Day 1: Legs and Calves

Today, we’re jumping into the fire. We’re starting with legs, calves, and abs. Finish with 15 min of steady-state cardio to burn fat and support recovery.

Leg Extensions 3 Sets/20 Reps Rest 2 minutes and stretch between each set
Machine squats 3 Sets/20 Reps Rest 3 minutes and stretch between each set
Leg presses 3 Sets/20 Reps Rest 3 minutes and stretch between each set
Lying hamstrings curls 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 2 minutes and stretch between each set
Standing calves raises 3 Sets/20 Reps Rest 2 minutes and stretch between each set
Elevated sit-ups 3 Sets/Failure Rest 2 minutes and stretch between each set
Lying leg raises 3 Sets/Failure Rest 2 minutes between each set

Cardio: 15 minutes of steady-state post-workout.

Continue the rest of the program on the 12-Week Lean Muscle Trainer YouTube playlist.

Day 2: Back

Today we're hitting the back — the second largest muscle group in the body. You'll work through 5 moves targeting your lats and upper back to build width, thickness, and that V-taper. Finish with 15 minutes of steady-state cardio upon waking.

High machine lat pulldowns 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 2 minutes and stretch between each set
Reverse-grip lat pulldowns 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 2 minutes and stretch between each set
Reverse-grip bent-over barbell rows 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 2 minutes and stretch between each set
Cable rows 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 2 minutes and stretch between each set
Dumbbell deadlifts 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 2 minutes and stretch between each set

Cardio: 15 minutes of steady-state upon waking.

At this point, you should already be feeling the compound effects of training with intensity for two days in a row—and we still have three more to go this week. It is essential that you get in the foods and supplements that help you recover and perform at your peak from the start of this program. It’s going to be brutal at times, but it’s well worth the effort. Never forget that preparing yourself for subsequent workouts by attending to recovery is one of the most crucial aspects of success in the program.

Day 3: Chest and Abs

Today's workout targets the pectoralis major and minor, rectus abdominis, and obliques.

Start chest work with incline machine chest presses to warm up, focusing on the contraction and stretch before moving to incline dumbbell flyes — think "hugging a fat person" to keep the movement wide. Follow with dumbbell chest presses to work each pec independently, decline cable flyes to develop the outer and lower chest, and finish with 3 sets of pushups to failure.

For abs, perform 1 set each to failure of oblique crunches, tuck crunches, and bicycle crunches, then close out with 3 plank variations: standard forearm plank, knee-to-opposite-elbow, and side plank. Keep form tight throughout, emphasizing contraction and stretch on every rep. Begin or end your day with 15 minutes of steady-state cardio.

Cardio: 15-minutes of steady state upon waking.

Incline chest presses 3 Sets/10-15 Reps Rest 90 seconds and stretch between sets
Incline dumbbell flyes 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 90 seconds and stretch between sets
Dumbbell chest presses 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 90 seconds and stretch between sets
Decline cable flyes 3 Sets/10 Reps Rest 90 seconds and stretch between sets
Pushups 3 Sets/Failure Rest 90 seconds between each set
Obliques crunches 3 Sets/Failure 30 - 40 sec rest between each set
Tuck crunches 3 Sets/Failure Rest 30-40 seconds before the next move
Bicycle crunches 1 Sets/20 Reps Rest 30-40 seconds before the next move
Plank 3 Sets/Failure Rest 1 minute between each variation
Variation: Knee to opposite elbow
Variation: Side plank thread the needle

Day 4: Shoulders and Calves

Today hits all three heads of the deltoids — front, lateral, and rear — along with a second calves session.

Seated lateral raises 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 90 seconds and stretch between sets
Rear-delt Pec-deck flyes 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 90 seconds and stretch between sets
Dumbbell shoulder presses 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 90 seconds and stretch between sets
Incline rear-delt dumbbell raises 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 90 seconds and stretch between sets
Machine shoulder presses 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 90 seconds and stretch between each set
Seated calves raises 4 Sets/30 Reps Rest 1 minute and stretch between sets

Day 5: Arms and Abs

Today pairs biceps and triceps in supersets — set up all equipment ahead of time so you can transition between moves instantly. Use your rest periods to stretch both muscle groups. For the barbell superset, use the same bar for both exercises to keep transitions tight. On bench dips, adjust foot position or load to reach failure with quality reps. For dumbbell curls, rotate the dumbbell at the start of each curl to maximize bicep engagement. On abs, keep rest short between supersets — you can use a support for the raised leg crunches or go without. That's a wrap on Week 1 weight training — Day 6 covers active rest and recovery.

Workout

Triceps extensions 3 Sets/15 Reps SUPERSET triceps extensions and cable curls, resting 1 minute between each superset
Cable curls 3 Sets/15 Reps
Lying triceps extensions (skullcrushers) 3 Sets/15 Reps Circuit Combo Lying Triceps Extensions & Neutral-Grip Barbell Curls. Rest 1-2 minutes between sets
Neutral-grip barbell curls 3 Sets/15 Reps
Bench dips 3 Sets/Failure Rest 1-2 minutes between sets
Dumbbell curls 3 Sets/15 per arm Rest 1-2 minutes between sets
Lying leg raises 5 Sets/20 Sets SUPERSET lying leg raises and crunches, resting 30-40 seconds between each superset
Crunches 5 Sets/20 Sets

Day 6

Today is your first rest day from weights — just 15 minutes of steady-state cardio upon waking to help flush lactic acid and support recovery. Because you're not training, pull back on carbs (yams, potatoes, rice) while keeping protein at ~1.3g per pound and fats at ~0.5g per pound. Prioritize leafy greens for fiber and digestion, and include small amounts of healthy fats like olive oil or avocado — just avoid pairing them with slow-digesting carbs. Since you're skipping your training supplements today, you can lean more heavily on casein and whey protein to keep calories in check. Looking ahead: cardio duration and intensity will increase as the program progresses, and starting Day 8 you'll be doing two cardio sessions daily.

Day 7

Another 15 minutes of steady-state cardio upon waking. Beyond that, today is about taking stock of your first week. Weigh yourself, update your journal, and take progress photos — same time, place, lighting, clothes, pose, and photographer as your starting photos. No major adjustments needed yet unless you've gained more than 3 lbs or lost more than 5 lbs, in which case revisit your calorie and macro tracking using a food scale and the nutrition calculator. If you're under 170 lbs and lost 5+ lbs, consider bumping protein up by 25–50g daily. A full evaluation comes at the end of Week 2. Finally, reach out on social media and connect with others following the program — accountability is a key part of making this work.

Day 8: Legs and Abs

Week 2 follows a similar structure to Week 1 but with increased intensity. You're also moving to two 20-minute cardio sessions per day — steady-state upon waking every day, with the second session done after your workout on leg days to help flush lactic acid and reduce soreness. Start with Smith machine squats, pyramiding up in weight across 3 sets of 20 while keeping constant tension on the quads — no locking out at the top. Barbell walking lunges come next: lunge down, return, then step forward to keep load on the thighs and eliminate forward momentum. Leg presses follow with feet low on the platform to emphasize the quads — 3 sets of 20 with smooth, controlled reps. Then superset lying hamstring curls with standing calf raises, keeping hips locked in on the curls to isolate the hammies. Finish with an abs superset of rollouts to failure immediately followed by leg raises — have a partner thrust your legs toward the ground at the top of each rep if possible.

Cardio: 20 minutes steady-state in the morning

Smith machine squats 3 Sets/20 Reps Rest 2 minutes between sets
Walking barbell lunges 3 Sets/20 Reps per Leg Rest 2 minutes between sets
Leg presses 3 Sets/20 Reps Place feet in a neutral stance, and rest 2 minutes between sets
Lying hamstrings curls 3 Sets/20 Reps SUPERSET lying hamstrings curls with standing calves presses, resting 2 minutes between supersets
Standing calves raises 3 Sets/20 Reps
Abs rollouts 3 Sets/Failure SUPERSET abs rollouts with leg raises, resting 1 minute between supersets
Lying leg raises 3 Sets/Failure

Cardio: 20 minutes of steady state after leg training.

Day 9: Back

 Back again for Week 2. Cardio timing follows the same logic as yesterday — if you train later, do your first 20-minute steady-state session upon waking; if you train early, do it immediately after to help push nutrients to your still-sore legs. Start with lat pulldowns using a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip, pulling to your chest within your comfortable range of motion. Follow with neutral-grip chin-ups. Focus on quality over quantity, getting a full contraction at the top and a deep stretch at the bottom without fully extending the arms. Rest 1-2 minutes between all back sets and stretch between each. Next, bent-over dumbbell rows with both arms simultaneously at a 30-45 degree torso angle — controlled movement, no momentum. Machine deadlifts follow (sub barbell or dumbbells if needed) — keep your back straight with just its natural curve, no spinal momentum. Finish with close-grip neutral-grip pulldowns using a triangle bar, letting your arms drift slightly behind your head for a deep lat stretch before pulling to the front for a full contraction.

Finish with 20 more minutes of steady state cardio.

Day 10: Chest and Abs

Today hits the chest and abs for the second time this week. Start with a superset of incline dumbbell presses into decline dumbbell flyes — 20 reps each — to hit the upper, lower, and outer pecs from the jump and get everything warmed up. As you approach failure on the flyes, squeeze out a couple of extra presses. Follow with seated machine chest presses — pick the machine where you feel your chest working most, ideally a unilateral one so each side works independently. Next, bent-over cable flyes: keep your torso steady, maintain a consistent elbow bend throughout, and don't let momentum creep in. For abs, perform lying crunches in two tempos back to back — 20 slow reps with a full contraction and stretch, then 20 quick pulse reps — rest 90 seconds, then move to twisting sit-ups paired with the bicycle version, 20 reps each.

As always, 20 minutes of steady-state cardio upon waking.

Workout

Incline dumbbell presses 3 Sets/20 Reps SUPERSET incline dumbbell presses with decline dumbbell flyes resting 1-2 minutes between supersets
Decline dumbbell flyes 3 Sets/20 Reps
Seated machine chest 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 1 minute between sets
Bent-over cable flyes 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 1 minute between sets
Lying crunches 1 Set/40 Reps Perform 20 reps with control and then 20 reps fast
Twisting Crunches 1 Set/40 Reps Perform 20 reps per side with control, then 20 reps per side fast
Sit-Ups 1 Sets/40 Reps Perform 20 reps with control and then 20 reps fast
Bicycle crunches 1 Sets/20 Sets Perform 10 reps per side

Cardio: 20 minutes steady-state after training or later in the evening

Day 11: Shoulders and Calves

Today hits shoulders and calves. Train at whatever time suits your schedule — the key is consistency, and if you miss your usual window, make it up later in the day rather than skipping. Start with rear-delt dumbbell raises, focusing hard on the mind-muscle connection — keep your shoulder blades flat to actually engage the rear delts rather than letting other muscles take over. Arnold presses come next: palms facing you at the bottom, rotating away as you press, stopping at about three-quarters extension to keep constant tension through the front and lateral delts. Seated dumbbell lateral raises follow with drop sets to push past failure and spike intensity. Machine shoulder presses are next — unilateral if available, so each side is forced to work independently. Then bilateral front raises holding a single dumbbell — the grip variation targets the inner front delt a bit more than a standard raise. Barbell upright rows finish off shoulders, targeting the traps — use a close grip, don't fully extend at the bottom, and keep the reps continuous. Close out with seated calf raises to hit the soleus, which pairs nicely with the standing raises from Day 8 to fully develop the calves over the course of the week.

As always, 20 minutes of steady-state cardio upon waking.

Rear-delts dumbbell raises 3 Sets/20 Reps Rest 1 minute between sets
Arnold presses 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 90 seconds between sets
Seated dumbbell lateral raises 3 Sets/10+10+10 Reps Perform a triple drop with no rest, and then rest 90 seconds between full drop sets
Machine unilateral shoulder presses 3 Sets/20 Reps Rest 90 seconds between sets
Bilateral dumbbell front raises 3 Sets/20 Reps Rest 90 seconds between sets
Barbell upright rows 3 Sets/20 Reps Rest 90 seconds between sets
Seated calves raises 3 Sets/30 Reps Rest 1 minute between sets

Cardio: 20 minutes steady-state after training or later in the evening

Day 12: Triceps, Biceps, and Abs

 Today shifts from last week's circuit format to supersets, where you train the same muscle group with more than one move before resting. Start with a triceps superset of cable pushdowns into overhead rope extensions, both done at the same cable station for fast transitions. Have both handles ready to swap quickly. Pushdowns warm up the elbow joints gently while hitting the outer triceps head; extensions finish the superset with a deep stretch. Rest up to 90 seconds between each of the 3 supersets. Follow with a second triceps superset of close-grip pushups into bench dips. Modify pushups from the knees if needed, and choose a foot position on dips that brings you to failure around 15 reps. Then move to biceps: cable curls into wide-grip barbell curls with hands about 6 inches wider than shoulders to hit the inner biceps head, versus the narrower cable grip that targets the outer head. Finish biceps with dumbbell curls, going bilateral to failure then continuing to alternate arms to squeeze out more reps. For abs, superset ball crunches holding a medicine ball at your chest (20 reps plus 10 quick pulses without the ball) into lying leg raises with toe touches (20 standard reps plus 10 with your butt raising off the floor). That's 60 reps per superset, 3 total with 2 minutes rest between each.

As always, 20 minutes of steady-state cardio upon waking.

Triceps pushdowns 3 Sets/15 Reps SUPERSET triceps pushdowns with overhead triceps rope extensions, resting 90 seconds between supersets
Overhead triceps extensions 3 Sets/15 Reps
Close-grip pushups 3 Sets/Failure SUPERSET close-grip pushups and bench dips, resting 90 seconds between supersets
Bench dips 3 Sets/Failure
Cable curls 3 Sets/12 Reps SUPERSET cable curls with barbell curls, resting 1-2 minutes between supersets
Barbell curls 3 Sets/12 Reps
Bilateral to unilateral dumbbell biceps curls 3 Sets/15 + Failure Begin with bilateral, transition to unilateral to failure. Rest 1 minute between sets.
Medicine ball crunches 3 Sets/20 + 10 Sets SUPERSET of slow-and-hold for 20 reps followed by 10 fast with no hold for medicine ball crunches; then perform 20 reps of regular lying raises followed by 10 reps where you lift your butt off the ground. Rest 2 minutes between these abs supersets.
Lying leg raises + butt-raise variation 3 Sets/20 + 10 Sets

Cardio: 20 minutes steady-state after training or later in the evening

Day 13: Rest and Recovery

Active rest day, but cardio runs twice. Do 20 minutes of steady-state upon waking and another 20 minutes later in the day. Do not combine them into one session; the split is intentional to spike your metabolism twice and maximize fat burning. Because you're not weight training today, pull carbs back from 1.5g to 1.0g per pound while keeping protein at 1.3g and fats at 0.5g per pound. Skip your training supplements today, but keep up with water, Hydra-Charge, and Glutamine throughout the day, and lean on an extra serving of whey or casein to fill the protein gap. Tomorrow is your Week 2 check-in and reevaluation.

Day 14: Rest and Recovery

Two 20-minute cardio sessions today, same as yesterday. Beyond that, today is your Week 2 reevaluation, and at this point you should already be seeing some changes in the mirror. Go through each of the following:

Weigh yourself upon rising. The goal isn't weight loss for its own sake, but your bodyweight tells you whether to adjust nutrition, cardio, or supplements. Here's how to read the result:

If you haven't lost weight or have gained weight, first ask yourself whether you're adding muscle faster than you're losing fat. If you look better, that may be fine. Either way, tighten up your tracking with a food scale and the nutrition calculator, and consider dropping training-day carbs to 1.3g per pound to reduce overall calories.

If you've lost more than 5 pounds, that's a solid result if you're over 170 lbs. If you're under 170 lbs, you may be cutting too deep. Bump protein up by about 50g per day, weigh your food, and factor in that some of the loss is likely water weight.

If you've lost a moderate amount of weight, that's exactly where you want to be. Stay the course. Intensity picks up next week, which will naturally increase calorie burn further.

Take progress photos. Same time, place, lighting, clothing, photographer, and pose as your previous photos. Consistency here is what makes the comparison meaningful.

Make sure your journal is current through today, including both cardio sessions and all meals and supplements.