Build Muscle
Off-Season Mass — Hypertrophy Bulk
A 12-week off-season mass block for intermediate and advanced lifters in a surplus. Five days a week — Push, Pull, Legs, Upper, Lower — hits every muscle twice with a stretch-position bias, ramping volume from MEV to MRV across the mesocycle before a deload. Commercial or home gym.
- Category
- Build Muscle
- Length
- 12 weeks
- Frequency
- 5 days/week
- Est. session
- 50–70 min
Last updated: June 2026
About this program
Off-Season Mass is a dedicated hypertrophy bulk: the training half of an off-season where the goal is to add muscle on a deliberate calorie surplus. It runs a five-day Push / Pull / Legs / Upper / Lower split so every muscle is trained twice a week, the frequency the Hypertrophy framework favours for intermediates and advanced lifters. Movements lead with the lengthened position — incline presses, flyes, RDLs, overhead triceps, incline curls — because the stretched range is where the strongest growth stimulus lives.
Built for intermediate-to-advanced lifters who have a strength base and are eating in a surplus to grow. Not for beginners (run Novice LP or StrongLifts 5×5 first), not for a cut (the volume is hard to recover under-fed — switch to a recomp or fat-loss block), and not a strength-peaking program (the emphasis is size, not a one-rep max). Equipment: a commercial gym or a well-equipped home gym with a barbell, dumbbells, and machines/cables.
Progression follows the Volume Management framework's MEV→MRV model. Accumulation (wk 1-4) sets honest loads at minimum-effective volume and adds reps weekly; MAV→MRV (wk 5-8) adds working sets toward maximum-recoverable volume; the overreach (wk 9-11) pushes one notch past sustainable to drive the final adaptation, with Push B swapping in for fresh shoulder-biased stimulus from week 7; the deload (wk 12) cuts volume and load to dissipate fatigue and realise the gains. This MEV→MRV mesocycle is the reusable building block for any longer off-season macrocycle.
Build Muscle · 12 weeks · 5 days/week
Start to finish
- Frequency
- 5 days/week
- Per session
- 50–70 min
Who it's for
Four ways to tell at a glance whether this block belongs in your week.
- 01The goal
- A 12-week off-season mass block for intermediate and advanced lifters in a surplus.
- 02The commitment
- A high-frequency week, most days in the gym
- 03The arc
- 12 weeks, 4 phases that build and reset
- 04The coaching
- Your coach drives the plan forward — it reads each session and moves you up the moment the work gets easier, so you keep progressing
How it progresses
12 weeks across 4 phases — your coach watches the effort in your logged sets and moves the weight up the moment a load starts getting easier, so you keep climbing instead of waiting on the calendar.
- Weeks 1–462Intensity
Phase 1 · Accumulation
Accumulation
Set honest working loads at minimum-effective volume, then add reps week over week. Each muscle trained twice; effort climbs, sets held.
- Weeks 5–882Intensity
Phase 2 · Intensification
MAV to MRV
Add working sets to the priority muscles, pushing weekly volume from MAV toward MRV. Loads hold or creep; the new sets are the progression.
- Weeks 9–1192Intensity
Phase 3 · Peak
Overreach
A deliberate three-week functional overreach: volume one notch past sustainable, RPE ceilings raised, to drive the final adaptation.
- Weeks 12–1230Intensity
Phase 4 · Deload
Deload
Cut volume roughly in half and loads to ~85%, capping every set at RPE 7, to dissipate fatigue and realise the block's gains.
Sessions in this program
The individual workouts this program schedules through the week — open any session for its full exercise list, sets, and coaching notes.
- Off-Season Mass — Push8 exercises · ~92 min
- Off-Season Mass — Pull8 exercises · ~83 min
- Off-Season Mass — Legs (Quad Emphasis)7 exercises · ~83 min
- Off-Season Mass — Upper (2nd Frequency)8 exercises · ~82 min
- Off-Season Mass — Lower (Posterior Emphasis)7 exercises · ~77 min
- Off-Season Mass — Push B (Delt Emphasis)7 exercises · ~78 min
Why your coach builds it this way
Off-Season Mass is a dedicated hypertrophy bulk: the training half of an off-season where the goal is to add muscle on a deliberate calorie surplus. It runs a five-day Push / Pull / Legs / Upper / Lower split so every muscle is trained twice a week, the frequency the Hypertrophy framework favours for intermediates and advanced lifters. Movements lead with the lengthened position — incline presses, flyes, RDLs, overhead triceps, incline curls — because the stretched range is where the strongest growth stimulus lives.
Built for intermediate-to-advanced lifters who have a strength base and are eating in a surplus to grow. Not for beginners (run Novice LP or StrongLifts 5×5 first), not for a cut (the volume is hard to recover under-fed — switch to a recomp or fat-loss block), and not a strength-peaking program (the emphasis is size, not a one-rep max). Equipment: a commercial gym or a well-equipped home gym with a barbell, dumbbells, and machines/cables.
Progression follows the Volume Management framework's MEV→MRV model. Accumulation (wk 1-4) sets honest loads at minimum-effective volume and adds reps weekly; MAV→MRV (wk 5-8) adds working sets toward maximum-recoverable volume; the overreach (wk 9-11) pushes one notch past sustainable to drive the final adaptation, with Push B swapping in for fresh shoulder-biased stimulus from week 7; the deload (wk 12) cuts volume and load to dissipate fatigue and realise the gains. This MEV→MRV mesocycle is the reusable building block for any longer off-season macrocycle.
Common questions
The facts most people check before they commit a block to it.
01How long is the Off-Season Mass — Hypertrophy Bulk program?
Off-Season Mass — Hypertrophy Bulk runs 12 weeks at 5 days a week, structured into 4 phases so the load builds and resets on schedule. In Squatly, the coach tunes it to you, so the plan keeps moving with your training.
02Who is Off-Season Mass — Hypertrophy Bulk for?
A 12-week off-season mass block for intermediate and advanced lifters in a surplus. It sits in the Build Muscle category, and the coach reads your training to tell you whether it's the right fit before you commit a block to it.
03How does Off-Season Mass — Hypertrophy Bulk progress over the weeks?
It opens with accumulation and finishes with deload. Each phase has a job — accumulate work, push intensity, or back off to absorb it — and the coach moves your load when your logged sets earn it, not on a fixed schedule.
04Does the coach adjust Off-Season Mass — Hypertrophy Bulk to me?
Yes. The program is the starting structure; the coach reads your e1RM trend, your weekly volume, and your effort on each lift, then tells you when to push — when a load is getting easier, it's time to add weight. It shows you the trend lines behind every call, and you accept, edit, or reject it. With every workout, the plan gets more yours.
Keep moving forward.
The program sets the structure. Your coach drives it forward — reading your numbers and pushing the weight up as you get stronger, so the plan stays yours and you keep progressing.
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Aleks · Coach
Proposal — add weight