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WE SH IP TO ALGERI A VIE W D E TAILS

Hercules Workout: Build Raw Muscle

And Strength

It's time to go to war! To be like Hercules you must have both an

impressive physical prowess and the raw, brute strength to
strike fear into the heart of your enemies.

Workout Summary

Main Goal Build Muscle

Workout Type Split

Training Level Beginner

Program Duration 9 weeks

Days Per Week 4

Time Per Workout 60-75 minutes

Equipment Required Barbell, Dumbbells

Target Gender Male

Recommended Supplements Creatine, Whey Protein, Casein Protein

 Author Brad Borland

Workout PDF Download Workout

Workout Description
Brad Borland is a strength & conditioning specialist, cancer survivor and the founder of
WorkoutLab.

Hercules: The Thracian Wars won’t pound its way into theaters until next summer, but
you can’t help but to be in awe of all the Tweets Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has
filtered out about this monumental movie. Between his behind-the-scenes movie pics
and, more specifically, the training videos, you cannot help but get insanely motivated
and super jacked about your own training.

This winter is the perfect time to pack on some serious, strong, raw muscle. Like
Hercules, it will take a brutal plan that is not only effective but also savagely simple in
execution. No overly complicated program here, just real, heavy strength training to pack
on thick, sinewy muscle mass the Hercules way.

Most successful endeavors in life are simplistic in nature; hard work, discipline and
dedication are the all-important common threads that run through all victorious
outcomes. This Hercules-inspired training program will challenge you to go to war but
will also try to bury you under the heavy weight and effort it requires. But you will prevail
in the face of adversity and rise to this demanding test of will and determination and
emerge with a thicker, stronger and more muscular physique. Time to go to war!
Rules of War
Building raw muscle and strength will require a few rules. Keeping with the simple
theme, you will utilize some easy to implement tactics for significant gains.

Simple, compound movements are at the top of the list. The majority of the exercises will
be in the form of multi joint moves so a large number of muscles will be stimulated
instead of countless single joint moves. This will allow you to lift heavier without wasting
your time on too many lighter exercises.  Big weight = big muscle.

Go heavy, then moderate, then heavier. This program will have you training with a low
rep range for three weeks, then a moderate rep range for another three weeks, then
back to a lower rep range. Too much time on the bottom of the rep ladder has the
potential to cultivate burnout. The moderate “break” in the middle will keep your interest
level up and injury-free.

Train three days per week. Whether it’s Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday be sure you are training on non-consecutive days with a day
away from the weights in between. This will give you enough rest in between these brutal
sessions – you’ll need it.

Do something different on rest days. If desired, take two rest days per week and do
something fun and different. This could be circuit cardio with kettlebells, sled
pulls/pushes or participate in your favorite sport such as shooting hoops with friends or
casual activity like swimming, biking or hiking.

Always adhere to good form and technique and leave your ego at home.  Just because
you are training with a heavy, basic program doesn’t give you the green light to swing
and heave weights you have no business lifting. Be patient and the gains will come with
proper and safe form and technique.

The Nine Week Hercules Muscle and Strength

Program
For this nine week program your training will be split into three parts. As stated earlier,
you will go hard and heavy for three weeks, throttle back on the weight for the next three
weeks and then go back heavy for the final three weeks. By the last three weeks you
should be lifting heavier than you did in the beginning of the program.

Don’t get the idea that the middle three-week phase is your hall pass to take it easy. The
weights will be a bit lighter, but you will still go to failure with higher reps.

Weeks 1-3
Session 1

Weeks 1-3

Exercise Warm Up Sets Reps Rest

Barbell Squat 2x12 4 6-8 120

Flat Bench Barbell Press 2x12 4 6-8 120

Bent-Over Barbell Row 2x12 4 6-8 120

Barbell Upright Row 1x12 4 6-8 60

Seated Calf Raise 1x12 4 8-10 60

Floor Crunch   3 15 30

Session 2

Weeks 1-3

Exercise Warm Up Sets Reps Rest

Barbell Deadlift 2x12 4 6-8 120

Barbell Romanian Deadlift 2x12 4 6-8 120

Flat Bench Dumbbell Press 2x12 4 6-8 120

Standing Barbell Push Press 1x12 4 6-8 120

Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press 1x12 4 6-8 60

Barbell Curl 1x12 4 6-8 60

Hanging Leg Raise   3 15 30

Session 3

Weeks 1-3

Warm
Exercise Sets Reps Rest
Up
Barbell Front Squat or Leg Press 2x12 4 6-8 120

Incline Bench Barbell Press 2x12 4 6-8 120

Medium-Grip Pull-Up or Dumbbell

2x12 4 6-8 120
Row

Standing Dumbbell Upright Row 1x12 4 6-8 60

Standing Calf Raise 1x12 4 8-10 60

Incline Sit-Up   3 15 30
Weeks 4-6
Session 1

Weeks 4-6

Warm
Exercise Sets Reps Rest
Up
Barbell Deadlift 2x12 3 8-10 120

Dumbbell Row or Close-Grip Pull-

2x12 3 8-10 120
Up

Incline Bench Barbell Press 2x12 3 8-10 120

Seated Dumbbell Side Lateral 1x12 3 8-10 60

Leg Press Calf Raise 1x12 3 10-12 60

Floor Crunch   3 15 30

Session 2

Weeks 4-6
Exercise Warm Up Sets Reps Rest
Barbell Squat 2x12 3 8-10 120

Flat Bench Dumbbell Press 2x12 3 8-10 120

T-Bar Rows 2x12 3 8-10 120

Standing Barbell Push Press 1x12 3 8-10 120

Dumbbell Curl 1x12 3 8-10 60

Parallel Bar Dip 1x12 3 8-10 60

Hanging Leg Raise   3 15 30

Session 3

Weeks 4-6

Exercise Warm Up Sets Reps Rest

Barbell Romanian Deadlift 2x12 3 8-10 120

Barbell Front Squat or Leg Press 2x12 3 8-10 120

Flat Bench Barbell Bench Press 2x12 3 8-10 120

Bent-Over Barbell Row 2x12 3 8-10 120

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 1x12 3 8-10 60

Incline Sit-Up   3 15 30
Weeks 7-9
Session 1

Weeks 7-9

Exercise Warm Up Sets Reps Rest

Barbell Squat 2x12 5 5 120

Flat Bench Barbell Press 2x12 5 5 120

Bent-Over Barbell Row 2x12 5 5 120

Barbell Upright Row 1x12 5 5 60

Seated Calf Raise 1x12 5 6-8 60

Floor Crunch   3 15 30

Session 2

Weeks 7-9

Exercise Warm Up Sets Reps Rest

Barbell Deadlift 2x12 5 5 120

Barbell Romanian Deadlift 2x12 5 5 120

Flat Bench Dumbbell Press 2x12 5 5 120

Standing Barbell Push Press 1x12 5 5 120

Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press 1x12 5 5 60

Barbell Curl 1x12 5 5 60

Hanging Leg Raise   3 15 30

Session 3

Weeks 7-9

Warm
Exercise Sets Reps Rest
Up
Front Squat or Leg Press 2x12 5 5 120

Incline Bench Barbell Press 2x12 5 5 120

Medium-Grip Pull-Up or Dumbbell

2x12 5 5 120
Row

Standing Dumbbell Upright Row 1x12 5 5 60

Standing Calf Raise 1x12 5 6-8 60

Incline Sit-Up   3 15 30

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About The Author

Brad Borland
Brad has a Master's degree in Kinesiology and is a strength and
conditioning specialist, military veteran, and cancer survivor.
View all by Brad Borland »

34 Comments + Post Comment

Posted Thu, 08/23/2018 - 12:13 LIKE 0

RustyK
Hey,
So how does this work, week1-3 in week 1 we should just do first part, week2 second part
and week 3 third part?

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Posted Sun, 03/12/2017 - 10:16 LIKE 2

Owen
This looks great, and I'm looking forward to starting it this week. Thanks for putting it up Brad!
It's hard to find a decent all-parts 2x/week program that has a good progression like this. I'll be
doing both this and your second Hercules workout, with a week of unloading in between.
One question: Can I up the shoulder work in here without going too far outside the total reps
range (or risking injury)? If that's doable, what exercise would you suggest I tack on or modify
from this basic pattern?
I want to concentrate a lot of shoulders (both strength and mass). In the first three weeks I see
only the Push Press concentrating on that area. In the second phase there's a dubmbell
shoulder press too for two concentration exercises for that area, and in the third phase I see
three exercises for it (two days of dumbell upright row, plus the push press).
I was thinking about tossing one more shoulder exercise in here on top of what you
reocmmend, maybe on one session, all three phases, to really go for the shoulders. Do you
think that's too much?
And/or what exercise would you recommend? I was thinking Arnold Press for the first phase,
Lat flyes for the second and third phases.

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Posted Mon, 01/09/2017 - 04:38 LIKE 1

charles
Great workout. Just done my first session. Felt like pucking again the crunches. Great work
Brad!!!

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Posted Tue, 01/19/2016 - 09:58 LIKE 11

Ron
How do you determine how much weight to use? Do you increase the weight each
week/workout?

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Posted Tue, 04/14/2015 - 04:03 LIKE 13

Darin
Do I do all three sessions in one day breaking them up or do I do session 1 for one day then
session 2 two days later and session three two days later after session 2?

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Posted Mon, 03/09/2015 - 23:04 LIKE 13

Matthew Hammett
i always enjoy the articles and programs that are posted here. I really appreciate the multitude
of views that are covered and options provided; and what would make it even better would be
if there was a way to download to pdf, word or xls document so they can be saved and more
easily viewed offline

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Posted Sun, 08/03/2014 - 08:40 LIKE 12

tim
i think the point your missing here is that the rock is already in spectacular shape to begin with
, this thing isn't going to make you the rock in 3 months

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Posted Sun, 07/27/2014 - 08:35 LIKE 38

Jay
This is not the Hercules workout at Dwayne Johnson did for the movie...

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Posted Tue, 06/24/2014 - 17:17 LIKE 12

D Lill
Hey whats going on guys? I'm 6-6'1 and I'm sitting at 198- 200 Lbs. i had cut like 20-25 lbs this
last 2 months and I would like to get back in shape. I'm trying to see if this is a good plan to
start and hopefully get solid once again. Any help would be great! Thx

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Posted Sat, 04/26/2014 - 01:05 LIKE 16

Elmer
im 5'9 at 196lbs, do you think that i can do this workout while trying to get to 185 or will this
just to gain?

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 Posted Thu, 04/17/2014 - 12:14 LIKE 20
JOEY
can i print or save this workout?
and if so, how do i do it?
thank you . any help is greatly appreciated.
joey

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Posted Mon, 04/14/2014 - 13:24 LIKE 19

Caleb
Just got finished with the second phase and have gained 13 pounds. Sitting at 215 pounds
right now and my strength has gone up quite a bit at 18 years old. My genetics play a big role
in it but this workout works great for naturally bigger guys that respond well to lower rep
ranges.

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Posted Wed, 02/12/2014 - 03:59 LIKE 33

conor
Is this okay for an intermediate lifter

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Posted Tue, 01/21/2014 - 21:07 LIKE 15

jeffhardy
Hi. This work-out plat looks amazing. But I can't do 3 days split. Because I have to work on
wednesday and saturday. And it says that you can't do this work-out on consercutive days. Any
suggestion?? Thanks.

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Posted Mon, 02/13/2017 - 18:05 LIKE 1

Don imp
You call it Wednesday, I call it Thursday.
Hmm... LOL.
Just Do Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday... ahh, you cant Do saturday?
Then do Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday.

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 Posted Mon, 01/20/2014 - 07:10 LIKE 18
omar elzoghby
is that the real hercules workout?

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Posted Fri, 01/10/2014 - 09:06 LIKE 28

Jeff
Has anyone actually done this workout?
The second session has sooo many deadlifts. Completing the second workout means you
have done 96 deadlifts, of two different variations. Is that really true?

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Posted Mon, 05/12/2014 - 02:05 LIKE 16

Brad
I just completed the first 3 weeks. I had to split the deadlifts up to the first and last
exercises to ease the lower back pain, instead of back to back. It's not impossible but it
would have probably been better to move the stiff leg deadlifts to the third day.

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Posted Sat, 05/17/2014 - 03:22 LIKE 19

Church
I agree, it sucks but to be honest it could be worse...he could've thrown in something
like rack pulls, weighted hyperextensions or good mornings as well. I'm in my second
week into the program now and let me just put this out there, I hurt more from the
incline sit ups then I did from the deadlifts and rdl's. That's really my own fault though;
haven't been training them for quite some time.

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Posted Sat, 01/04/2014 - 10:42 LIKE 19

Peter
Do the 2 warm up sets add to the 4 actual sets in each workout? So I would be doing a total of
6 sets each?

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Posted Wed, 01/01/2014 - 23:43 LIKE 19

Andrew
Any info on diet? How many cals, And breakdown.
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Posted Thu, 12/12/2013 - 03:29 LIKE 22

Posh
sooo wat do i do after i done this 9 weeks workout?? Do i restart it again???HELP PLSS!!!

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Posted Sat, 12/14/2013 - 10:50 LIKE 22

Pete
Any results? I think that take 1-2 week easy and start over again.

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Posted Sun, 12/15/2013 - 09:34 LIKE 24

Maikel
You can do whatever you want, you could switch to another routine. I am sticking with
my routine until I peak, when I can't make any more gains.

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Posted Sun, 12/15/2013 - 15:53 LIKE 16

Pete
Any results? Take it easy about 1-2 weeks. then start over.

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Posted Wed, 12/11/2013 - 14:45 LIKE 17

Anthony
This question may be very silly, but i just have to ask to be 100% sure. Each work out has its
own warm up? So when it tells me to do 2x12, I will to two sets of 12 reps with a low weight?
Or how I determine what weight to use for each warm up? Also this work out is amazing.
Thanks!

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Posted Sun, 12/15/2013 - 09:35 LIKE 19

Maikel
Yeah, you would do two warm up sets for 2x12 at 25% of the working weight and 50%
of the working weight.

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 Posted Fri, 12/06/2013 - 15:33 LIKE 26
Albert
Seems like a great workout, i will try this program next week, i need to spice things up a bit.

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Posted Wed, 12/04/2013 - 23:03 LIKE 16

Eddie
For the warm up sets (2x12) ... What percentage of the working sets should we use?

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Posted Sun, 12/15/2013 - 09:32 LIKE 20

Maikel
25% and 50%. So if the working weight was 100, you would first use 25 lbs and then
50 lbs.

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Posted Wed, 12/04/2013 - 00:18 LIKE 22

George
dude, wich workout do you think is best for a 140lbs ectomorph, this hercules workout, or the
thor one ?

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Posted Wed, 12/04/2013 - 12:42 LIKE 22

Keith
George, I can't guarantee you that the Thor workout will be better for you but I just
cycled off of it and it was a game changer. The versatility of it along with the intensity of
all of the muscle groups almost every workout was a definite shock to my body. I would
go with that one! And of it doesn't work, then you can always try this one out. But
comparing the two, Id definitely go with the Thor.

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Posted Wed, 12/04/2013 - 23:48 LIKE 22

George
thanks keith , ill try it !!

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 Posted Wed, 12/04/2013 - 16:54 LIKE 25
Colton
I would say either one would be fine, but probably the Hercules one because it sticks
with full body workouts throughout. It looks like a great mass building program which is
what you need. Hope this helps.

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