Bodybuilding Tips and Tricks

Lat Pulldowns - Back - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 15, 12, 10, 8
Flat-Bench Dumbbell Presses - Chest - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 15, 12, 10, 8
Incline Dumbbell Curls - Biceps - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 15, 12, 10, 8
Tricep Pressdowns - Triceps - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 15, 12, 10, 8
Dumbbell Lateral Raises - Shoulders - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 15, 12, 10, 8
Dumbbell Shrugs - Traps - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 15, 12, 10, 8

Increase weight each set to allow you to only complete the prescribed number of reps.

Rest time between sets: 1-2 minutes
Be sure to do 1-2 warmup sets or 5-10 minutes of cardio (or both) before beginning the first exercise. Alternate this rep scheme with a 6, 6, 15, 20 rep scheme at your discretion, starting with a heavier weight for the first two sets and lowering the weight for the last two.

Incline Barbell Press - Chest - 4 sets: Rep Scheme: 15, 12, 10 , 8
Bent-Over Barbell Rows - Back - 4 sets: Rep Scheme: 15, 12, 10 , 8
Standing Barbell Curls - Biceps - 4 sets: Rep Scheme: 15, 12, 10 , 8
Lying French Presses - Triceps - 4 sets: Rep Scheme: 15, 12, 10 , 8
Seated Barbell Shoulder Presses - Shoulders - 4 sets: Rep Scheme: 15, 12, 10 , 8
Barbell Shrugs - Traps - 4 sets: Rep Scheme: 15, 12, 10 , 8

Increase weight each set to allow you to only complete the prescribed number of reps.

Rest time between sets: 1-2 minutes
Be sure to do 1-2 warmup sets or 5-10 minutes of cardio (or both) before beginning the first exercise. Alternate the 15, 12, 10, 8 rep scheme with this rep scheme—6, 6, 15, 20—from workout to workout, exercise to exercise, or however you see fit. Keep those muscles guessing! For this second rep scheme, you will start with the heaviest weight (after a couple of warm-up sets of course) and then lower the weight for the final two sets.

Pull-ups - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 12, 10, 8, 8
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 10-12 reps per set
Wide-Grip Seated Cable Row - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 10-12 reps per set
Straight-Arm Pulldown - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 10-12 reps per set

RRest time between sets: 1-2 minutes
Be sure to do 1-2 warmup sets or 5-10 minutes of cardio (or both) before beginning the first exercise.

Incline Barbell Press - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 12, 10, 8, 8
Incline Cable Flye - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 10, 10, 8
Seated Machine Chest Press - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 10, 10, 10
Foot-Elevated Push-Up - 2 sets: Rep Scheme: 15, 15

Rest time between sets: 1-2 minutes
Be sure to do 1-2 warmup sets or 5-10 minutes of cardio (or both) before beginning the first exercise.

Lying French Press (Skull Crushers) - 5 sets; Rep Scheme: 12, 8, 8, 10, 10
Triceps Pressdown - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 8, 10, 12
Close-Grip Bench Press - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 8, 8, 10, 12
Seated Overhead Dumbbell Extension - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 8, 10, 10
Dumbbell Kickbacks - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 8, 8, 10

Rest time between sets: 1-2 minutes
Be sure to do 1-2 warmup sets or 5-10 minutes of cardio (or both) before beginning the first exercise.

Overhead Barbell Press - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 6, 8, 10, 12
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 6, 8, 10, 12
Wide-Grip Upright Row - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 8, 8, 12, 12
Bent-Over Lateral Raise - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 12, 12, 15
Dumbbell Lateral Raise - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 6, 12, 12

Rest time between sets: 1-2 minutes
Be sure to do 1-2 warmup sets before beginning the first exercise.

Barbell Curls - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 6, 10, 12, 12
Dumbbell Preacher Curls - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 8, 10, 10, 12
Hammer Curls - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 10, 10, 12, 12
Reverse Curls - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 8, 10, 12

Rest time between sets: 1-2 minutes
Be sure to do 1-2 warmup sets or 5-10 minutes of cardio (or both) before beginning the first exercise.

Lat Pulldowns or Pull-ups - 4 sets; Rep sheme: 8, 8, 12, 12
Bent-Over Barbell Row - 4 sets; Rep sheme: 6, 8, 10, 12
T-Bar Row - 4 sets; Rep sheme: 6, 10, 12
Barbell Shrug -4 sets; Rep sheme: 12, 10, 8, 8
Straight-Arm Pulldown - 4 sets; Rep sheme: 10, 12, 12

Rest time between sets: 1-2 minutes
Be sure to do 1-2 warmup sets or 5-10 minutes of cardio (or both) before beginning the first exercise.

Incline Barbell Press - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 12, 12, 10, 8
Flat-Bench Dumbell Press - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 6, 10, 12, 12
Decline Bench Press - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 6, 8, 8, 10
Pec-Deck Flye - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 10, 10, 12, 12

Rest time between sets: 1-2 minutes
Be sure to do 1-2 warmup sets or 5-10 minutes of cardio (or both) before beginning the first exercise.

I put the “like” in quotes because the idea here is not so much that the muscle groups you’re grouping together are similar in nature, but that exercises that work the larger group typically also work the smaller one (at least secondarily). Training the upper body in this manner, you’d group together your back and biceps and your chest and triceps. Nearly all back exercises place at least secondary stress on the biceps and most chest exercises bring your triceps into play. Thus, following the principle of always working the larger muscle group first, you would train your back followed by your biceps one workout and your chest followed by your triceps in a subsequent workout. Here are some sample routines illustrating this idea:

Back/Biceps
Bent-over barbell rows
Lat pulldowns
Close-grip cable rows
One-arm dumbbell rows
Standing barbell curls
E-Z bar preacher curls
Hammer curls
One-arm cable curls

Chest/Triceps
Incline bench press
Flat bench dumbbell press
Pectoral flyes w/dumbbells
Cable crossovers
Skull Crushers (Lying French Press)
Tricep Pressdowns
One-arm tricep extensions