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!!!