The Tor Program

The Training Philosophy and Strategies of a

Norse God

Intro to Tor 4

Sold to
ursoneonly@gmail.com
The Meta Rhyme and Reason behind the Tor Program 5
The Physical History and Training of Chris Hemsworth 7
The First Program of Tor 11
Day 1: Chest and Back 11
Day 2: Legs 12
Day 3: Arms 12
Tor’s Program 2011-2013 12
Day 1: Back 12
Day 2: Chest 13
Day 3: Legs 13
Day 4: Shoulders 14
Day 5: Arms 14
BONUS: Abs Circuit 15
My Thoughts on this Program 15
How Tor’s Training Changed Over the Years 16
Tor’s 2-a-Day Program 16
Day 1: Chest / Shoulders / Boxing 17
Morning: Chest and Shoulders 17
Evening: Boxing and Abs 17
Day 2: Back / Arms / Boxing / Abs 18
Morning: Back & Arms 18
Evening: Boxing & Abs 18
Day 3: Surfing/Legs 19
Morning: Surfing 19
Evening: Legs 19
Eating to Gain Mass 19
Tor’s (Almost) Rules of Muscle-Building 22
THE PROGRAM 24
Months 1 & 2 24
Day 1: Chest / Back 24
Day 2: Legs 25
Day 3: Shoulders/Arms 25
Day 4: Chest / Back (Repeat of Day 1) 26
 Day 5: Legs (Repeat of Day 2) 26
Day 6: Shoulders / Arms (Repeat of Day 3) 26
Months 3 & 4 26
Day 1: Chest / Shoulders 26
Day 2: Legs 26
Day 3: Back 27
Day 4: Biceps & Triceps 27
Day 5: Back 27
Day 6: Biceps & Triceps 28
Months 5 & 6 28
Day 1: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps 28
Day 2: Back & Biceps 29
Day 3: Legs 29
Day 4: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps 29
Day 5: Back and Biceps 30
Training Abdominals on the Tor Program 30
Abdominal Workouts 31
Upper Abdominal Exercises 31
Lower Abdominal Exercises 32
Oblique Exercises 32
Stability Exercises 32
Cardio on the the Tor program 32

Intro to Tor
Chris Hemsworth has swiftly become iconic for his portrayal of Tor in
the Marvel films of the past decade, and accordingly he’s become well
known for his physique.

While I enjoyed the Tor films, I was never an immense fan of the
character. I was a DC fan growing up, not Marvel, and the Tor character
was never known for being particularly well developed other than he’s
Tor, he’s got a hammer, he’s a Norse God, and what more explanation
do you need.

That said, since I’ve grown out my hair long, I have been compared to
Tor many many many many times. Obviously Chris Hemsworth is
blond, and my hair is brown, but the comparison is a constant one
(along with being told I look like Tarzan)

As such, it struck that why not do a profile on him, seeing as

Hemsworth has obviously trained hard to look the part and has no
doubt built an impressive and heroic physique.

While I know full well there are many many many Tor programs floating
around the web, this one is mine, so why not have some fun with
designing it. I don’t pretend to reinvent the wheel.

Hemsworth built his body through hard training, consistent eating, and
since he first bulked up for the role, he has never slimmed down. Like
Hugh Jackman, he trains year around more or less, and dials it up for
filming.

Like Jackman, Hemsworth was NOT muscular before he started filming.

He more or less had a “gym bro” physique of looking like he “worked
out”, but in no way resembled the V-Tapered, Broad shouldered Tor.

His training for the began many months in advance, and he gave total
dedication to the role. 8 years later, and he’s played the character in 5
films to date, with more to come, and each time he’s been big and
ripped. Not easy to do, and his gotten progressively more defined with
each film, indicating he’s clearly never backed off the iron.

This Tor Program is 24 weeks in length. 6 months long. This program is

a MASS program. I wrote this for the express purpose of adding weight
to someone’s frame. While I obviously cannot promise you’ll look like
Hemsworth (he’s listed as being 6’3 and 220 lbs), you guaranteed will
put on muscle and build strength following this program and eating
properly. Your results will be predicated on your efforts and
consistency. Train right, eat right, reap the rewards.

The Meta Rhyme and Reason behind the Tor Program

While all of my programs are designed to build muscle, this was the
first time I designed one with the exclusive goal of MASS, and nothing
but Muscle mass.

Will you get stronger following this program? Of course you will.

But Tor is a BIG guy. And regardless of whether you have the frame to
be 200+ lbs or not, you can still train like you are trying to become a big
guy. Muscle, strength, power, that is is what the Tor program will do for
you.

Additionally, and this is critical to understand,

If you are trying to lose body fat permanently, and transform your
body, you need to build more muscle than you have now, get stronger,
and change your Lean mass to fat mass ratio (also known as your body
composition).

If you do that in tandem with dieting, you will "lose the fat", and it will
be far less likely to return. This program is perfect for “recomping,” eat
at maintenance and slowly dropping body-fat.

This suggestion is the “formula” I’ve given people thousands of times in

my career. And it is what the Tor program is based upon. This program
is to build MUSCLE, period.

Muscle is the holy grail of health;

● Improved endurance
● Less body fat
 ● More athletic movement Increase flexibility (using a full range of
motion when lifting and static stretching does this quite well)
● Look more toned (i.e. build some muscle)
● Be more defined (again, build some muscle)
● Improved energy (being more muscular and stronger means that
the same activities are less taxing on the body)
● More Confidence (building more muscle improves this)
● Feel less weak (more muscle means you’re stronger and you don’t
feel weak)
● Improved balance (more muscular body equals stronger body
equals better balance)
● Improved posture (grow back muscle and train the back and this
improves)

More muscle means your body uses food more efficiently, meaning less
fat storage and better "nutrient partitioning", your metabolic rate goes
UP during any kind of activity because muscles requires more calories
to power, and its easier to shed fat as well because you can train at a
higher and more intense level than people that are not muscular.

You also are stronger and more physically capable than before, more
resilient to gravity, have all the benefits of a stronger immune system,
more resistant to cancer, and are an all around better functioning
human.

If you need a better case to be made for resistance training, let me

know.

The Physical History and Training of Chris Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth, while certainly tall and athletic looking, he was

definitely NOT “jacked” before he began training for Tor. He is a very
good example of a natural guy with great natural potential though.
Long limbs, but he’s clearly got genetics for muscle growth.
(no copyright infringement intended, I was unable to find the original source
for these photos)

The above is Hemsworth at 21 and 29. Now, obviously he’s wearing the
armor, but I liked this contrast because you can clearly see he’s got the
structure and frame to be a very muscular guy. He’s tall, but has a very
broad chest and he’s naturally lean (he’s always had abs more or less)

Obviously, this is not going to be most people’s genetics. Yet at the

same time, he was skinny as hell at 21. You would not have looked at
him as a kid and thought he’d be playing a super buff comic book hero
role years later, being likely 40-50 lbs heavier.

At the same time, this is a very good example of how muscle growth
and training both take time, and can happen at ANY age. Hemsworth
did not begin lifting properly until his LATE 20s, 27 specifically. It was
not as if he was a jacked 15/16 year old.

Hemsworth also made the very wise decision of investing in a personal

trainer, and he began EATING for muscle growth from the very
beginning. He did not waste time of any kind.

As I analyzed Hemsworth various routines, a few key patterns emerged:

1. He lifts pretty much exclusively for muscle growth. He trains with

all rep ranges, doing low to moderate reps for his main
compound movements, and then moderate to high reps for
everything else. His lifting is always hypertrophy focused

2. He trains like a bodybuilder. His programs are almost entirely

classic bodybuilding routines, 4-6 days a week, 3-5 sets per
exercise, and multiple exercises per muscle group.

3. He eats like a bodybuilder. To put on size, he ate multiple small

meals a day, protein, fat, carbs, and his food choices were
traditional chicken, beef, rice, veggies. Nothing complicated at all

4. He apparently has not really changed his training all that much
over the years, and sticks with the same movements more or less
since he started. I would surmise that he is a decently strong guy,
but he’s also not not a “bro” in the sense of being obsessed with
how much he lifts. He doesn’t have an ego about his lifting that
way. The only quote I could find about his strength levels is that
he likes to do heavy curls and can strict curl 60 lb dumbbells

Becoming Tor Required Some Expert Help

Hemsworth has worked with multiple trainers, and they have similar
training philosophies. Remember that he didn’t start lifting weights until
his late 20s, so while he was an athletic guy, he was not “hardcore” in
the sense of being obsessed with being the gym obviously, and he was
smart in recognizing that he needed guidance

His current trainer is Luke Zocchi, who is also a good friend of his and
travels around with him for his films. While Luke has helped him build
on and maintain his tremendous physical shape, and they have been
training together since roughly 2013, he was not the one who helped
him build his foundation.

That is his first personal trainer, Ex-Navy Seal Duffy Gaver. This man is
brutally straightforward with his approach:

“A guy told me he wants to tone his muscles. I said, ‘Well, you can stop
talking like a girl. You want to build your muscles.’ To tone your muscles… I
don’t even know what that means. Were you bed-ridden? You build muscle.
It’s all bodybuilding. And I don’t know why everybody gets away from that.”
(Muscle & Fitness Interview)

Gaver started training Hemsworth for the first Tor film back in 2010,
and he trained him up until Tor: The Dark World in 2013.

“We’ve pretty much stuck to the original template,” Gaver says. “Of course
we’ve had some variation over time to keep things interesting and prevent
plateaus, but this is the basic template.

So many of the products you see advertised on infomercials right now did
not exist when the first Mr. Olympia contest was held, which should tell you
something. I appreciate my niche in the training industry because when
someone comes to me, they want to get to it. They’ve got a timeline, and at
the end of this, someone’s going to put a camera on them, they’re going to
blow it up to 30 feet tall and it’s going to be a part of public record forever.
There’s no particular exercise combination that will ever beat the guy who
realizes, ‘Hey, this all comes down to hard work.“ (Muscle & Fitness, Chris
Hemsworth God-like Tor Workout)

And he continues,
“People see Chris and they think he was on steroids, but he didn’t touch a
single substance. It was just red meat, heavy weights and some protein
powder. He crushed every single workout.

He simply decided to look like Tor”

I’ve bolded that last statement. He DECIDED to look like Tor.

The power of Visualization is REAL. If you can envision something, you

can achieve it. Argue against that if you want, but the power of
visualization is proven in sports science, and proven in improving
cognitive performance. Hemsworth didn’t fuck around and HOPE he
might build some muscle. He had the vision to look heroic, and he
became it.

According to various interviews I read with Gaver, the focus at the

beginning of training to become Tor was simply gaining weight.
Hemsworth, while athletic, he had never lifted serious. He is one of
three brothers, and they grew up on Philips island off the coast of
Australia. They surfed a lot, they played rugby, they boxed a bit, and
were generally rough and tumble as boys were. All the brothers
characterized themselves as being competitive with each other (and all
three of them became actors as well).

Hemsworth was not unaccustomed to physical exercise, but he had

never lifted. The following plan is his supposed Mass gain plan he used
to put on size initially.

The First Program of Tor

This program is essentially a modified push / pull / legs program.

It is Push+Pull / Arms / Legs
This honestly is a great set up for building your upper body, as you end
up training it 4x weekly

Week 1: 4 sets of 4-6 reps

Week 2: 4 sets of 6-8 reps

Week 3: 4 sets of 8-12 reps

Weeks 4-8: 4 sets of 4-6 reps

Each workout is done twice weekly.

Day 1: Chest and Back

Bench Press

Bent-over Row

Weighted Pull-up

Weighted Dip

Day 2: Legs

Squat

Deadlift

Hamstring Curl
Day 3: Arms

Weighted Chin-up

Close-grip Bench Press

Honestly I really like the design of this program. It would phenomenal

for a beginner, and provided you EAT ENOUGH, it would be impossible
not to gain size and strength.

Following this program, Hemsworth moved onto a classical bodypart

split, also designed by Gaver

The following is the most commonly cited “Tor” program, and dates
back to around when he appeared in the first Avengers movie.

Tor’s Program 2011-2013

Day 1: Back

Pullups-5x20, 15, 12, 10, 10

Superset with
Pushups 5x20

Hammer strength 2-arm row 4x12

Bent over 1-arm DB row 4x12

Swiss Ball Hyperextension 4x25, 20, 15, 15

Day 2: Chest

Barbell bench press 8x12,10, 10, 8, 8, 4, 4, 4 reps

Pyramid up in weight each set. The sets of 4 being the the heaviest

Incline DB Press 4x12

Hammer Strength Chest Press 4x15

Weighted Dip 4x10 reps

Bent Over Cable Fly 4x12 reps

Day 3: Legs

Barbell Back Squat 7x10,8,6,5,4,3,3

Leg Press: Sextuple (6) dropset to failure, start with 6 plates per side, do
reps till failure, drop a plate until you are down to one rep

Bodyweight Walking Lunge 4x20 (10 per leg)

Single Leg curl 3x20
Supset with
Standing bodyweight calf raise 3x20

Day 4: Shoulders

Barbell Military Press 7x10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 3

- Pyramid up in weight each set

Arnold DB Press 4x12

Barbell Shrug 4x12

Standing DB Lateral Raise 3x15

Triset with
DB Front Raise 3x15
Triset with
DB rear delt fly 3x15

Day 5: Arms

All pairings are done as supersets

Barbell Bicep Curl 3x10

DB Skullcrusher 3x10

EZ-Bar Preacher Curl 3x10

DB Cross Body Triceps Extensions 3x10

DB Hammer Curl 3x12

Tricep Rope Pressdown 3x12

Barbell Wrist curl 3x20

Barbell Reverse Wrist Curl 3x20

Abdominals-Hemsworth does not seem to have a defined schedule as

to when he trains abs. It seems to be an add-on to whenever it fits in
after his regular lifting.

BONUS: Abs Circuit

General Plank: 60 seconds

Hanging Leg Raise: 12 reps

Side Plank: 60 seconds

Toes to Bar: 12 reps

Repeat 2-4 times

My Thoughts on this Program

1. Chris trains the living shit out of chest and shoulders. That is a lot
of constant volume for upper body, which makes sense though,
given the outfit he’s wearing. Plus he is a tall guy, and it’s not as if
he is showing off his quad development in the films. Although he
does squat A LOT on his leg day.

2. Chris Hemsworth trains like a Bro-Bodybuilder, because it WORKS.

Anyone that tells you otherwise is probably full of shit gentlemen. I

cannot emphasize this enough, what is Tried and Proven is what works.
Bodybuilders have more or less been training the same way for 100
years. Compound movements, high volume, lots of eating. This has
worked for every ethnicity, it’s worked for short guys, tall guys, large
framed and small framed.

While there is no doubt a major element of customization and finding

what works best for yourself, there is also going around the fact that
everyone does more or less the same movements, and tries to move
more weight on them over time, and do more reps, and unless you are
truly an advanced bodybuilder with substantial muscle mass and trying
to exceed your genetic limits, that does not really change. And even if
you are, you STILL are going to be lifting heavy weights to maintain your
size.
How Tor’s Training Changed Over the Years

While Hemsworth effectively bulked up for the first Tor films and
subsequent films after that, he also felt that his athleticism was
negatively affected. In 2013, he began working with Luke Zocchi.

Per Men’s Journal:

“That functional mindset began while preparing for Avengers: Age of Ultron,
which is when Zocchi first started working with Hemsworth. They had met
years before at a boxing gym. “Chris told me that even though he was big in
the first Tor movie, he didn’t feel like he was moving well,” Zocchi says. “So
we transitioned from his purely bodybuilding program to a more full-body
thinking. The weights were still there, but they were just a part of the
program, and not the entire program.”

This resulted in some astoundingly demanding programs, one in which

Hemsworth would divided up lifting and cardio and trained twice day.

So yes, Tor has done two a days, but he did so intelligently. Hemsworth
divided up his lifting and his fight training, which was highly
cardiovascular (yes, actors that have to do extended fight scenes are
required to do serious martial arts training. You would be surprised at
how many male action stars are legitimately tough guys)

Tor’s 2-a-Day Program

Repeat each workout twice:
Day 1: Chest / Shoulders / Boxing

Morning: Chest and Shoulders

Superset:

Dumbbell Flies - 3 x 12, 10, 8 reps

Barbell Bench Press - 3 x 12, 10, 8

Triset:

Bent-Over Lateral Raise - 3 x 15, 12, 12

Lateral Raise - 3 x 15, 12, 10

Arnold Press - 3 x 12, 10, 8

Evening: Boxing and Abs

Bag: 5 sets of 3-minute rounds

Focus Pads: 5 sets of 3-minute rounds on

Skipping: 5 sets of 3-minute rounds

Ab Circuit: Repeat three times

Prone Plank: 60 second holds

Lateral Plank: 60 second holds

Roman Chair Leg Raise: 20 reps

Cable Crunch: 20 reps

Oblique Crunches: 20 reps

Day 2: Back / Arms / Boxing / Abs

Morning: Back & Arms

Superset:

Chin-Up: 3 x 15, 12, 10

Barbell Deadlift: 3 x 10, 8, 6

Superset:

Barbell Curl: 3 x 10, 8, 6

French Press: 3 x 10, 8, 6

Evening: Boxing & Abs

Bag: 5 sets of 3-minute rounds

Focus Pads: 5 sets of 3-minute rounds on

Skipping: 5 sets of 3-minute rounds

Same Ab Circuit as before

Day 3: Surfing / Legs

Morning: Surfing

45 minutes of higher intensity aerobic cardio could stand in for this

Evening: Legs

Superset:

Leg Extensions- 3 x 10, 8, 6 reps

Seated Leg Curl- 3 x 10, 8, 6 reps

Barbell Full Squat- 3 x 10, 8, 6 reps

As Chris is a fan of kickboxing and boxing, this has apparently been his
training model the last 4 years or so, according to his Instagram (yeah, I
went and stalked the guy, no homo).

He lifts weights very traditionally, and then does some type of

functional workout for his cardio. A great schedule, although time
intensive no doubt.

Eating to Gain Mass

On the subject of eating, Im going to make this point first; Nutrition is
IMPORTANT

I’m sure everyone is rolling their eyes at this, but the number of
trainees that neglect this principle is infinite. Nutrition is the absolute
foundation of your adaptations from training, along with sleep.

Your recovery, your growth, your workouts, all of this is hugely

influenced by the food you use to fuel your body. No significant muscle
is going to be built long term if your nutrition is from a drive through
window and you cannot be bothered to have a shake before/after
training.

Some basic tenets to remember:

1. You need protein to grow: Universal truth in bodybuilding, more

protein = more muscle. Bro-Science? To a degree, but then no one
ever got less muscle from eating more protein. Protein is usually
the number one macronutrient most people under consume, and
it is the one macro most responsible for muscle growth. If you are
training hard and muscle is your goal, aim for at least 1 gram per
pound of bodyweight. While this might seem a bit high initially, I
guarantee you will notice a difference in fullness and recovery if
you have not been doing this.

2. You need carbs to grow: Recently there has been an anti carb
movement in the fitness world, where carbs are a sort of
necessary evil and protein and fat should be the dominant
nutrients. If you aspire to be big and muscular though, and to
train hard (especially on this program) you NEED carbs. Having
carbs before you train, and even while you train, and certainly
after you train, goes a long ways towards recovery and growth.
Some people can handle more carbs than others, but regardless,
 the anecdotal evidence in quite powerful. A lot of big men have
gotten big while eating rice and oats.

3. You need fat to grow: Testosterone is the almighty muscle

building hormone, and guess what its made out of? Fat, and
cholesterol specifically. And without getting too heavy in the
biochemistry aspect, you NEED healthy fats in your diet to support
your natural testosterone levels. Just as low carb diets will have a
negative effect on your workouts and recovery, so too will a low
fat diet.

Operative point: FOOD IS ANABOLIC.

To quote Hemsworth’s current trainer, Luke Zocchi:

“While the duo seem to have the workout down to a science, it's the food
that Chris sometimes struggles with due to the amount of calories needed
each day to compensate with all the heavy lifting.

Luke even jokes, "By the end of it he gets sick of eating!"

So, how many calories does the hammer-wielding god have to

consume? According to Luke, "Anywhere from 3,500-4,000 calories a day."

It is important to point out that Hemsworth does NOT train to look like
Tor year around. Much like Hugh Jackman, Hemsworth likes to drink
beer, and to surf, and trying to maintain his bulked up physique year
around is not appealing. His strategy for putting his size back on is
straightforward

“I basically overfeed on protein and endless amounts of chicken breast and

steak and fish and vegetables and brown rice,”
I could find nothing on whether Hemsworth followed any super special
“macro split” or anything like that. His diet looks to have a very typical
bodybuilding one of roughly

40% protein

30% fat

30% carbs

I’m estimating that, but based on the descriptions of his meals (and his
apparent love of steak, particularly steak salads), I don’t think he was
following any strict macro percentage so much as simply getting the
macros and meals in. It’s simply another example of how all his
strategies are tried and proven ones.

In the accompanying nutrition guide, on in the program I include

guidelines on how much you should be eating, base on an estimation of
your somatotype (not an exact science, but useful and it works)

Tor’s (Almost) Rules of Muscle-Building

Based on everything we have covered so far, what have we

learned?

1. If you want to bulk up, train 6 days weekly. This is a lot of training
days, no question, but it allows you to hit every muscle group
twice a week, and provided you get enough sleep and eat enough,
you will grow

2. Train with urgency, focus, and vision. Hemsworth visualized

himself becoming Tor, and he did. Approach every training
 session with purpose

3. Use free weights and bodyweight. These are tried and proven
tools of training that effectively train the fundamental patterns of
movement and mankind has been using them to become bigger,
stronger, and more athletic for thousands of years

4. Prioritize compound movements. While isolation exercises have

their place and are useful for filling in gaps, compound
movements stimulate the most overall growth. They are the meat
and potatoes of effective training, and every level of bodybuilder
and strength athlete uses them

5. Train like a bodybuilder. Hitting each muscle group with multiple

exercises to train all of its functional lines of movement,
performing multiple sets and reps, this is again a tried and proven
formula. There is no need to reinvent the wheel on this.

6. When getting bigger, train with heavy weights and aim for
strength gains. When cutting down, switch it up to circuits,
complexes, and short rest periods, turn your lifting into cardio

7. Change your program periodically, but do not change it

completely. Hemsworth, like every other lifter before him, he has
been doing the same exercises for years, progressively getting
stronger at them. Learn how to vary movements, but do not get
caught up in novelty or complication for the sake of complication.
Incline bench press and dips worked back in 1960, and they work
just as well now

8. Eat 5-6 times daily, classic bodybuilder diet, high protein,

moderate carbs, moderate fat. To cut fat, cut out the carbs and
DIET. Stick with staple foods; chicken, beef, fish, rice, oatmeal,
vegetables, add fat as necessary from healthy fat sources

Eat, train, sleep, repeat.

If you cannot build muscle, you are probably deficient in one of those
areas. If you don’t know how to eat or train, get a good trainer. If you’re
not getting enough sleep, go to bed earlier. This is not complicated
gentlemen.

The Program: Alright people, this program is six months long. You read
that right, it is six month. And it is designed to get you big and strong
over those six months. You’ll be repeating a lot of the same exercises
(with some variety), and you’ll be continuously working to make
strength gains. I’ve taken the strategies and tactics that we’ve covered
so far, and put them into an overall program to put on the muscle
mass.

The Diet: See the Tor Diet Document for how to eat while running
this program.

THE PROGRAM

Now we finally come to the program. There is one BIG detail/strategy in

this program that i want to cover first before you start using it.

Deloads-Every 4th week, you will take a WEEK off from training.

A WEEK?!??!?!!?!?!?

Yes, A WEEK.

Now, did Chris Hemsworth do this? No he did not.

But Hemsworth also had a personal trainer, a nutritionist, and the man
has great genetics.
For yourselves, I do NOT want anyone getting injured and having to
stop the program.

The one week deload every 4th week will allow you to FULLY recover
and make massive gains. I guarantee every time you return to training,
you will be bigger and stronger and ready to absolutely attack the
weights.

Additionally, it will help prevent unwanted fat gain.

During that one week off from the gym, you will

-Do 30-60 Minutes of Aerobic Cardio Daily

-Eat maintenance calories

-Eat very low carb (less than 50 grams daily), and very high fat and
protein. This will keep insulin sensitivity high

If you absolutely do not want to take the deload, you can opt not to, but
I am telling you now, you’ll see more size and strength gains and avoid
burnout if you use the deload week.

Lastly

Before we go any further-REST PERIODS DO NOT MATTER. The point is

that you get the workouts done. If it takes you 3 hours, you’re resting
too long. If you can’t finish the workout because you cut the rest
periods too short, rest longer.

Months 1 & 2
In Months 1-2 you will be repeating the same workout twice weekly. All
exercises are to be done for 5 sets of 10-12 reps.

You will perform each set 1-2 reps of failure. The purpose of this month
is to build up your workout capacity and stimulate major growth
through high volume.
The exercises in this month are battle-tested, tried and proven
movements that have been used for decades to build size and strength.

As you will be repeating the workout twice weekly, try to add weight
each week.

Day 1: Chest / Back

1A. Seated Row

1B. Flat DB Chest Press

2A. Wide Grip Pulldown

2B. Decline Chest Press

3A. Chest Supported DB Row

3B. Bodyweight Dips

4A. Rear Delt Fly

4B. Bodyweight Pushups (perform more than 10 reps per set if capable.
Or perform weighted)

Day 2: Legs

1. Seated or Lying Leg Curls

2. Goblet Squat
3. Bodyweight Walking Lunges (10 steps per leg)
4. Leg Press
5. Seated or Standing Calf Raise
Day 3: Shoulders/Arms

1. Cable Rope Face-pulls

2A. Front DB Raise

2B. Lateral DB Raise

3. Seated DB Shoulder Press

4A. Standing DB Hammer Curls

4B. Tricep Rope Pushdowns

5. Seated Wide Grip Cable Row

Day 4: Chest / Back (Repeat of Day 1)

Day 5: Legs (Repeat of Day 2)

Day 6: Shoulders / Arms (Repeat of Day 3)

Months 3 & 4
The exercises are not really changing, but you are changing up the rep
range. You will be going heavier during these next two months.
Whereas the last two months were higher reps and 5 sets for
everything, the focus this phase is on straightforward weight
progression, so the volume is reduced, and almost all exercises are
done one at a time. All exercises are done for 4 sets x of 6-8 reps,
unless specified otherwise. Keep the weight the same for all sets. If you
can do 4 sets of 8, move up in weight.

Day 1: Chest / Shoulders

1. Incline Bench Press
2. Flat DB Chest Press
3. Weighted Dips
 4. DB Decline Cable Fly Press
5. Cable Rope Face Pulls Perform 15 reps a set

Day 2: Legs

1. Lying Leg curls or Seated Leg Curls

2. Barbell Front Squat
3. Barbell Stiff Leg Deadlift
4. Leg Press, perform 15 reps per set
5. Seated or Standing Calf Raise-perform at least 10 reps per set

Day 3: Back

1. Wide grip pulldown

2. Stiff Arm Pulldown
3. Wide grip pullup
4. Back Extension 3x20-30 (add weight if bodyweight is too easy)

Day 4: Biceps & Triceps

All movements are supersetted, perform and all bicep and triceps
movements with a slow eccentric and peak squeeze on every rep.
No fast reps.

1A. DB Hammer Curls

+
1B. Tricep rope pushdowns

2A. Incline DB curls (supinated), alternating

+
2B. DB French Press
 3A. Tricep Pushups
+
3B. DB Pronated Curls

Day 5: Back

1. Seated Cable Row Neutral Grip

2. 1-Arm DB Row
3. T-bar Row
4. Barbell Romanian Deadlift

Day 6: Biceps & Triceps

Perform and all bicep and triceps movements with a slow

eccentric and peak squeeze on every rep. No fast reps.

Alternate the following two movements for 8 sets each.

Yes, you read that correctly. Stick to the 6-8 rep range still. Keep rest
short between sets. Do not overestimate the weight you can use.

EZ Bar-Bicep Curls + Tricep Pushdowns

Months 5 & 6
In Months 5 & 6 you will be lifting 6 days a week, performing 6 different
workouts. Each day has substantial volume. This month takes
everything you’ve worked on so far and puts it into one final push to get
as much muscle growth out of you as possible. You do low reps,
moderate reps, high reps, and you blast the entire body every week. I
will emphasize that your recovery MUST be dialed in at this state. You’re
going to need to sleep 8 hours a night and get your meals in.
Day 1: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

1. Incline Bench Press 3x5

2. Incline DB Press 3x10
3. Flat Bench Press with 5 second eccentric 3x5
4. Decline DB Chest Press 3x10
5. Front Plate Raise 3x12
6. DB Seated Lateral Raises 5x10
7. DB Rear Delt Swing 2x30
8. Triceps Pushdowns 4x25

Day 2: Back & Biceps

1. Bodyweight Inverted Row 5x10-20

2. Seated Row 5x6-8
3. Weighted Chin-up or Pull-up 3x5-8
4. Pulldown 4x8-12
5. Snatch Grip Deadlift 4x6-8
6. EZ Bar Cable Curls 8x8

Day 3: Legs

1. Back Squat or DB Goblet Squat 5x10

2. Alternating Reverse Lunges with DBs 4x8-10 per Leg
3. Seated Leg Curl 3x10-20
4. Leg Extensions 2x25
5. Leg Press 1x50
6. Single Leg Bodyweight Standing Calf Raise 5x5-10
7. Seated Calf Raise 5x15-20
Day 4: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

1. Moderate Grip Pushups 5x10-20

2. Decline DB Chest Press 4x10
3. Bodyweight Dips 3xAMAP
4. Chest Flys: The Flys should be trisetted if possible, and keep rest
periods as short as possible as well
Incline Cable Fly 3x8-12
Middle Cable Fly 3x8-12
Decline Cable Fly 3x8-12
5. Prone Y-Raise with DBs 4x8

Day 5: Back and Biceps

1. DB Shrug with 3 second peaks contract pause 4x10

2. Barbell Snatch Grip High Pull 4x4
3. Chin-up or Pull-up 5x6-10
4. 1-Arm DB Row 4x8-10
5. Weighted Back Extension 3x15-20
6. Pronated Grip Forearm EZ Bar Curls 8x8

Day 6: Legs

1. Stability Ball Leg Curl 4x10-20

2. Bulgarian Split Squat with DBs 4x8-10
3. Bodyweight Step Up 3x10/10
4. Alternating Bodyweight Lateral Lunges 3x8/8
5. Single Leg Press 2x25
6. Single Leg Bodyweight Standing Calf Raise 5x5-10
7. Seated Calf Raise 5x15-20
Training Abdominals on the Tor Program
Training the abdominals/core can get needlessly complicated. In you
investing in this program, I’m assuming you have some experience
training your abs.

Over the years I’ve developed a very simple system for core training:

● You train your core every time your in the gym

● You cycle through different types of workouts. Either upper abs,
lower abs, obliques, or stabilization
● If you are particularly bad at one of the above, focus on that every
other workout

Abdominal Workouts
This is as simple as it gets. Each workout, simply pick a movement, and
do that movement for 4 sets 8-15 reps, or 30-45 seconds if its a
stabilization exercise

For bodyweight movements, you can double the reps if you feel it is
warranted.

The ab training schedule is on a rolling split over the 6 days. You simply
keep alternating through each abdominal function

Abs can be trained the beginning or the end of a workout, whatever you
prefer

Mon. Tues. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat Sun Mon.

Upper Lower Obliques Stability Upper Lower Obliques Stability

Upper Abdominal Exercises

Stability Ball Crunches

Bosu Crunches
Incline Sit-ups
Pulldown Crunches
Ab Wheel

Lower Abdominal Exercises

Lying Leg Raises

Hanging Leg Raises
Flutter Kicks
Reverse Crunches
Stability Ball or Suspension Trainer Pikes

Oblique Exercises
Machine Crunches
Bicycle Crunch
Oblique Cable Twists
Pallof Presses
Landmine Rotations
Side Crunches
Stability Exercises

Bodyweight Planks on forearms

Side planks

Stability Ball Plans

3 Point Plans

1-Arm 1-Leg Planks

Farmer’s Walks of any kind

Isometric Hollow Body Holds

Cardio On the The Tor Program

-Im going to be uncharacteristic here, and say that you can do

WHATEVER you want for cardio on this program. As it is already 6 days

a week of lifting, I cannot reasonably recommend anything beyond my

typical “try to walk at least 30 minutes a day”. This is a lot of training

period, and adding in extra activity on top of this program will depend

upon your own schedule and what you are capable of recovering from.