Exercises for mass gain: features of a three-day split

Pro­grams of phys­i­cal activ­i­ty for weight gain are dif­fer­ent from the usu­al strength train­ing. Exer­cis­es are built in such a way that at the same time fat deposits are bro­ken down and the vol­ume of mus­cle tis­sue increas­es. The best option for prop­er weight gain is to con­tact a pro­fes­sion­al train­er who will draw up indi­vid­ual fit­ness train­ing schemes. How­ev­er, begin­ners can also use the uni­ver­sal scheme — a three-day split for mass.

The concept of a three-day split

The 3‑Day Split Fit­ness Work­out is a spe­cial strength train­ing sys­tem that fits into 3 train­ing days per week. Dur­ing each of the three train­ings, only one mus­cle group is worked out. Such a uni­ver­sal approach allows you to even­ly devel­op, strength­en and pump up all mus­cle groups, avoid­ing the same type of phys­i­cal activ­i­ty.

Three-day split pro­grams for mass are very pop­u­lar due to the fact that the ath­lete does not get tired for a long time. Usu­al­ly intense phys­i­cal load on the mus­cles involves heavy tran­si­tions from one type of move­ment to anoth­er with a vari­a­tion in the num­ber of approach­es, which con­tributes to increased fatigue. Splits allow you to avoid this by con­sis­tent­ly work­ing through the tar­get zones.

Physical activity program

The pecu­liar­i­ty of three-day splits is that they are all built accord­ing to the same prin­ci­ple: only one zone is worked out dur­ing one fit­ness train­ing. There are many options for com­bin­ing exer­cis­es, but the most pop­u­lar pro­grams include the fol­low­ing:

• Option 1: Day 1 — back mus­cles and biceps, day 2 — pec­toral mus­cles and tri­ceps, day 3 — low­er limbs and shoul­ders.
• Option 2: Day 1 — back mus­cles and tri­ceps, day 2 — pec­toral mus­cles and shoul­der gir­dle, day 3 — calf mus­cles and shoul­ders.
• Option 3: Day 1 — back and pec­toral mus­cles, Day 2 — upper limbs and shoul­ders, Day 3 — calf mus­cles.
• Option 4: back mus­cles, biceps and rear deltas, day 2 — pec­toral mus­cles, tri­ceps and ante­ri­or del­toids, day 3 — calf mus­cles.

Features of the choice of exercises

Before you choose a ready-made com­bi­na­tion of a three-day split or cre­ate an indi­vid­ual com­plex, you need to con­sid­er sev­er­al deter­min­ing fac­tors. It is from them that the choice of one or anoth­er com­bi­na­tion of phys­i­cal activ­i­ty will depend.

• Gen­der iden­ti­ty.

Split fit­ness work­outs for women will be eas­i­er than for men.

• The lev­el of phys­i­cal fit­ness.

For begin­ners, there are sep­a­rate split pro­grams for work­ing with light weight and grad­u­al­ly increas­ing the load.

• Body type.

The train­ing approach for endo­morphs, meso­morphs and ecto­morphs will be dif­fer­ent due to dif­fer­ences in phys­i­ol­o­gy.

Fitness training for mass gain for an ectomorph

The physique of male ecto­morphs is quite pecu­liar: thin long arms and legs, a slen­der elon­gat­ed fig­ure. It is quite dif­fi­cult for such men to gain mass, since a pow­er­ful metab­o­lism lit­er­al­ly does not allow this to be done. How­ev­er, with the right dis­tri­b­u­tion of phys­i­cal activ­i­ty and with a well-designed train­ing pro­gram, it is pos­si­ble to build mus­cle mass.

The dura­tion of one fit­ness work­out should not be more than 45–50 min­utes. The best option for ecto­morphs is the empha­sis on stan­dard pro­gram exer­cis­es.

To effec­tive­ly build mus­cle mass, the fol­low­ing sys­tem of three-day exer­cis­es accord­ing to the split scheme is suit­able for them:

Phys­i­cal activ­i­ty on the shoul­der gir­dle and legs: squats, plat­form leg press, lift­ing dumb­bells in a sit­ting posi­tion, lift­ing the neck from the chest, lift­ing the bar­bell in a stand­ing posi­tion.

Exer­cis­es for tri­ceps and chest. Load: lift­ing the neck lying, lift­ing the tor­so on the uneven bars, French press in a lying or stand­ing posi­tion, pulling the neck on an inclined sur­face, flex­ion-exten­sion of the arms in the upper block.

Fit­ness work­out for biceps and back mus­cles. Phys­i­cal exer­cis­es: basic pull-ups with a wide grip of the cross­bar, pulling the neck to the belt in an inclined posi­tion, lift­ing the bar­bell to the biceps.

Each ele­ment is per­formed in 2–3 sets of 6–8 rep­e­ti­tions. Between class­es, a rest of at least 1–2 days is pro­vid­ed.

Fitness training for mass for the mesomorph

The body of male meso­morphs by nature has notice­able mus­cles and a pow­er­ful chest. It is eas­i­est for such men to qual­i­ta­tive­ly devel­op mus­cles and gain mass in order to look even more ath­let­ic and ath­let­ic.

In order for split-sys­tem train­ing to bring the great­est ben­e­fit, it is rec­om­mend­ed that meso­morphs turn to iso­lat­ed exer­cis­es more often and work out 2–3 mus­cle groups at the same time. This approach will allow you to quick­ly gain mus­cle mass and at the same time improve the relief of nat­u­ral­ly exist­ing mus­cles.

The phys­i­cal load for a meso­morph male accord­ing to the split sys­tem is built as fol­lows:

Work­ing out the mus­cles of the back, shoul­der gir­dle. Exer­cis­es: pull-ups on the hor­i­zon­tal bar, trac­tion of the bar in an inclined posi­tion, dead­lift, bench press from the chest in a stand­ing posi­tion, bench press from the chest in an inclined posi­tion, lift­ing of paired dumb­bells in oppo­site direc­tions, clas­sic twists for the abdom­i­nal mus­cles.

Pec­toral mus­cles and mus­cles of the arms. Phys­i­cal exer­cise: breed­ing paired shells in a prone posi­tion, lift­ing the bar in a prone posi­tion, lift­ing the bar for biceps, exten­sion-bend­ing of the arms on the upper block, rais­ing paired shells for biceps, French bench press, basic push-ups.

Build­ing leg mus­cles: squats with a bar­bell, leg exten­sion-bend­ing in the sim­u­la­tor, lift­ing on half-toes with weights, leg press, leg swings in the sim­u­la­tor.

Exer­cis­es are per­formed in 3–4 sets of 10–12 rep­e­ti­tions. The inten­si­ty of phys­i­cal activ­i­ty with dumb­bells can be increased to 5 sets, and the pro­jec­tile itself can be replaced with paired ket­tle­bells.

Endomorph Mass Building Complex

Endo­morphs are men who tend to be over­weight. They quick­ly gain excess kilo­grams, which wors­ens the relief of all vis­i­ble areas of the body. Fit­ness train­ing for endo­morphs is based on the prin­ci­ple of intense loads: the hard­er the move­ment is per­formed, the bet­ter the result will be.

This is due to the fact that simul­ta­ne­ous­ly with a set of mus­cle mass, the break­down of fat cells is car­ried out, which is pos­si­ble only with com­plex exer­cise. Endo­morphs are also advised to have short rest inter­vals between sets and move­ments — no more than a minute and a half. The dura­tion of fit­ness train­ing in a split is no more than 120 and no less than 90 min­utes.

A three-day split-com­plex for mass for an endo­morph male con­sists of move­ments that should be per­formed in 4–5 sets of 8–10 rep­e­ti­tions. Pow­er loads must be left the same every time, but car­dio can be com­bined and swapped.

Legs, chest + car­dio. Loads: squats with a bar­bell, jump­ing rope, run­ning exer­cis­es, basic twist­ing, flex­ion-exten­sion of the legs in the sim­u­la­tor, bar­bell press from the chest and lying down, plat­form press, hold­ing the bar­bell in a lying posi­tion.

Abs, back + car­dio. Com­plex: bench press in an inclined posi­tion, dead­lift, run­ning, jump­ing rope, pull of the upper block, twist­ing for the press, hyper­ex­ten­sion, lift­ing the neck on the shoul­ders.

Arms + car­dio. Phys­i­cal activ­i­ty: pull-ups on the hor­i­zon­tal bar, dumb­bell rows in an inclined posi­tion, dumb­bell rais­es in a sit­ting posi­tion, neck rais­es for biceps, reverse twists, rais­ing the body on the uneven bars, jump­ing rope, run­ning exer­cis­es, dead­lifts, lift­ing the neck to the chest and to the belt.

In order for fit­ness train­ing accord­ing to the three-day split pro­gram to be as effec­tive as pos­si­ble, it is bet­ter to exer­cise under the super­vi­sion of a com­pe­tent fit­ness instruc­tor.