Experience Level: Advanced , Intermediate
Weeks: 5
Periodization: Linear Periodization , Undulating Periodization
Program Goal: Hypertrophy
5 Week Hypertrophy Workout Routine Spreadsheet
This is a 6-day hypertrophy workout routine that spans a 4-week mesocycle, with a deload in the 5th week.
It seems like you’re providing instructions for using a spreadsheet for tracking a hypertrophy workout program. Here’s a summary of the key points:
- Understand Hypertrophy: Read and understand the concepts of hypertrophy.
- Adjust Starting Weights: Use the calculator on the “Week 1” sheet to adjust your starting weights if needed. Start with conservative weights as there will be opportunities to increase them throughout the program.
- Exercise Selection: The exercises in the program are chosen from various muscle group articles on Renaissance Periodization. Make sure you understand and perform them correctly.
- Track Sets per Week: Use the “Sets per Week Summary” tab to track the number of sets you perform each week for each exercise.
- Pro Tip: Consider tracking the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) or Reps in Reserve (RIR) for each exercise. This can help you evaluate the effectiveness of the program after the mesocycle.
It’s important to follow the program consistently and make adjustments based on your progress and feedback from your body.
The spreadsheet is in no way affiliated with Mike Israetel. It was constructed based on an interpretation of his training volume landmarks article. Please read the article for a better understanding of the concepts, and use the spreadsheet to track your progress
Understanding Hypertrophy Training Volume
In Dr. Israetel’s article, he discusses several key training volume concepts:
- Maintenance Volume (MV): The number of sets required to maintain current muscle size.
- Minimum Effective Volume (MEV): The minimum number of sets needed to increase muscle size.
- Maximum Adaptive Volume (MAV): The volume range where maximal muscle growth occurs.
- Maximum Recoverable Volume (MRV): The upper limit of training volume that the body can recover from, beyond which excessive fatigue accumulates and hypertrophy is not maximized. Training near MRV prior to a deload can be effective for super-compensation.
Understanding these concepts allows for a more personalized and effective hypertrophy-based workout. It also recognizes individual differences, as different athletes have different MV, MEV, MAV, and MRV. It’s important for lifters to identify these variables through training, experimentation, and observation to optimize their hypertrophy training.
How to Find Your Individual Optimal Training Volumes for Hypertrophy
Below are summaries of how to find different volume training landmarks for yourself. A full explanation is available in Dr. Israetel’s article.
Many of the volumes in the program refer to ‘rep strength’ or ‘performance.’ This can be measured using Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) or Reps in Reserve (RIR). For example, if during Week 1 of training you did 4 sets of 12 reps of bicep curls with 15 lb dumbbells and felt you had 2 reps in reserve at the end of your 4th set, and then at the end of a mesocycle you repeated this weight-rep-set scheme and felt like you had 5 reps in reserve after the final set of curls, congratulations, you increased performance.
Similarly, if the last set during week 1 was RPE 8 and that same weight*rpe*set scheme was an RPE 6 on the test week after a mesocycle, performance was increased.
How to Find Your Maintenance Volume
- Two to three times per year, it is recommended to engage in maintenance training and adjust your diet to resensitize your body to stimulus and growth.
- Start by following the “MV” (Minimum Effective Volume) recommendations laid out in the article (also available on the “Sets per Week Summary” tab in the spreadsheet below).
- If your rep strength has been maintained at the end of one mesocycle at the prescribed volume, then the volume was adequate.
- In the next mesocycle, try reducing the number of sets to see if your MV is even lower. If your rep strength declined, the volume was too low, and your MV is higher than the volume of work done in the previous mesocycle. In the next mesocycle, increase the number of sets and see if rep strength can be maintained.
A general tip is to be conservative, as your MV is probably lower than you think
How to Find Your Minimum Effective Volume
Mike outlines two methods for calculating your minimum effective volume.
Method 1: Start with the recommended Minimum Effective Volume (MEV) (these are noted in the article as well as in the spreadsheet below on the “Sets per Week Summary” tab) and run it for one mesocycle. Increase weights each week but do not increase the number of sets. Test your performance on core exercises for each muscle group at the end of the mesocycle. If it improved, the volume of the last mesocycle was at or above your MEV. Try lowering the volume by 2 sets each week and see if progress can continue. Do this until you discover a volume that does not increase your performance. Add 2 sets to the volume that did not increase your performance, and this is your approximate MEV. If your strength on a core exercise for a muscle group did not improve, the volume was below your MEV. Try adding 2 sets per week until performance improves.
Method 2: To approximate whether a particular training session was within your Minimum Effective Volume (MEV), ask yourself the following questions:
1-Did the training session provide a pump?
- No pump = 0 points
- Some pump = 1 point
- Great pump = 2 points
2-Did the training session challenge the target muscles?
- No = 0 points
- Lots of tension and fatigue = 1 point
- Muscles felt stressed and exhausted near their limit = 2 points
3-Did the training session make you sore?
- No = 0 points
- Stiff for a few hours after or a little sore the next day = 1 point
- Sore for multiple days = 2 points
A score between 2 and 4 is likely to be within your MEV. If you’re training a muscle group twice per week, expect more 4’s. If you’re training a muscle group 3-4 times per week, expect more 3’s. If you’re training a muscle group 5-6 times per week, expect more 2’s or even 1’s.
How to Find Your Maximum Adaptive Volume
Finding the Maximum Adaptive Volume (MAV) is done by continually adding sets until soreness becomes excessive and performance begins to degrade. Here is how to quantify excessive soreness and degrading performance:
Soreness at the end of a session:
- No soreness = 1 point
- A little stiff or sore afterward, but not sore at all by the time the next session for that muscle group occurred = 2 points
- Definitely getting DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), but it went away just in time for that muscle group’s next session = 3 points
- You got DOMS and were still feeling them during the next session = 4 points
Performance during a session (modified from the article):
- You had 2+ reps in reserve, RPE 7 or lower = 1 point
- You had 1 rep in reserve, RPE 8 = 2 points
- You just barely got all the reps, RPE 9/9.5 = 3 points
- You missed reps or had performance degrade from last week (accounting for different weights, etc.) = 4 points
How many sets to add based on points:
- 1 + 1 = add 2 or 3 sets to that exercise
- Any 2’s = add 1 set to that exercise
- Any 3’s = do not add any sets to that exercise
- Any 4’s = consider taking a light session, half week, or full deload