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
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.
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.
what is the name of the abercromble model in the photo on this page.he is hot
no idea.
Digging this routine, especially part 2 as I am looking for a 4 day routine that only has 1 day of leg/week. Any reason not to change the Friday workout to more of a full upper body day with say 2x chest, 2x shoulder, 2x back, 1x bicep, 1x tricep exercises? That way you work each upper muscle group twice per week, seem reasonable?
there are literally a thousand ways to modify this routine, this is the way i laid it out. I excluded chest since focusing on the shoudlers gives you more of that “model look”
how long should you be doing part 1? before going onto part 2 ?
depends on your body, i’d say at least 6-8 weeks each.
I’m going to have to disagree with this entire writeup.
Your first goal should be to build up your muscle mass and overall body composition. Eat healthy, but eat enough food so that you body grows. After about 1.5-2 years you can worry about body fat percentage.
Neglecting chest doesn’t give you that “model look.” It is one of the most important features of the male physique (along with everything else).
Don’t worry about looking like a bodybuilder, because you never will haha. That physique doesn’t happen by accident.
I’m not saying you won’t look good following this workout plan outlined in the write up, but you won’t want to stand next to the guy in the pictures if you do.
you’re right but if someone has a lot of fat to lose, they shouldn’t focus on building muscle.
Hello Keith,
I have tried out the part 1 routine for just around 3 weeks and am very happy to share I notice substantial change in my physique.
Thanks for the post. 🙂
awesome, send me pics if you have them.
Hey i was just wondering for phase one, why only 3 days a week and i am currently doing martial arts 2 or 3 times a day so how do i work around that or should i just follow as it currently is ?????
you have to find a way to fit the workout in, simple as that. You can still do it on the same day.
Hey I was wondering if My body fat should be less than 10% before I start part 1 or can I still lose body fat while doing part 1 ?
depends on how you look, but use your best judement.
Hey Keith! I modified this a bit to created a two day split to help increase lifts faster, can you tell me what you think?
Workout A
Incline Bench RPT (5,6,8 reps)
Weighted Neutral Grip Pullups RPT (5,6,8)
Incline DB Bench 3×6-8
Lying Leg Curl 3×10-12
Calf Raises 3×12-15
Workout B
Overhead Press RPT (5,6,8)
Hack Squat or BB Squat RPT (5,6,8)
Weighted Dips RPT (5,6,8)
BB Curl 3×6-8
Hyperextensions 3×10-12
I feel like it’s fairly well laid out, anything I’m shortchanging myself on in your opinion?
yes this can work too, I wrote this article a long time ago before I seriously even began using RPT so if I were to write a version 2.0 it would look pretty similar to this. This is actually pretty good.
Awesome man thanks for the response. I’m just trying to find a way to put face pulls in there and then I think I’m all set for now 🙂
i`ve done the 2 phase im just wondering how to do the 3 full body workout.
what specifically are you wondering about it?
How to do the full body workout.
the 3 full body workout
Hey thanks for the great plan. Do we need to do any cardio during the Phase 1 stage? To burn the fat?
Thanks in advance!
no not needed.
Thanks Keith!
Hope to get the “Model look” soon.
One more question, do we need to try and progress in the weights during the fat loss phase?
if you are a beginner, yes. If not, just try to maintain your strength.
I’m all for this routine and set of goals, as they are similar to mine. But it needs to be said that bodybuilding is not about getting the girls.
for some people it is 🙂
Hey which excercises in both phase works out your abs?
Are you supposed to work on abs on phase 2?
you could add in a few sets (3-5) 3x per week.
Hello,
What exercises do you recommend to rip the abs?
How many sets and reps?
What days of the week?
Thank you
You can add in some hanging leg raises and add weight when they get easy. Don’t add weight until you can do at least 20 reps with bodyweight only. 3x per week.
thanks for sharing, yes you are absolutely right about the heavy weight-no failure method,but for a beginner,he has to go to failure and add weights each month/each 2 months, at least upto a stage to gain some muscles,….am I wrong?
yes off course in this stage the diet is crucial to maintain a nice waistline
a beginner will pretty much gain strength/muscle on ANY routine since weight training is such a new stimulus.
Hi just wanna ask for the Phase 2 Workout, do we still use the same weights as per Phase 1 (heavy weights that I can only do for 7 reps max) or switch to lighter weights and perform more reps instead?
Best regards.
more reps, less weight.
Well, this is… too little, the part 1 I mean, does it really compensate to workout just with so fewer exercises and low reps like that? I personally would feel like I did absolutely nothing in the gym, and another think that I suppose I didn’t read in the article but how should be my diet during this phase?
b/c you’re lifting heavier for fewer reps. Please read the diet part for part 1, it outlines the dieting stuff.