Bodybuilding at Mas Body Gym: How We Train for Muscle in Middlesbrough

Bodybuilding has a branding problem. Say the word and people picture a stage, fake tan and a man the size of a wardrobe. But bodybuilding training is just the most reliable way anyone has found to build muscle and change the shape of their body, and that is what most people who join a gym actually want. This is how we do it at Mas Body Gym.

What bodybuilding training is

Strength training asks how much can you lift. Bodybuilding training asks how much work can you make a muscle do. That changes everything: the exercise choice, the tempo, the rep range and the equipment. A bodybuilder picks the movement that puts the most tension on the target muscle with the least stress on everything else, works it through a full range, and repeats that a lot, with a bit more weight or a rep more each week.

Why the equipment matters more than you think

This is why I have spent years choosing the kit at Mas Body one machine at a time. A free-weight bench press trains chest, shoulders, triceps and your balance all at once. The Panatta Power Smith, with its independent arms and convergent path, puts nearly all of the work on the chest and lets you press heavy without a spotter. The Precor V-Squat loads the quads without loading your spine. The Predator Strength hip thrust trains glutes without a barbell digging into your hips. Two Watson dual adjustable pulleys mean four people can be doing cable work at once and nobody is queuing.

We have over 50 resistance machines from Panatta, Nautilus, Hammer Strength, Life Fitness, Hoist, Precor, Skelcore, Technogym and Predator Strength. Every one is on the equipment page with a note on what it is for. Six-time Mr Olympia Dorian Yates has trained on this floor. He did not complain about the kit.

The split we use most

For anyone training four days a week, I use an upper and lower split: upper, lower, rest, upper, lower, then the weekend off or a HYROX class if you want the conditioning. Each muscle gets trained twice a week, which the research and my own coaching experience agree is the sweet spot for growth.

Upper day

A heavy incline press on the Panatta Power Smith, a fixed-plane press on the Nautilus chest press, a vertical pull on the Life Fitness pulldown, a horizontal pull on the Skelcore Linear Row, cable lateral raises on the Watson, a rear delt fly on the Hoist, then biceps on the Nautilus curl and triceps on the dip station or cables.

Lower day

Precor V-Squat or Panatta leg press, both leg curls because hamstrings need training long and short, leg extensions, the Predator hip thrust, adductor and abductor, then standing calf raises. Ab Coaster to finish.

Reps, sets and progression

Most work is done in the eight to fifteen rep range, two or three hard sets per movement, taken close to failure but with control on every rep. Lower the weight slowly, feel the stretch, drive it up. Add weight when you hit the top of the rep range on every set. Keep a log. Bodybuilding progress is boring and slow week to week and remarkable year to year.

The food

You cannot build a house without bricks. Building muscle needs enough protein, around two grams per kilogram of bodyweight a day, and enough total food. If you are also trying to get leaner, protein stays high and the deficit comes from carbs and fats, and it should be a small deficit, not a crash diet. This is exactly why Macro Based Diet exists next door to the gym: every meal is labelled with its calories, protein, carbs and fat, so you know what you are eating without weighing anything. Members get 15% off.

For competitors

If you want to compete, Ashleigh competes in NPC Bikini and I am an IFBB certified coach who has taken athletes to the stage for years. Prep is a different conversation: peak weeks, posing, the diet. Come and talk to us in the gym rather than reading about it online.

For everyone else

You do not need a stage to train like this. You need a plan, kit that does the job, and a place where nobody minds you taking your time on a machine. That is Mas Body. Membership is £34.95 a month with no contract and no joining fee. Join online and come and train.

Mike Hind MBE