As a beginner, the most important thing to staying committed to a workout and training routine is
being committed to something that actually works. We have known for a while that the most important lifts for beginners to take advantage of “noob gains” and strength comes from compound lifts. When I first started going to the gym, I placed too much time and effort on movements that weren’t giving me the most results for the work I was putting in. I was more concerned with bicep curls, front and lateral raises, and chest flies. I of course did compound movements, but did not stick to one thing long enough. For example, I would switch around from doing dumbbell chest press, to the machine chest press, to the actual barbell bench. One thing (of many) that I wish I could go back and tell my younger self is to focus on a few, key, heavy compounds.
Key movement selection: As a beginner, everything is going to be a lagging body part or movement. Therefore, the best solution to this, since there is plenty of room to grow in all areas, is to concentrate on a few compound movements, which will cover most of your entire body. That is why the big 3 - squat, bench, and dead lift, are usually given in programs for overall strength and size whether you’re a beginner or advanced lifter, power lifter, or even bodybuilder. In addition to these, there are 2 more lifts that come second to the big three that are great. They will cover some other major muscle groups that aren’t hit as directly in the big 3. These would be the standing overhead press and bent over row. While the bench will target mainly your chest and triceps, there is shoulder involvement. The overhead press will hit your shoulders hard (and triceps) and assist other presses like barbell/dumbbell chest press (flat or incline). The bent over row will place more emphasis on your lats, than the deadlift. The Deadlift works your entire body essentially, and you do have to engage your lats for a stable back, but bent over row will assist in overall lat development and back thickness (rhomboids and trapezius). As I beginner, I would put these 5 movements at the forefront of my priorities. As you begin to advance, more emphasis can be placed on new movements, or more emphasis can be placed on certain key movements. There are also many other great compounds that can be foundational movements I have not mentioned such as dips, chin/pull-up, incline chest presses, Romanian deadlifts, front squats, and more. As a matter of fact, you can replace some of these key movements if there are personal reasons you can’t do a certain exercise like an injury (which you should work on taking care of first though) or equipment availability.
But where are the bicep curls?!
Isolation movements like the bicep curls, triceps extensions, chest flies, lateral raises, etc. should all be placed towards the end of the workout. You want to save the most amount of energy for your compound lifts, which will come first in the workout. The reason why we want to focus on the compounds first is because these will be the bread and butter movements for PROGRESSION. Progression and continually adding another set or even 1 or 2.5 pounds to a lift every workout, every other workout, etc. is the key to getting bigger and stronger. Compound lifts like the big three have the most potential for increasing the amount of weight you can put on the bar.
Finding a program for you
The best program is one that you can stick to. Adherence, commitment, and consistency are one of the most important aspects, if not the most important aspect actually, to getting started and seeing results in the gym. So, whatever program you decide to go with, stick with it. If it requires you to go to the gym too many times a week and you can’t make it, then it is useless. If you are going to few times to the gym and you have the time and want to go a lot, then do so (just make sure you don't burn yourself out). With this being said, let’s talk about what is optimal. We know from research that muscle protein synthesis (another fancy way to say the repairing and building process of muscle) lasts only 24-48 hours https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11255140. This means one should work out a muscle group 2-3 times a week for optimal results and keep MPS elevated over the span of a week. So a body part split (Chest on Monday, back on Tuesday, legs Wednesday, shoulders Thursday….) is not the most optimal. Most of the time these types of workouts are just filled with unnecessary volume for a beginner. While this is tons of fun and can be motivating since you will most likely get stronger and put on muscle regardless of what you do (assuming you eat enough) we want to maximize the process. A push, pull, legs program is a step closer to the solution. Here is a good article online that covers various PPL approaches if you’re further interested: http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/push-pull-legs-split/. The best type of workout routine for a beginner, as it is even for intermediates and even some advanced lifters, is an Upper Lower split, or full body. An upper lower split will typically be scheduled days like this: Upper, Lower, Off, Upper Lower, Off, Off, repeat. A Full body program is typically ran 2x or 3x a week. So, it might be Monday/Thursday, or Tuesday/Thursday for 2x a week, or it might be something like Monday, Wednesday, Friday for 3x a week. As long as there is always a rest day in between the workouts, you will generally be fine. You do not want to do a full body day back to back. These two types of programs are very lenient and allow you to get to the gym and not take up every day of your week. They are much more practical and can give more results.
Example Workout of Upper/Lower Split: (sets x reps)
Upper A
Barbell Flat Bench 3-4 x 3-5
Barbell Bent Over Row 3-4 x 3-5
Incline Dumbbell bench 3-4 x 3-5
Lat Pulldown 3-4 x 6-8
Dumbbell curl 3 x 6-10
Skull Crushers 3 x 6-10
Lateral Raise 3 x 8-12
Lower A
Barbell Squat 4x6
Bulgarian Split Squat 3x8
Hamstring Curl3x10
Leg extension 3x10-12
Calves
Abs/Core work
Upper B
Standing Overhead Press 4x6
Chin up 4x6-8
Incline Dumbbell Press 3-4 x 8-10
One Arm Dumbbell Row 3-4 x 8-10
Lateral Raise 3x12
Curls 3 x 8-12
Cable Triceps Extension 3 x 8-12
Lower B
Leg press 4x8-10
Romanian or Stiff Legged Deadlift 3 x 10
Leg extension 3 x 10-12
Goblet Squats 3x10-12
Calves
Abs/Core work
Example Workout of Full Body:
If 2x a week then you would do A then B. If it was 3x a week you would do A, B, A, then next week B, A, B and repeat (for this particular example).
Full Body A:
Squat 5x5 Bench 5x5 Chin Ups 4x6-8 Romanian Deadlift 4x6-8 Barbell Curls 3x8-10 Skull Crushers 3x8-10
Full Body B:
Squat 5x5 Standing Overhead Press 5x5 Deadlift 1x5 Incline Dumbbell Press 4x6-8 Dumbbell Rows 4x6-8 Chest Flies 3x 8-10
Sets and Reps: As a beginner, reps and sets are very important, but the manipulation of these reps and sets is not a huge deal. Advanced lifters, especially powerlifters, will need to periodize their training (basically manipulate the reps and sets based off of percentages, it can vary day to day, week to week, include different cycles of intensities, etc) just to see any strength or muscle gains. When you first start off, linear progress is the easiest way to go and will be sufficient as periodization isn’t quite necessary. Linear progress is just adding weight to the bar every workout or adding another rep. In the novice phase, you will want to milk the linear gains on your key lifts as much as you can. This means all you have to do is pick a rep and set scheme to start, and improve. If you can do 100 pounds on bench for 3 sets of 8 reps, then try get 105 for 3x8 next workout. Or try to get 100 pounds for 3 sets of 10. You might get 100 pounds for 10,8,8. Next work out try to get 10,9,8, and then 10,9,9, etc. until you get 10,10,10. The move up to 105 pounds. Whatever rep range you’re working in, whether it be 3-5 or 8-10, getting better by adding a rep or adding weight is what really matters.
As there are many variables to every person and every goal, there can and always will be an exception. Everyone is different and responds to certain stimuli differently, but for the majority of lifters, the above info will apply. There are various lifting philosophies, but these are the foundational things to know when you first start. There are also many other things to keep in mind that don’t involve the movement selection and workout regimen such as rest, nutrition, and exercise form. If you ever have any questions about anything related to this article, or any general fitness questions, please email me at minerfitness1@gmail.com or use the contact section of my website.
This information is for educational purposes only. I am not a doctor. None this is medical advice. Everything here has been gathered through personal experience and personal research. If you are going to start a physical activity regime, you should consult your physician.