SBS Novice Hypertrophy Program

Overview

The SBS Novice Hypertrophy Program (Stronger by Science / Greg Nuckols). Open-ended, 3 sessions per week (official default; 4x/5x also exist), with exercises mostly dumbbells and machines that cover all muscle groups. The core is volume → intensity double progression: each exercise starts at 3 sets of 8 reps and, by the rules, adds sets first and then reps, until 5 sets of 12 reps are all completed; then add weight and go back to 3×8 to climb again.

Who it's for

• Novices whose goal is hypertrophy; it doesn't rely on the heavy barbell big three and is machine/dumbbell friendly.

Weekly structure (repeats every week)

• Day 1 (upper-body push/pull): dumbbell bench press, T-bar row, machine shoulder press, reverse-grip pulldown, incline dumbbell bench press, seated cable row, preacher curl, skullcrusher, each 3×8
• Day 2 (lower body): squat, Romanian deadlift, leg press, GHR, split squat, leg press calf raise, bent-over reverse fly, each 3×8
• Day 3 (shoulders and back extras): seated dumbbell press, pull-up (bodyweight), seated leg curl, seated calf raise, shrug, dumbbell fly, lateral raise, each 3×8

Progression rules (volume → intensity)

The pass criterion is "all sets completed at the target reps":

1. Pass → next time add 1 set to that exercise (3→4→5 sets);
2. Once you've reached 5 sets and still pass them all → reps +1 (8→9→...→12), with sets going back down and climbing again at that rep count;
3. All 5 sets of 12 completed → add weight (about +2.5 kg for upper body, about +5 kg for lower body), and go back to 3×8 to start again;
4. If you miss a session's target → keep the current sets and reps and retry; if you fail several times in a row, reduce the weight slightly.

Start with a weight of your choice (one you can complete 3×8 with good form and 2-3 reps in reserve); start pull-ups at bodyweight and begin adding weight once you can do 5×12.

Notes

• Exercises can be swapped for similar ones depending on available equipment (the listed exercises are the source sheet's default list; a few names are entered as the closest library match with a note).
• You can add 1-2 isolation exercises of your choice each session (not included as placeholders).