Down and Up Mass Full-Split

This 10-week plan revamps a classic training program to maximize gains in both muscle size and fat-burning.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated May 2, 2022

Every program can use a refresher, even one that continues to deliver impressive mass gains for thousands of JimStoppani.com members every month.

Back by popular demand – and updated by scientific demand – is a revised version of my classic Down and Up Mass training program. The original plan was a true 4-day body part split. Now, Down and Up becomes a full-body routine, yet with the split concept still intact by way of my Stoppani Full-Split (SFS) system of program design.

The new version, appropriately named Down and Up Mass Full-Split, is still 10 weeks long and will deliver the same impressive muscle-gaining results as before. But expect those muscle gains to be a little bit leaner this time, as full-body training is known to maximize fat loss.

If you’re following along with my Train With Jim series, this program is coming on the heels of Super-Man Remastered. I figure the best follow-up to all of those Super-Man supersets is a program that uses straight sets and a variety of periodization techniques. While Super-Man alternated between linear and reverse linear periodiation, Down and Up has you using both simultaneously.

If you want the best of both worlds – arguably my most popular mass-gaining program combined with the fat-burning benefits of full-body workouts – Down and Up Mass Full-Split is the way to go. Let’s build and burn!

Down and Up Mass Split Differences

The Down and Up Mass concept hasn’t changed from the original to this full-split version, but the training split is slightly different. What was originally a 4-day split has turned into a 5-day split – meaning, over the course of five days, each of the 10 major muscle groups (chest, back, shoulders, legs, biceps, triceps, traps, forearms, abs, calves) will get more “focus” in one workout, though all body parts will be trained in every session to keep it a full-body routine.

If you recall, the original Down and Up Mass program paired triceps with chest, and biceps with back. This time around, triceps and biceps will share the same focus day, along with forearms.

Focus muscle groups will receive higher volume in their respective workouts – anywhere from 2 to 5 exercises per body part (2 to 3 for smaller muscle groups, 4 to 5 for larger ones). All other “non-focus” muscle groups will get just one exercise each.

Here’s how the training split will play out each week in terms of focus muscle groups from day to day:

Workout 1: Chest and Abs focus (4 chest exercises, 2 ab exercises)

Workout 2: Back and Calves focus (4 back exercises, 2 calf exercises)

Workout 3: Shoulders, Traps, Abs focus (4 shoulder exercises, 2 traps exercises, 2 ab exercises)

Workout 4: Triceps, Biceps, Forearms focus (3 triceps exercises, 3 biceps exercises, 2 forearm exercises)

Workout 5: Legs and Calves focus (5 leg exercises, 2 calf exercises)

Mass-Gaining Through Periodization

Like the original Down and Up Mass, this version incorporates FOUR different types of periodization to keep the muscle gains coming: linear, reverse linear, undulating, and pendulum periodization.

Reverse linear and linear are intertwined throughout the 10 weeks, alternating every other week during Weeks 1-6 and in the opposite order in Weeks 5-10 (with a slight overlap in Weeks 5 and 6).

In Weeks 1-6, Weeks 1, 3,

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