If you’ve booked your summer holiday but forgotten to pack on some lean, hard muscle until now, fear not: our last-minute summer body plan will build muscle mass across your chest, shoulders and arms, while stripping fat from your belly, so you can hit the sand with a leaner and more defined V-shaped torso.
In an ideal world you’d have at least four weeks to make a really big change to how you look without a shirt, but any effort you put in should pay some handsome rewards.
Even if you’ve only got a week or two, following the workouts on the following pages will build wider shoulders, a broader chest and bigger arms.
Following the workouts couldn’t be easier: do them in order, sticking to the exercise order, sets, reps and rest.
For maximum results leave a day between sessions to let your muscles recover, and add in a high-intensity interval session (if you feel energised) to fire up your body’s fat-burning potential.
Workout 1: Chest
All three workouts are made up of six moves split into three supersets. Do all the reps of the move 1A, rest for 30sec, then do the reps of move 1B, rest for 60sec, and repeat for the stated number of sets. Continue using the same protocol. As the session progresses the number of sets per superset goes down but the rep count goes up to hit your muscles harder.
Workout 2: Back And Shoulders
After your chest-building superset session, workout 2 hits your back and shoulders to build muscle size across the top of your torso and the sides of your back. This will build width across your upper body to create a more athletic physique – and help your waist appear even narrower.
Workout 3: Arms
This session will build bigger arms by working your biceps and triceps in antagonistic supersets (where the two moves work opposing muscle groups back to back). This offers many benefits, including faster recovery in the resting muscle (allowing you push harder next set) and a bigger pump.
Workout 1: Chest
This session will tax both the upper, lower and middle parts of your pectoral muscles – as well as working your shoulders and triceps – so you can start to sculpt a bigger, broader and more defined chest.
1A Dumbbell bench press
Sets 5 Reps 8 Rest 30sec
Why Hits your chest, shoulders and triceps
How Lie on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand and your feet flat on the floor. Press the weights directly up until your arms are straight, then lower back to the start.
1B Dumbbell pull-over
Sets 5 Reps 8 Rest 60sec
Why It opens up your chest by fully stretching your pec muscles at the bottom of each rep.
How Lie on a flat bench with your head supported and feet on the floor. Hold a dumbbell with both hands over your chest then lower the weight behind your head. Pull the weight back over your head to return to the start.
2A Incline hammer press
Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 30sec
Why Pressing on an incline focuses the work on the upper part of your chest.
How Lie on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand by your shoulders, keeping your chest up and your feet flat on the floor. Press the weights directly up until your arms are straight then lower back to the start position.
2B Incline dumbbell flye
Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 60sec
Why It isolates the chest muscles, forcing them to do all the work.
How Lie on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand with arms straight and palms facing. With a slight bend in your elbows, lower the weights to the sides, then squeeze your chest to raise your arms and return to the start.
3A Cable flye
Sets 3 Reps 12 Rest 30sec
Why It works the middle part of your chest as well as the front part of your shoulders.
How Stand in the middle of a cable machine holding a D-handle in each hand. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows and your chest up, bring your hands down in an arc to meet in front of your chest. Reverse the movement back to the start.
3B Cable cross-over
Sets 3 Reps 12 Rest 60sec
Why It hits the middle of your chest again to sculpt more defined pecs.
How Follow the form guide for the cable flye, but bring your hands down to meet at the top of your thighs. Try to get a good stretch at the top position.
Workout 2: Back And Shoulders
The first superset hits your upper and middle back to build width across your upper body. Then there are two shoulder moves to add size to all parts of the shoulder muscle, before two often-neglected moves to really fatigue the target muscles.
1A Lat pull-down
Sets 5 Reps 8 Rest 30sec
Why It hits your lats for a wide upper back to make your waist seem small.
How Take a wide overhand grip on the bar. Retract your shoulder blades, keep your chest up and pull the bar down until it reaches your chin. Return back to the start.
1B Seated row
Sets 5 Reps 8 Rest 60sec
Why The machine ensures correct movement so go heavy with good form and focus on contracting your upper back hard with each rep.
How Grip a row handle with both hands with palms facing. Keep your back straight and row the handle towards you, leading with your elbows. Return to the start.
2B Dumbbell overhead press
Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 30sec
Why Because it targets each shoulder muscle group individually, you can lift with a full range of motion. Keep each rep slow and controlled.
How Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height with palms facing forwards. Press the weights directly overhead until your arms are straight then lower them back to the start.
2B Lateral raise
Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 60sec
Why Targets your side delts to create greater upper torso width.
How Stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand. Raise the weights out to the sides, leading with your elbows. Lower under control.
3A Straight-arm pull-down
Sets 3 Reps 12 Rest 30sec
Why You’ll hit the lats and front shoulders again – but don’t go too heavy: strict form is essential to avoid injury.
How Hold a straight bar with an overhand grip with straight arms. Keep your chest up then pull the bar down in a smooth arc to the front of your thighs, then return smoothly to the start.
3B Cable face pull
Sets 3 Reps 12 Rest 60sec
Why This move hits the often neglected rear delts, and adding size here helps create that coveted V-shaped torso.
How Stand tall and hold a double rope attachment on the high pulley with straight arms. Keeping your chest up, pull the handles to either side of your face, then return to the start.
See related
- The Best Upper-Body Workout
- The Ultimate Chest Workout: Build A Big Chest In Just 28 Days
- The Arm Workout to Help You Fill Your Shirt Sleeves
Workout 3: Biceps And Triceps
This session works your triceps and biceps alternately, which is a time-efficient way to build bigger arms, and allows effective recovery between moves to enable you to lift hard and heavy for every set to maximise your muscle returns.
1A Close-grip bench press
Sets 5 Reps 8 Rest 30sec
Why A narrow grip shifts the workload away from your chest towards your triceps.
How Lie holding a barbell with a shoulder-width grip. Lower the bar towards your chest, then press it back up to the start.
1B Underhand lat pull-down
Sets 5 Reps 8 Rest 60sec
Why Using this grip works your biceps far harder than when using an overhand grip.
How Take an underhand, shoulder-width grip on the bar. Retract your shoulder blades, keep your chest up and pull the bar down in front of you until it reaches your upper chest. Return back to the start.
2A EZ-bar triceps extension
Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 30sec
Why It isolates your triceps and works them through a full range of motion. Don’t compromise form by going too heavy.
How Stand tall, holding an EZ-bar overhead with straight arms and an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Lower the bar behind your head, then straighten your arms to return to the start.
2B EZ-bar biceps curl
Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 60sec
Why It hits your biceps hard without straining your wrists.
How Stand tall holding an EZ-bar with an underhand, shoulder-width grip. Curl the bar up to shoulder height, pause, then lower the bar under control back to the start. Squeeze your biceps at the top and stretch your triceps at the bottom of each rep.
3A Rope triceps press-down
Sets 3 Reps 12 Rest 30sec
Why The cable keeps tension on your triceps during both the lowering and the lifting part of each rep so they are always engaged.
How Stand in front of a cable machine and hold the ropes with a palms-facing grip. Keeping your elbows tight to your sides, press the ropes down until your arms are straight, then return to the start.
3B Rope hammer curl
Sets 3 Reps 12 Rest 60sec
Why The cable’s constant tension means you work your biceps hard.
How Hold the ropes with a palms-facing grip. Keeping your elbows tight to your sides, curl up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps, then return to the start.
