5 Day Mens Workout Routine

Kick Off 2022 Right With This 5 Day Mens Workout Routine

Look, 2021 has been a wild ride, so let’s get the gains train rolling as bulk season approaches. If you’re looking for a 5 day routine and are up to the challenge, this you may be perfect for you. This workout routine is going to use a 5×5 rep scheme for compound movements, and a higher 8-12 reps for the accessory movements. This workout is designed to be run as long as it works.

The key is consistency and striving for progress each session.

In a hurry? Click here to jump straight to the workout.

Diet and Nutrition Tips

Before we jump in to the meat and potatoes of this workout routine, let’s talk about meats and potatoes.

This routine will work best if you can go on a slow bulk. This means you’ll be getting plenty of nutritious foods so you can keep lifting that heavy ass weight. This isn’t a free pass to smash a pizza every day — but it’s easier to lose a few pounds of fat than build strength on a calorie deficit.

If you’re struggling with gaining weight or you want some usable tips to add some nutritious calories to your diet, here are some of the easiest ways to do so:

  • Butter
  • Cream cheese
  • Sour cream
  • Whole milk
  • Heavy cream
  • Cheese on everything
  • Protein shakes
  • Peanut butter
  • Olive oil
  • Extra dressing

These all add flavor and healthy fats to your diet. No I’m not saying to eat a stick of butter. I recommend cooking with some avocado oil, use some butter or oil with your chicken and rice, or add peanut butter and vitamin D milk into a protein shake. This is going to give you much more nutrition than smashing a couple McDoubles and you won’t feel like a McFatAss.

You will feel better, have more energy, and your stomach will thank you.

Note: A little bit goes a long way, so be sure to know how many calories you are adding.

Recommended Supplements

Without a good diet, supplementation is mostly a waste of money. I will be the first to tell you to spend money on some good meats than a jug of protein. If you want the most bang for your buck with supplements, your diet and training need to be consistent. You can’t lift a couple of times a week, and smash a tub of ice cream and think creatine will give you gains. This mens workout routine is not for someone who does.

Trust me.

So if you have your diet somewhat in check, here are some supplements that you could add to your tool bag.

Pre-Workout

There are a lot of pre-workouts on the market. Optimum Nutrition has a great pre-workout supplement that viewers love.

Their Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout is a solid pre-workout for beginners and veterans alike. They are a brand that has stood the test of time and it’s a fair deal.

 

They have a few flavors with Fruit Punch and Blueberry Lemonade both being my go-to flavors.

Protein

MTS Machine Whey Protein

I’ve yet to have a bad flavor from MTS. Their supplements are great, their flavors are seriously some of the best, and you get a great value. This is in my opinion the best tasting protein on the market. Period.

Marc and the team at Tiger Fitness do a great job with their product and they care about you as a person.

Great blend with no secrets, no amino spiking, and it is some of the best in the industry.

MTS Nutrition Protein

BCAA

MTS Nutrition Machine Fuel

Again, I can’t say enough about their flavors. They are smooth, they don’t taste like medicine, and they are loaded with nutrients your body will need after crushing this men’s workout routine.

It’s a solid BCAA ratio, affordable, and tastes amazing.

 

Creatine

Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine

I have a review of Optimum Nutrition’s Creatine and it’s a tried and true supplement. It will help with performance and recovery. I highly recommend this if you’re shopping for creatine.

Throw some creatine in your shake or shove a scoop in your mouth and wash it down… whatever works for you!

Cardio and Conditioning Schedule for the 5 Day Mens Workout Routine

Conditioning is one of the most important things you can work on to improve your lifts, endurance, and stamina. Improving conditioning will improve life outside of the gym.

This particular men’s workout routine focuses a bit on conditioning, core strength, and mobility to build a more athletic physique.

Once you start lifting relatively heavier weights, you’re going to start breaking form because of muscle weaknesses, lack of conditioning/muscle endurance and mobility issues; so lets address them here. It’s easier to get stronger when you attack your weakest points. If you’re winded after a flight of steps or you start sweating just THINKING about cardio, don’t skip this section if you want the most out of this workout.

Warming Up

For your pre-workout warm up, start by walking for 3 minutes and follow-up with a 30 second balls-to-the-walls high intensity sprint. Finish off with 90 seconds of walking. This “shock” is going to prime your body to train hard and helps get your core body temperature up.

You’ll start to limber up and you’ll feel more energized.

Post Workout Conditioning

I’m not big on citing research materials and I sure as hell am not interested in doing the scientific leg work, but doing high intensity interval training will help improve your muscle and strength gains.

The Plan:

  • 5 minutes brisk walking
  • 30 seconds jogging
  • 30 seconds walking
  • 30 seconds sprinting
  • 30 seconds walking
  • 45 seconds sprinting
  • 1 minute walking
  • 1 minute jogging
  • 1 minute walking
  • 30 seconds full sprinting
  • 1.5 minutes walking slowly tapering down to finish

The goal is to stress your cardiovascular system and push it to become more efficient. You’re going to burn more calories than walking a steady pace on a treadmill, and you’ll be able to get in and out of the gym much quicker.

Cardio and Conditioning Tips

This sounds like some special formula but it isn’t — this is a template, if you don’t follow it exactly, you’re fine. What I want to make you aware of is the importance of warming up and priming your body for high-intensity training.

Don’t get stuck on the numbers, if you have poor conditioning, add longer walk (resting) periods and strive to recover faster. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Men’s 5 Day Workout Routine Schedule

A sample workout schedule will look something like this. This doesn’t fit everyone’s schedule, so just try to take two rest days out of a 7-day period. Some of you may prefer to not take two days off in a row.

  • Day 1 – Workout A
  • Day 2 – Workout B
  • Day 3 – Workout C
  • Day 4 – Workout D
  • Day 5 – Workout E
  • Day 6 – Off
  • Day 7 – Off

The benefit to starting on a Monday is while everyone is benching and hogging the dumbbells, you are deadlifting and on the other side of the gym.

I would recommend doing a short 20-30 minute cardio session post workout at least twice a week for optimum muscle growth and recovery.

When doing this mens workout routine 5 days a week, you should fuel your body with plenty of nutritious whole foods.

Chicken, broccoli, sweet potatoes, bacon, ground beef, lots of veggies, and whey protein will give your body the fuel it needs to get bigger, stronger, and faster. Eating enough food and getting enough sleep is what builds your muscles. Going to the gym lifting heavy ass weight is the easy part.

Men’s Workout Routine A
ExerciseSetsRep Goal
Deadlifts55
Dumbbell Shrugs38
Seated Rows312
Standing Bent Over Laterals312
Planks*3

 

Men’s Workout Routine B
ExerciseSetsRep Goal
Military Press55
Arnold Press38
Front Lateral Raises312
Side Lateral Raises312

 

Men’s Workout Routine C
ExerciseSetsRep Goal
Bent Over Barbell Rows55
Pull Ups38
Dumbbell Curls312
Straight Arm Pulldown312

 

Men’s Workout Routine D
ExerciseSetsRep Goal
Flat Bench55
Incline Dumbbell Bench38
Close Grip Bench Press312
1 Arm Tricep Extensions312

 

Men’s Workout Routine E
ExerciseSetsRep Goal
Squats55
Calf Raises***38
Hamstring Curls312
Leg Extensions312
Planks*3

 

* – Planks aren’t the same rep goal scheme as other lifts. When you are supposed to do planks, do 3 sets of 1 rep and record your results for each set. The goal to beat for next time is to beat the combined time of those 3 planks. Keep the rest short; 60 seconds and really squeeze the abs and back and keep that core tight.

*** – There are many different calf raise variations, pick the one that works best for you. Examples are: Seated Calf Raises, Standing Calf Raise Machine, Standing Calf raises in the Smith Machine. Choose the one that works best for you and stick with it.

When performing the compound lifts, treat each rep with the same form. Not only are you striving to lift more weight, but improving your form will help you lift that weight easier. Practice your form and find what works best with your body.

Wrapping Up — 5 Day Mens Workout Routine

Here are the tools to get started on obtaining the body you want. The key to lifting more weight, feeling better about yourself, and able to do more in life. Take the time to take care of your body, follow these tips, stay consistent, and you’ll like what you see in the mirror.

There are no shortcuts, only those who stick with it.

154 thoughts on “Kick Off 2022 Right With This 5 Day Mens Workout Routine”

  1. Hey Cutty,

    Just wanted to thank you for putting together this workout – of all the workout routines I’ve tried, this one has worked best for me and has given me great results. Thanks!

  2. Wow! I am revisiting this routine about three years later. I really appreciate the previous dialogue we had on this message board. It is pretty funny to see what I wrote and how my perspectives have changed since 2013. Thanks again

    John

  3. Hi cutty ,
    I am 20 years old guy . I want to get ripped. I am a bit on the skinny side. Which workout you advice me to follow .and how many times a week i should go to gym

    1. Pick a workout routine that fits your schedule and go with it. Start eating a couple hundred extra calories a day and push yourself in the gym and you’ll start to notice a difference.

  4. Hey cutty

    I’m from India. My weight is 75 kg and height is 5’11. I’m doing gym from long time but I’m not getting any good result. I have no idea about what plans I should follow. Please help me!!

    1. Find a workout plan you like and start eating more. Eat more protein or even rice to get more calories to help your body have fuel to build muscle.

      Start with 200 calories extra a day and start working on any program you’d like. You should start to see gains within a month.

  5. Hey cutty, loving the routine so far. Question about workout E: would replacing squats with the leg press be as equally effective, or are doing actual squats that much more beneficial? also my gym doesn’t have a calf machine, do you have any recommendations for strengthening the calves? thanks!

    1. Leg presses are useful in application but they don’t hold a candle to squats. I highly recommend learning to squat. For the calf machine this may sound ghetto but you could bring a 2×4 in your bag that’s a little longer than shoulder width and then you can stand on it with the balls of your feet. Use the smith machine, regular barbell, or you can sit on a bench and then load a couple plates up on your lap and use it like that.

  6. I have recently been trying a split where I do chest/triceps, legs/shoulders and back/biceps. I am doing this 6 days in a row then taking day 7 off. I’m doing two exercise per body part per day, plus abs 4 days. I can typically get this done in 45 minutes then get in 1/2 hour of cardio. My goal right now is to lose fat while maintaining and toning muscle. I can’t seem to find any articles on a split like this and am wondering if it seems reasonable to anyone or if there is a better option. Any advice is appreciated.

    Thanks

    1. If you’re consistently hitting that, time to start adjusting macros and watching intake. That’s a lot of time in the gym but at least you aren’t going overboard with exercises per part. Depending if you come from a (too fat) or a (thinner) background I would suggest to up protein and either increase fat and decrease carbs for now if you’re on the (too fat) side and then if you’re on the (thinner) side then I suggest up the protein, up the carbs, and drop the fats to a reasonable level.

  7. Do you believe in a push pull legs regiment? If I would want to workout 5 times per week would I be able to do push and pull twice a week and legs once?

    1. I have a few push/pull workouts but I would not recommend doing 5 days set up like that. You will never recover properly and eventually you’ll burn out. Recovery is where growth is made, not beating the muscles down.

  8. Hey Cutty,

    I wasn’t ever much of a gym rat. I was track and cross country in high school. Since then, I have had two kids, been in the Air Force for 12 years and have definitely gotten out of shape. Finding a workout program that would fit my goals of getting rid of the gut, and overall body fat, and gaining muscle and strength is hard to find that is as spelled out as you made this. I am starting today. I have restocked my kitchen with healthy foods, and will be cutting out the beer intake as much as possible. I created a log book and will be able to do all of this no matter where I go so there shouldn’t be any excuses. I am 5’7 and 200 lbs and looking to cut inches of the waist while getting bigger in the places that are supposed to be. lol I will return in a month to give an update. Thanks man.

    1. Tyler, good luck and thank you for your service. You know exactly what you need to do nutrition wise and you certainly know how to build up conditioning. I think you’ll be just fine.

      Don’t worry about jumping back into heavy weights quick, spend a week or two relearning movements and getting the flow back and then turn up the intensity. You’ve taken every step you need to turn things around.

      I will say once you start noticing fat loss and you manipulate calories and macros, don’t get discouraged if you start seeing weight loss slow down or go up, be sure to check for other signs (clothes fit better, etc) because you’ll be doing a body recomposition.

      You’ll start building muscle and your initial water weight loss should drop an easy 20lbs just off limiting beer and eating better in a couple weeks. A long time ago when I first started this site I got discouraged because of a recomp I did, started seeing 300lbs on the scale again and I went and got a body comp test and I was down to 15% bodyfat. Don’t let all of the numbers confine you to how you feel on your progress. You know what to do so do it.

      Good luck

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