A Simple Beginner's Routine

[JustWorkOut]

allpro i realise you have to do 28 sets in this program, which is a long while in the gym. what is the point of doing 2 warmup sets if you have prepared with some good stretching? Could you just do 1 warmup and then 2 work sets?

I understand it is recomended to do both warmup sets in the beginning weeks to get used to the form and adapt. would it be detrimental to size gains if after that you just warmed up with 1 set?

Ya don't have to do any warmup sets if you don't want to, that is up to you.
Just remember that if you are not warmed up properly, that you risk serious injury to your muscles/joints/cartilage. And these injuries can set you back weeks, months, years, and even last a lifetime.

Everybody warms up differently but after researching the subject, I do joint rotations for 2 minutes to "lubricate" them, then light cardio for 3 minutes to warm-up my body and get the blood flowing, then maybe one minute of dynamic stretching, and then I start the workout. Thus giving me a 6 minute warmup BEFORE I do a warmup set.

It takes me about 55 minutes to do this workup which includes the warmup, and ab ripper x at the end.

You also don't need to warmup for the last 3 exercies listed, but I do one set of half weight for each.
So I am doing 3 sets less, so it is 25 sets for me, with 1 minute between sets (although I may increase this for week 5 to 70 seconds), and some sets take less than 1 minute.

Good luck!!!!

[michealmyers]

Ya don't have to do any warmup sets if you don't want

It takes me about 55 minutes to do this workup which includes the warmup, and ab ripper x at the end.

I think I'm going to do that same thing. Since I've been bulking I haven't really concentrated on my abs much at all. I did 2 rounds of P90x and ab ripper definitely hits em. I think I'll give what your doing a go as well.

[all pro]

Alright, I can keep balance, I was just trying to hard to keep my knees behind my toes.


The bar kinda hurts my shoulders from resting on them, Do i just have to suck it up or is there an easier way?
Its not preventing me from finishing, but of course i want to be as comfortable as possible.

I wussed out and bought a pad for the bar. You can wrap a towel around it.

[all pro]

allpro i realise you have to do 28 sets in this program, which is a long while in the gym. what is the point of doing 2 warmup sets if you have prepared with some good stretching? Could you just do 1 warmup and then 2 work sets?

I understand it is recomended to do both warmup sets in the beginning weeks to get used to the form and adapt. would it be detrimental to size gains if after that you just warmed up with 1 set?

You only have to do warm up sets for the first 4 exercises. Also if you follow the rest intervals I suggested you can still do the whole thing in an hour.

[whammer33024]

i think it takes me around 45-55 minutes to complete this whole thing. 45 for the light days and maybe 55 for the heavy days. but its under an hour for sure

[Frankfrank93]

I was just finding some maxes yesterday and my legs and back were kinda sore. First time i've ever done that type of exercise.

then after school I did some cardio, 10 minute warm up, 30-40 second sprints X 8 then a small cool down. I am used to running a lot cause I run track and cross country.
Does cardio really effect your results? Even if you are used to it?

Also, in order to gain fat of course you burn more calories than you take in, so in order to build muscle do you have to eat a lot more calories?

so would running everyday during the week murder my results, even if i eat a lot?

[superbad691]

Confused about Sldls every video i look at i see different ways to do them. Even in this thread different videos. All pro you think you can post a video on how you want them done?

[fireace]

I PM'd you a few months back, for for the rest of the folks here, I am a firefighter who got injured in a fire, and was down for the count for quite some time. I Just wanted to get back to the gym in the attempt to try and get back to where I was before, but I'm well past where I was with this.

I'm about to start my 5th cycle of this this monday and I've made huge gains in both strength and size, more than I expected. Ive gone up by the 10% at the start of a new cycle every time so far.

Again I'd like to thank you for this, its been great and I plan on continuing it.

P.S. I added in tricept pulldowns, and shoulder raises with some abs and 15 mins of cardio after. The whole routine is around an hour of lifting, and 20-25 abs/cardio, if anyone was curious.

[ckybam69]

I just started this routine after a lot of research. Did my second workout last night.

I'm a pretty decent size guy, and this is the first attempt at real weight lifting Ive ever done.

I'm hoping I get these "newbie gains" sooner rather than later. I cant believe how weak I am!

Of course, I sit at a desk all day and was obese all my life and have been cutting for 125lbs....heres where most of my starting weights are in order to finish the sets and reps:

155 Squat
115 Bench
95 Overhead Press
135 SLDL

..Im having a hard time even acheiving a bent-over row because my upper legs are so weak after doing squats its tough to get into the form.

I think this is a great beginner routine though. Im sure my muscles will adjust within the next couple weeks.

Those are around the weights i started with and after go through this i was able to up the weights 10 percent. Dont worry about the weights as much as proper form. Also you dont have to be down real low for the rows its more important that ur back is straight.

Also can someone answer my questions that got lost in this thread somewhere? sorry to post twice but here we go:

All Pro I had a couple questions for you.

I have read through these pages and been reading your responses since you cover so much information. I read somewhere that you said a warmup is only really necessary for the first 4 exercises and since im very busy i dropped the warmup for the other exercises. My question is should i do an extra set (like 3 sets of 8) or just up the weights? I ask because i dont feel as worked on the ones that i dropped the warm up from.

Also my abs are the only part of my body i have seen absolutely no gains in. My stomach is kinda chubby so i would like to get some tight abs. is it ok to add in an ab workout on the 3 days and if so what is a good ab workout you suggest and what is the rep/weight progression i should look at for abs?

thanks for you valuable time you are the best AllPro!!!

[JustWorkOut]

Those are around the weights i started with and after go through this i was able to up the weights 10 percent. Dont worry about the weights as much as proper form. Also you dont have to be down real low for the rows its more important that ur back is straight.

Also can someone answer my questions that got lost in this thread somewhere? sorry to post twice but here we go:

All Pro I had a couple questions for you.

I have read through these pages and been reading your responses since you cover so much information. I read somewhere that you said a warmup is only really necessary for the first 4 exercises and since im very busy i dropped the warmup for the other exercises. My question is should i do an extra set (like 3 sets of 8) or just up the weights? I ask because i dont feel as worked on the ones that i dropped the warm up from.

Also my abs are the only part of my body i have seen absolutely no gains in. My stomach is kinda chubby so i would like to get some tight abs. is it ok to add in an ab workout on the 3 days and if so what is a good ab workout you suggest and what is the rep/weight progression i should look at for abs?

thanks for you valuable time you are the best AllPro!!!

You NEED to lose weight for abs!!! More ab exercises/weight ain't going to do it.

[JustWorkOut]

I was just finding some maxes yesterday and my legs and back were kinda sore. First time i've ever done that type of exercise.

then after school I did some cardio, 10 minute warm up, 30-40 second sprints X 8 then a small cool down. I am used to running a lot cause I run track and cross country.
Does cardio really effect your results? Even if you are used to it?

Also, in order to gain fat of course you burn more calories than you take in, so in order to build muscle do you have to eat a lot more calories?

so would running everyday during the week murder my results, even if i eat a lot?

Yep, cuz you are working different fiiber types within the muscles.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/a...eFiberType.htm

[ineedyourhelp]

Hi I have a question:

I've just finished your program for a full cycle. I think I've read that each rep you increase is an overall weight of 3% (so 3%x5 weeks = 15% total increase in weight). Now that I've reset (week 6) to 10% more weight at 8 reps haven't I back tracked on the amount I'm lifting again? Is that part of the deloading?

[ckybam69]

You NEED to lose weight for abs!!! More ab exercises/weight ain't going to do it.

Im 5'11 and 160lbs i just have like excess skin there ( i worded that first statement wrong). so what do i do in that case? its not really fat and im very far from fat.

[all pro]

I was just finding some maxes yesterday and my legs and back were kinda sore. First time i've ever done that type of exercise.

then after school I did some cardio, 10 minute warm up, 30-40 second sprints X 8 then a small cool down. I am used to running a lot cause I run track and cross country.
Does cardio really effect your results? Even if you are used to it?

Also, in order to gain fat of course you burn more calories than you take in, so in order to build muscle do you have to eat a lot more calories?

so would running everyday during the week murder my results, even if i eat a lot?

Excessive cardio will retard strength gains. If you aren't running long distance track right now then you are better off to High Intensity Interval Training. That's just a series of short distance all out runs. You can get the same cardio benefits with out paying a price for doing long, slow, steady running.

[all pro]

Confused about Sldls every video i look at i see different ways to do them. Even in this thread different videos. All pro you think you can post a video on how you want them done?

[all pro]

Those are around the weights i started with and after go through this i was able to up the weights 10 percent. Dont worry about the weights as much as proper form. Also you dont have to be down real low for the rows its more important that ur back is straight.

Also can someone answer my questions that got lost in this thread somewhere? sorry to post twice but here we go:

All Pro I had a couple questions for you.

I have read through these pages and been reading your responses since you cover so much information. I read somewhere that you said a warmup is only really necessary for the first 4 exercises and since im very busy i dropped the warmup for the other exercises. My question is should i do an extra set (like 3 sets of 8) or just up the weights? I ask because i dont feel as worked on the ones that i dropped the warm up from.

Also my abs are the only part of my body i have seen absolutely no gains in. My stomach is kinda chubby so i would like to get some tight abs. is it ok to add in an ab workout on the 3 days and if so what is a good ab workout you suggest and what is the rep/weight progression i should look at for abs?

thanks for you valuable time you are the best AllPro!!!

If you aren't warmed up after the first 4 exercises you've done something wrong. I included warm ups for everything because some people are really not comfortable or confident with out them. The first 4 exercises have already worked your entire body. There's no need to do anything extra to make up for dropping the warm up sets. Abs are the very last place that the human body gives up fat. Sad but true. Everyone is different but for me knee ups and pull overs work the best. Weighted crunches work well for others. A low percentage of body fat is the secret to getting a 6 pack. You can do ab work until you puke but until you get down to 10-12% body fat you wont be sporting a 6 pack.

[all pro]

Hi I have a question:

I've just finished your program for a full cycle. I think I've read that each rep you increase is an overall weight of 3% (so 3%x5 weeks = 15% total increase in weight). Now that I've reset (week 6) to 10% more weight at 8 reps haven't I back tracked on the amount I'm lifting again? Is that part of the deloading?

That's the built in deload.

[all pro]

Im 5'11 and 160lbs i just have like excess skin there ( i worded that first statement wrong). so what do i do in that case? its not really fat and im very far from fat.

1) Patience.
2) Find an ab exercise that you feel the day after. That's the one that's getting the attention of your abs. At 5'11" 160 keep the reps in the mid range, 10-15 and do 2-3 sets. Try weighted crunches. If you have access to a roman chair try weighted knee ups. Try pull overs. Your abs are the largest muscle group you have and they work in several different directions. The trick is to find the direction or combination of directions that work best for you.

[thisismarcus]

Quick question:

As to the warmups... on your 'lighter days', are they 25% & 50% of your heavy day lifts or of your light days max lifts...

For example: If you bench 100 (to keep the math simple), on your heavy day you'd do
25, 50, 100, 100

On your second day, doing 90%, do you do:
1) 25, 50, 90, 90
or
2) 22.5, 45, 90, 90

I'm hoping it's the first one, because the constant change is making me work to hard with my lack of math skills.

Hope this makes sense.
-Marcus

[all pro]

Quick question:

As to the warmups... on your 'lighter days', are they 25% & 50% of your heavy day lifts or of your light days max lifts...

For example: If you bench 100 (to keep the math simple), on your heavy day you'd do
25, 50, 100, 100

On your second day, doing 90%, do you do:
1) 25, 50, 90, 90
or
2) 22.5, 45, 90, 90

I'm hoping it's the first one, because the constant change is making me work to hard with my lack of math skills.

Hope this makes sense.
-Marcus

I don't bother resetting the warm ups. I just leave them were they are all week.

[whammer33024]

quick question allpro...since i failed my overhead press in my 3rd week, should i finish the week still doing 10 reps or drop it immediately? and i think i can get that weight up this time around so i'm not going to be dropping any weight next week when i start at 8 again

[FitnessandTan]

thanks for this great fitness workout.

[all pro]

quick question allpro...since i failed my overhead press in my 3rd week, should i finish the week still doing 10 reps or drop it immediately? and i think i can get that weight up this time around so i'm not going to be dropping any weight next week when i start at 8 again

Don't change anything. Keep going. If failure happens on the first work set skip the second work set. You will have to repeat the weight on the next cycle.

NOTE TO EVERYONE. FAILURE WILL HAPPEN.

As I've said repeatedly throughout the one million pages that this thread has become, this little program is a lot tougher and a lot more aggressive then it looks. If you blow the first work out you have 2 more shots at it. The medium and the lite work out from week 3 on, aren't all that medium or lite.

[superbad691]

thx all pro for clearing it up. Also i wanted to ask you something else some of my lifts are higher then others. Right now my chest is the strongest. will the muscles even out?? will my chest start to stall as my squat and sldls go up or something like that???

[all pro]

thx all pro for clearing it up. Also i wanted to ask you something else some of my lifts are higher then others. Right now my chest is the strongest. will the muscles even out?? will my chest start to stall as my squat and sldls go up or something like that???

In the end you can expect squats to be from 1/3 to 1/2 stronger then bench. The old bench mark was to squat 400 and bench 300 for 1 rep. At that level rows will be just slightly stronger that bench and over head press will be about 3/4 of bench. Those are VERY rough numbers but it does seem to work out that way for most people with the exception of power lifters and olympic lifters. Their squat numbers tend to be double their bench numbers. Again VERY rough numbers.

[j.coop]

Hey, I'm just starting out, and I won't be able to go down by 10% and 20% for medium and lite workouts as I'm so weak, and my gym only has weights to add to the bars in sets of 5kg.

For example, say I benched 35kg, then to go down 10% I'd need to go down to 31.5kg, and to do 20% less I'd need to go down 20% I'd need to bench 28kg, but obviously, I can only go down in steps of 5kg as they are the only weights, so 35-30-25kg.

So, would it be alright to keep using a constant weight throughout the week? Or will this hugely affect gains?

[avfc89]

I just want to say thanks to allpro. Ive been using this routine for 3 cycles now and its been way more effective than the routines i constructed myself. Im gonna stick to programmed routines from now on.

[throbby]

hi started this routine this week

do i have to change from heavy meduim light

as i dont have enough weight plates to do this with

eg squat 40kg (2x20kg)
after 5th week if i buy a few plates 10% OF 40kg = 8KG
they dont sell 8kg can i buy 2 x 5kgs

i only have

2x 10kgs
2x 20kgs

and some dumbells
starter kit up 15kg

4 x 2.5kgs
4 x 1.25kgs
2x handels

was thinking of buying more
2x20kg



to add to squat bar and bench bar
eg bench 20kgs up to 40kgs

and then put the 2 10kgs on squat bar to make 60kg

i have two bars going as it pain in the arse to change weights for each exercise

im doing the barbells curls with dumblells concentration curls with 10kg

i need a curly bar and more plates

what should i buy when it to 5th week

seems silly for me to just add 4kg for my increase
ill end up with 100s of 1.25 kg plates

what is the best amd most practical way to do this
as in plates i should purchase

they are $3 a kg in australia

[all pro]

hi started this routine this week

do i have to change from heavy meduim light

as i dont have enough weight plates to do this with

eg squat 40kg (2x20kg)
after 5th week if i buy a few plates 10% OF 40kg = 8KG
they dont sell 8kg can i buy 2 x 5kgs

i only have

2x 10kgs
2x 20kgs

and some dumbells
starter kit up 15kg

4 x 2.5kgs
4 x 1.25kgs
2x handels

was thinking of buying more
2x20kg



to add to squat bar and bench bar
eg bench 20kgs up to 40kgs

and then put the 2 10kgs on squat bar to make 60kg

i have two bars going as it pain in the arse to change weights for each exercise

im doing the barbells curls with dumblells concentration curls with 10kg

i need a curly bar and more plates

what should i buy when it to 5th week

seems silly for me to just add 4kg for my increase
ill end up with 100s of 1.25 kg plates

what is the best amd most practical way to do this
as in plates i should purchase

they are $3 a kg in australia

When in doubt go lighter. In other words round down even if that means that the medium and the lite work out use the same work set weight. You'll get stronger soon enough and need to buy some more plates. Oh and check out your local dump. Believe it or not people throw out metal weight plates all the time. I've got over 1000 pounds of standard metal weight plates but I only bought about 250 pounds!

[Typhus]

A Simple beginner's Routine
You will do 3 work outs per week on non consecutive days. The first work out is your heavy work out. The second work out is your medium work out, use 10% less weight for your work sets. The final work out for the week is your lite work out, use 20% less weight.

Do a lite warm up with 1/4 of your work sets weight. Do a medium warm up with 1/2 of your work sets weight. Do 2 work sets with the same weight. Choose a starting weight and start light.

These are the seven exercises you will be starting with.

Squats
Bench Presses
Bent-Over Rows
Overhead Barbell Presses
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
Barbell Curls
Calf Raises

You will be running this program on a five week cycle as follows:
The first week do all 4 sets for 8 reps.
The second week do all 4 sets for 9 reps.
The third week do all 4 sets for 10 reps.
The fourth week do all 4 sets for 11 reps.
The fifth week do all 4 sets for 12 reps.
If you got all of the required reps on the fifth week then increase the weight by 10% and

repeat the cycle. If you didn't get all of the reps on the fifth week then repeat the cycle with the same weight. You shouldn't need more than one minute rest between the warm up sets and you shouldn't need more than one minute thirty seconds between the work sets.
Do some cardio and abs work on non weight training days.

Hello i have a quick question. I followed SS for about 3 months and finally moved on to the texas method described in PP which i have been on for about a further 3 months. I have seen fantastic strength gains but my overall size has not increased a huge amount tho ofcourse it has increased. Would u recommend this program for someone like me looking to focus a little more on size and take a bit of the focus away from strength training?. Im only asking because i dont really see myself as a complete begineer anymore. Also i love to do cardio but a big problem i have had with both SS and the texas method is as soon as i do cardio on off days normally twice a week all my lifts drop squats and deadlifts being the lifts that drops the most is there anyway around this?.

Thanks for any help.