Instagram is an incredible resource to use to get ideas for workouts.
After all, there are literally hundreds of personal trainers and professional bodybuilders that regularly post videos of their workouts that you can try for yourself.
By following these fitness professionals, you can use Instagram to discover new exercises that you may have never done before. Not only that but you can also learn how to improve your technique on the exercises you are already familiar with by just watching these fitness professionals lift.
However, with so many workout videos floating around, it can be tough to figure out which exercises are best for you and how to implement them into your current workout routine.
That being said, if you are interested in building muscle with the help of some of the best bodybuilders on Instagram, you have come to the right place. In this post, I have compiled some excellent workout videos on Instagram specifically for building muscle that you can do this week. Here I have laid out a typical bulking workout for the week that targets a different group of muscles every lifting day.
So without further ado, check out these 6 Instagram bodybuilding workouts to take your muscle building game to the next level.
Day 1: Legs with Uzoma Obilor (@usoma_obilor)
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1.) Squats (6 X 8-12 reps)
2.) Leg Press (4 X 10-15 reps)
3.) V-Squats (4 X 10-15 reps)]
4.) Leg Extensions (5 X 10-15 reps)
5.) Hip Abductors/Adductors (4 X 10-15 reps each)
There is no better way to start out your week than by hitting legs!
This workout is excellent for building overall size to your legs. Given that the first three exercises are compound lifts, they effectively hit practically every muscle in your legs. The last two exercises target specific muscle groups of the legs such as the quads during leg extensions, hips during the abductor machine, and inner legs during the adductor machine.
Notice how Uzoma does his sets in the relatively high rep range and does slow and controlled reps. Done right, your legs will be on fire by the end of each set. Working out like in this manner not only is effective for putting on muscle but it also is good for avoiding injury.
Of course although you should emulate Uzomas good form, you might not want to try to match the same amount of weight as this pro bodybuilder! Its always better to practice good form with lightweight before taking things to the next level with heavier lifting.
Day 2: Chest day with Richard Duchon (@richard_duchon)
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1.) Incline dumbbell press variation (4 X 15 reps)
2.) Bench press (4 X 10 reps)
3.) Seated cable fly (4 X 10 reps)
4.) Close grip incline press (4 X 12)
5.) Weighted push ups (4 X 15-20)
Nothing too fancy here- just a couple of good old fashion exercises to build your chest.
The bench press, seated cable fly and weighted push ups are great for building overall mass to the chest while the incline dumbbell press variation and the close-grip incline press are both excellent exercises for targeting the upper chest.
You can notice that on exercises like the bench press, Richard doesn’t fully extend his arms at the end of each rep. This way he keeps the tension in his chest throughout the entire set instead of locking out his elbows and giving his chest a break.
As for the pushups, definitely at least try to put a plate on your back like Richard. Balancing that weight on your back makes the exercise much harder as you can imagine. However, if you just can’t get the hang of balancing the weight, it’s fine to do controlled push-ups with no weight at all.
Day 3: Rest
Never underestimate the importance of a rest day.
Day 4: Shoulders with Joe Andrews
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1.) Alternating shoulder press (4 X 12 each arm)
2.) Seated dumbbell shoulder press (4 X 10-12)
3.) Seated dumbbell lateral raise (4 X 10)
4.) Standing cable front raise and upright row (4 X 10)
5.) Standing dumbbell shrugs (4 X 10)
This is a great example of an effective muscle building shoulder workout.
Joe Andrews does these exercises in a certain order and probably for good reason too. The two shoulder press exercises are excellent for building overall mass to the shoulders. However, they take a ton of energy to do especially with heavy weights. That being said, just like Joe does, its best to do these movements while you are feeling fresh and energized before moving on to the other sets.
The seated dumbbell lateral raise is great for really building the side delts. Doing this movement sitting down rather than standing up is a great way to make sure you aren’t using momentum to get the weights up but really engaging your shoulders instead.
Lastly, the shrugs are a great way to finish off. Traps are often forgotten but working them once a week can really benefit you.
In this post, Joe also stresses the importance of warm-ups. He mentions that you should be doing two warm-up sets before getting into your main sets. Although doing warm-ups is important for any muscle you are working, warming up is especially important for shoulders given that they tend to be more injury-prone.
Day 5: Back with Alex Bozinovski
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1.) Pull-ups (4 sets until failure)
2.) T-bar rows- close grip (6 reps, then 8 reps, then 12 reps)
3.) T-Bar rows- wide grip (3 X 12)
4.) ISO rows (3 X 12)
5.) Superset (3 X 12)
5a.) Low cable rows
5b.) Lat pushdowns
6.) Deadlifts (3 X 12)
With seven exercises total covered, this is certainly an intense workout, to say the least.
Pull ups are always a great way to start off your back workout because you often get too fatigued to do good pull ups later on in your workout after a few other exercises. Regardless, there is no better way to build your lats than good ol’ pull ups.
The close grip and wide grip T-bar rows, as well as the ISO rows, are excellent for building overall thickness in the back. If you don’t have access to a machine to do the ISO rows, doing traditional dumbbell rows is a fine substitute for this exercise.
By the very end of the workout when you are doing deadlifts, be careful not to push it too much. You likely will already be pretty fatigued after doing the six exercises prior. That being said, when doing deadlifts, don’t do more weight than you can handle. Often times when you are doing heavy lifting when you are exhausted, your form can fall apart, leading to injury.
Day 6: Arms with Brian DeCosta
1.) Cable EZ curl (4 X 15 reps)
2.) EZ-bar cable tricep extension (4 X 15 reps)
3.) Seated cable reverse curl (4 X 12 reps)
4.) Cable tricep extension (4 X 12 reps)
5.) Outer bicep curl (4 X 10)
6.) Single-arm tricep extension (4 X 10)
7.) Rope rotation curl (4 X 20)
8.) Rope tricep extension (4 X 20)
Your arms should be absolutely cooked by the end of this one.
As you can tell this is one big cable machine workout which is great because you don’t need to bounce all around the gym to do all seven exercises. You can stay put in one spot and do your whole workout.
In this workout, Brian does a lot of tricep pull down variations to really shock the muscle. Although the differences between doing EZ bar pull downs vs single-arm pull-downs vs rope tricep pull-downs might seem slight, these variations work each part of the triceps slightly differently.
As for the bicep exercises, Brian really mixes things up. From doing an EZ bar curl to outer bicep curl, these exercises can help you hit your biceps at every angle.
You can see that Brian tends to be a fan of high rep sets especially when it comes to working arms. There is something to be said about doing high reps in order to really feel the burn and get a nice “pump” in the muscle.
Day 7: Rest
You’re definitely going to need it after the past three days of lifting!
A word on abs…
As far as core work goes, you may want to do just a few sets of ab work after a workout just a few times a week. You don’t need to go overboard and do another hour of abs on all five days that you workout. However you can really benefit from doing just two or three ab exercises on two to three lifting days.
Check out these core exercises by Roy Benitez for some inspiration.
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Of course, these exercises are a bit advanced, but to take your bodybuilding game up to the next level, it’s worth giving them a go!
