Mike Israetel 5 Week Hypertrophy Workout Routine

Dr. Mike Israetel published a very popular article entitled Training Volume Landmarks for Renaissance Periodization.

A terrific Lift Vault reader submitted this spreadsheet to help provide more structure to the recommendations made by Mike Israetel in the article. It makes it much easier to use the workout based on your own current strength levels.

This is a 6 day hypertrophy workout routine that runs for a 4 week mesocycle and includes a deload on week 5.

Can you get big with hypertrophy?

Hypertrophy is the process of muscle growth, so yes, you can definitely get big with hypertrophy! There is a misconception in the training community that hypertrophy only comes from high reps and short rest periods. While this does work, it isn't optimal for maximizing lean muscle gains.

The best way to maximize your muscular potential with hypertrophy is by focusing on these principles:

- Progressive overload (lifting more weight or doing more reps)

- Volume training (more sets and reps)

- Training to failure on some of your exercises

In order for hypertrophy, lifting more weight is a MUST. It doesn't have to be a maximal lift but it must be heavy enough that you can only perform the prescribed number of reps or less. You can use rest/pause sets at the end if necessary. 

How long should a Mesocycle be hypertrophy?

A mesocycle should be about 16-20 weeks and conclude with a deload week where you give your body a break.

This is because for hypertrophy, you want to avoid training like an absolute beast every single workout of the cycle. This will do more harm than good by exhausting your body's ability to recover from intense exercise, resulting in stagnation.

How do you build a hypertrophy Mesocycle?

Mike Israetel's article does a great job of explaining the concept.

For hypertrophy, you should figure out where your strength levels are and build the routine around it using his recommendations. The basic idea is that you want to provide your body with a stimulus to build muscle by continuing to challenge your strength. Here's one way to go about this:

- Spend several weeks performing sets at 55% or more of your 1 rep maximum on most exercises

- When you can perform all reps at 75% to 85%, add weight

- When you can perform all reps at 90% or more, add another rep per set so that the volume remains constant for a few weeks

This is just one way to build muscle, though. For more information on how to put on muscle mass, visit our Muscle Growth Journey page!

Do bodybuilders do hypertrophy?

Hypertrophy is the process of building muscle, so its the bread and butter of what bodybuilders do!