A Simple Beginner's Routine part II

[Bennigan88]

I've been using the 45lb olympic bar to warm up for working sets of OHP using 75lbs, so my sets have looked like 8/9/10x45, 55, 75, 75. I've been stalling on the OHP and Bench, but none of the other exercises. I think that the weight is too high for warm up sets (obviously a lot higher than 1/4, 1/2 of working weight) and as a result I'm stalling on this exercise. Should I reduce the warmup to a single set on the 45 lbs olympic bar, or use the low-weight weighted barbells (only available in increments of 10 lbs, though)? Today I failed half way through my last set of 10 reps on the OHP, and I also failed on the last rep of the Bench Press. Anyway, any input would be appreciated!

[bealsjt]

I've been using the 45lb olympic bar to warm up for working sets of OHP using 75lbs, so my sets have looked like 8/9/10x45, 55, 75, 75. I've been stalling on the OHP and Bench, but none of the other exercises. I think that the weight is too high for warm up sets (obviously a lot higher than 1/4, 1/2 of working weight) and as a result I'm stalling on this exercise. Should I reduce the warmup to a single set on the 45 lbs olympic bar, or use the low-weight weighted barbells (only available in increments of 10 lbs, though)? Today I failed half way through my last set of 10 reps on the OHP, and I also failed on the last rep of the Bench Press. Anyway, any input would be appreciated!

I just use dumbbells for the warm-up sets. The purpose of the warm up is to get the joints and tendons moving to prevent injury, and this can be achieved just the same with dumbbells. If my warm up set is say 30lbs, i'll do the set with 2 15lb dumbbells. Hope this helps.

Just a reminder for everybody, I have an excel spreadsheet for this routine. E-mail me @ Jtbealio08@yahoo.com and I'll get it to you asap.

[EomBomb]

hi guys im a beginner and i have some questions about this workout. Ive been looking into this workout and from the feedback it seems amazingly good. I recently bought whey protein and i dont know how often and how many times i have to take it. Im 5"10 and around 155 lbs. My 8 rep bench is about 110 and my squat is around 140-145. I dont know my body fat percent and i dont know how to calculate it, but from my point of view i believe im around 18ish. Im 17 and my diet is going to consist of 3scrambled eggs toast nonfat milk cereal fruit 3chickenbreasts 3slices of whole wheat bread and after workout i guess ill drink a protein shake then of 1-1.5scoops + banana. dinner, something with white rice. Before bed nonfatmilk and probably something else with some protein. Some people say i should take whey 3 times a day, some say 1 morning one post workout. I want a super clean bulk going and i ask here because this is the best. Also about the workout, do you do the warm up for each workout? and will monday wednesday friday be fine? Is my diet fine? Whey protein thoughts?Thanks in advance to anyone who replys to my post

[jimuk]

Hi Guys,

so after completing 3 cycles of this then going on holiday in june i havnt picked up a weight since my diet went out the window and im pretty much back were i started. then yesterday i was discussing workouts with my sister and showed her my progress pics,her reaction was damm you need to hit those weights again,

TBH i never felt better than just before i went on holiday and i i had continued upon my return chances are i'd be in great shape now .


so as of monday im going to pick up were i left off and get serious again diet training lifestyle!!!

[Highlander93]

Poor cardio probably wouldn't make you sick. It might have you resting 2+ minutes between sets on the verge of hyperventilating. If you have a pulse meter, strap it on before your next work out. Then post the reading in here.

Will invest in one, really want to get it sorted it's holding me back

[johnross456]

Hi Guys,

so after completing 3 cycles of this then going on holiday in june i havnt picked up a weight since my diet went out the window and im pretty much back were i started. then yesterday i was discussing workouts with my sister and showed her my progress pics,her reaction was damm you need to hit those weights again,

TBH i never felt better than just before i went on holiday and i i had continued upon my return chances are i'd be in great shape now .


so as of monday im going to pick up were i left off and get serious again diet training lifestyle!!!

Do you mean to say your strength levels have returned to where they were before you started the three cycles? If so, I'm sure it'll all come back quickly.

[thablewprnt]

I'm doing it wrong...

I wanted to go over this as I'm about to start my second week.
I thought I had read correctly that the first set was just a light warm up before the full set. Meaning the warm up +4. So I'm suppose to do 1 set light, 1 set @ 1/2, and 2 sets regular?
Jeez... Warm ups tend to slow me up so I just warm up doing the elliptical until I break a sweat then go into my routine. I have been doing regular weight for 4 sets... Is this helping more since I'm lifting more than the amount stated? Will I get stronger faster doing this? Also would it be too much if I combine this with 4 or 5 light ISO sets? I ask because I don't feel like I'm getting enough done at the gym. It takes me about 40 minutes to get through the routine as is, and I'm usually not tired.

Also... I wanted to know if anyone is doing this without whey?

Normally when I start lifting I gain weight or stay the same. My diet is in check. The only thing diff is the whey, so this week I did it without whey, just my natural protien sources and I lost 4 1/2 pounds.

This week, same diet with whey. Gonna see if there is a gain.

[PGSPCB]

Thinking of starting this program next monday. Going to start today getting my 10RM for the lifts. I have a rough idea what they are for bench, squat, and OHP, but the others I will need to get a better feel for. I have been working out for about 8 months on a crappy self made 5 day split, and have been relatively stalling out on some of my lifts. My last set of 3x8 for bench has been stalled at 195 for the last couple of weeks. Would this program help me break some of my plateaus? or should i be trying something else?

[all pro]

all pro question for you. I hurt/tweaked my lower back doing squats about 3 weeks back. Finally went to the doc today because the pain/discomfort has not improved or gotten worse. Got the regular "dont do things that make it hurt and come back in 3 weeks for xrays/mri if it hasnt improved." she thought i strained my si joint, rather than a slipped/herniated disc.

Anyway the last 3 weeks I've been working out on/off hoping for it to get better and as a result I missed some of the workouts (couple light days and a medium day).

So a) should I sub squats/SLDL for something else (leg press/leg curl?) for this cycle? Or just leave squats/sldl out? or do lighter weights?
b) if i remove/modify the exercises should i re-test 10rm's? or continue with where i am (week 3 heavy would be tomorrow)?

thanks

Just leave them out. See if things heal. If they do reduce the weight on both of them by 20% and put them back in.

[all pro]

Since I can only workout on these days, is it ok if I do 15-20 mins of HIIT right after lifting?

I'm thinking about using the elliptical instead of sprinting. Easier on the knees.

Also, is the smith machine as bad as they say? Or can I use it for these exercises? (since I can spot myself with it)

Smith machine is an injury waiting to happen. If that's all you've got then your stuck with it. You can try cardio after working out.

[RayneMayne]

Smith machine is an injury waiting to happen. If that's all you've got then your stuck with it. You can try cardio after working out.

I just tried HIIT for 10 mins after my heavy and it absolutely drained me. I think it'll be best to only do cardio (HIIT) on my medium and light days. Twice a week is enough for fatloss? I also noticed that I was sweating alot and running out of breath as I'm doing your routine.. Which I'm assuming is good! I'm starting with very low weights (25-40lbs) for most of the exercises after figuring out my 10rep max... I look silly struggling with tiny weights but I guess its best to start somewhere.

[all pro]

I just tried HIIT for 10 mins after my heavy and it absolutely drained me. I think it'll be best to only do cardio (HIIT) on my medium and light days. Twice a week is enough for fatloss? I also noticed that I was sweating alot and running out of breath as I'm doing your routine.. Which I'm assuming is good! I'm starting with very low weights (25-40lbs) for most of the exercises after figuring out my 10rep max... I look silly struggling with tiny weights but I guess its best to start somewhere.

What you're going to find is that for fat loss cardio is grossly over rated. Diet is the single most important thing and using weight training to increase muscle mass so that you're burning calories even when you're sleeping is next on the list. You don't have to do any cardio for fat loss. It's your choice.

[RayneMayne]

What you're going to find is that for fat loss cardio is grossly over rated. Diet is the single most important thing and using weight training to increase muscle mass so that you're burning calories even when you're sleeping is next on the list. You don't have to do any cardio for fat loss. It's your choice.

Excellent. Thank you!!

[PGSPCB]

my 10RM is 185. If i start this program and follow it to the T, i will in theory, be lifting ~223.85lbs for 12 reps in 15 weeks? That seems quite the increase. Is this program effective for people who havnt JUST started lifting, but still relatively new? (off and on for years, but serious the last 6-8 months?)

[johnross456]

I'm doing it wrong...

I wanted to go over this as I'm about to start my second week.
I thought I had read correctly that the first set was just a light warm up before the full set. Meaning the warm up +4. So I'm suppose to do 1 set light, 1 set @ 1/2, and 2 sets regular?
Jeez... Warm ups tend to slow me up so I just warm up doing the elliptical until I break a sweat then go into my routine. I have been doing regular weight for 4 sets... Is this helping more since I'm lifting more than the amount stated? Will I get stronger faster doing this? Also would it be too much if I combine this with 4 or 5 light ISO sets? I ask because I don't feel like I'm getting enough done at the gym. It takes me about 40 minutes to get through the routine as is, and I'm usually not tired.

Also... I wanted to know if anyone is doing this without whey?

Normally when I start lifting I gain weight or stay the same. My diet is in check. The only thing diff is the whey, so this week I did it without whey, just my natural protien sources and I lost 4 1/2 pounds.

This week, same diet with whey. Gonna see if there is a gain.

You need the two warmup sets, especially if you're 33 (and not 13). The reason you feel you don't need the warmup sets is the same reason that you're able to do 4 regular sets: you aren't lifting heavy enough. So asking if doing 4 regular sets will speed up your progress is the wrong question because you should be lifting at a rate that you are barely able to punch out 2 sets of 10 reps per exercise before being spent for that exercise. That is the most efficient way to go, and the way the program is designed.

I'm sure some people are on the program without whey. They say it doesn't matter how you get your protein, as long as you get it.

Also, you probably shouldn't hang onto one week's worth of results, one way or the other. That's a motivation buster waiting to happen.

[whelap2]

Cycle 3 week 5 heavy day, DAMN this gets rough.

Passed everything but Bench Press, 12/9 on bench this week, which is about what I expected after getting 10/9 last week (terrible!) I failed OHP last cycle so I'm not surprised bench followed since the lifts are similar.

I felt like I was going to kill myself on squats, I was grunting like an ogre on my last 4 reps of the second set but I got them done! Overall this was by far the toughest day yet (obviously!) and I'm happy I came away with 6 passes out of the 7 exercises. I'm going to try to add in accessory Dips next cycle to see if that helps out my bench a little, and also weighted decline crunches for a little more ab focus.

So, all told
Squat, 155-175-195-215
Bench, 110-120-135-135
BoR, 85-95-105-115 (so happy with progress on this lift!)
OHP, 60-65-65-75 (crushed it this week, think I can pull off the larger jump
SLDL, 145-160-175-195 (this lift was easy too, I started low because my grip was limiting but I've made leaps and bounds here)
Curls, 55-60-65-70
Calf, 215-235-255-280

I'm going to try to get through cycle 4 and 5 then I'll take a look and see what else I can get out of this program, I'm starting to get up there in weight (especially on squats...) and I think it might be time to move on soon.

Anybody just starting out this is a great program, I think I've had excellent results!

[johnross456]

Cycle 3 week 5 heavy day, DAMN this gets rough.

Passed everything but Bench Press, 12/9 on bench this week, which is about what I expected after getting 10/9 last week (terrible!) I failed OHP last cycle so I'm not surprised bench followed since the lifts are similar.

I felt like I was going to kill myself on squats, I was grunting like an ogre on my last 4 reps of the second set but I got them done! Overall this was by far the toughest day yet (obviously!) and I'm happy I came away with 6 passes out of the 7 exercises. I'm going to try to add in accessory Dips next cycle to see if that helps out my bench a little, and also weighted decline crunches for a little more ab focus.

So, all told
Squat, 155-175-195-215
Bench, 110-120-135-135
BoR, 85-95-105-115 (so happy with progress on this lift!)
OHP, 60-65-65-75 (crushed it this week, think I can pull off the larger jump
SLDL, 145-160-175-195 (this lift was easy too, I started low because my grip was limiting but I've made leaps and bounds here)
Curls, 55-60-65-70
Calf, 215-235-255-280

I'm going to try to get through cycle 4 and 5 then I'll take a look and see what else I can get out of this program, I'm starting to get up there in weight (especially on squats...) and I think it might be time to move on soon.

Anybody just starting out this is a great program, I think I've had excellent results!

I can't imagine how rough cycle 3 week 5 heavy is. I'm finishing my 2nd cycle and am amazed at how hard it is already...

[precious12]

I am not sure if this is the right thread the post this question but I'll try anyway. Does anybody know a good online timer for HITT...I am planning to do 30 seconds and 60 seconds for 15 minutes...I don't want to set up timer everytime the 30 or 60 seconds is up...is there a timer like that???? I hope you guys know what I mean if not let me know maybe I can rephrase it. Thank you.

[EomBomb]

I have a question for OHP, instead of using barbell, can i use the EZ bar to do them? and same for the barbell bicep curls, instead can i substitute the EZ bar? note: it is the wave bent bar.

[whelap2]

I have a question for OHP, instead of using barbell, can i use the EZ bar to do them? and same for the barbell bicep curls, instead can i substitute the EZ bar? note: it is the wave bent bar.

I use the ez bar on warm up usually and if you grab it at the peak of that outside curve your ROM is like an inch or two shorter, because the part that goes on your chest is lower. IDK if that makes a huge difference

[SimonSaid]

Started the routine and done a week of 8 reps, first time following a routine to the dot so will do a few cycles from what i have read people having good results, worth a go : )

[Ussop]

Starting cycle 5 heavy in two more days.

Do you guys think I should change routines after the 5th cycle has ended or keep on going? I've only been stalling on over head presses so far everything else is running smoothly.

[Highlander93]

Hey guys need an answer quick (leaving in an hour to go gym), basically as I said a few pages back I wasn't able to complete the last 3 exercises(SLDL, Curls, Raises) on Monday due to nausea on my heavy day (week 5, cycle 2).

So my question is Should I do the last 3 exercises (SLDL, Curls, Raises) with the heavy weight on my medium day (which is today) since I couldn't do them on Monday because of nausea? Only reason is I feel angry at the fact I worked up to that one day for 5 weeks and couldn't finish the workout.

[marbles12]

Damn, I looked through the first 6 pages to see if my question would pop up but I couldn't find it (I'm sure it's here somewhere though).

So, I'm extremely weak. My max bench is probably 90lbs and my squats don't go over 130lbs.

A quarter of that would mean I'd have to do my warmup set with 22.5lbs, wtf! Should I use dumbells? What if I do two warmup sets with the bar alone (45lbs) and then do my work sets? Most of my lifts will have a very low number (same with the curls), so I'm really confused about the warmup sets. One other question:

The numbers are really confusing to me as well. It says that my first work out is my heavy work out (as in mondays right?) then my second workout is my medium one (wednesdays), but I should use 10% less weight. And then for my lite workout (fridays) I use 20% less weight. Taking into account all the warmup sets, my first warmup on monday is with 22.5 lbs and then on wed, 10% less and on friday 20% less?- I'M SO CONFUSED ABOUT THE WEIGHT! How am I gonna find plates so small?!? Can someone help me out here? I feel like I need to go back to a high school math class. How can I calculate the weight? And if it's extremely low what can I do?

I'm planning on going tomorrow and just figure out my max weight on all of the exercises.

[Shepherd1125]

hey allpro, thx for the amazing program.

I have been following it for the past 5 weeks now, and running at a calorie surplus of 500-700. I gained about 5 lbs, and my waist size has not changed a bit.
I added 2 sets of cable crunch in the end btw.

My current lifts for the program are (heavy day):

Squat: 135
Bench: 135
Row: 120
OHP: 65
SLDL: 135
Calf Raise: 135
Curl: 60
Cable Crunch: 200

I have couple questions

1. my traps are non-existent, and I feel these 7 exercises are not hitting it. is it okay for me to add DB shrugs at the end?
2. What cycle do you usually stall?

[santiago0221]

Hey everyone...I'm in need of some squat form critique. I took a video of my squat workout today, and am hoping for some constructive criticism. I'm still at the beginner level, so I wouldn't expect textbook form or huge weights.

Anyway, here it is. Thanks.

[dcdlm]

Hey everyone...I'm in need of some squat form critique. I took a video of my squat workout today, and am hoping for some constructive criticism. I'm still at the beginner level, so I wouldn't expect textbook form or huge weights.

Anyway, here it is. Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ-bVMZmmA0

You are dropping down real fast and it is causing you to lean forward a bit much on some of your negatives.

[santiago0221]

You are dropping down real fast and it is causing you to lean forward a bit much on some of your negatives.

Yeah, after watching the video, I did notice a lean in there. So I should slow down on my drop then?

Also, I adjusted my form today to emphasize driving with my hips, as per Rippetoe...so maybe my new form added to the lean as well.


I will go down slower from now on though, see if that takes the lean away. Thanks!

[xRibs]

Yeah, after watching the video, I did notice a lean in there. So I should slow down on my drop then?

Also, I adjusted my form today to emphasize driving with my hips, as per Rippetoe...so maybe my new form added to the lean as well.


I will go down slower from now on though, see if that takes the lean away. Thanks!

When you go up to the bar to lift it off the rack, keep one leg out in front of you and one leg behind you so that you have good balance when lifting the bar off the rack. You don't want to stumble backwards like you did on the first set when there is 200+lbs on the bar You might want to lower the bar slower and maintain a steady pace throughout the entire lift, and only go low enough to where your legs are parallel with the ground. Also, keep your feet flat on the ground the entire time. Watch the second set and see your toes keep coming off the ground.

[StrengthS]

Hey AP,

I am currently around 190 lbs at 20% body fat. I am on my second cycle of this program and I am noticing some more definition. I know that I can lose weight with just dieting, but would you recommend HIIT to speed it up on workout days? I have tennis classes tuesdays and thursdays for 50 minutes (but only get really moving for 30 minutes). Would tennis just be enough for the fat loss with diet or should I incorporate HIIT as well?

And my second question is, is it a good idea for me to cut or should I just clean bulk? I have some muscle under my fat but idk if it would be wiser to get more. I'm tired with this belly I had my whole life and want it gone. Thanks for your advice