Hypertrophy Accumulation — 4 Weeks
Four weeks of rising volume across an upper/lower split, then a deload week that keeps the pattern and drops the work.
- GOAL
- Hypertrophy
- LEVEL
- Intermediate
- LENGTH
- 4 weeks
- SESSIONS
- 4 per week
This is a volume block. It follows a general preparation phase or a deload, and it assumes you come in fresh rather than mid-fatigue. Weeks 1 to 3 add working sets to the main muscle groups while loads stay close to constant; week 4 cuts volume roughly in half so the accumulated work can be absorbed. It sets up a strength or intensification block next — you finish it with more tissue and more work capacity, not with a new one-rep max. Run it once, or run it twice back to back with a full deload between.
- →Lifters with a year or more of consistent training
- →Anyone who has been training heavy and singles-focused and needs volume back
- →People who can train four days a week on a fixed schedule
- →Lifters preparing to enter a strength block
- →Six months or more of uninterrupted resistance training
- →Competent squat, hinge, horizontal press and vertical press technique under load
- →Able to complete a 60-minute session without needing the next day off
- →No unresolved joint pain that changes how you lift
Build weekly set volume for each major muscle group while keeping load and rep ranges stable. Fatigue is expected to climb across these three weeks.
- MondayUpper Body HypertrophyLeave 2 reps in reserve on every set in week 1.
- TuesdayLeg Day — Quad EmphasisFull depth before load. Stop a set if depth changes.
- WednesdayEasy 30 min walkOptional. Do not add conditioning on top.
- ThursdayPull Day — Back and BicepsRows before pulldowns. Control the eccentric.
- FridayLeg Day — Posterior Chain EmphasisHinge work first while fresh.
- SaturdayEasy 30–45 min walk or bike
- SundayRest
PROGRESSIONWeek 1 run every main lift for 3 working sets, week 2 for 4, week 3 for 5, holding load and rep target constant. Add load only when the top set of a movement is completed at RPE 7 or lower — then add 2.5 kg upper body, 5 kg lower body. Miss a session and repeat that week rather than moving to the next set count.
Shed accumulated fatigue while keeping the movement patterns in the week. Exercise selection simplifies to compound-first sessions so total session time drops.
- MondayUpper Body A — Horizontal Press and PullHalf the sets, same load as week 2.
- TuesdayLower Body A — Squat FocusStop at RPE 6. No grinding reps this week.
- WednesdayRest
- ThursdayUpper Body B — Vertical Press and PullTwo sets per movement.
- FridayLower Body B — Hinge FocusLight. Technique rehearsal, not a training stimulus.
- SaturdayEasy 30 min walk
- SundayRest
PROGRESSIONTwo working sets per exercise at the week 2 load, all sets stopped 4 reps short of failure. No load increases, no added sets, no accessory work beyond what the session prescribes. If you still feel beaten up at the end of the week, repeat this week before starting the next block.
- →Volume rises by one working set per exercise per week for three weeks, then drops to two sets in week 4.
- →Load only moves when the prescribed reps are hit at RPE 7 or lower: 2.5 kg upper body, 5 kg lower body.
- →A missed session means repeating the week, not skipping to the next set count.
- →Two consecutive sessions where reps drop at the same load means you deload early — jump straight to week 4.
- →Bodyweight is expected to rise slowly. Losing weight through this block will cost you the adaptation.
- →Do not add conditioning beyond the walks written into the week.
- →5-rep max back squat, tested in the week before the block and the week after
- →5-rep max bench press, same two points
- →Chin-ups to technical failure
- →Body weight and a mid-thigh and upper-arm tape measurement, taken on the same morning of the week