Discobolus

Named for the discus thrower — sculpted for the moment of effort, not for show.

A great next step if you're training consistently but haven't followed a structured hypertrophy program. Expect progressive splits, accessory volume, and a steady build toward visible, lasting size.

15 weeks

Duration

4x/week upper/lower

Frequency

Gym required

Equipment

Intermediate

Level

The myth behind the name

The throw frozen at its peak

Myron's Discobolus — the discus thrower — is among the most famous sculptures of antiquity: an athlete carved at the instant of maximum tension, fully coiled a heartbeat before release. Sculptors have copied it for nearly 2,500 years; none have improved on it.

The program borrows the sculpture's idea: load tension into one half of the body, let it recover while the other half works, then release again — alternation that builds power through the whole chain.

The approach

How the program works

An upper/lower split trained four days per week. Phase I builds a strength base, Phase II drives hypertrophy across seven weeks and closes with a deload, and Phase III adds intensity techniques to finish the build. Progress load whenever you hit the top of the rep range with clean form.

Four workouts each week: Upper A, Lower A, Upper B, Lower B on Days 1, 2, 4, and 5. Day 6 is an optional catalyst-session slot — drop in a Train Areté add-on (sold separately) or take it as rest (see Optional Catalyst Sessions). Days 3 and 7 are rest.

The structure

What's inside

PHASE I

Strength Base

Build a strength base and re-groove movement patterns.

Weeks 1-4

PHASE II

Hypertrophy

Maximize hypertrophy through volume and controlled tempo, then deload in week 11.

Weeks 5-11

PHASE III

Intensity

Push intensity and metabolic stress to finish the build.

Weeks 12-15

Every program ships as a print-ready PDF with full exercise tables and a week-by-week calendar.

Actual pages from the book — tap any to enlarge.

Is this your path?

Who it's for

A great next step if you're training consistently but haven't followed a structured hypertrophy program.
Lifters who want an upper/lower split trained four days per week.
Those chasing visible, lasting size — progress load whenever you hit the top of the rep range with clean form.

Nearly every Train Areté program reserves an optional catalyst-session slot in its weekly calendar — specialization add-ons from the add-on library are built to drop straight into it. If your program has no catalyst day, the specialization add-ons carry a Micro-Catalyst page that doses the same work in minutes.

Discobolus

$59 one-time

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