How To Get Jacked, According to a Certified Personal Trainer

Getting totally jacked requires more than simply pumping iron at the gym. If you want to sculpt a muscular, well-rounded physique, you need to make nutrition and resistance training a top priority. You may also need to reevaluate your lifestyle habits. Blink Fitness trainer Ronny Garcia, CPT, points out that a routine with compound exercises that engage multiple muscle groups at the same time can be incredibly beneficial in helping with muscle growth—though that's not to say you should totally forget about isolation (or "target-specific") exercises if you want to target a specific muscle area.

"Maintaining a well-balanced diet, nutrition, and rest will greatly improve the overall body physique," Garcia explains. "Consuming the proper amount of proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats is important. Protein is especially important for muscle growth and repair. Sleep is never talked about enough, but your body needs the proper recovery to induce and [perform]."

Blink Fitness trainer Thomas Spigner, CPT, agrees that progress doesn't stop at the gym. "Becoming 'jacked' comes from the proper nutrition, hydration, and sleep acquired before and after activation, which is quite routine for me. Also, post-workout, immediately after the session, I ingest a protein shake which settles for about 30 to 60 minutes before my post-workout meal. This meal is appropriately plated with a protein, starch/carb, and a vegetable with plenty of hydration. Prior to bed, I have a BCAA powder-based drink for muscle recovery."

So without delay, let's break down the ultimate workouts to get jacked, according to a certified personal trainer. And when you're finished, be sure to check out the 7 Best Exercises for Men to Gain Muscle Without Equipment.

The Workout

Garcia brings us this first sample workout and emphasizes that resistance training, compound movements, and isolation exercises are all crucial aspects of muscle growth success. He stresses, "It is imperative that you gradually increase the intensity of the workouts, as it challenges the ongoing muscle growth—increasing weight, repetitions, and difficulty."

1. Squats

man squatting doing bodyweight exercises for stronger legs — Shutterstock

To set up for squats, place your feet shoulder-width distance apart. Lengthen your arms out in front of you, place your hands on your hips, or keep your arms at your sides. Bend your knees, press your hips back, and lower into a squat as if you're sitting down on a chair. Descend until your thighs become parallel to the ground or lower. Then, press through your feet in order to return to standing.

The Ultimate Muscle-Building Workout Every Man Over 40 Should Try

2. Deadlifts

illustration of dumbbell deadlifts free weight exercises for men to build muscle — Shutterstock

For deadlifts, place your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at the sides of your body using an overhand grip. Keep your abs tight, and press your hips back as you lower the dumbbells down your thighs and toward the floor. Press through the ground in order to raise the weights and come back to the start position.

3. Overhead Presses

man doing dumbbell overhead presses — Shutterstock

Dumbbell overhead presses start with you standing tall and planting your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand up at the height of your shoulders with palms facing ahead of you. Activate your abs as you press the dumbbells overhead until your arms are totally extended. Then, using control, bend your elbows to lower the weights back to shoulder height.

4. Pull-ups

buff man doing wide-grip pull-ups — Shutterstock

To begin pull-ups, stand under a pull-up bar. Take hold of it with an overhand grip, and place your hands shoulder-width distance apart. Then, bend both elbows as you pull your body up toward the bar; ascend until your chin clears it. Slowly lower back down to the position you started in.

9 Best Exercises for Men To Get Bigger, Stronger Legs

5. Hamstring Curls

Sit back on the hamstring curl machine, making sure your lower back and glutes are pressed flat against the padded seat. Lock your legs in between the seat and the upper pad. Then, bend your knees as you curl your legs down against the resistance. Hold the bottom of the curl for a moment, then use control to bring your legs back up.

6. Lat Pullovers

To begin dumbbell lat pullovers, lie down flat on a workout bench with your feet planted flat on the ground. Hold a dumbbell by its head over your chest with both palms facing up toward the sky. Your arms should be extended. Then, with control, gradually lower the weight back and behind the top of your head. Next, return the dumbbell back to the start position.

"Progressive resistance exercises challenge the muscles further and induce hypertrophy; [which is an] increase in muscle mass. Such exercises are drop sets, rest-pause sets, and eccentric training exercises," Garcia adds. "Hypertrophy-focused training helps muscle growth as they are generally performed with controlled and proper form along with a specific rest period."