12 week intermediate program Copy

Here it is, this is the pretty much the workout routine that I stuck to for 2 years to make my transformation. This is a great all around workout which anyone could use to put on lean muscle and its also fantastic for losing fat and toning up. You will burn just as much if not more calories with this intense weight training program than you will on a treadmill. This workout is also perfect for skinny guys aka hard-gainers who are struggling to put muscle on. OK… enough hype! let’s get started!

Welcome to the intermediate workout. If you’ve just finished 8 weeks of my beginner workout program then well done and thanks for coming back for more, I promise you won’t be disappointed with this one!

Now it’s time to really start building some muscle. We are going to be doing almost the exact same routine I used when I started to take weight training seriously. Ive taken the base and tweaked and kicked it up a notch so you can really get some good results. Pictures speak louder than words so here’s the picture of myself before and after I started using this workout to hopefully get you motivated.

Now on the intermediate workout I strongly recommend you start investing in some high quality gear if you haven’t yet as things start to get more intense. However if you still can’t afford new equipment don’t worry. This workout can still be performed with just the basics! I’ve also recommended some supplements below that will help you out, especially for hardgainers.

For this workout all you need is:
1. A pair of dumbbells
2. A pull up bar / door frame
3. A adjustable weight bench
4. Stop watch / timer
5. Water bottle

For hardgainers

build muscle, loose fat

For everyone

For this workout things are going to be slightly different. You will now be training 4 days a week will two phases which rotate every 3 weeks. The idea is to keep the muscles on their toes and give them a good shock every 3 weeks with a fresh workout. See below the complete schedule. (Click on a day in the table below to quickly jump to the workout)

Here’s the split we are going to be using for phase 1 and 2. As you can see below on phase 2 the back is paired with chest on day one which allows us to focus purely on arms in day 3. This is great as not only gives the muscles a good shock, but also allows us to hit the arms in more more depth making sure we hit those biceps and triceps from every angle possible.

If your already running this programme and looking to quickly find today’s workout you can click on a day below in the table to quickly jump to that section.

Phase 1 is all about classic body-building. A simple selection of compound and isolation exercises that have been tried, tested and proven to give amazing results for decades. This phase is all about giving it your all and lifting with the heaviest weight you can handle with good form. We are going to be aiming for around 8-10 reps on most exercises.

You’re probably itching to get started, so let’s get going with day 1!
With all these workouts we are going to be using 45 seconds rest. It’s important to stick to this to get everything done on time but also to keep your heart racing so we are burning fat too, this is the secret to building muscle and burning fat at the same time.

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Starting off the week strong with an intense chest and tricep workout! There’s a lot of exercises here so make sure you focus and keep your rest period under 1 minute so this can be done in just over an hour.

Flat dumbbell chest press 4 sets, 8-10 reps

Incline dumbbell chest press 4 sets, 8-10 reps

Incline dumbbell flys 4 sets, 10-12 reps

Push ups on the floor 3 sets, as many reps as you can do.

Flat dumbbell flys 4 sets, 10-12 reps

Close grip dumbbell press 3 sets, 8-10 reps

Dumbbell skullcrushers, 3 sets 8-10 reps

Tricep kickbacks 2 sets, 8-10 reps

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While our chest is recovering from yesterday’s workout we are going to hit the legs and abs hard.

Dumbbell or barbell squats 5 sets, 8-12 reps.

Dumbbell lunges 4 sets, 8-12 reps.

Leg extensions, 4 sets 10-12 reps
(If your don’t have a leg extension attachment for your bench you can replace this with wall squats. Rest your back against the wall and place your feet around 2 feet out in front of you. Bend you knees and slowly slide you back down against the wall so your knees are at a 90 degree angle. Try to hold this for 30 to 45 seconds, this will be 1 set. Repeat this for 4 sets with 45 seconds rest.)

Standing Calf raise, 4 sets 15-20 reps
(Top tip: You can use a large weight disc on the floor as a stepping pad.)

Stand in the starting potion with a dumbbell in each hand facing into your legs. Place the ball of your foot on a slightly raised surface. For this you can use a simple wooden board or even a weights disc. Raise your heels off the floor and hold the position for 2 seconds breathing out as you feel your calf muscles contract. Follow this motion for 15 to 20 reps. Repeat this exercise 4 times with 45 seconds rest.

Abs. (See the clip below for my favourite home ab workout)

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Time to build up that V shaped upper back and of course, those big biceps!

Wide grip pullups 4 sets, as many reps as you can do.

Single arm dumbbell rows 4 sets, 8-10 reps each side.

Incline dumbbell rear row 4 sets, 8-10 reps each side.

Reverse dumbbell flys 4 sets, 8-10 reps

Barbell curls (dumbbell curls are just as good if you don’t have a bar, don’t worry!), 4 sets, 8-10 reps

Dumbbell hammer curls, 4 sets 8-10 reps each arm.

Incline dumbbell curls 4 sets, 8-10 reps each arm.

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It’s the first rest day of the program and boy have you earned it! Enjoy your day off as your muscles recover and grow. Don’t forget to stick to your diet, eat your food and take your protein shake as your bodies going to be using all of these nutrients to aid in the recovery process.

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It’s the final workout of the week! Time to hit those shoulders hard. We are also going to include some isolation tricep exercises.

Dumbbell shoulder press, 4 sets 8-10 reps

Dumbbell side raises 4 sets 10-12 reps

Shrugs 4 sets 10-12 reps

Arnold press 4 sets, 8-10 reps

Dumbbell front raises, 2 sets 8-10 reps

Dips (can be done using bench or dip station) 4 sets, as many reps as you can.

Dumbbell skullcrushers, 4 sets, 8-10 reps

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Well done on completing the first week of Phase 1! Now your have 2 days for rest and recovery. Now remember phase 1 is repeated for 3 weeks then after 3 weeks you move onto phase 2. For the full day by day listed schedule click here to scroll up.

Phase 2 is all about fast and furious supper sets. We’ve just finished our first 3 weeks of heavy lifts and our body is expecting the same. Well it’s in for a hell of a shock because this week we are going to shock the muscles with a series of intense supersets. What’s a superset? A super set is when you perform two exercises back to back without taking any break in between. It’s going to be a hard fast paced workout so make sure you’re ready to bring it!

The     means that the two exercises are performed together directly after each other with 0 rest. For example the first superset on day 1 you would perform 10-12 reps of chest press then jump straight into wide angle pullups.

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Flat bench press into         Wide grip pull ups
4 sets 10-12 reps per exercise

Incline bench press into         Chin ups
4 sets 10-12 reps per exercise

Flat Dumbbell flys into        Single arm dumbbell rows
4 sets 10-12 reps per exercise

Push ups into        incline dumbbell row
4 sets 10-12 reps per exercise

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For legs our superset is going to be slightly different. I have paired three killer exercises together to be performed back to back to create a triangle. We are going to keep things simple but effective and perform this 6 times. Here’s the set.

10-15 Squats into        10-15 lunges into        10-15 Leg extensions
6 sets, 30-45 reps total per set.

If you don’t have a bench with a leg extension attachment then you can replace the leg extensions portion with wall squats (10-20 seconds each time)

See video below for my favourite ab workout. Performed after 6 sets of the legs triangle… this finishes up to create a really effective workout.

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Here’s what you’ve been waiting for… Arms day!

Close grip pullups         Hammer curls
4 sets 10-12 reps per exercise

Barbell curls into        Incline bench dumbbell curls
4 sets 10-12 reps per exercise

Close grip dumbell press into        dumbbell skullcrushers
4 sets 10-12 reps per exercise

Overhead extensions       kickbacks
4 sets 10-12 reps per exercise

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Make sure you use a lower weight for your chest press as your chest is going to be a lot weaker after the shoulder exercise. Stay safe and start off nice and light to get used to the supersets.

Sitting shoulder press         Incline dumbbell chest press
4 sets 10-12 reps per exercise

Flat dumbbell chest press         Dumbbell side raises
4 sets 10-12 reps per exercise

Floor pushups       Shrugs
4 sets 10-12 reps per exercise

Dumbell front raises      Flat dumbbell flys
4 sets 10-12 reps per exercise

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Well done on completing the first week of Phase 2! Now your have 2 days for rest and recovery. Now it’s 2 more weeks of phase 2 then we are jumping back into another 3 weeks of phase 1, your body won’t know what’s hit it! For the full day by day listed schedule click here to scroll up.

Enjoying the workout so far or have any questions? Join the Homeshredded community below and let us know how your getting on!