True Muscle: 9 Weeks to Elite Fitness

True Muscle is the hybrid fitness program you’ve been waiting for. It delivers muscle, but also strength, conditioning, and overall bad-ass athleticism. Expert trainer Nick Tumminello and former NFL player Steve Weatherford, aka the most ripped man in football, will be your teachers over the next nine weeks. From them, you’ll get muscle and hustle. You’ll get the coaching you need to improve at classic movements and learn some game-changing new ones. You’ll love every workout and get plenty of killer pumps along the way, but you’ll also learn a lot that will make you perform better in the weight room for years down the road.

Is this program right for me?

You don’t need to be a world-class athlete like Steve to get results from this program—far from it! But you’ll definitely get the most out of the True Muscle trainer if you have a foundation of training to build from. A beginner will probably find the intensity of this program overwhelming, so only tackle it if you have some solid experience with free-weight strength training and are comfortable performing fundamental movements like front squats, deadlifts, chin-ups, and dumbbell presses.

In terms of time demands, each workout is designed to be an hour or less, depending on your fitness level and familiarity with the equipment. You’ll work out four times a week for the first three weeks and then three times a week after that, so you can have the flexibility to customize the program around your schedule.

If you’re ready to build the physique of your dreams and get better at every athletic pursuit in your sights, then you’re ready for True Muscle. It’s not easy, but it is extremely effective. It will challenge you on multiple levels, but that’s how it will make you grow.

Who are Nick Tumminello and Steve Weatherford?

Nick Tumminello is a strength coach, author, and regular contributor to Bodybuilding.com and many other websites and publications. Known as the “trainer of trainers,” he’s the coach of numerous pro athletes, fighters, and physique competitors. He’s also the author of the book, “Strength Training for Fat-Loss.”

Steve Weatherford is a former NFL punter and True Grit athlete who was labeled “The NFL’s fittest player.” He won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants in 2012.

What’s the schedule?

You’ll start with a body-part split, but progress to intense full-body training over the course of three phases:

Phase 1: Hypertrophy
Phase 2: Strength and power
Phase 3: Hybrid conditioning

Here’s the weekly breakdown for each phase:

Phase 1:

Day 1: Shoulders and abs
Day 2: Back and biceps
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Chest and triceps
Day 5: Legs
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest

Phase 2 and 3:

Day 1: Full body
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Full body
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Full body
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest

What equipment do I need?

This program was designed to be done in a normally equipped commercial gym. You’ll use barbells, dumbbells, machines, body weight, and even some old-school classics like medicine balls and jump ropes.

Steve Weatherford and Medicine Ball Throws

Are there videos?

Yes! There is a program overview video, overview videos for each phase of the program, and three full-length workout videos where coach Nick puts Steve through three intense workouts in real time and shares game-changing tips and techniques. You can watch all of these in the Bonus Videos tab.