The Final 3-Month Male Physique Transformation Plan

Strength Workouts

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If you want to maximize the fat-burning effects of strength training, here’s what you need to focus on:

• Compound exercises: A compound exercise is any exercise that targets multiple muscle groups at once, such as the squat, deadlift, and bench and overhead press. 

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

1. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand. 
2. Plant your left knee and hand firmly on a bench, your right foot on the floor a foot or two from the bench, and let your right arm (the one holding the dumbbell) hang straight down toward the floor). 
3. Keeping your back straight, pull the dumbbell upward until it touches your torso, and then return the dumbbell to the starting position.
4. Once you’ve completed the desired number of reps, repeat the process with your left arm.

1. Adjust the thigh pad of a lat pulldown machine so that it locks your lower body in place. 
2. Stand up and grab the bar. While keeping your grip on the bar and your arms straight, sit down, allowing your body weight to pull the bar down with you. 
3. Nudge your thighs under the thigh pads and plant your feet flat on the floor.
4. Pull the bar toward your chest. 
5. Once the bar is underneath your chin (or touches your chest, if you want to make the exercise harder), reverse the movement and return to the starting position. 

1. Whether standing or seated, bend at the hips so your upper body is as close to parallel to the floor as possible.
2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, and while keeping your back flat, lift the dumbbells out to the side until your upper arm is parallel to the floor.
3. You don’t have to keep your arms perfectly straight—having a slight bend in your elbows is usually more comfortable.
4. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

1. Lie on a flat bench with your feet flat on the floor, directly under your knees. 
2. Pull your shoulder blades together and down, and without lifting your butt or shoulders off the bench, slightly arch your back. 
3. Grab the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, take a deep breath, brace your core, and unrack the barbell.
4. Bring the barbell to the middle of your chest, making sure to keep your elbows tucked at about a 45-degree angle relative to your body. 
5. When the bar touches your chest, explosively press the bar back to the starting position.

1. Set a barbell in a rack at the same height as your upper chest. 
2. Grip the bar with a shoulder-width grip and your palms facing away from you. 
3. Unrack the barbell and take a small step backward with each foot, keeping your wrists stacked over your elbows, and your elbows tucked close to your sides.
4. Plant your feet just outside of shoulder-width, and arch your upper back enough so the bar is directly over your midfoot and your head is slightly behind the bar. 
5. Take a deep breath into your stomach and tighten your core muscles, squeeze your glutes as hard as you can, and push the bar off your chest toward the ceiling. 
6. Once your arms are straight and your elbows are locked out, reverse the movement to return to the starting position.

1. While lying on a bench that’s angled at 30-to-45 degrees, hold a dumbbell in each hand and rest them on your thighs. 
2. Lie back, hoisting the dumbbells up so you’re holding them on either side of your chest by giving them a nudge with your thighs.
3. Press the dumbbells straight up over your upper chest until your arms are straight and your elbows are locked. 
4. Lower the dumbbells to the starting position.

1. Stand up straight with a dumbbell in each hand. 
2. Keeping your back straight and your core tight, raise the dumbbells out to the side until your upper arm is parallel to the floor. You don’t have to keep your arms perfectly straight—having a small bend in your elbows is normally more comfortable. 
3. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

1. Position a barbell in a squat rack at about the height of the top of your breastbone.
2. Step under the bar, pinch your shoulder blades together, and rest the bar directly above the bony ridges on the bottom of your shoulder blades.
3. Lift the bar out of the rack, take one or two steps backward, and place your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointing slightly outward.
4. Sit down and remember to keep your back straight and push your knees out in the same direction as your toes throughout each rep. 
5. Stand up and return to the starting position.

1. Stand up straight holding a loaded barbell with a shoulder-width, overhand grip (palms facing toward your body).
2. Flatten your back and lower the weights toward the floor in a straight line while keeping your legs mostly straight, allowing your butt to move backward as you descend.
3. Once you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, bend your knees slightly more, and continue lowering the weights until your lower back begins to round—just below the knees for most people and about mid-shin for those who are particularly flexible. 
4. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

1. Load a leg press with plates and adjust the seat to its lowest position (with the backrest closest to the floor, at about a 30-degree angle).
2. Wedge your butt down into the base of the seat and plant your feet on the footplate just outside of shoulder-width apart.
3. Bend your knees slightly, use the safety handles to release the weight, and lower the footplate toward your chest until your thighs are 12-to-16 inches from your torso. 
4. Make sure your butt remains firmly in place and your lower back doesn’t round at the bottom of the rep.
5. Finally, push the footplate upward until your legs are almost but not completely straight (knees slightly bent at the top of the rep).

1. Sit on the machine with the back of your knees a couple of inches off the pad supporting your thighs and adjust the heel pad so it’s across your Achilles tendons. 
2. Press your heels toward your butt until your shins are roughly perpendicular to your thighs (or closer)
3. Raise your heels and return to the starting position.

To ensure you’re taking your sets close enough to failure, ask yourself this question at the end of each set, just before re-racking the weight: “If I absolutely had to, how many more reps could I get with good form?”

If the answer is more than two, increase the weight or reps to make your next set more challenging. This ensures you include the right balance of volume and intensity in your workouts.

2. Once you hit the top of your rep range for one set, move up in weight.

For instance, let’s say your workout calls for 4-to-6 reps of deadlift (as this one does). If you get 6 reps for a set, add 5 pounds to each side of the bar (10 pounds total) for your next set and work with that weight until you can (eventually) pull it for 6 reps, and so forth.

If you get 3 or fewer reps with your new (higher) weight on your next sets, reduce the weight by 5 pounds to ensure you can stay within your target rep range (4-to-6) for all sets.

HIIT Cardio Workout #1: 6 x 30

1. On an exercise bike or rowing machine, do a 30-second sprint at about 90% of your max effort, followed by 2 minutes of low-intensity recovery. 
2. Repeat 6 times for a total of 15 minutes of exercise. 

However, when you’re new to weightlifting, your body is hyper-responsive to the muscle-building effects of resistance training, which means  you can build muscle even when you’re in a calorie deficit.

This is why you can transform your body rapidly when you first start training consistently. 

That said, if you know how to eat and train to drive fat loss—following the steps we just covered—certain supplements can speed up the process. (And if you’d like to know exactly what supplements to take to reach your fitness goals, take the Legion Supplement Finder Quiz.)  

Here are the best supplements to help you build muscle and lose fat: