A Simple Beginner's Routine

[all pro]

First off I would like to thank AP (and many others) for keeping up with this topic for what......... over 2.5 years!!!!! That alone helps assure me they know their stuff and results will show if I just stick to it!!

That being said, I have been reading many replies to this and taking notes in preparation to begin it myself! I know I am not the brightest math student but with a calculator I can determine my workouts if I can just figure out my 3rd and 4th set "work weight" for Mondays! I tried using the calculator here but still needing advice:

For instance: Bench= 125lb. @ 4X8 (fairly easy/unassisted) ok stop laughing I'm a noob!!!
My calculations say:
WK1=Monday= 1st set 31.25lbX8 2nd set 62.5lbX8 3rd&4th set 125lbX8
10%< Wed. = 1st set 28.125X8 2nd set 56.25X8 3rd&4th set 112.5lbX8
20%< Fri. = 1st set 25lbX8 2nd set 50lbX8 3rd&4th set 100lbX8

My only concern is by 3rd/4th weeks will I be able to get in 10/11 reps? I want to push myself but these numbers seem high! Think I should lower the 125lb weight? Wish I had workout partner to help push/spot me! Sorry for the lenghty post and thanks in advance for any help!!!!


T.

What is your 10 rep max? That's the correct starting weight.

[all pro]

finished a good 3 cycles of this and gained like 20 pounds, and definite progress. all except biceps, which, no matter how hard i try to convince myself its grown, can't. since the bicep curl is an isolation exercise and an additional one, would it be alright if i switched it to dumbell curl+concentration curl and only do biceps twice a week? maybe that way i'll see more results..

?

What weight are you using for bent over row?

[all pro]

Read it the other day somewhere in this thread but can't find it again. What are the workouts I should be doing the 2 warmup sets for? The ones that don't need the warmup sets; am I just supposed to do 4 regular sets of the same weight?

The first 4 exercises REQUIRE the warm up sets. After that it's up to you. You do 2 warm up sets, 2 work sets. The 2 work sets use the same weight.

[all pro]

So I'm on the tail end of my 11 rep week, 2nd cycle. I love the workout and I haven't really come close to stalling.

I have taken in all of All pro's advice and I think I even corrected my issue with anaerobic endurance with creatine and some preworkout fruit.

I'll update my progress once I start my 3rd cycle. Interestingly enough my squats have gone down drastically, because I discovered the difference between ATG squats and parallel squats. I started this cycle at 180 and have since dropped all the way to 135 for form's sake.

I have pretty much dominated every exercise in this cycle, but randomly only managed 6 curls on my second set of heavy day this week.

I have also kind of stopped doing calves which I'm sure isn't a good thing, but I was wondering about the potential repercussion. My calves are disproportionately jacked to the rest of my body which is certainly strange. I didn't really feel like the calf portion of this workout was effective for me. I definitely felt like I could move up in weight everyday.

I don't know. Should I resume calves?

You don't have to squat ATG. You do have to make sure that your hips are below your knees. Your calves get a lot more work then you think they're getting with this program.

[all pro]

First of all I want to thank you for your very effective workout I am about to finish my second cycle and about to start a third

Taking the advice from this board I have decided on a 5x5 as my next workout

that being said I want to do a 5x5 with power cleans in it and since I have never done power cleans before I was wondering if it would be suggested to start doing power cleans or hanging cleans instead of bent over rows in your workou. To work up for a 5x5

I LUV power cleans but don't add them or trade them for bent over rows with this program. I didn't make any adjustments for them.

[all pro]

what u mean by forgiving, does it mean yes in a way

It means yes. Higher rep programs with moderate volume like this one work pretty well when running on reduced calories.

[all pro]

I am almost finished with the 3rd week of the 1st cycle. Before I started getting in shape, I weighed in at 260lbs. I cut calories and did a low carb diet and got down to 230lbs in about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. I know that's fast, too fast probably. However, I stopped and started eating regularly and started this program. I do the routine as prescribed with at least 30 minutes of cardio and about 20 to 30 minutes of abs Sun, Tue, and Thur. Saturday is my day off. I am taking VP2 Whey Protein Isolate 30 minutes before training and immediately after for both cardio and lifting. I am also taking Ripped Fuel Fat Burner, Omega 3-6-9, and a multi-vitamin. Like I said, when I started this routine I was 230lbs. I am now 240lbs. In almost 3 weeks time, is it normal to gain 10 lbs of muscle or am I doing something wrong and is this fat gain? My daily caloric intake is probably between 1500 and 2100. Just wondering where the weight gain is coming from, whether muscle or fat. My clothes still fit loose but I don't see any differences in my build. I just want to take off the fat and put on a little muscle. I'm 6'1" 240lbs right now. I'd like to see low 230s or even 220s if possible, by June. Thanks again for keeping this thread alive. It has helped a lot of people get started!

I hope you took your waste measurement before hand. If your waste is expanding then you're gaining fat. No guess work required! At 6'1" 10 pounds might not look like much. The other way to check would be to take an unflexed bicep measurement and a flexed measurement. If unflexed increases and flexed doesn't you're gaining fat. Unfortunately both of these methods require a before measurement.

[davco]

I started this workout last week but had to restart since I could only lift on monday last week. Let me say this....my legs were screaming all week.

It has been good to go twice (three times tomorrow) this week and I'm getting excited at having actual goals and a plan to achieve them (instead of just saying "I want to be strong").

Question about the warm ups. I know the first four exercises (I feel like I need them for deads too) require them. Does this mean that we should only do the two work sets or just do four work sets on the other exercises? I've been doing slight "warmups" but they aren't dead on the percentage given for a usual "warmup"...I've lifted more.

[all pro]

I started this workout last week but had to restart since I could only lift on monday last week. Let me say this....my legs were screaming all week.

It has been good to go twice (three times tomorrow) this week and I'm getting excited at having actual goals and a plan to achieve them (instead of just saying "I want to be strong").

Question about the warm ups. I know the first four exercises (I feel like I need them for deads too) require them. Does this mean that we should only do the two work sets or just do four work sets on the other exercises? I've been doing slight "warmups" but they aren't dead on the percentage given for a usual "warmup"...I've lifted more.

Only TWO work sets! You need the warm ups for the first 4 exercises. After that it's your call. Do not add work sets. If you do you be crushed on weeks 3, 4 and 5. Don't do it.

[davco]

Only TWO work sets! You need the warm ups for the first 4 exercises. After that it's your call. Do not add work sets. If you do you be crushed on weeks 3, 4 and 5. Don't do it.

Yes sir. Thanks.

[JustWorkOut]

finished a good 3 cycles of this and gained like 20 pounds, and definite progress. all except biceps, which, no matter how hard i try to convince myself its grown, can't. since the bicep curl is an isolation exercise and an additional one, would it be alright if i switched it to dumbell curl+concentration curl and only do biceps twice a week? maybe that way i'll see more results..

?

I'm on 4th cycle 5th week and I'm getting small stretch marks on the tip of my biceps.
Maybe I should slow down???

Anyway, I use dumbbells, and concentrate on not moving my body while doing the curls, so that my biceps are doing all the work. I think form is really important with this exercise for the best results.

[boxerboxer]

All Pro, first off, thanks so much for putting this together and answering millions of questions. I've read about half the pages in this thread and learned a ton.

I made it through a full cycle and 2 weeks of the second. Everything was going great. Then this past week my right shoulder stared to hurt right where the joint is, roughly, mostly when I raised my arm up from my side with elbow bent. Most of my range of motion is ok, or at least liveable. I did lift once on it but it got a little worse so I've temporarily stopped lifting and am just doing cardio for now. I know that too much cardio sort of counteracts strength training but my goal right now is to get body fat down around 12 or 13% so I'm not terribly concerned about lifting progess in the short term. What I want to know is, what can I do to heal faster, and are there any tips you can offer? I should probably just go see a doctor I don't know if I can afford the out-of-pocket cost right now.

I don't know if this is really the right place to post this but you seem to have a lot of great knowledge about this stuff.

Thanks,
bb

[Gdogs727]

Deadlifts and squats still going up while im cutting. I will have to wait till i bulk to increase the numbers on my other lifts failing on the second set

[DerekKirbow]

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.

what do you suggest for abs?

[DerekKirbow]

What is your 10 rep max? That's the correct starting weight.

i have seen a chart that helps you determine your 1 rep max...anyone seen it?

[DerekKirbow]

I LUV power cleans but don't add them or trade them for bent over rows with this program. I didn't make any adjustments for them.

would you say power cleans are an advanced move or ok for beginners?

[DerekKirbow]

Hey, I've just started taking working out seriously, and this simple routine is really helping. This might be a total n00b question, but which of the exercises targets the abdominals? The day after completing the workout, my entire body is sore, minus my abs.

i've always thought abs were hard to work...and traps

[Brackneyc]

what do you suggest for abs?

The ab exercise I "feel" the most are hanging leg raises. Brutal. There are a few different variations on this exercise. You Tube has a few good vids showing different ways to do them.

[all pro]

All Pro, first off, thanks so much for putting this together and answering millions of questions. I've read about half the pages in this thread and learned a ton.

I made it through a full cycle and 2 weeks of the second. Everything was going great. Then this past week my right shoulder stared to hurt right where the joint is, roughly, mostly when I raised my arm up from my side with elbow bent. Most of my range of motion is ok, or at least liveable. I did lift once on it but it got a little worse so I've temporarily stopped lifting and am just doing cardio for now. I know that too much cardio sort of counteracts strength training but my goal right now is to get body fat down around 12 or 13% so I'm not terribly concerned about lifting progess in the short term. What I want to know is, what can I do to heal faster, and are there any tips you can offer? I should probably just go see a doctor I don't know if I can afford the out-of-pocket cost right now.

I don't know if this is really the right place to post this but you seem to have a lot of great knowledge about this stuff.

Thanks,
bb

Well the first thing I'm going to tell you is to see a doctor.
2) DO NOT LIFT WEIGHTS!!!
3) You need to find out if it's the joint, a tendon. a nerve or a muscle before I say anything else. They each have to be dealt with differently. You can try applying cold for a day and the next day applying heat. Each day alternate them. I really don't want to say anything more until you know what it is.

[all pro]

would you say power cleans are an advanced move or ok for beginners?

You need a good coach or a good book to learn how to do them. Bill Starr's version is simple enough to learn. Rippetoe's is a bit more complicated. I prefer Starr's version.

From Starr's book Only The Strongest Shall Survive
http://ironmind-store.com/The-Strong...ductinfo/1278/

[all pro]

what do you suggest for abs?

I like a combination of pull overs and knee ups. Weighted ab crunches on an incline board are about the simplest thing to do for them.

[superbad691]

should i still work out my abs while cutting?? same with calves???im exhausted when it comes to the end of the workout especially on a calorie deficit

[all pro]

should i still work out my abs while cutting?? same with calves???im exhausted when it comes to the end of the workout especially on a calorie deficit

Finish the routine. Do abs on off days or not at all if it's really killing you.

[JerryChill]

Sorry if this has already been asked, but how do I determine what my starter weight is for the initial starter routine All Pro posted?

[Flaming_Duck]

What weight are you using for bent over row?

i replaced that with t-bar row, i use 65 for that. its the basically the same movement i think, or should i use bent over from now? will that make a big difference?
thanks

[Flaming_Duck]

Sorry if this has already been asked, but how do I determine what my starter weight is for the initial starter routine All Pro posted?

guess and test man. but around 75 percent of 1rm (one rep max)

[all pro]

i replaced that with t-bar row, i use 65 for that. its the basically the same movement i think, or should i use bent over from now? will that make a big difference?
thanks

T-bar is fine. Stop complaining about your biceps. 1 gain weight. 2 get your rows up there. You'll see size. Rows and bench should be almost equal. When you get them up to 100 plus coupled with gaining 10-20 pounds you'll find the size you're looking for. There's no magic to this stuff.

[Flaming_Duck]

T-bar is fine. Stop complaining about your biceps. 1 gain weight. 2 get your rows up there. You'll see size. Rows and bench should be almost equal. When you get them up to 100 plus coupled with gaining 10-20 pounds you'll find the size you're looking for. There's no magic to this stuff.

sounds good, thanks
since u mentioned "should" tho, i was wondering wut weight my overhead press, and bicep curl should be. i squat and bench the same right now, 125 (yeah, shockingly low lol, started out rly skinny). curl - 60. press - 70. any goal i should be reaching for those?

[juan92]

just wondwering if i could add pull ups ?

[SierraS]

I hope you took your waste measurement before hand. If your waste is expanding then you're gaining fat. No guess work required! At 6'1" 10 pounds might not look like much. The other way to check would be to take an unflexed bicep measurement and a flexed measurement. If unflexed increases and flexed doesn't you're gaining fat. Unfortunately both of these methods require a before measurement.

Unfortunately, I don't have a tape. I know I should have one but for some dumb reason I didn't thunk that far ahead...lol Before this program, I had always used my weight as a progress scale. Now that I am gaining muslce instead of just trying to lose weight, I guess it would be a good idea to get one. I will try to pick one up tomorrow. Not sure if they will have one at the PX here in Iraq. Hope so. Thanks AP for the duh slap to the back of the head.....