How I Actually Tried Ilona Maher’s Muscle Building Workout
When I first saw Ilona Maher sharing bits of her training online, gotta be honest, I kinda doubted how simple it looked compared to my usual gym chaos. But hey, she obviously builds muscle, right? So I figured, why not just copy it exactly for a couple weeks? Here’s what went down.
Monday rolled around, leg day according to her plan. Didn’t waste time. Started with squats – heavy ones, less reps, like she does. Only 5 reps per set, just piling on plates till I felt like my legs were gonna give out. Felt so bad, but weirdly good too.
After squats, moved straight to lunges. Didn’t mess around with light weights here either. Grabbed the heaviest dumbbells I could handle and lunged across the damn gym floor. My butt and thighs were screaming loud after just one set. Kept pushing though, five sets total. Sweat was pouring.
The plan showed she finishes legs with hamstring curls. Did those on the machine, slower than my usual speed, focusing on squeezing hard at the top. Honestly felt like my hamstrings were gonna cramp up solid. Called it a day after that, completely wiped. Took like fifteen minutes before I felt steady enough to drive home.
Wednesday was upper body day, and oh man… Pressing day. Started flat out on the bench press. Heavy again, low reps. Felt my chest and shoulders burning almost instantly. Then hit the incline bench press right after, same story. Heavy weight, crushing out those few reps. Shoulders felt pumped tight.
The plan also had strict overhead press. Did those standing up. Shoulders felt like fire balloons by the end. Added in some dumbbell rows – heavy pulls, squeezing the back tight. Arms were shaking trying to unscrew my water bottle after that session.
Friday meant another leg day, slightly different. Back squats again, because they seem crucial for her. Felt heavier than Monday. Did front squats too, which felt awkward and uncomfortable like always, but did them anyway cause it’s on her list. Finished with those killer walking lunges again. Felt like I was dragging concrete blocks.
Weekend comes, she rests mostly. I didn’t argue with that part!
Kept this exact routine going for the full week. Observations? Brutal simplicity. My usual workouts involve way more exercises, way more variations. Hers is just core lifts, done damn hard. It looks something like this weekly:
- Monday (Legs Heavy): Squats, Walking Lunges, Hamstring Curls
- Wednesday (Upper Body Press): Bench Press, Incline Press, Overhead Press, Dumbbell Rows
- Friday (Legs Heavy Again): Back Squats, Front Squats, Walking Lunges
The key seems to be the effort level. No half-reps, no dropping sets early. You go heavy enough that 5 reps are tough on the last one. You rest enough between sets to actually push again. It’s mentally exhausting.
After two weeks? Felt tighter everywhere. Pants felt snugger across the seat and thighs. Didn’t magically add huge size, obviously, but the feel was different – denser, harder muscle.
Biggest takeaway? Forget fancy gadgets or endless exercises. It boils down to picking heavy weights for foundational moves (squats, presses, rows, lunges), doing them consistently multiple times a week, and pushing hard every single session. It’s simple, but it ain’t easy. You gotta bring the effort, period. No shortcuts here. Makes sense why it builds solid muscle – there’s nowhere to hide.
