Start

  • Get proper coaching on exercise form, especially for compound movements
  • Establish your 1RM on main lifts using a 3-5RM test with spotters
  • Learn RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) - Rate sets 1-10 based on reps in reserve
  • Track your workouts to monitor progress

RPE Scale Reference

  • RPE 10: Could not do more reps or load (failure)
  • RPE 9: Could do 1 more repetition
  • RPE 8: Could do 2 more repetitions
  • RPE 7: Could do 3 more repetitions
  • RPE 5-6: Could do 4-6 more repetitions

Warm-Up Protocol

Perform before each workout

Dynamic Warm-Up (5-10 minutes)

  • 10 Leg Swings Front to Back
  • 10 Leg Swings Side to Side
  • 10 Arm Circles Forward
  • 10 Arm Circles Backward
  • 10 Cross Body Arm Slaps
  • 10 Walking Lunges with Trunk Rotation

Exercise-Specific Warm-Up

For each main lift, perform progressive warm-up sets:

Warm-Up Set Reps Rest % Working Weight
Set 1 8 1:00 - 2:00 50%
Set 2 4 2:00 - 3:00 70%
Set 3 2 See Working Set 90%

4-Day Bodybuilding Program

Day 1 - Lower Body Strength

Exercise Sets Reps Rest %1RM RPE
Squat Variant 3 5 3:00 82.5% -
Deadlift Variant 3 5 3:00 82.5% -
Single Leg Variant 3 8 2:00 - 8
Standing Calf Raise 4 8 1:30 - 8

Day 2 - Upper Body Strength

Exercise Sets Reps Rest %1RM RPE
Horizontal Push 3 5 3:00 82.5% -
Horizontal Pull 3 5 2:30 - 8
Vertical Push 2 8 2:30 72.5% -
Vertical Pull 2 8 2:00 - 8
Chest Flys 2 15 1:30 - 8

Day 3 - Lower Body Volume

Exercise Sets Reps Rest %1RM RPE
Hip Hinge Variant 3 8 2:30 - 8
Leg Press Variant 3 8 2:30 - 8
Leg Extension 3 12 1:30 - 8
Leg Curl 3 12 1:30 - 8
Seated Calf Raise 4 15 1:30 - 8

Day 4 - Upper Body Volume

Exercise Sets Reps Rest %1RM RPE
Horizontal Push 3 10 2:30 67.5% -
Horizontal Pull 3 10 2:00 - 8
Incline Push 2 12 2:00 - 8
Vertical Pull 2 12 2:00 - 8
Triceps Isolation 2 12 1:30 - 8
Biceps Isolation 2 12 1:30 - 8

Understanding “Main Lifts” for Bodybuilding

Main lifts are your primary compound movements that form the foundation of your muscle-building program. These are NOT just the powerlifting “big 3” (squat, bench, deadlift).

For Bodybuilding, Main Lifts Include:

  • Primary compound movements that work multiple muscle groups
  • Exercises you track for strength progress (usually have %1RM listed)
  • Movements you can progressively overload easily week-to-week
  • Foundation exercises that drive most of your muscle growth

Your Main Lifts in This Program:

  • Squat Variant (Day 1)
  • Deadlift Variant (Day 1)
  • Horizontal Push (Days 2 & 4) - Bench press, dumbbell press
  • Vertical Push (Day 2) - Overhead press, shoulder press
  • Horizontal Pull (Days 2 & 4) - Rows
  • Hip Hinge Variant (Day 3) - Romanian deadlifts, good mornings

NOT Main Lifts:

  • Isolation exercises - bicep curls, leg extensions, calf raises
  • Assistance movements - these support your main lifts
  • High-rep accessory work - usually 12+ reps for “pump” work

The main lifts are typically the first 1-2 exercises of each workout and are where you focus on getting stronger over time.

Exercise Selection Guide

Free Weight Variants

Primary Movement Patterns

  • Squat Variant: Back squat, front squat, goblet squat, safety bar squat
  • Deadlift Variant: Conventional deadlift, Romanian deadlift, sumo deadlift
  • Hip Hinge Variant: Romanian deadlift, good morning, weighted back extension
  • Single Leg Variant: Bulgarian split squat, lunges, step-ups, single-leg RDL

Upper Body Movements

  • Horizontal Push: Bench press, dumbbell bench press, incline press
  • Horizontal Pull: Barbell row, dumbbell row, T-bar row
  • Vertical Push: Overhead press, dumbbell shoulder press, seated press
  • Vertical Pull: Pull-ups, chin-ups
  • Incline Push: Incline barbell press, incline dumbbell press

Isolation Exercises

  • Triceps: Close-grip bench press, dips, overhead dumbbell extension
  • Biceps: Barbell curls, dumbbell curls, hammer curls
  • Chest Flys: Dumbbell flys
  • Calf Raises: Barbell calf raises, dumbbell calf raises

Machine Variants

Primary Movement Patterns

  • Squat Variant: Hack squat, Smith machine squat, V-squat machine, leg press machine
  • Deadlift Variant: Cable/machine deadlift, Smith machine deadlift
  • Hip Hinge Variant: Cable pull-through
  • Single Leg Variant: Single-leg press, machine step-ups

Upper Body Movements

  • Horizontal Push: Chest press machine, cable chest press
  • Horizontal Pull: Cable row, machine row, T-bar row machine
  • Vertical Push: Shoulder press machine, cable shoulder press
  • Vertical Pull: Lat pulldown, cable pulldown variations
  • Incline Push: Incline chest press machine, incline cable press

Isolation Exercises

  • Triceps: Tricep pushdowns, cable overhead extensions, tricep dips machine
  • Biceps: Cable curls, machine curls, preacher curl machine
  • Chest Flys: Cable flys, pec deck machine
  • Leg Extension: Leg extension machine
  • Leg Curl: Seated leg curl machine, lying leg curl machine, standing leg curl machine
  • Calf Raises: Standing calf raise machine, seated calf raise machine

Progression Rules

Week-to-Week Progression

For exercises with %1RM:

  • Squat/Deadlift/Hip Hinge/Leg Press: Increase by 10 lbs (5 kg) per week
  • All other exercises: Increase by 5 lbs (2.5 kg) per week

For RPE-based exercises (First Set RPE 8):

  • Choose a weight where your first set feels like an RPE 8
  • Use the same weight for all sets
  • If you can complete all sets without exceeding RPE 10, increase weight next week
  • Use smallest available increment (usually 2.5-5 lbs)

Stalling Protocol

If you can’t complete target reps for 2 consecutive weeks:

  1. Week 1 failure: Keep same weight, try again
  2. Week 2 failure: Reduce load by 10%
  3. Work back up using same progression
  4. If stalling again: Reduce weekly increases by half
  5. Multiple lift stalling: Consider advancing to intermediate programming

Training Schedule Options

Option A: Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri

  • Monday: Day 1 (Lower Strength)
  • Tuesday: Day 2 (Upper Strength)
  • Thursday: Day 3 (Lower Volume)
  • Friday: Day 4 (Upper Volume)

Option B: Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat

  • Monday: Day 1 (Lower Strength)
  • Wednesday: Day 2 (Upper Strength)
  • Friday: Day 3 (Lower Volume)
  • Saturday: Day 4 (Upper Volume)

Option C: Tue/Wed/Fri/Sat

  • Tuesday: Day 1 (Lower Strength)
  • Wednesday: Day 2 (Upper Strength)
  • Friday: Day 3 (Lower Volume)
  • Saturday: Day 4 (Upper Volume)

Choose the schedule that best fits your life and allows for adequate recovery between sessions

Antagonist Paired Sets (Optional)

To save time, you can pair opposing muscle groups on Days 2-4

Day 2 Pairings:

  • Horizontal Push ↔ Horizontal Pull (2 min rest between exercises)
  • Vertical Push ↔ Vertical Pull (2 min rest between exercises)

Day 4 Pairings:

  • Horizontal Push ↔ Horizontal Pull (2 min rest between exercises)
  • Incline Push ↔ Vertical Pull (2 min rest between exercises)
  • Triceps ↔ Biceps (1 min rest between exercises)

Important Safety Notes

  1. Never train compound lifts to failure - Stop at technical failure
  2. Use spotters for bench press and heavy squats when possible
  3. Focus on perfect form over heavy weight - strength will follow
  4. Control the eccentric (lowering) portion of all lifts
  5. Listen to your body - if something hurts, stop and assess
  6. Get adequate sleep (8+ hours) and nutrition for recovery
  7. Stay hydrated throughout your workouts

Weekly Volume Breakdown

This program provides the following weekly volume per muscle group:

Muscle Group Sets
Chest 10
Back 10
Shoulders 10
Biceps 12
Triceps 12
Quadriceps 11
Glutes 14
Hamstrings 9
Calves 8

Recovery and Lifestyle Factors

Essential for Progress:

Factor Recommendation
Enjoyment Choose exercises you enjoy to stay motivated
Safety Use proper form and equipment to prevent injury
Sleep 7-9 hours/night
Nutrition Adequate protein (1g per cm in height) and calories
Hydration Adequate water intake throughout the day
Stress Management Keep life stress manageable when possible
Consistency Show up and train regularly

Remember: Consistency and progressive overload over time will build the physique you want. Focus on form, effort, and patience.

Technical Failure and Rep Ranges

Understanding Technical Failure

When training, it’s crucial to avoid pushing sets to complete failure, especially for compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses.

Key principles

  1. Stop Before Form Breakdown

    • Aim to complete sets with perfect technique
    • Stop the set when you feel you have 1-2 reps left in reserve
    • Do NOT intentionally push to see where your form breaks down

  2. Rep Range Strategy

    • If you feel you could do 2 more reps with good form, end the set
    • This means stopping when you have 2 reps left in reserve
    • Do not attempt those additional reps, even to “test” your form

Why Avoid Technical Failure?

  • Injury Prevention: Pushing past good form increases injury risk
  • Skill Development: Consistently maintaining good technique builds proper movement patterns
  • Long-Term Progress: Preserving technique supports sustainable training

Practical Application

  • For each set, focus on maintaining perfect form
  • Choose a weight that allows you to complete all prescribed reps with excellent technique
  • When in doubt, stop the set earlier rather than grinding out extra reps

Special Considerations for Compound Lifts

Compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses require extra caution:

  • These exercises involve multiple muscle groups and complex movement patterns
  • Form breakdown can lead to significant injury risks
  • Always prioritize technique over additional repetitions

Isolation Exercises

For isolation exercises, the rules are slightly more relaxed:

  • You can get closer to failure
  • Still maintain good form
  • Stop if technique begins to deteriorate

Key Takeaway

The goal is progressive overload through:

  • Increasing weights
  • Improving technique
  • Gradually increasing volume

NOT through grinding out extra reps with poor form.

When to Progress to Intermediate

Move to intermediate programming when:

  • You can no longer make week-to-week progress on main lifts
  • You’ve completed several deload cycles without renewed progress
  • You’ve been training consistently for ~24 months with good form
  • Most of your lifts have stalled even after reducing progression increments