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The Tristyn Lee Workout Routine | The Ultimate Guide!

tristyn lee workout program

Are you curious about the Tristyn Lee workout routine?

Do you want to know Tristyn Lee trains for size and strength?

Then you’ve come to the right place.

In this comprehensive guide, I will teach you exactly how to use the Tristyn Lee workout routine to take your training to the next level!

Introduction

  • Part 1: Chest
  • Part 2: Back
  • Part 3: Shoulders
  • Part 4: Legs
  • Part 5: Arms
  • Part 6: Nutrition

Tristyn Lee is one of the biggest fitness influencers in the world.

He is most famous for his super human strength, and of course, for his incredibly ripped physique.

Tristyn stays at 5% body fat year-round… even when he is bulking!

Tristyn Lee Stats

  • Age: 19 years old
  • Height: 5 feet 3 inches
  • Weight: 125 pounds
  • Body fat: 5%

So how did Tristyn Lee build his incredible physique?

Does he have a secret workout routine, or is he just gifted for building size and strength?

Tristyn Lee trains 5 days per week using a traditional bodybuilding “bro split.” He trains each muscle group on its own separate training day using a ton of volume and intensity.

He feels these high-volume / high-intensity workouts are the key to building muscle mass as fast as possible!

Here is one of Tristyn Lee’s favorite training splits. Check it out:

The Tristyn Lee Training Split

  • Day 1: Chest
  • Day 2: Back 
  • Day 3: Off 
  • Day 4: Shoulders
  • Day 5: Legs
  • Day 6: Arms
  • Day 7: Off

As you can see, Tristyn Lee trains one major muscle group per day.

The only exception is his leg day, where he trains quads and hamstrings, and his arm day, where he trains biceps and triceps.

Tristyn performs about 4-6 exercises per workout, and he likes to stay in the classic 8-12 rep range for building muscle.

Now let’ stake a closer look at the exact workouts that Tristyn Lee used to become one of the biggest fitness influencers in the world!

Part 1: Chest

Tristyn Lee says his chest is his worst body part.

He is extremely strong on chest exercises, such as flat and incline dumbbell presses, but he has a hard time building that 3-D look that many bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger have.

To bring up his lagging chest, Tristyn Lee performs high-volume chest workouts with up to 4-6 exercises per workout.

Unlike a lot of bodybuilders, Tristyn doesn’t perform any heavy barbell exercises, such as the bench press or the incline bench press.

Instead, he likes to focus on dumbbell presses, machine presses, and different isolation exercises.

Here is one of Tristyn Lee’s chest routines that you can try. Check it out:

Tristyn Lee Chest Workout #1

  • Exercise #1: 30 degree incline bench press, 4 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Exercise #2: Flat dumbbell press, 4 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Exercise #3: Incline machine press, 4 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Exercise #4: Cable crossovers, 4 sets of 8-12 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout!

This routine is a perfect example of how Tristyn Lee likes to train his lagging chest.

He starts the workout with some heavy incline and flat dumbbell presses. These are two of his favorite chest exercises, as he can use heavy weights and load up his chest without bothering his shoulders too much.

After that, he moves onto different isolation exercises like machine presses and cable crossovers to finish off his chest.

Tristyn says that this combination of heavy weights plus higher-rep isolation movements is the key to getting complete chest development.

“Some people just do endless reps. Let’s say you’re doing 20 reps, and it starts to burn. B

ut that may not be true failure, it’s just mental exhaustion.

Whereas when you work to actual failure, your muscle is getting activated better.”

This makes perfect sense, as the chest has a relatively large number of fast-twitch muscle fibers.

The people with the biggest chests often train with heavy weights and low reps.

Of course, it’s a great idea to use high reps and low reps in your training to get the best of both worlds.

“So it’s good to do both, because with higher volume, you’re going to gain more mind-muscle connection.

It’s just a different type of stimulus when you train with lower reps.”

Here is another one of Tristyn Lee’ chest workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Tristyn Lee Chest Workout #1

  • Exercise #1: Supine machine press, 5 sets of 15-20 reps
  • Exercise #2: Flat dumbbell press, 4 sets of 15 reps
  • Exercise #3: 45 degree incline dumbbell press, 4 sets of 15 reps
  • Exercise #4: Single arm pec dec, 3 sets of 15 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout!

For this routine, Tristyn Lee performs 4 different exercises. As usual, he focuses on a healthy mix of dumbbell presses, machine presses, and isolation exercises.

Tristyn says that he is a very shoulder-dominant lifter, so he has to get very creative with his exercise selection to make sure his chest is doing most of the work.

“Obviously I’m pretty delt dominant, so really focusing on taking my delts out of it and pressing through my chest.

So it will probably be closer to a 25-35 degree angle, rather than a 45 degree angle and go from there.”

Unlike a lot of bodybuilders, Tristyn Lee believes that you have to train extremely hard to build muscle.

He performs many of his sets to failure, or even beyond failure with different techniques like forced reps or drop sets.

This is a slightly controversial topic nowadays, but Tristyn believes going all-out is necessary to reach your full potential.

“In order to build the muscle to its fullest capacity, you have to tear it to its fullest capacity.

They only talk about tearing the muscle down.

Mechanical damage my friends! Mechanical damage to the point of tearing the muscle. That’s true failure!”

What’s the lesson here? Don’t be afraid to push yourself in the gym!

If you want to reach your fitness goals in record time, then you must go beyond your limits every once in a while.

After all, if you never push yourself, how will you know what your limits are? How will you ever know how far you can go?

Part 2: Back

Tristyn Lee trains his upper back once per week right after his chest day.

His upper back is definitely one of his stronger body parts, so it’s interesting to see how he trains it for size and strength.

The truth is, Tristyn Lee likes to train his upper back with about 4 exercises per workout.

He uses a combination of pulldowns and rows to hit every area of his back. He also likes to perform extra work for his biceps at the end of his back workouts, as you will soon see.

Here is one of Tristyn Lee’s back routines that you can try. Check it out:

Tristyn Lee Back Workout #1

  • Exercise #1: Lat pulldown (medium / supinated grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps
  • Exercise #2: Dorian deadlift, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
  • Exercise #3: Lying dumbbell pullover, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
  • Exercise #4: Chest supported row, 4 sets of 8-15 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense back workout!

In this workout Tristyn Lee uses a variety of exercises to smoke his entire upper back, including lat pulldowns, deadlifts, dumbbell pullovers, and chest supported rows.

He starts this workout with one of his all-time favorite back exercises: the supinated grip lat pulldown.

This exercise was a favorite of the legendary bodybuilder Dorian Yates, but you don’t see many bodybuilders use it today.

Tristyn Lee says this is all-time favorite back exercise, as nothing else comes close for building width and thickness in his upper back.

“I’m not claiming this is the best back exercise, but it’s helped me the most in terms of building back mass and thickness.”

Next Tristyn Lee performs another one of Dorian Yates’ favorite back exercises: the Dorian deadlift!

This is where you lower the weight down to mid-shin height, then immediately lift the weight back up.

Dorian preferred this deadlift variation as it takes some of the stress of your lower back. Check it out:

“This is an exercise I like to do at the start of my workout, like in the first 2-3 exercises.

It’s so taxing, especially with all the breaking that you have to do.

And sense you’re not going straight up and down like a pencil, it’s so taxing on your lats.“

Finally, Tristyn Lee finishes his heavy back workout with some lying dumbbell pullovers and chest supported rows.

Tristyn sometimes likes to perform extra biceps work at the end of his back workouts.

This makes sense, as his biceps are another one of his weaker body parts. Check it out:

Tristyn Lee Back Workout #2

  • Exercise #1: Hammer strength pulldown, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
  • Exercise #2: One-arm dumbbell row, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
  • Exercise #3: Machine chest supported row, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
  • Exercise #4: Seated cable row (supinated grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps
  • Exercise #5: Seated alternating dumbbell curl (supinated grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps
  • Exercise #6: Machine preacher curl, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
  • Exercise #7: Standing dumbbell hammer curl, 4 sets of 8-15 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout!

As usual, Tristyn Lee starts the workout with his favorite supinated grip machine pulldowns.

This was another favorite exercise of the legendary bodybuilder Dorian Yates. Here is Tristyn Lee describing his technique on this exercise:

“What I was trying to duplicate when I was up and coming, was a front double bicep.

So I said OK, how can I bring the lats out the most? I believe the reverse grip duplicates that double bicep pose, where you can really pop the lats.

So my goal is to use this exercise to really get that V-taper.”

In my experience, Tristyn Lee is exactly right.

You can really feel your lats flare out when using the supinated grip, as opposed to an overhand or neutral grip.

At the very least, it is a great exercise variation to include in your back workouts.

After the pulldowns, Tristyn moves onto a variety of upper back exercises, such as one-arm dumbbell rows, chest supported rows, and seated cable rows.

Finally, Tristyn Lee finishes his back workout with some direct biceps training.

He performs three different biceps exercises to hit all of the different muscles of the elbow flexors, including dumbbell curls, preacher curls, and hammer curls.

Talk about an intense back and biceps day!

Part 3: Shoulders

Tristyn Lee is known for his incredible shoulder development. He has fully capped 3-D delts that literally pop off the rest of his upper body!

So how does Tristyn train his shoulders?

Tristyn trains his shoulders using traditional high-volume bodybuilding style workouts.

He performs 1-2 heavy overhead pressing movements at the start of his workout, followed by a bunch of isolation exercises to pump up his front, side, and rear delts.

Here is one of Tristyn Lee’s high-volume shoulder workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Tristyn Lee Shoulder Workout #1

  • Exercise #1: Standing dumbbell lateral raise, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #2: Smith machine overhead press, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #3: Cable front raise, 4 sets of 15 reps
  • Exercise #4: Bent over rear delt dumbbell fly, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #5: Machine lateral raise, 4 sets of 12-15 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout!

For this workout Tristyn Lee uses the pre-exhaust method.

He starts with some heavy dumbbell lateral raises to target his side delts. Then once his side delts have been fatigued, he moves onto his heavy overhead pressing movement.

This is a great strategy for bringing up your side delts, as you force them to work even harder than normal during your heavy compound exercise.

Tristyn says he normally performs lower reps during his overhead pressing movements, but today he decided to mix things up and train in the 12-15 rep range. Here’s why:

“We’re going to try to hit 12-15 reps on this. It’s a different type of exertion when you’re doing higher volume.

Going heavy and doing lower reps is a lot of times easier mentally.

So pushing past those limits is really good for my training.”

After the heavy overhead presses, Tristyn performs 3 isolation exercises for his front, side, and rear delts.

He says that the machine lateral raise is one of his favorite side delt isolation movements, as he can get a huge contraction in the top part of the exercise.

“It’s similar to using a cable for front raises.

I’m able to squeeze my delts at the top of the movement without risking my shoulder joint.

It’s different from a dumbbell lateral raise where I have to be a little more cautious.”

Here is another one of Tristyn Lee’s high-volume shoulder workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Tristyn Lee Shoulder Workout #2

  • Exercise #1: Seated rear delt row, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #2: Seated barbell rack press, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #3: Standing dumbbell lateral raise, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #4: Seated dumbbell overhead press, 4 sets of 12-15 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout!

Once again, Tristyn Lee uses the pre-exhaust method.

However, this time he decides to pre-exhaust his rear delts first with the seated rear delt row.

“I usually start with side delts, but I decided to switch things up today.

Sometimes I find when I start with my rear delts I’m able to engage my external stabilizers better.

And when I go into any sort of pressing movement, I feel a little more primed to do so.”

The rear delt row is a variation where you use a wide / neutral grip and try to row using nothing but your rear delts.

The bodybuilding guru Dante Trudel is also a big fan of these rowing variations for bringing the rear delts up.

Here is Tristyn Lee describing this exercise:

“A lot of people, when they train rear delts they do more of a fly motion.

But what I’ve shifted to doing more so is a rowing motion.

And I’ve found that I’ve been able to grow my rear delts a lot better this way.”

I agree 100% with Tristyn Lee!

I get absolutely nothing out of reverse flys and other isolation exercises for the rear delts.

My rear delts finally started to grow when I started using “Reeve’s Rows” and other rear delt focused rowing movements.

After exhausting his rear delts, Tristyn Lee moves onto a variety of side delt isolation movements and heavy overhead pressing exercises.

Tristyn Lee doesn’t believe in planning his workouts out in advance. Instead, he walks in the gym and does whatever he thinks will work best, based on how he is feeling that day.

Many other legendary bodybuilders like Jay Cutler also used this kind of intuitive approach to training.

Part 4: Legs

Tristyn Lee has unbelievable leg development.

His quads are absolutely massive with deep cuts in between the different quadriceps heads, while his hamstrings are also extremely well developed.

The truth is, Tristyn Lee doesn’t do anything fancy for his leg day.

Instead, he performs high-volume bodybuilding style leg workouts with 5-6 total exercises for his quads and hamstrings.

Here is one of Tristyn Lee’s high-volume leg workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Tristyn Lee Leg Workout #1

  • Exercise #1: Leg extensions, 4 sets of 15 reps
  • Exercise #2: Lying leg curls, 4 sets of 15 reps
  • Exercise #3: Smith machine squat, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #4: Sumo leg press, 2 x 20 second isometric hold
  • Exercise #5: Seated leg curls, 2 sets of 10-12 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout! For this routine Tristyn Lee uses the pre-exhaust method.

First he isolated his quads and hamstrings with different isolation exercises, like leg extensions and leg curls.

Next he moves onto different compound exercises like smith machine squats and sumo leg presses.

During this workout Tristyn Lee really focuses on using explosive positive phases on every exercise – especially for his hamstrings! Check it out:

“I focus on exploding the weight up, especially on hamstrings because they are a fast-twitch muscle, so just explode as hard as you can from the bottom position.”

This is great advice!

Tristyn Lee is 100% correct when he says the hamstring are fast-twitch muscles.

You really want to focus on using fast concentric phases and lower reps – especially for exercises like leg curls.

Here is another one of Tristyn Lee’s high volume bodybuilding leg workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Tristyn Lee Leg Workout #2

  • Exercise #1: Back squat, 4 sets of 6-8 reps
  • Exercise #2: Hack squat, 4 sets of 12 reps
  • Exercise #3: Leg press, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
  • Exercise #4: Leg extension, 4 sets of 15 reps
  • Exercise #5: Lying leg curl, 4 sets of 12 reps
  • Exercise #6: Dumbbell Romanian deadlift, 3 sets of 12 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout! This routine is almost the opposite of his previous one.

Tristyn starts the workout with very heavy quad exercises such as back squats, hack squats, and leg presses.

Only then does he move onto his smaller isolation exercises like leg extensions and leg curls.

The moral of the story is Tristyn Lee likes to use a ton of variety in his bodybuilding workouts.

He is always looking to mix up his exercise order to keep his muscles off balance!

Part 5: Arms

Tristyn Lee finishes his weekly training split with a dedicated arm day.

He likes to perform about 6 total exercises for his arms, including 3 exercises for his biceps and 3 exercises for his triceps.

Here is one of Tristyn Lee’s high-volume arm workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Tristyn Lee Arm Workout #1

  • Exercise #1: Standing dumbbell pinwheel curl, 4 sets of 10-15 reps
  • Exercise #2: Bench press (close grip), 4 sets of 10-15 reps
  • Exercise #3: Cable pushdown, 4 sets of 10-15 reps
  • Exercise #4: Overhead dumbbell extension, 4 sets of 10-15 reps
  • Exercise #5: Standing dumbbell curl (supinated grip), 4 sets of 10-15 reps
  • Exercise #6: Standing dumbbell hammer curl, 4 sets of 10-15 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense arm workout!

For this routine Tristyn lee performs 6 total exercises, including 3 exercises for his biceps and 3 exercises for his triceps.

He starts the workout with some dumbbell pinwheel curls for his brachialis and forearm muscles.

Then he performs a variety of mass-building exercises for his triceps, such as close grip bench presses, cable pushdowns, and overhead dumbbell extensions.

Finally, Tristyn finishes the workout with some more direct biceps work, including dumbbell curls and hammer curls.

Here is another one of Tristyn Lee’s high-volume arm workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Tristyn Lee Arm Workout #2

  • Exercise #1: Cable pushdown, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #2: Reverse grip pushdown, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #3: Rope pushdown, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #4: Overhead dumbbell extension, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #5: Cable curl (supinated grip), 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #6: Machine preacher curl, 4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Exercise #7: Barbell curl, 4 sets of 12-15 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout!

For this workout Tristyn Lee really focuses on different cable exercises for his triceps.

He performs cable pushdowns with an overhand grip, supinated grip, and the neutral grip using the rope handle!

Cable pushdowns aren’t exactly the best mass-building triceps exercise out there, but they work like magic for Tristyn Lee.

For biceps, Tristyn performs a wide variety of exercises like cable curls, preacher curls, and barbell curls.

Part 6: Tristyn Lee’s Diet

Tristyn Lee stays absolutely shredded year-round at 5% body fat!

How is this even possible?

The truth is, Tristyn Lee follows a very strict diet year-round.

He always watches what he eats, and he focuses on eating 5=7 bodybuilding style meals every single day. Check it out:

Trystin Lee Diet Video

Tristyn says he does best on a low-carb, or “ketogenic” diet.

This means he eats mostly proteins and fats, with very few carbohydrates.

“Some people do work better on carbs.

But I’m not one of those people.

Being a soccer player, I feel extremely lethargic and heavy when I’m running off of carbs.” 

Here is the exact meal plan that Tristyn Lee follows when he wants to get absolutely shredded. Check it out:

Meal #1

  • 5 scrambled eggs (plus butter)
  • 4 ounces grilled steak
  • 1 glass chocolate almond milk
  • Kale chips

Meal #2

  • 8 ounces grilled chicken
  • 1 spinach salad with bacon
  • 1 avocado

Meal #3

  • 8 ounces ground beef
  • 1 cup broccoli
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 scoop protein powder

Meal #4

  • 4 ounces coconut shrimp
  • 4 ounces salmon
  • 1 spinach salad
  • 1 cup kale
  • 5 cheddar cheese slices

This diet may look a little strange, but it works like magic for Tristyn Lee and his incredible genetics!

Conclusion | The Tristyn Lee Workout Program!

Tristyn Lee is one of the biggest bodybuilders in the world, and it’s easy to see why.

He trains 5 days per week using high-volume / high-intensity workouts to shock his muscles into growth!

He also follows a strict diet year-round, which helps him maintain his ripped physique.

If you are looking for a new routine to shock your body into growth, then let it be the Tristyn Lee workout routine.

It may be just what you need to take your training to the next level!

Before you go, check out my other world-class bodybuilding articles:

Trust me – you won’t find this cutting edge information anywhere else!

“The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow.

This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion.

That’s what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they’ll go through the pain no matter what happens.”

Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of luck on your strength training journey!