I hope this will help beginners and first time readers and also some intermediate lifters who are looking for a new routine.
First a few basic points to consider.
1/ Don't copy the workout routines of advanced guys that are already big, and strong.
The training style of someone who is already strong, and has experiance under his belt maybe very different to a newbie. Don't look at these guys training styles and think that you need to train their way straight off. These guys have built up their work capacity, and also through experiance, know how to fine tune a workout to address their own personal strengths and weaknesses.
2/ No one single training style is optimal for everyone.
There are many styles of training and while a training system maybe optimal for someone at a given time, no one training style will be optimal, for everyone, at all times. We must experiment and find what works for us as an individual, because thats what you are, unique, so while somebody else may gain well on program A, program B may be more suited to you. The best way to find out? Try!
3/ Keep your routine simple, basic and focus on getting stronger.
The best thing a new lifter can do is train to get stronger on the core lifts, compound (multi-joint) movements:
Squats
Deadlifts
Bench
Rows
Dips
Chins
Overhead pressing
These are the things to focus on, and get good at. Think how much bigger you'd be if you concentrated on the above lifts for a year or two and added significant amounts of weight to each! I'm not suggesting to leave out isolation (single-joint) exercises, these are certainly beneficial but the above movements and their variations are the money makers especially for beginners.
4/ Avoid extremes to begin with.
At either end of the spectrum we have lifters that perform high workloads of 20 (ish) sets per body part. At the other we have the single set to failure (SSTF) lifters who use just one work set per exercise but take that one set to it's absolute limit (failure) and possibly beyond using set extending techniques. I am of the opinion that for the majority of beginners to intermediate lifters that moderation is the key. Moderate workloads (volume) and muscular failure avoided for the most part. This results in a decent load on the muscular system while helping to avoid the systematic fatigue caused by too much use of taking sets to failure and possibly beyond.
Examples of full body routines.
Full body routines are very effective for beginners. Here are links to 3 very effective full body programs.
A Simple Beginner's Routine by All Pro
The Official Rippetoe -Starting Strength FAQ
Madcows 5x5
A simple 3 day routine. Each bodypart once per week. Each exercise 2-4 sets, reps 5-8.
Back/Bis
Deadlifts
A Row
Chins or Pulldows
Bicep Curl
Chest/Tris
Bench
DB or Inc Bench
Chest Dips
Triceps Isolation
Legs/Shoulders
Squat
GHR (Glute Ham Raise)
Military Press
Calf Work
A rotation that hits each bodypart once every 4-5 days.
1.
Squat 2-3 x 5, 1 x 10
Ham Work 3 x 8
BB Row 4 x 6
Bicep Iso 2 x 10
2.
Bench Press 3 x 5
Dips 3 x 8
Side Laterals 3 x 10
Tricep Iso 2 x 10
3.
Deadlift 3 x 5
Leg Press 2 x 10 or 1 x 20
Pullups 20-40 reps
Bicep Iso 2 x 10
4.
DB or Incline Bench 3 x 5
Flyes 3 x 8-12
OH Press 3 x 6-8
Tricep Iso 2 x 10
Workout on Mon/Wed/Fri/Mon and alternate workouts 1/2/3/4 etc...
Another rotation that hits each bodypart once every 4-5 days but using a little more volume.
1.
Squats 3 x 5, 1 x 10
Ham Work 3 x 8-10
Pullups 20-40 reps
BB Rows 4 x 6
Curls 2 x 10
2.
DB or Incline Bench 2 x 5, 2 x 8
Dips 2 x 8
DB OH Press 3 x 8
Side Laterals 2 x 10
Skulls 2 x 10
3.
Deadlifts 2-3 x 5
Leg Press 2 x 10 or 1 x 20
Chins 20-40 reps
DB Rows 3 x 8
Curls 2 x 10
4.
Bench Press 2 x 5, 2 x 8
DB Flyes 2 x 8-12
Military Press 3 x 8
Side Laterals 2 x 10
Skulls 2 x 10
Workout on Mon/Wed/Fri/Mon and alternate workouts 1/2/3/4 etc...
A favorite of mine that hits each bodypart twice per week.
Day 1
4x Squats: 5 reps
3x Ham Work: 8 reps
3x BB or DB Row: 8 reps
2x Bicep Curls: 10 reps
Day 2
4x Bench Press: 5 reps
3x Military Press: 8 reps
3x Tricep Isolation: 8 reps
2x Ab/Calf Work: 15 reps
Day 3
4x Deadlifts: 5 reps
3x Pullups: 8 reps
3x Leg Press: 8 reps
2x Biceps Curls: 10 reps
Day 4
4x DB or Incline Press: 5 reps
3x Chest Dips: 8 reps
3x Side Lateral Raise: 8 reps
2x Ab/Calf Work: 15 reps
Day 1: On
Day 2: On
Day 3: Off
Day 4: On
Day 5: Off
Day 6: On
Day 7: Off
A simple 4 day upper/lower.
Mon.
Squat 2-3 x 5
Ham Work 3 x 10
Calves 3 x 15
Abs 2 x 10
Wed.
Bench Press 3 x 5
BB or DB Row 3 x 6, 1 x 15
OH Press 3 x 8
Arms -Tri/Bi - each 3 x 8-10
Fri.
Deadlift Variant 2-3 x 5
Leg Press 2 x 10 or 1 x 20
Calves 3 x 15
Abs 2 x 10
Sun.
Incline bench 3 x 10-15
Pullups 20-40 reps
Dips 2 x 8-12
Lateral Raise 3 x 8-10
A couple of examples of 2 day per week training.
Each bodypart 1x a week.
Chest, Shoulders, Triceps.
Bench or Dips
Incline Bench (optional)
OH Press
Side Laterals
Tricep Isolation
Legs, Back, Biceps.
Squat or Deadlifts
Leg Press (optional)
Pullups
Rowing Lift
Bicep Curl
Hitting each major bodypart 2x per week.
Workout 1.
Squats
BB or DB Row
Bench
Incline Bench
Bicep Curl
Workout 2.
Deadlifts
Pullups
Dips
OH Press
Tricep Isolation
A 10 day strength/hypertrophy rotation.
Day 1: Heavy Upper
Day 2:
Day 3: Heavy Lower
Day 4:
Day 5: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
Day 6: Back, Biceps
Day 7:
Day 8: Legs
Day 9:
Day 10:
Repeat, or Repeat on Day 10
Day 1 - Heavy Upper.
Bench 3 x 3 or 3 x 5 or work up to a 1RM
Row 3 x 5
OH Press 3 x 5
Day 3 - Heavy Lower.
Squats 3 x 3 or 3 x 5 or work up to a 1RM
GHR 3 x 5
Calves 3 x 6
Days 5-8 All exercises are 2-4 sets of 8-15 reps.
Day 5 - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps.
Bench or Dips
DB Flyes
Side Lateral Raises
Front Lateral Raises
Tricep Isolation
Day 6 - Back, Biceps.
Wide Grip Chins
Rows
Pulldowns
Shrugs
Curls
Day 8 - Legs.
Squat Variant
GHR
Leg Press
Ham Work
Calf Work
NOTE: The above routine can also be condensed into the 7 day week for those that can tolerate the workload. Monday and Tuesday would be heavy upper and heavy lower, Wednesday would be off followed by the higher rep work on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sunday off and repeat. This is based on the training style of Layne Norton. Before you try this however be sure that you can tolerate training 5 days per week, this would be suited to more advanced lifters.
Routine Summary.
The routines above are not set in stone, you may like to adjust sets and/or reps to suit you but they serve as a basic template.
A routine to get you big and strong doesn't need to be filled with loads of "stuff" just heavy work on the important lifts at a frequency that you personally can recover from. If you decide to put together your own program remember to keep it
Simple
Basic
Focus on big lifts
Strength Progression
Add to this a decent diet, and you'll make good progress.
How to deload.
A "deload" is a period of time typically a week where either less intensity, volume and/or frequency, or a combination of all three is used to allow accumulated fatigue to dissipitate. A deload is usually recommended every 4-6 weeks (approx). An example would be to train just once or twice during that week using less intensity and/or volume than usual. You're usually stronger coming back off a deload and often this is when PR's are set. It's an invaluable tool in our box of tricks.
All the best with your training and in reaching your goals.
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