BUILD is a 36-week training program that focuses on building strength, muscle mass and improving lifting performance, through a style known as 'powerbuilding'.

While anyone can complete the program, BUILD is an advanced training style. If you are new to this style of training, an additional 12 Beginner weeks are provided to help prepare you for the full program in the later weeks.

In BUILD, you will have goals that you will be required to complete each week. These include Low-Intensity Cardio sessions, with High-Intensity Cardio an optional session throughout the duration of BUILD 1.0. Each week, you will also need to complete 2 Recovery sessions (Active Recovery and Rest).

As you progress through the beginner program, your resistance goals will increase from 3 to 4 sessions per week. In BUILD 1.0, the resistance goal will increase to 4 sessions per week, with an optional extra 1-2 sessions for more experienced members.

Each workout will take around 50-60 minutes to complete and will get you working towards optimal performance gains and improving your squat, deadlift and bench press. You can be sure that no workout week will be the same!

What do the workouts involve?
BUILD (Weeks 1-12)

Beginner Weeks 1-9: Through traditional set training, the Resistance workouts can help you to set solid foundations by creating correct movement patterns and building your strength and fitness before beginning BUILD 1.0. From Week 4 onwards, you will also have the option of completing an optional Glutes & Abs Workout which helps to improve fitness.

FOCUS AREA: Full Body, Upper Body, Lower Body

Beginner Weeks 10-12: At this point, the workout structure changes to help ease you into the workout structure of 1.0. The workouts contain pyramid training and are centred around a movement objective — squat, bench press and deadlift variations.

FOCUS AREAS: Upper Body, Lower Body

BUILD 1.0 Weeks 1-12: The combination of traditional set training and supersets remains in 1.0, where the workouts continue to be centred around a key movement objective. The structure of each workout differs slightly depending on the movement objective in focus.

BUILD (Weeks 13-24)

Workout Changes

Following on from 1.0, the combination of traditional set training and supersets continues in 2.0, where the workouts steer more towards focusing on the main key movement objective. The structure of each workout differs slightly depending on the movement objective in focus.

As requested by the BUILD Community, the program now has a core-based superset at the end of the Lower Body workouts!

Glutes

This new optional Resistance session is introduced in BUILD 2.0. The structure of the workout is shown below:

Warm-Up Sets

Primary Movement

Accessory Movement

Superset

Burnout (optional)

BUILD (Weeks 25-36)

A brand new Express Abs workout and Back & Biceps split! 

BUILD Terminology 

The structure of BUILD changes quite significantly throughout the Beginner weeks and 1.0, however, we have explained the common terms used throughout the full program below:

Preparation: Sets that are completed before Primary and some Accessory Movements to help build the body up to the working weight.

Stabilisation: Sets completed before beginning a Primary Movement to strengthen and support the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint.

Primary Movement: The fundamental movement pattern that helps build functional strength which assists in everyday life. In BUILD, these include variations of your bench press, squat and deadlift, which are completed as Sets. As the sets decrease in reps, your aim will be to increase the weight used.

In BUILD 2.0, you will complete your first set at a higher percentage of your 1RM (75-95%) and then complete a number of sets at a lower weight.

Accessory Movement: An assistant to the Primary Movement and helps improve muscular development. Accessory Movements will appear as Sets.

Supersets: Two exercises completed in succession, one after the other, with a short rest break in between.

Drop Set: A drop set is a resistance training technique where three or more sets are completed immediately one after the other. In BUILD 2.0, you will be provided with a recommended weight range based on RPE. After each set, the weight should be reduced so that, in the first set, the heaviest amount of weight should be lifted, until no further reps can be completed (without compromising on technique). The weight should then be reduced and the same process completed for the second set and then again until all sets have been completed. Typically, a drop set contains three sets.

This training technique can be found in Upper Body and Lower Body Challenges for BUILD 2.0.

To complete some of these exercises successfully, you will need access to gym equipment and machines. You can check out the required equipment list here.