Hi fellow! So, you are a beginner looking for a weight training guide ?
Good.
The bane of so many people is the lack of knowledge. So they either fear or get emotional. Sometimes, they put their ego aside and just ask for help or begin researching.
This article today is dedicated to all the people who want to get a step in to start their fitness transformation and for all the people who already started but aren’t quite sure they are doing the best they could. I write this in 2018, and this is a great time to be living in, since there are so much knowledge and information so easily accessible. We have the Internet. We have Google, Wikipedia, targeted wikis, tutorials, How to, etc, etc.
The problems begin when there is too much information and you just don’t know what to think, who to trust. It seems like everyone is the one who got your answer and knows exactly how to help you.
If we stay in the fitness world, there is a new “best chest workout” every two weeks, a new “discovered training method” every month, a new mag filled with programs to get shredded, to lose fat, to gain mass, to gain this and that, etc etc. And it isn’t new, it started since a certain Joe Weider who ruled for half a decade or so on the bodybuilding world media. My point here is that you might be just lost in this pool of pieces of information and don’t know what to do about all that.
And that’s where I come to help.
In other articles, you will find more tips about nutrition, diet, fat loss, muscle bulk but here we are going to focus on training. So how should you train as a beginner ? Well, it depends, but weight training is an awesome activity that can fit anyone. Whatever your age, your goals (yet), your history.
And the first thing you want to do as a novice is to gain strength.
Because muscle is a direct byproduct of what you can do with your body in the first place, don’t expect to look like a greek god or a movie superhero without being capable of sustaining hard physical labor. Second is the need to keep everything very simple. I know, you are getting stunned and light-headed by all the drop sets, supersets, giant sets, new awesome exercises, etc, but you don’t need those.
The truth is, pre roids era athletes from the ’30s to the ‘50s already knew how to train to maximize strength and muscle gains as naturals. Nowadays we have more knowledge and we now know the how and the why, but the principles have been here for decades. And we could also make a point that even during the Antiquity, our ancestors also already knew a lot. Third and last point, to be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither your body will; Your body needs first to get used to your workouts, then adapt to it. Then you will grow.
Forget about any 3 months transformations that make you go from a fat weak slob to a sexy muscular beach model. Forget about getting ready for the summer beaches if you only start to move your ass at the end of May.
As a beginner, you want to focus exclusively on big compounds lifts. Those alone will build strength, size, athleticism and a complete physique who won’t need much isolation. Think bench presses, overhead presses, high pulls, squats, deadlifts, curls, rows.
Here is a simple beginner training program that will get you through your first year of training or so, up until you get the intermediate stage. How do we know you are intermediate? When stupid simple doesn’t work anymore and when your strength level is around 60kg/130lbs Overhead Press, 100kg/220lbs Bench Press, 140kg/300lbs Back Squat and 180kg/400lbs Deadlift. And that’s where we can get to toy with variations and more complex programming but for now, we keep it short.
Beginner Training Program :
Workout A
Back Squat 5×4-6 (5 sets of 4 to 6 reps)
Bench Press 5×4-6
Bent-Over Row 5×4-6
Overhead DB Extension and Standing BB Curl 3×8-10 on both
Back Extension and Hanging Leg Raises 3×10-20 on both
Workout B
Front Squat 5×4-6
Standing Press 5×4-6
Deadlift 1×5 (use around 3-4 sets to warm up and go heavier each time)
Weighed Parallel Bar Dips and Weighted Chin-up 4×5-8 on both
Back Extension and Hanging Leg Raises 3×10-20 on both
And here you go. No need for cutting edge calculations. Get the technique right, then add weight, get strong, rest, come back a bit bigger and stronger each time until this doesn’t work anymore and then we will talk about more complicated stuff but the bulk of what you need to do is here.
You will train 3 days per week, that will let you enough time to first, get used to regularly go to the gym and second, recover well enough from the workouts. Also, fitness is a lifestyle but staying all your free time in the gym isn’t required nor needed or useful. Get in, hit it hard and get out.
So each week you will get those workouts on non-consecutive days for example Monday/Wednesday/Friday or Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday or Wednesday/Friday/Sunday etc. You can always workout on two consecutive days if you are really stuck with a busy schedule but I need you to keep it as rare as possible. The key here is to stay in that 20-25 total reps range since it’s where most of the strength and size gains occur.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why no upper chest work? Because you are supposed to do your presses with full ROM, that means the barbell touching the collarbone or so on overhead press and the chest on the bench press. Also, you are a beginner. You have no weak points, you are just weak overall. Get strong, then we will worry about your upper, inner, mid-chest.
Why no machines? Because it needs to stay simple. Leg extension, chest press, leg press, etc are great to add more volume but you are a novice, so you need to get a solid foundation before toying around. And those machines are not the greatest tools to build strength and size in the whole body. When it will be time to isolate and use variety, sure. But not now.
What about the rest period? You should always rest as much as needed, meaning the time that lets you be as efficient as possible on the next set. In general, around 2-3mn for the big compounds lifts and 1mn for the isolation. Don’t stress about it for now.
Can I add more biceps or triceps? Except if you are required by any means or sport to get really specific about elbow flexion/extension strength, no you don’t. When you will do chin-up with two grown men hanging off your legs and doing dips with a motorcycle strapped on your belt, I assure you, you won’t need lots of arm work. Plus, you are too weak to benefit from higher volume anyway. Remember, we keep it simple.
Can I change the workouts? No, you can’t. It is designed to build whole-body strength in key lifts. Once you are strong enough, you will do whatever your please, for now, focus.
Can I change the Free Squat to the Box Squat? If your goal is to be more athletic for a sport or just for your taste and you don’t care about how much you squat or your knees hurt from previous overuse or injuries, yes you can. Be sure to get a box that makes you sit in parallel or just below!
Can I add lateral/rear delt/rotator cuff work? Yes, you can at the end of the workout throw some lateral raises, face pulls, external rotations and reverse flyes if you want. Nothing hard though.
Can I add neck/forearms/calves workouts? For neck and calves yes, at the end of the workout or during off days, simple stuff with little to no material. For the forearms, you don’t. All the curling, rowing, pulling and grip work will be enough for now. You can always change the curls for a hammer/pronated grip if you want.
Can I use the Smith Machine? No, you can’t. This is not a piece of equipment needed for now. It has its time and place as anything but for now, you want to focus on free weights.
Can I do Deficit Deadlift or Block/Rack Pull instead of Deadlift? No, you can’t. Deficit deadlift is really hard to recover from and isn’t needed as a novice. If you have lower back issues you can also elevate a bit the barbell by 4 inches or so but not more. For the rack pull it’s the same, 4 inches off the floor or so or don’t.
Can I do Conventional/Sumo/Jefferson/Hack/Trap Bar Deadlift? Yes, you can, the strength requirement is the same. For the trap bar, if you use a lower handle, it’s the same, if you use high handles, you can bump the 180kg/400lbs requirement to 200-210kg/440-460lbs.
Can I do Close Grip Bench Press in place of Dips? Yes, you can.
Can I do Snatch Grip Deadlift? No, stay focus on less taxy variations for now.
Can I do T Bar Row instead of BB Row? Yes, but be sure to not destroy your back on it, it needs a different stance and torso position than the regular barbell row.
Is it for Powerlifting? Not really. Powerlifting is a very specific strength sport, you would need to sub in the back squat for a low bar squat, the bench would need to be paused and the deadlift would need to get trained between sumo and conventional only. But yet again, if you are a novice, a simple basic program is always best.
Do I go to failure? No, you don’t. If you are failing some reps it’s either that you aren’t sleeping or eating enough. You need to stop when your speed decreases and when it gets hard to maintain a good technique. No crap form.
What do I do if I stall? It may have been your technique and/or your recovery or you tried to go too fast. Just drop the weight by 5-10kg/10-20lbs and start over-focus on getting each rep clean and with controlled explosiveness.
What if I can’t do weighted dips/chin-up? You can workout with your bodyweight or use the pulldown machine in the last resort. If you are too weak to even do them unassisted, you can assist yourself with a band or just replace them altogether by interved row and push-ups until you are strong enough to try harder variation and finally get your first chin-ups and dips.
What if I already trained for a bit or have years of sport and higher work capacity? Well, that beginner training program isn’t enough for you, you would need a bit more volume but that also depends on your strength level. You can still use it but add more sets per exercise for example. But before that, try it like it is first.
Should I bulk or cut during this program? It has nothing to do with this program, only your goal. But this program is made to make you gain strength and size, so you won’t be able to maximize it if you are skinny and eat like a bird. You need to eat a little above maintenance level if you want to gain muscles. If you are fat and want to lose weight, clean up your diet first and then drop a bit the kcal and let the program works his magic. Remember that muscle is living tissue who burn kcal just to function, if you get very muscular, you will burn more kcal period.
What do I do on my off days? You can do some light cardio, like walking or light bicycle but no more than 30mns. You can also add a little HIIT session of 10mn sprints for example but be mindful of the recovery. It should just be here to keep fat gains at bay or to speed up a bit the fat loss process. Your focus should be on getting stronger, always. Enjoy life, work on your projects and goals, go out, get some quality times with friends, family or your partner.
I am already playing soccer, so I don’t need to do legs, right? Gfto.
And here you go, everything you need to know about getting a killer start to your weight training journey! Drop your questions and comments down below, talk to you soon. If you want more help and some other guidance for training, consider checking my consulting services.
Your lightkeeper,
-Hersovyac.
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