Goal: Build Muscle

Muscle Building Workouts

Maximize your muscle building stack by pairing it with the optimal workout plan. Did you know we have the most comprehensive database of free workout routines anywhere? Muscle & Strength workouts are downloaded more than 50,000 times per week. We have workouts to suit any goal, training level and gender.

Below are the top 10 workout routines on Muscle & Strength. These plans have been tried and tested by our members and if followed consistently can help you reach your goal.

1. 10 Week Mass Building Program

The 10 Week Mass Building Program is easily our most popular workout on Muscle & Strength with millions of PDF downloads and thousands of social media shares.

The workout incorporates a lot of volume to help you increase your muscle mass as much as possible in 10 weeks. For this reason, each muscle group is worked just once during the week so you have plenty of time to recover from the insane amount of volume.

The workout requires you to make it to the gym 4 times per week, with rest days on Wednesdays and on the weekends.

Join the millions of M&S readers who have built mass by downloading this workout today.

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2. Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower (P.H.U.L.) Workout

PHUL is another workout on Muscle & Strength with millions of PDF downloads and has helped users build quality strength to go along with their increased muscle mass.

The program is based on the basic principles of strength and size, and follows a 4 days per week workout protocol. It maximizes frequency by hitting each muscle group twice per week, and maximizes hypertrophy by varying the rep ranges during the workout days.

With 2 days dedicated to heavy weight training and 2 days dedicated to hypertrophy focused rep ranges, your body will have no choice but to grow.

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3. Fast Mass Program: The 4 Day Superset Split Workout

Limited in the amount of time you can spend in the gym? The Fast Mass program will come in handy.

Fast Mass is a 4 day workout program that also hits each muscle group twice per week. However, to speed up the pace, Fast Mass utilizes supersets that hit antagonist muscle groups. When you do this, you don’t limit the weight potentially used on either exercise.

It also provides a cardio challenge, so you’re pushing heavy and working hard. This is a great approach to help you burn fat and build muscle - all while limiting the total time spent in the gym.

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4. Max Adaptation Upper Lower (MAUL) Workout

We’ve got our first 5 day workout featured on the list. MAUL is a workout centered around similar principles as PHUL, but with an additional training day to take your results to the next level.

The philosophy behind MAUL is to produce muscle building results by strategically incorporating mechanical tension and muscle damage into a 5 day workout split.

It will require a lot of hard work and dedication on your behalf to make it to the gym for all 5 training days, but you’ll be the most jacked you’ve ever been following the 12 weeks of workouts.

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5. 4 Day Power Muscle Burn Workout

Power Muscle Burn is one of the original programs featured on Muscle & Strength. As a result, it too has millions of downloads and has helped plenty of people achieve their muscle building goals over the years.

While we’ve listed the 4 day workout on this particular list, there is also a 3 Day Power Muscle Burn and 5 Day Power Muscle Burn for those of you who want to dedicate a different amount of days to weight training.

Power Muscle Burn is a unique system that combines low rep ranges, with moderate rep ranges, and finishes off muscles with a high rep range burn. The result? Strong, big, and defined muscles for you to show off at any given opportunity.

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6. HIT MASS Program: 3 Day High Intensity Training Split

HIT MASS is easily one of our most popular recently published programs. Inspired by the same HIT training that Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates performed, this program has you pyramiding the reps down until you reach your all out failure rep range on the final set.

The philosophy behind HIT MASS is that you’ll stimulate the muscle with the first 2 sets used and then push it pass its current working capacity with the final set to force it to grow. Obviously this program isn’t for the faint of heart – and you’ll need a spotter.

The program also has a 4 & 5 Day HIT MASS variation for those of you looking to progress by adding training days.

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7. Muscle Building Workout Program for Tall Guys

What about something for all those tall guys out there? Surely there are better ways to build muscle than squatting through back pain and benching through shoulder pain, right?

Of course there is! This Muscle Building Program for Tall Guys was written with those of you who stand taller than 6’3 in mind and utilizes exercises that put your joints and limbs in more favorable positions to maximize the amount of weight you can use and your overall comfort level during the exercises.

This particular program is extremely popular among our tall M&S readers and uses a 5 day training split to help you build lean muscle. Tall and thick? Talk about some lucky genetics.

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8. 4 Day Maximum Mass Workout

The 4 Day Maximum Mass Workout is another old school Muscle & Strength workouts with tens of thousands of shares and millions of downloads.

It’s a 4 day body part specific split that has you train each muscle group once per week focusing solely on hypertrophy (muscle building) rep ranges.

What is unique about the program, however, is it includes a 5 minute burn exercise for each muscle group. During this burn session, you don’t count reps – you just go. For 5 minutes, your goal is to keep as much tension on the already fatigued muscle as possible.

This strategy will increase the amount of muscle damage on the target muscle – so when you get out of the gym and incorporate all the right recovery strategies – the muscle will adapt and grow.

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9. The Optimized Volume Workout (O.V.W) Program

Have a fear of overtraining? No need to stress it with the Optimized Volume Workout.

OVW has optimized the amount of volume for each specific muscle group to ensure you build as much mass as possible. This includes the amount of direct work the muscle is put through, as well as the indirect work while it’s assisting other movements as the secondary muscle.

The workout also utilizes an upper/lower split so you’ll maximize the amount of training frequency during the week.

So, say good bye to overtraining and start optimizing your workout volume on a weekly basis.

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10. Dumbbell Only Workout: 3 Day Full Body Workout

We’d be remised if we didn’t include a workout for all of you beginners or those who enjoy working out at home. This program covers both of you.

This workout only uses dumbbells to help you build lean muscle. Which is awesome, because as long as you have a set of dumbbells, you can work out anywhere.

As an added bonus, it is a full body workout – which naturally optimizes the amount of training frequency and workout recovery you’ll get during the week.

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Summary

Pick your workout, perform it consistently, eat well, supplement as needed, and crush your muscle building goals.

That’s the formula.

For even more workouts (if your goals change in the future), check out our workout routines database.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.