Workout Routine To Build Muscle: Build Bigger Arms, Legs, And Back Muscles With This Workout Plan

Being a naturally skinny guy means that sometimes you have to “break the rules” and switch up your workout routine. Many workout routines are split up by 1-2 body parts per day. This is what is referred to as a “training split” in the workout world. This is fine if you are an advanced bodybuilder – but if you are a naturally skinny guy your goal should be to maximize your anabolic hormones every time you step in the gym. Maximizing these crucial anabolic hormones is your golden ticket to increasing lean muscle mass while losing body fat. If you fall into the “skinny fat” category – this should be your focus every single workout.

The best way to increase your anabolic hormones in the gym is to perform several compound exercises for multiple muscle groups in every workout. This is the easiest and most effective way to maximize your anabolic hormones. Remember that when you lift heavy weight – you are putting massive amounts of overload on your muscles as well as increasing your testosterone levels.

I found out about this powerful workout method from trial and error. I was training extremely hard doing the typical “training split” and hammering hard 1 major muscle muscle group per workout while workout out the smaller secondary muscle group. A few years of this yielded only about a 10 lb increase in lean muscle mass.

I started switching my workouts to perform at least 5 compound exercise movements every single workout – and within 4 months I gained 10 lbs of rock solid lean muscle mass! Yes – This is a powerful growth catalyst for any naturally skinny guy.

Being a naturally skinny guy has a ton to do with your genetics. Don’t let your genetics manipulate how you want your body to look. Instead fight back and put massive amounts of overload on the largest and strongest muscle groups in your body. This will cause the large muscle groups to grow and will help you accelerate your anabolic hormones.

This workout routine is a perfect example of this powerful strategy. This workout routine is designed to work the largest and most powerful muscle groups in the legs and back, while also blasting your arms in the same workout!

Let’s go through this training routine and talk about each exercise.

Exercise #1: Barbell Row

• Sets: 3
• Repetitions: 12, 10, 8
• Rest Time: 120 seconds

This is one of the most effective back exercises and really targets the middle part of your back. You hardly see any guys performing this exercise at the gym. This exercise should be apart of your back routine every single week. This is one of the most effective exercises at maximizing those anabolic hormones because you are able to lift a lot of weight during this exercise.

A good rule of thumb for increasing your anabolic hormones is that the exercises you are able to lift the most weight on are the best ones for maximizing your hormone levels and building muscle. You can’t curl 300 lbs but a lot of guys can dead lift 300 lbs – so the dead lift is a much more effective muscle building exercise than the bicep curl. Funny thing is that most guys do curls almost every workout and neglect the dead lift.

The other great benefit of the barbell row is that it works the lower portion of the bicep muscle. This is a highly effective back and bicep compound movement that puts a huge amount of overload on several muscle groups. Make sure to go heavy on this exercise and challenge yourself! To view a video of the proper form on the barbell row – Make sure to watch the YouTube Video of me performing the workout.

Exercise #2: T-Bar Row

• Sets: 3
• Repetitions: 12, 10, 8
• Rest Time: 120 seconds

This is my favorite back exercise because it isolates the large upper back muscles while blasting my biceps. You can perform this exercise with 2 different grips – and it is one of the most effective back exercises for targeting your arms. I get a huge bicep pump whenever I perform the T-Bar row. You should be able to pile on a few 45 lb plates on this movement and get a fantastic upper back workout. Make sure to squeeze those back muscles together on the lifting portion of the exercise, and lower the weight in a slow and controlled manner.

Exercise #3: Barbell Curl

• Sets: 3
• Repetitions: 12, 10, 8
• Rest Time: 90 seconds

Since we are working some great compound back movements in this workout, we will allow you to do some bicep work! This is my favorite bicep exercise because you are able to put the most amount of overload the muscle. The trick to this exercise for maximum bicep growth is to make sure you are controlling the weight the entire time and not swinging your back.

Contrary to popular belief – most of the muscle damage is done on the decentric portion of the movement, which is when you are lowering the weight. If you lower the weight in a slow and controlled manner on the barbell curl you will break down the optimal amount of muscle fibers and really accelerate muscle growth.

So to summarize – make sure you go heavy on this exercise, but not so heavy that you can’t control the weight on the way down.

Exercise #4: Dumbbell Squat

• Sets: 3
• Repetitions: 12, 10, 8
• Rest Time: 120 seconds

The dumbbell squat is the most effective lower body exercise, as it places a huge amount of overload the quadriceps, as well as working the hamstrings and the glutes. The dumbbell squat is a close relative to the barbell squat – and puts a huge amount of overload on the leg muscles as well. I think for the most effective lower body training routine, you should perform 3-4 sets of the barbell squat and dumbbell squat every week.

The dumbbell squat puts more emphasis on the hamstrings and hip flexors than your traditional barbell squat. Make sure to perform this exercise with your toes pointed out to maximize the power and strength of your lower body.

Exercise #5: Dead Lift

• Sets: 3
• Repetitions: 12, 10, 8
• Rest Time: 120 seconds

In my opinion the Dead lift is the most effective muscle building exercise because you are able to lift more weight on the dead lift than any other exercise. This is the ultimate exercise that tests your lower body drive. The dead lift puts a huge emphasis on your hamstrings, lower back, and arm and grip strength. You should be able to deadlight more weight than you can squat and bench press. For example, the most weight that I have ever bench-pressed is 320. I can dead lift 320 lbs for about 8 repetitions.

For all you skinny guys looking to bulk up and maximize those crucial muscle-building hormones, this should be the focal point of your training routine. Not only should you be dead lifting regularly, but you should make a point to improve on the weight you are able to lift. This is why I suggest keeping a workout log of the weight you lift. For example, you see that last week you dead lifted 250 lbs for 5 reps. This week you should make sure to either add a few reps to your lift or add weight and do the same 5 reps. It puts constant pressure on you to increase your strength, which will help build muscle.

Exercise #6: Wide Grip Pull Ups

• Sets: 3
• Repetitions: Failure each set
• Rest Time: 120 seconds

The wide grip pull up is the most effective muscle building variation of the traditional pull up. It puts a huge emphasis on the largest back muscle groups and works your biceps from a different angle than they are accustomed to. If you are not able to perform a wide grip pull up on your own, try a wide grip pull up on the assisted pull up machine you can find at most gyms, or have a workout partner hold your feet while you perform the repetitions. The wide grip pull up is a great back exercise and proven muscle builder.