Abercrombie Workout: Transform Yourself Into A Male Fitness Model

August 28, 2023 | 317 Comments


You know…there’s a very specific reason why you don’t see pictures of pumped up overly muscular men in clothing stores.

It’s because the majority of people (women especially) are turned off by people with bodybuilder esque  physiques.

Sure, we all say “Damn look at that guy” when we see massive men like Ronnie Coleman or Kai Green walking around, but that’s the extent of it.

My guess is that only about 5-10% of guys actually want to look like a bodybuilder. Most other guys would be perfectly content with physique akin to an Abercrombie model.

Am I wrong?

Abercrombie workout routine
Be honest with yourself. Who looks better, the Abercrombie model or Ronnie Coleman?

Abercrombie workout

The Abercrombie workout below is split up into 2 parts:

  • Part 1: Increase muscle tone without putting on size and lose body fat
  • Part 2: Gain muscle without fat

Part 1

The first part of the Abercrombie workout focuses on losing body fat. Ideally, you should be at least 10% bodyfat before moving on to the Phase 2.

Check out the following articles is you help on losing body fat:

During Part 1 of the workout, your goal is not to build muscle. Instead you’re going to focus on increasing muscle tone without increasing the actual size of your muscles.

This will give you really hard and dense muscles without actually getting bigger, similar to Bruce Lee.

And how do you increase muscle tone without getting bigger? Most people would tell you to lift light weights for high reps (15+ reps) but this is a huge mistake. The secret to increase muscle tone is by lifting heavy weights for low reps.

There are 2 golden rules you must follow when you want to increase muscle tone without size:

  • Lift heavy weights for low reps
  • Don’t lift to failure. Stop at 1-2 reps short of failure.

So for example, if you can lift a weight for 7 reps, you should stop at 5. The key here is to do more sets while avoiding fatigue in your muscles.

A workout following these principles would look something along the lines of this:

Note: For a complete step by step blueprint on how to lose fat and get ripped, check out Superhero Shredding.

Mon (chest & back)

For each exercise below, choose a weight you can only do for 7 reps max (that means you fail at 7 reps), and only do 5 reps. Perform 3 sets per exercise.

  • Incline dumbbell press
  • Dumbbell row
  • Bench press
  • Weighted pull-ups

Wed (shoulder & arms)

For each exercise below, choose a weight you can only do for 7 reps max (that means you fail at 7 reps), and only do 5 reps. Perform 3 sets per exercise.

  • Standing military press
  • Barbell curl
  • Close grip barbell press or weighted dips

Friday (lower body)

For each exercise below, choose a weight you can only do for 7 reps max (that means you fail at 7 reps), and only do 5 reps. Perform 3 sets per exercise.

  • Front squat
  • Deadlift
  • Bulgarian split squat (exception: do 3 straight sets of 6-8 reps per leg)

Part 2

Now you’re done with Part 1.

And by now you should look pretty good. Your abs should be defined and you muscles should be showing plenty of definition.

But your job is not over yet.

It’s time to move onto phase 2 of the Abercrombie workout.

Phase 2 will focus on gaining muscle with minimal amounts of fat.  To accomplish this, you’ll need to focus on a higher rep range (8-15 reps) as well as eat in a slight caloric surplus.

The diet is relatively simple.

You’ll simply be eating at your maintenance level every day and  on the days you lift weight, you add an extra 500 calories. This will allow for lean muscle growth with minimal amounts of fat.

The sample workout for Part 2 looks something like this:

Monday(Push day)

  • Flat dumbbell press – 4 sets x 8 reps
  • Incline dumbbell fly – 3 sets x 10 reps
  • Standing military press – 4 sets x 8 reps
  • Dumbbell lateral side raise – 3 sets x 13 reps per arms
  • Skullcrushers – 2 sets x 12 reps
  • Parallel bar dips – 2 sets x failure

Tues (Pull day)

  • Weighted pull ups – 4 sets x 8 reps
  • Cable rows (close grip) – 4 sets x 12 reps
  • Barbell curls – 4 sets x 8 reps per arm
  • Dumbbell curl variation – 4 sets x 12 reps
  • Pull ups – 2 sets x failure (with body weight only)

Thurs (Legs/calves)

  • Back squat – 3 sets x 8 reps
  • Reverse dumbbell lunges  – 3 sets x 10 reps per leg
  • Seated calf raise – 3 sets x 12 reps
  • Standing calf raise – 3 sets x 12 reps

Friday (shoulders/traps/arms)

  • Seated military press – 3 sets x 8 reps
  • Shrugs  – 3 sets x 10 reps
  • Tricep extension – 3 sets x 15 reps
  • Curl variation – 3 sets x 15 reps

The workout above is based on Visual Impact For Men, which is hands down my favorite workout routines for building a non-bulky physique. Check out the video below to learn more about it.

Abercrombie

What to do after the workout?

So what do you after the 2-part abercrombie workout?

Well obviously, the first thing you should do is to go the nearest bar and take advantage of any lonely cougars with your newly sexified body.

Oh, you mean with regards to your workout and diet, my mistake. In that case, it really depends on your overall physique goals.

Do you simply want maintain your new body? If that’s the case, you can just do 3 full body workouts each week. That’s plenty enough to maintain muscle.

If you want to gain even more muscle, you can repeat Part 2 again.

Fitness models for life

Walk up to 1000 random women on the street and ask them “Who do you find more attractive, bodybuilder or an Abercrombie model?”

My guess is that 90-95% of the women will choose the Abercrombie model.

Bodybuilders reading this article probably already hate me but that’s cool, I’m ready for your hate comments.

317 Comments - Leave Your Thoughts

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  1. Nah, Ronnie Coleman all the way!!

    haha only joking 🙂
    You’re spot on with this, though I did waste a lot of time thinking I needed to get big. Like you say it’s pretty much only bodybuilders and wannabe bodybuilders who think that bigger looks better.

    Michael

    1. I’m in the same boat as you Michael. I used to just try to gain more and more muscle, but in the end the only thing I gained was fat.

    1. Dave,
      Yup, you’re right. In my opinion, the leaner you get the more women you attract, while the bigger you get, the more men you attract. I guess it’s up to you to decide which gender you want to attract.

      1. So for part 1 do you need to do some cardio as well? And do you think go to the gym 3 times per week is enough, or should I make it 4 – 5 times?
        Great article btw.

  2. I’ve heard about not going to failure with resistive training because of prolonged muscle fatigue. Is increased recovery time the only reason not to go to failure? I have heard this anecdote before numerous times (or of course the opposite “busting your balls until you cry” approach), but nothing was fully explained as to why (or why not). Are any conclusions founded in science you can point me to?What are your thoughts. Thanks!

    1. Sean,

      Recovery is one factor, but training to failure doesn’t really increase strength levels.

      The only reason to train to failure is to increase muscle size, but training to failure doesn’t really make the muscle stronger, just bigger due to the increase in sarcoplasm. If you want to “harden” the muscles and gain strength then you should stick with low rep high weight training.

  3. this may sound stupid.
    but if you have ever seen the show “its always sunny in philadelphia”
    the character Mac has a pretty nice physique.(before he got fat. lol)
    Not really ripped or model worthy but he has a decent build and i was wondering
    what it would take to get his slightly above average physique?

    1. Hey anthony,

      Actually “its always sunny in philadelphia” is one of my favorite shows on tv. I can’t believe Mac gained so much weight for this season(probably not the healthiest thing to do), but yeah, before he had a decent amount of muscle.

      In my opinion, anyone who has a decent amount of muscle(like Mac before he got fat) can get a really nice physique by simply losing 10-15 pounds. You don’t need a ton of muscle mass to look good. Most people just need less fat.

    1. Hey Nate,
      If fat loss is your goal, then just do part 1 of this workout routine, then move onto something later like Visual Impact if you’re looking to gain muscle.

    1. Sorry, not sure what you mean by “3rd workout”. If you don’t want to increase your leg size, then you should skip all direct leg movements like squats and deadlifts. And instead, you should start sprinting, which is great for just defining your legs without making them bigger.

      -Keith

  4. Hi, if I want to get stronger legs like a basketball player but without gaining size or mass, can I still do squats but at really low volumes? eg. 3 x 3?

    1. Hey Aaron,
      Squats are fine, if you want to get stronger without adding mass just make sure you don’t train to failure. So I would choose a weight that you can do 7 times max and only do that weight for 5 reps. Also make sure you’re resting enough between sets.

  5. First of all nice site you’ve got here and thanks a lot for the articles, I just love reading all of ’em.

    What I wanted to ask was, if it’s okay for me to perform a 4 split workout routine, i.e. on:

    Monday – Chest && Biceps
    Wednesday – Back && Traps
    Thursday – Shoulder && Triceps
    Saturday – Legs && Calves
    Tuesday && Friday – Cardio && Abs (Optional)

    Where I also alternate between the two parts above. i.e. On 1 whole week I would perform Part 1 and on the next I would perform Part 2 to get the “Abercrombie” look.

    1. Yeah split seems good but I would just stick with Part 1 and then move onto Part 2. I wouldn’t alternate between them each week.

      1. So I just lift heavy weights with low reps with the split routine until my body fat levels are under 10% and then move on to light weights with high reps.

        1. Yeah just follow the plan as laid out. Heavy weights for low reps until you can visibly see your abs then lighter weights for higher reps.

  6. Great article!

    I’ve been doing something very similar until now, but I accompany my resistance training with HIIT. Since high-intensity sprinting is anaerobic I’ve been under the assumption that it wouldn’t be too counterproductive.

    I know your article doesn’t emphasize cardio, so am I simply holding myself back here? I ask because it’s been hard for me to lose fat since I’m already really skinny (most people wonder why I bother working out as hard as I do since I’m already a “stick,” but obviously Abercrombie models aren’t sticks). I would appreciate your input!

    Thanks,
    Ryan

    1. Hey Ryan,

      HIIT isn’t bad, but remember that it’s not the best option is you’re a beginner and you’re trying to gain muscle since it is very intense and could hinder recovery. If your goal is to pack on muscle, I would skip HIIT for now. Just stick with some light walking on rest days.

      1. Thanks for the response!

        I’ve done HIIT for over a year so I think I’m pretty okay with it, plus I’m very young so my recovery phase isn’t as bad as others based on what I’ve seen. If I were to go by this article then I would actually be on Part 1, since while I am indeed very skinny I still have body fat covering my muscles.

        However I’ll stop it for now and just stick to resistance training and continue my diet. Hopefully I’ll be seeing more results! Thanks!

        Ryan

  7. hey, is routine in one day after the completion of part 1 and part 2 continues to connect or part 1 for weeks and then part 2 for weeks?

    1. I’m not sure what you mean. After you finish with part 1, immediately jump into part 2. But after you’re done with part 2, it’s completely up to you what you want to do after that.

  8. Hei Mr. Adim, can you tell me please, the % of carbos, fat, protein in abercrombie diet part 1 and part 2? Thank you so much, so I will be ready to get ripped!

    1. I really don’t like giving exact macro compositions since everyone is different. I say aim for .6 grams of protein per pound BW when gaining muscle, and a little more (.8 grams) when dieting to help with satiety. Carb and fat intake can widely vary from person to person but I don’t recommend low carb, and make sure you take 6-10 grams of EFA like fish oil per day.

    1. Don’t need protein powder unless you have trouble getting enough protein through food. Workouts should last between 45-60 min.

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