Below my friend Gunnar Anderson lays out a full 8 week bodybuilding workout and nutrition. Remember this is what he suggest. I am not prescribing. I hate that that I am required to say that. lol Enjoy this article of iron!
The All American Superhero Workout
This program is a mix of old school and new school principals, capturing some of the best of both. It is intense and isn’t necessarily for those just beginning a training regimen. The program is divided into four phases, each designed to test your muscles to their limits. This is a high intensity muscle building, fat burning program. These workouts should take no more than an hour and a half, and should push you to your absolute limit.
Week one:
Monday: Chest and Back and abs
1) Incline Db Bench 3×12-15 Superset with Lat Pull downs 3×12-15
2) Flat db Bench 3×12-15 superset with Tbar rows 3×12-15
3) Seated Cable row superset with incline flys both 3×12-15
4) Cable crossovers high to low superset with rear delt flys 3×12-15
5) Hanging leg raises 3×15-20
6) Crunches 3×25-40
End the workout with a series of push ups and pull ups or dips or some other body weight exercise done until failure. After this I did light cardio for about 15 minutes, usually walking at an incline or the stair master; enough to build up a good sweat.
Tuesday: Legs
1) Box squat or regular squat (I did box for four weeks, then switched to regular) 3×12-15
2) RDL’s from box 3×12-15
3) Single leg press 3×12-15
4) Leg extensions superset with leg curls 3×12-15
5) Standing calf raises 4×15-20
6) Seated calf raises 3×15-20
End the workout on a bodyweight Quad matrix. 15 squats, 15 lunges (each leg), 15 prison squat jumps, 15 Russian hops (each leg). Immediately following this Stretch! I was super tight every time I finished this workout. Try to get 10-15 minutes light cardio in afterwards.
Wednesday: Shoulders:
1) Seated Db Arnold presses (Slow and controlled) 3×12-15
2) Upright BB rows 3×12-15
3) Seated (no back rest!) Kettle Bell press 3×12-15
4) Lateral raises superset with front raises 3×12-15 each
5) Rear delt cable flys 3×12-15
6) Db or bb shrug 4×15-20
Stretch your shoulders out afterwards, they’ll be nice and tight. Finish the workout with 10-15 minutes of light cardio.
Thursday: Biceps, triceps, calves and abs:
1) Preacher curls superset with skull crushers 3×12-15
2) Incline db curls superset with cable press downs 3×12-15
3) Dips (weighted or not) superset with Single arm isolation db curls 3×12-15
4) Standing calf raises 3×15-20
5) Seated calf raises 3×15-20
6) Standing Oblique crunches with plate or kettle bell 4×15-20
7) Hanging leg raises side to side 3×20-25
8) Crunches (from the floor or from a declined bench) 3×30-50
End with 15 to 20 minutes of light cardio.
Friday: Back and Chest:
1) Barbell bench press superset with behind the neck pull downs 3×12-15
2) Incline db bench press superset with seated cable rows 3×12-15
3) Cable crossovers high to low superset with underhand grip bb row 3×12-15
4) Dips superset with close grip pull ups 3×12-15
5) Straight arm db pullovers or straight arm cable pull downs 4×12-15
End with light cardio 15-20 minutes
Week two:
Different muscle grouping, same rep range
Monday: Chest and Shoulders:
1) Db incline bench press 4×12-15
2) Db flat bench press 4×12-15
3) Kettle bell seated press 3×12-15
4) Seated db Arnold press 3×12-15
5) Db incline flys 3×12-15
6) Db or BB shrugs 4×15-20
End with light cardio
Tuesday: Back and Legs
1) Pull ups 3×12-15 (if not pull ups cable pull downs)
2) One arm db row 3×12-15
3) rear delt db flys 3×12-15
4) Squat (box or regular) 3×12-15
5) RDL’s from box 3×12-15
6) Leg press 3×12-15
7) Standing calf raises 4×12-15
8) Seated calf raises 3×12-15
End the workout on a bodyweight Quad matrix. 15 squats, 15 lunges (each leg), 15 prison squat jumps, 15 Russian hops (each leg). Immediately following this Stretch! I was super tight every time I finished this workout. Try to get 10-15 minutes light cardio in afterwards.
Wednesday: Biceps/ triceps/ abs
1) Rope pull downs superset with standing EZ bar curls 3×12-15
2) Db triceps kickbacks superset with db hammer curls 3×12-15
3) Db isolation curls superset with db overhead extensions 3×12-15
4) Hanging side to side leg raises 3×15-20
5) Crunches 3×35-50
6) Planks 3x 60 second holds
End with light cardio for 15-20 minutes
Thursday: Chest and Shoulders
1) Incline bb bench press 3×12-15
2) Flat db alternating bench press 3×12-15
3) Cable crossovers high to low 3×12-15
4) Lateral raises 3×12-15
5) Front raises 3×12-15
6) Upright rows 3×12-15
7) Bb shrugs 3×12-15
End with light cardio and plenty of stretching
Friday: Back and legs
1) Cable pull downs (reverse grip) 3×12-15
2) Single arm seated cable row (slow and controlled) 3×12-15
3) Rear delt cable flys 3×12-15
4) Leg extensions 4×12-15
5) Leg curls 4×12-15
6) Walking lunges 3×12-15
7) Standing calf raises 3×12-15
8) Seated calf raises 3×12-15
9) Standing Oblique crunches with KB or plate 3×12-15
10) Hanging straight leg raises 3×15-20
Stretch out and go for 15-20 minutes of cardio.
Week three:
Drop the reps, add another plate. You should be using heavier weight than you were on Week One.
Monday: Chest and Back and abs
1) Flat barbell Bench 3×8-10 Superset with Lat Pull downs 3×8-10
2) Incline Barbell Bench 3×8-10 superset with Tbar rows 3×8-10
3) Seated Cable row superset with incline flys both 3×8-10
4) Cable crossovers high to low superset with rear delt flys 3×8-10
5) Hanging leg raises 3×12-15
6) Crunches 3×25-40
End the workout with a series of push ups and pull ups or dips or some other body weight exercise done until failure. After this I did light cardio for about 15 minutes, usually walking at an incline or the stair master; enough to build up a good sweat.
Tuesday: Legs
1) Box squat or regular squat (I did box for four weeks, then switched to regular) 3×8-10
2) RDL’s from box 3×8-10
3) Single leg press 3×8-10
4) Leg extensions superset with leg curls 3×8-10
5) Standing calf raises 4×8-10
6) Seated calf raises 4×8-10
End the workout on a bodyweight Quad matrix. 15 squats, 15 lunges (each leg), 15 prison squat jumps, 15 Russian hops (each leg). Immediately following this Stretch! I was super tight every time I finished this workout. Try to get 10-15 minutes light cardio in afterwards.
Wednesday: Shoulders:
1) Seated Db Arnold presses (Slow and controlled) 3×8-10
2) Upright BB rows 3×8-10
3) Seated (no back rest!) Kettle Bell press 3×8-10
4) Lateral raises superset with front raises 3×8-10 each
5) Rear delt cable flys 3×8-10
6) Db or bb shrug 4×8-10
Stretch your shoulders out afterwards, they’ll be nice and tight. Finish the workout with 10-15 minutes of light cardio.
Thursday: Biceps, triceps, calves and abs:
1) Preacher curls superset with skull crushers 3×8-10
2) Incline db curls superset with cable press downs 3×8-10
3) Dips (weighted or not) superset with Single arm isolation db curls 3×8-10
4) Standing calf raises 3×8-10
5) Seated calf raises 3×8-10
6) Standing Oblique crunches with plate or kettle bell 4×12-15
7) Hanging leg raises side to side 3×12-15
8) Crunches (from the floor or from a declined bench) 3×20-30
End with 15 to 20 minutes of light cardio.
Friday: Back and Chest:
1) Barbell bench press superset with behind the neck pull downs 3×8-10
2) Incline db bench press superset with seated cable rows 3×8-10
3) Cable crossovers high to low superset with underhand grip bb row 3×8-10
4) Dips superset with close grip pull ups 3×8-10
5) Straight arm db pullovers or straight arm cable pull downs 4×8-10
End with light cardio 15-20 minutes
Week four:
Keep pushing. You’ve made it to the half way point.
Monday: Chest and Shoulders:
1) Db incline bench press 4×8-10
2) Db flat bench press 4×8-10
3) Kettle bell seated press 3×8-10
4) Seated db Arnold press 3×8-10
5) Db incline flys 3×8-10
6) Db or BB shrugs 4×8-10
End with light cardio
Tuesday: Back and Legs
1) Pull ups 3×8-10 (if not pull ups cable pull downs)
2) One arm db row 3×8-10
3) rear delt db flys 3×8-10
4) Squat (box or regular) 3×8-10
5) RDL’s from box 3×8-10
6) Leg press 3×8-10
7) Standing calf raises 4×8-10
8) Seated calf raises 3×8-10
End the workout on a bodyweight Quad matrix. 15 squats, 15 lunges (each leg), 15 prison squat jumps, 15 Russian hops (each leg). Immediately following this Stretch! I was super tight every time I finished this workout. Try to get 10-15 minutes light cardio in afterwards.
Wednesday: Biceps/ triceps/ abs
1) Rope pull downs superset with standing EZ bar curls 3×8-10
2) Db triceps kickbacks superset with db hammer curls 3×8-10
3) Db isolation curls superset with db overhead extensions 3×8-10
4) Hanging side to side leg raises 3×12-15
5) Crunches 3×20-30
6) Planks 3x 60 second holds
End with light cardio for 15-20 minutes
Thursday: Chest and Shoulders
1) Incline bb bench press 3×8-10
2) Flat db alternating bench press 3×8-10
3) Cable crossovers high to low 3×8-10
4) Lateral raises 3×8-10
5) Front raises 3×8-10
6) Upright rows 3×8-10
7) Bb shrugs 3×8-10
End with light cardio and plenty of stretching
Friday: Back and legs
1) Cable pull downs (reverse grip) 3×8-10
2) Single arm seated cable row (slow and controlled) 3×8-10
3) Rear delt cable flys 3×8-10
4) Leg extensions 4×8-10
5) Leg curls 4×8-10
6) Walking lunges 3×8-10
7) Standing calf raises 3×8-10
8) Seated calf raises 3×8-10
9) Standing Oblique crunches with KB or plate 3×12-15
10) Hanging straight leg raises 3×15-20
Stretch out and go for 15-20 minutes of cardio.
Week Five:
Drop the reps again, add another plate. This phase is designed for gaining strength.
Monday: Chest and Back and abs
1) Incline Db Bench 3×5-8 Superset with Lat Pull downs 3×5-8
2) Flat db Bench 3×5-8 superset with Tbar rows 3×5-8
3) Seated Cable row superset with incline flys both 3×5-8
4) Cable crossovers high to low superset with rear delt flys 3×5-8
5) Hanging leg raises 3×15
6) Crunches 3×25
End the workout with a series of push ups and pull ups or dips or some other body weight exercise done until failure. After this I did light cardio for about 15 minutes, usually walking at an incline or the stair master; enough to build up a good sweat.
Tuesday: Legs
1) Box squat or regular squat (I did box for four weeks, then switched to regular) 3×5-8
2) RDL’s from box 3×5-8
3) Single leg press 3×5-8
4) Leg extensions superset with leg curls 3×5-8
5) Standing calf raises 4×5-8
6) Seated calf raises 3×5-8
End the workout on a bodyweight Quad matrix. 15 squats, 15 lunges (each leg), 15 prison squat jumps, 15 Russian hops (each leg). Immediately following this Stretch! I was super tight every time I finished this workout. Try to get 10-15 minutes light cardio in afterwards.
Wednesday: Shoulders:
1) Seated Db Arnold presses (Slow and controlled) 3×5-8
2) Upright BB rows 3×5-8
3) Seated (no back rest!) Kettle Bell press 3×5-8
4) Lateral raises superset with front raises 3×5-8 each
5) Rear delt cable flys 3×5-8
6) Db or bb shrug 4×5-8
Stretch your shoulders out afterwards, they’ll be nice and tight. Finish the workout with 10-15 minutes of light cardio.
Thursday: Biceps, triceps, calves and abs:
1) Preacher curls superset with skull crushers 3×5-8
2) Incline db curls superset with cable press downs 3×5-8
3) Dips (weighted or not) superset with Single arm isolation db curls 3×5-8
4) Standing calf raises 3×5-8
5) Seated calf raises 3×5-8
6) Standing Oblique crunches with plate or kettle bell 4×5-8
7) Hanging leg raises side to side 3×5-8
8) Crunches (from the floor or from a declined bench) 3×5-8
End with 15 to 20 minutes of light cardio.
Friday: Back and Chest:
1) Barbell bench press superset with behind the neck pull downs 3×5-8
2) Incline db bench press superset with seated cable rows 3×5-8
3) Cable crossovers high to low superset with underhand grip bb row 3×5-8
4) Dips superset with close grip pull ups 3×5-8
5) Straight arm db pullovers or straight arm cable pull downs 4×5-8
End with light cardio 15-20 minutes
Week six:
You’re almost a Superhero. Keep building your strength.
Monday: Chest and Shoulders:
1) Db incline bench press 4×5-8
2) Db flat bench press 4×5-8
3) Kettle bell seated press 3×5-8
4) Seated db Arnold press 3×5-8
5) Db incline flys 3×5-8
6) Db or BB shrugs 4×5-8
End with light cardio
Tuesday: Back and Legs
1) Pull ups 3×5-8 (if not pull ups cable pull downs)
2) One arm db row 3×5-8
3) rear delt db flys 3×5-8
4) Squat (box or regular) 3×5-8
5) RDL’s from box 3×5-8
6) Leg press 3×5-8
7) Standing calf raises 4×10-12
8) Seated calf raises 3×10-12
End the workout on a bodyweight Quad matrix. 15 squats, 15 lunges (each leg), 15 prison squat jumps, 15 Russian hops (each leg). Immediately following this Stretch! I was super tight every time I finished this workout. Try to get 10-15 minutes light cardio in afterwards.
Wednesday: Biceps/ triceps/ abs
1) Rope pull downs superset with standing EZ bar curls 3×12-15
2) Db triceps kickbacks superset with db hammer curls 3×12-15
3) Db isolation curls superset with db overhead extensions 3×12-15
4) Hanging side to side leg raises 3×15-20
5) Crunches 3×35-50
6) Planks 3x 60 second holds
End with light cardio for 15-20 minutes
Thursday: Chest and Shoulders
1) Incline bb bench press 3×12-15
2) Flat db alternating bench press 3×12-15
3) Cable crossovers high to low 3×12-15
4) Lateral raises 3×12-15
5) Front raises 3×12-15
6) Upright rows 3×12-15
7) Bb shrugs 3×12-15
End with light cardio and plenty of stretching
Friday: Back and legs
1) Cable pull downs (reverse grip) 3×12-15
2) Single arm seated cable row (slow and controlled) 3×12-15
3) Rear delt cable flys 3×12-15
4) Leg extensions 4×12-15
5) Leg curls 4×12-15
6) Walking lunges 3×12-15
7) Standing calf raises 3×12-15
8) Seated calf raises 3×12-15
9) Standing Oblique crunches with KB or plate 3×12-15
10) Hanging straight leg raises 3×15-20
Stretch out and go for 15-20 minutes of cardio.
Week seven:
Let’s see what you’ve got. Try to stay as close to last week’s weight as possible. These last two weeks should force you past your so called limits.
Monday: Chest and Back and abs
7) Incline Db Bench 3×12-15 Superset with Lat Pull downs 3×15-25
8) Flat db Bench 3×12-15 superset with Tbar rows 3×15-25
9) Seated Cable row superset with incline flys both 3×15-25
10) Cable crossovers high to low superset with rear delt flys 3×15-25
11) Hanging leg raises 3×15-25
12) Crunches 3×25-40
End the workout with a series of push ups and pull ups or dips or some other body weight exercise done until failure. After this I did light cardio for about 15 minutes, usually walking at an incline or the stair master; enough to build up a good sweat.
Tuesday: Legs
7) Box squat or regular squat (I did box for four weeks, then switched to regular) 3×15-25
8) RDL’s from box 3×15-25
9) Single leg press 3×15-25
10) Leg extensions superset with leg curls 3×15-25
11) Standing calf raises 4×15-25
12) Seated calf raises 3×15-25
End the workout on a bodyweight Quad matrix. 15 squats, 15 lunges (each leg), 15 prison squat jumps, 15 Russian hops (each leg). Immediately following this Stretch! I was super tight every time I finished this workout. Try to get 10-15 minutes light cardio in afterwards.
Wednesday: Shoulders:
7) Seated Db Arnold presses (Slow and controlled) 3×15-25
8) Upright BB rows 3×15-25
9) Seated (no back rest!) Kettle Bell press 3×15-25
10) Lateral raises superset with front raises 3×15-25 each
11) Rear delt cable flys 3×15-25
12) Db or bb shrug 4×15-25
Stretch your shoulders out afterwards, they’ll be nice and tight. Finish the workout with 10-15 minutes of light cardio.
Thursday: Biceps, triceps, calves and abs:
9) Preacher curls superset with skull crushers 3×15-25
10) Incline db curls superset with cable press downs 3×15-25
11) Dips (weighted or not) superset with Single arm isolation db curls 3×15-25
12) Standing calf raises 3×15-25
13) Seated calf raises 3×15-25
14) Standing Oblique crunches with plate or kettle bell 4×20-30
15) Hanging leg raises side to side 3×20-25
16) Crunches (from the floor or from a declined bench) 3×30-50
End with 15 to 20 minutes of light cardio.
Friday: Back and Chest:
6) Barbell bench press superset with behind the neck pull downs 3×15-25
7) Incline db bench press superset with seated cable rows 3×15-25
8) Cable crossovers high to low superset with underhand grip bb row 3×15-25
9) Dips superset with close grip pull ups 3×15-25
10) Straight arm db pullovers or straight arm cable pull downs 4×15-25
End with light cardio 15-20 minutes
Week eight:
Finish strong.
Monday: Chest and Shoulders:
7) Db incline bench press 4×15-25
8) Db flat bench press 4×15-25
9) Kettle bell seated press 3×15-25
10) Seated db Arnold press 3×15-25
11) Db incline flys 3×15-25
12) Db or BB shrugs 4×15-25
End with light cardio
Tuesday: Back and Legs
9) Pull ups 3×15-25 (if not pull ups cable pull downs)
10) One arm db row 3×15-25
11) rear delt db flys 3×15-25
12) Squat (box or regular) 3×15-25
13) RDL’s from box 3×15-25
14) Leg press 3×15-25
15) Standing calf raises 4×15-25
16) Seated calf raises 3×15-25
End the workout on a bodyweight Quad matrix. 15 squats, 15 lunges (each leg), 15 prison squat jumps, 15 Russian hops (each leg). Immediately following this Stretch! I was super tight every time I finished this workout. Try to get 10-15 minutes light cardio in afterwards.
Wednesday: Biceps/ triceps/ abs
7) Rope pull downs superset with standing EZ bar curls 3×15-25
8) Db triceps kickbacks superset with db hammer curls 3×15-25
9) Db isolation curls superset with db overhead extensions 3×15-25
10) Hanging side to side leg raises 3×15-25
11) Crunches 3×15-25
12) Planks 3x 60 second holds
End with light cardio for 15-20 minutes
Thursday: Chest and Shoulders
8) Incline bb bench press 3×15-25
9) Flat db alternating bench press 3×15-25
10) Cable crossovers high to low 3×15-25
11) Lateral raises 3×15-25
12) Front raises 3×15-25
13) Upright rows 3×15-25
14) Bb shrugs 3×15-25
End with light cardio and plenty of stretching
Friday: Back and legs
11) Cable pull downs (reverse grip) 3×15-25
12) Single arm seated cable row (slow and controlled) 3×15-25
13) Rear delt cable flys 3×15-25
14) Leg extensions 4×15-25
15) Leg curls 4×15-25
16) Walking lunges 3×15-25
17) Standing calf raises 3×15-25
18) Seated calf raises 3×15-25
19) Standing Oblique crunches with KB or plate 3×15-25
20) Hanging straight leg raises 3×15-25
Stretch out and go for 15-20 minutes of cardio.
On days when you are working biceps after a back session, or any other muscle that could conflict with another, be sure to get a good bit of stretching and warming up. Working back to back like this is not terrible and it’s something I’ve done in many other splits, but it can be a bit jarring if you aren’t used to it.
Follow the reps by week like so:
Weeks 1 and 2 perform 12-15 reps.
Weeks 3 and 4 perform 8-10 reps.
Weeks 5 and 6 perform 5-8 reps.
Weeks 7 and 8 perform 15-25 reps.
The Diet I used while doing this program:
Breakfast:
• Four eggs
• one slice fat free cheese
• Kashi go lean cereal (or oat meal)
• fat free skim milk
• Cellucor CLK (2 capsules)
Midmorning snack (2 hours later)
• Can of pineapple chunks
• 1 serving fat free cottage cheese or Greek yogurt
• 1 scoop Cellucor Whey Protein in water
Lunch (2 hours later)
• 8 oz. (approximately) chicken breast or fish filet
• Broccoli
• whole grain wild rice or sweet potato or black beans
• Cellucor CLK (2 capsules)
Afternoon snack (1.5-2 hours pre workout)
• Can of tuna (Single serving)
• Mixed greens and spinach salad with light balsamic dressing (low sodium)
• handful of almonds
• Cellucor Alpha Amino
30 Mins before workout
• 1 banana,
• 1 scoop low fat/low sodium Peanut Butter
• I used Cellucor’s N0 Extreme pre workout. No creatine, plus an added fat burner complex. Really solid product if you haven’t tried it out.
• During my workout I used either another scoop of Cellucor Alpha Amino, or Cellucor BCAA’s. Water works just fine too.
• Post workout I did 1 scoop of Cellucor Whey.
Dinner
• Oz chicken breast, tilapia, salmon or tuna.
• Asparagus
• Sweet potato or Whole grain wild rice
• Cellucor CLK (2 capsules)
Before bed
Cottage cheese or Chobani Greek Yogurt individual serving, Cellucor ZMA
Typically one night (or 2) on the weekend I would treat myself to a steak. Grill it at home and try for a lean cut. Even a lean cut will be delicious after a week of chicken and fish.
Notice that I used quite a few supplements during this. Sense these workouts are high intensity, supplements are a good idea, but they are never essential. As long as you’re getting quality foods in your body you’ll be fine without. However, I do recommend them. And yes, Cellucor is my favorite brand.
Again I had a blast doing this program and the results were great. I hope you guys see similar ones if you try it out!
Tell your friends to follow me @theonepecwonder
