Workout for beginners – PART II

In part one of the beginners workout series we analyzed a full body workout, we learnt proper form of executing exercises and we learnt to strengthen our muscles. So what are we going to analyze in this part of beginners program?

I am going to outline two different ways in which you can split your workout and am going to give you some example charts.

After Workout for beginners Part I, you would have gained considerable amount of energy and you will be able to control your muscles better than before. When you had little control over muscles you were able to produce only little stress on your muscle. Hence the damage on the muscles during the workout was less. But now you would be able to put even more stress on muscle and hence the damage after each workout would be greater. So its time to switch your training split. As a beginner you were training each muscle group three times a week, but after six weeks of part I program you will be stronger and able to control muscles better. So we will be switching training a muscle group three times a week to training each muscle group two times a week. This is a considerable growth in your training. And don’t get hypnotized by the pro’s workout at this point. The pro’s use nightmare quantities of steroids which make them handle huge volume. But we natural bodybuilders need to keep the sets and reps in the optimal range to get optimum results.

The Push-Pull split

By this time we would be able to feel each muscle group while doing the exercise precisely. The pushing movement involves different muscles and the pull movement involves different muscle groups. The basic criteria of splitting our workouts into push and pull is that we will work on two consecutive days and if we use the same muscle groups on both the days it will lead to overtraining. So here we split our workout into push and pull.

Muscle groups worked on the push days: chest, deltoids, triceps, quadriceps and calf
Muscle groups worked on the pull days: back, biceps, hamstring & abs

Push workout

Exercise	(Sets) x (Reps)
Squats / leg-press	3 x 8
Flat/inclined bench press	3 x 8
Military press	2 x 8
Lateral raises	2 x 12
Lying triceps extension	3 x 8
Standing calf raise	2 x 15

Pull workouts

Exercise	(Sets) x (Reps)
Deadlift	4 x 12,10,8,6
Lat pull downs	3 x 8
Bicep curls	3 x 8
Leg curls for hamstring	2 x 10
Hanging leg raise	2 x 10
Bamboo twisting	1 x 50

Workout split

SUN	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT
	Push	Pull		Push	Pull

The Upper body – Lower body split
We have analyzed why we switch to such program after six weeks. So here is another way in which you can split your workouts. We know that training legs is strenuous than any other muscle group on the body, so we have given a separate day each for the upper as well as the lower body. Without wasting time let’s go directly into the workout.

Muscle groups worked on the Upper split days: chest, deltoid, back, bicep& tricep
Muscle groups worked on the Lower split days: quadriceps, hamstring, calf & abs

Upper body split (US-I)

Exercise	(Sets) x (Reps)
Deadlift	4 x 12, 10, 8 ,6
Flat/inclined bench press	3 x 8
Dumbbell pull over	3 x 10
Military press	2 x 8
Lateral raise	2 x 12
Bicep curl	3 x 8
Lying triceps extension	3 x 8

Lower body split (LS-II)

Exercise	(Sets) x (Reps)
Squats / leg-press	3 x 8
Leg extensions	2 x 12
Leg curls for hamstring	3 x 10
Standing calf raise	2 x 12
Hanging leg raise	2 x 10
Bamboo twisting	1 x 50

Workout split

SUN	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT
	US-I	LS-II		US-I	LS-II

Now that I have outlined the two different ways of splitting your workouts for the second phase of your beginners program, you are free to choose the program which seems more challenging and interesting to you.
So this program can help you pack on some more quality muscle in the next 8 weeks.

There are lot more factors than our regular workouts which determines your progress. To know more refer to this article Maximum muscle gain.

All the best!!!

Workout for beginners – PART 1

All the teens step on the gym floor for one reason in majority – Muscular look. Though they have different goals and requirements, universally one thing that they want is muscles.

So before going into the workout charts let us analyze the basics of growth so that you can take up the workout program with confidence. Muscle Hypertrophy - is a scientific term for the growth and increase of the size of muscle cells. So, how does that occur?

Muscle hypertrophy depends on a lot of factors - in particular, The Workout (to break down the muscle tissue), Proper Nutrition (to repair the damaged cells) and Time to Recover (time to provide raw material for the muscles to repair and make it ready for the next workout).

What are Basic moves?

The moves like bench press, dead-lift and squats are known as the basics. Though chins, shoulder presses etc are also referred as basics, bench, dead-lift and squats form the basis of all bodybuilding and strength training programs.

Why should I stick to the basics?

The reason is really simple, with these three basic moves you can train almost all the muscles of the body. Bench presses for example do not train your chest alone, they train your pectorals (chest), deltoids, triceps, forearms and abs are also utilized to stabilize the body. So in a single exercise you can incorporate many muscles and maximum utilization of muscles in a single move is utilized.

Don’t copy workouts!!

My major concern about the beginners is that they tend to follow others workout easily. For them if they see a big guy in the gym, psychologically they feel that his workout is going to make them big. But it is not true. He might have many years of experience under his belt and could handle very high intensity and volume. But as a beginner, you should not get hypnotized with those guys but concentrate on your own workout. Learn the moves, progress in your lifts and build some muscles.

Warm ups

Before starting any physical activity warming up your muscles are very essential. Do some basic free hand exercises to get all the muscles and the joints ready for the lifts in your weight training session. The warm up can include neck rotation, hip rotation, shoulder rotation, bending and touching the floor and 5 mins of cycling. The advantage of warming up is that you get all the muscles and joints involved ready for the stress that they are going to withstand and avoid the chances of injury during the workouts. So don’t plunge into the weights directly. Dedicate few minutes to your warm ups so that you can really perform well in your workouts.

Starting workouts

So now everything is set and let’s go into the workout program. For a person stepping into the gym for the first time, learning the moves and handling the weights are the most important aspect of the workout.

Workout #1

Exercise	(Sets) x (Reps)
Flat bench press	2 x 10
Dumbbell over head press	2 x 10
Lat pull downs	2 x 10
Bicep curls	2 x 10
Pulley press down	2 x 10
Squats	2 x 10
Crunches	1 x 20

Workout #2

Exercise	(Sets) x (Reps)
Inclined bench press	2 x 10
Lateral raises	2 x 10
Dead lift	2 x 10
Hammer curl	2 x 10
Triceps extension with dumbbells	2 x 10
Leg press	2 x 10
Hanging knee raises	1 x 10

Schedul

SUN	MON	TUES	WED	THU	FRI	SAT
	Workout #1		Workout #2		Workout #1

So for the first six weeks of your workout you can follow this program. You will be training your muscles three times a week but with different movements.

The workout described above should be completed well within 35 mins. Just concentrate on handling the weights and learning the movements during these six weeks.

How much rest can I take between the sets?

As a basic thumb rule take rest till your breathing comes to normal and proceed with the next set of your exercise. This won’t take longer than a minute in general.If possible you can move even faster from one exercise to the other. And as you progress you will be able to reduce the rest between sets even further.

After finishing this workout take a five minute rest and do 15 mins of light cardio activity. The cardio activity can be a speed walking or moderate speed training on the elliptical machine etc.

If you consume 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight along with good quantities of carbohydrates and fats (provided the total calorie count is more than the amount of calories expended during the day) you will be adding a couple of pounds to your bodyweight in a week’s time.

This workout will help you in developing the strength & stamina and the control over weights. Wrong form can lead to injury. So don’t hesitate to check with your personal trainer in the gym about the form of each exercise.

Let us discuss about some of the routines and splits such as push-pull splits, upper body – lower body splits and some example intermediate workouts in Workout for beginners – PART II.

The workouts provided can be followed as such or some minor modifications can be done to them to suit the availability of equipments and weights in the gym. But emphases should always stay on the compound basic movements.

All the best for your progress in the gym…

My sincere thanks to Mr.Prabhakar for reviewing the program. The references in his web site(http://www.fightagingsite.com) also helped me frame this program better.