Lee Hayward 12 Week Bodybuilding Workout Routine Spreadsheet

Lee Hayward’s 12 week bodybuilding program is broken up into four 3 week cycles, each cycle focusing on adding volume to the same set of lifts before switching to new movement variations and rep ranges for the next 3 week cycle. Each week has four training days, with the recommended set up being Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday.

Lee designed the program this way to help keep the stimulus fresh and help avoid plateaus. He advised to try to make progress by adding weight on the main lifts (squat variation, bench press variation, deadlift variation) each week within a given cycle.

Spreadsheet: Lee Hayward 12 Week Bodybuilding Workout Routine

The spreadsheet is based on an interpretation of the program description on Lee Hayward’s site.

Lee Hayward 12 Week Bodybuilding Workout Routine Spreadsheet | LiftVault.com

Lee Hayward Bodybuilding Program Overview

Here’s a summary of each cycle within this 12 week bodybuilding program.

As is the case with most bodybuilding programs, weight are not prescribed. The most important aspect of these workouts will be to focus on muscle contraction, mind/muscle connection, and training heavy, but not to failure. This can be achieved by training around the RPE 8 range, maybe pushing to RPE 9 on some of the heavier compound movements (whichever squat variation, deadlift variation, and bench press variation you’re doing on a given cycle).

If you need a quick refresher on RPE, here you go:

For more information on RPE, I recommend checking out this post by Rennaisance Training Periodization, which is also where the above image is from.

Cycle 1: Weeks 1-3

Monday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Squat	5	5
Deadlift	5	5
Standing Calf Raise	5	10
Leg Raises	5	10
Incline Sit Ups	3	10-20

Tuesday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Incline Barbell Bench Press	4	5
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press	5	8
Bicep Cable Curls	5	10
Tricep Push Downs	5	10
Bent Over Dumbbell Lateral Raises	3	10-15

Thursday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Leg Press	4	15
Leg Curls	4	15
Wide Grip Pull Downs	4	15
Hyper Extensions	4	10
Pull Down Ab Crunches	4	15

Friday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press	4	10
Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises	4	10
Bicep Dumbbell Curls	4	12
Tricep Push Downs	4	12
Barbell Upright Rows	3	15

Cycle 2: Weeks 4-6

Monday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Bent Over Barbell Rows	5	8
Barbell Shoulder Shrugs	5	10
Leg Extensions	5	10
Leg Curls	5	10
Seated Calf Raise	5	10
Incline Sit Ups	3	10-20

Tuesday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Decline Barbell Bench Press	5	5
Seated Barbell Shoulder Press	5	8
Preacher Barbell Curls	5	10
Lying Tricep Extensions (EZ Bar)	5	10
Cable Upright Rows	3	15

Thursday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Hack Squat	4	15
Stiff Leg Deadlifts	4	15
Seated Cable Rows	4	15
Leg Raises	4	12
Crunches	4	25+

Friday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press	4	10
Dumbbell Front Lateral Raises	4	10
Bicep Barbell Curls	4	12
Tricep Push Downs	4	12
Close Grip Pull Downs	4	15

Cycle 3: Weeks 7-9

Monday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Squats	5	5
Partial Deadlifts	5	5
Chin Ups	4	AMRAP
Pull Down Ab Crunches	5	10
Leg Raises	5	10

Tuesday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Flat Barbell Bench Press	5	5
Bent Over Dumbbell Lateral Raises	4	10
Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises	4	10
Dumbbell Front Lateral Raises	4	10
Tricep Push Downs	5	10
Bicep Cable Curls	5	10

Thursday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Hack Squat	5	10
Leg Press	4	15
Chest Supported Row	4	10
Hyper Extensions	4	10
Pull Down Ab Crunches	4	15

Friday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Dumbbell Bench Press on Stability Ball	4	10
Dumbbell Shoulder Press on Stability Ball	4	10
EZ Bar Bicep Curls	4	12
One Arm Overhead Dumbbell Extensions	4	12
One Arm Dumbbell Rows	3	15

Cycle 4: Weeks 10-12

Monday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Leg Press	5	5
Stiff Leg Deadlift	5	5
Wide Grip Pull Downs	4	10
Incline Sit Ups	5	15
Leg Raises	5	15

Tuesday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Dips	5	5
Chin Ups	4	AMRAP
Side Lateral Raises	4	10
Seated Barbell Shoulder Press	4	10
Bicep Dumbbell Preacher Curl	5	10
Tricep Push Downs	5	10

Thursday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Squats	4	15
Leg Curls	4	15
Leg Extensions	4	15
Seated Cable Rows	4	10
Standing Calf Raise	4	10
Pull Down Ab Crunches	4	15

Friday

Exercise Movement	Sets	Reps
Push Ups with Feet on Stability Ball	4	AMRAP
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press	4	10
Standing One Arm Dumbbell Curls	4	12
One Arm Overhead Dumbbell Extensions	4	12
Close Grip Pull Downs	4	10

 

 

 

About Kyle Risley

Kyle Risley founded Lift Vault in 2016 to make finding great powerlifting programs easier. Since then, the site has grown to include hundreds of programs for strength, bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, and more. He currently lives in Massachusetts and continues to compete in powerlifting.