Beginner PPL Hypertrophy and Strength Routine

[pandablacklist]

Routine:

Push:
Flat Bench Press/OHP 4x5
OHP/Flat Bench Press 3x8
Incline DB Press/Incline Chest Fly 3x10
Lateral Raises 3x15
Dips/Overhead Tricep Extensions 3x8/12

Pull:
Deadlift 1x5
Barbell Rows 4x5
Chin-ups 3x5
Upright Row 3x8
Curl Variation 4x8-12

Legs:
Back/Front Squat 4x5
Romanian Deadlift 3x8
Hack Squat 3x8
Standing Calf Raises 4x30
Seated Calf Raises 4x30

Schedule:
You can workout 3-6 times a week with this routine. I would recommend sic times a week to see the best progress with three work days and one rest day, but as long as you perform each section at least once you will progress. You could, for example, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday you could do pull, push and legs and then Friday and Saturday do Push and Pull again but not legs again. This would work but again not be optimal.

Warm Up:
On top of the sets lifted you must warm up. To do this you should stretch the muscles you are going to work at the beginning of the workout and perform warm up sets, you can do this how you like as long as you use a weight below your working weight, a good way to do it if you don't know where to start is two sets with just the bar with double reps, and a quarter weight and half weight set with the actual number of reps of the set.

Progression:
For compound lifts you should add 2.5kg per workout to all, you do deadlift twice a week unlike most programs so you won't need to add 5kg. For isolation and bodyweight movements progression will be slower, just make sure you're challenging yourself. NOTE: if you are only working out three times a week rather than six you may want to add 5kg per workout to deadlifts.

Rest:
Between each compound set rest at least 2 minutes up to a maximum of a five minute rest if you fail a rep. Rest longer the hard you find a set obviously. For isolation exercises(including dips) rest between 1 minutes and 2 minutes 30 seconds.

Failure and Deloading:
If you fail a set, keep going to finish all the sets for that exercise. I you fail an exercise several times consecutively (stall at a weight) then you should deload. This is simple decreasing your weight by 10% and starting over.

Substitutions:
This routine was made with free weights in mind, all you need to do this is a barbell, some dumbbells, an adjustable bench and a squat rack which you should be able to find at just about any gym. When I started I didn't even have a squat rack (to get around this I simply only performed front squats). All the exercises here can be substituted for similar exercises however including machine and dumbbell/barbell equivalents or just alternative exercises altogether. Good substitutions would be leg press instead of hack squats, one arm dumbbell rows instead of barbell rows or skullcrushers instead of overhead tricep extensions. If you want to add in more accessories you can, but that defeats the point of the program somewhat as each workout should only take 45-60mins and it works well enough without additions. If you insist on adding in exercises, rear 3x15-20 rear delt flyes wouldn't go amiss at the end of a pull day or 3x12 of more hamstring work on a leg day, for example. But again - the routine is fine as it is and does not need any additions.

[TheGymJim]

Recommending 6 days lifting + ab work + cardio to beginners is absolutely terrible advice.

[pandablacklist]

It's not?

[TheGymJim]

Yeah, it is. That frequency is WAY too high

[pandablacklist]

I would agree if it were more of a full body routine, but it is not you are only training a few musclear groups a day, cardio two or three days a week and one or two ab work outs on top of that is not too much volume for the average person.

[pandablacklist]

Perhaps I should edit to specify light cardio, I am not suggestion training to run a marathon on the side.

[MaxHandley]

I am a big proponent of PPL routines; however, it's a terrible routine for beginners. Beginners are much better off doing a full body routine and focusing on compound lifts.

[pandablacklist]

This is perfectly suitable for beginners, the issue with a lot of beginner programs is too much focus on compounds, this routine focuses on compounds and isolation movements. It is also intended to focus on hypertrophy as well as strength rather, it is not a powerlifting program. Personally I don't subscribe to the idea of a beginner building a 'strength base' with full body for a time. Programs like PPL do not neglect strength but simply have less focus on it and focus on other goals people might have. But that's just my personal thoughts.

[TheGymJim]

Perhaps I should edit to specify light cardio, I am not suggestion training to run a marathon on the side.

The best kind would either be cycling or HIIT in my opinion and if you are limited in terms of time HIIT is certainly your best bet but really any cardio will do

^ That was your original, unedited post. HIIT is, by definition, not "light" cardio.

And at any rate, the cardio is just the cherry on the cake of poor advice. The main body of it is the fact you're advising high volume, high frequency and insufficient rest for a beginner. And then you make it even worse by saying that they should add in ab work and cardio on top of that.

And also, compounds =/= powerlifting.

Really, for a beginner, you want to be recommending a balanced routine with adequate recovery.

Don't get me wrong, the basic program you've suggested is sound at face value. There are things that I'd be inclined to change, but nothing fundamentally wrong with it. The thing I take issue with is that you're recommending 6 days per week, two of which including quite tough ab workouts, with 2-3 cardio sessions as well.

Beginners will burn out and give up quickly. You've got volume, intensity and too much frequency. You can't realistically have all 3.

PPL can totally work for beginners. In fact, the weight train you've suggested, on its own, 3 times per week, is actually very good. The frequency you're recommending and the extras tacked on are what makes it terrible advice.

[Junsuiakai]

I agree with Jim 100%, but I'd add that a novice needs to focus on compounds, or they will end up looking like one of those guys with HUGE shoulders and a tiny back/chest or baby glutes/hams but big quads..

The whole point of full body for a novice is to build a foundation of strength and balance.

If you have a novice doing a ppl they will 1. neglect some days, 2. not train with balance in mind. 3. snap their sht up.

Also would never recommend cardio unless they enjoy it. Cardio is not required.

[OneManArmy1]

Cardio takes calories away from the anabolic process. Why work your abs so hard when on an aggressive bulk in a caloric surplus you WILL gain BF and not be able to see your abs very well at all. 3 days a week is all you should be training, 4 at the most for a beginner but not on your routine. You can't add weight to every workout, you will be overtraining in no time and have to drop weight just to keep going. Read "Teen Bodybuilding Guide: How To Break Into Bodybuilding As A Teenager!" by Layne Norton PhD for some good starting points.

[TheGymJim]

Also would never recommend cardio unless they enjoy it. Cardio is not required.

Idk about "never". A basic level of cardio fitness is always good. Everyone should be able to relatively comfortably run 5k IMO.

But no, cardio is certainly not required for strength training, fat loss or dem 'sthetix. Nor does it belong in a training program such as this. Cardio is a completely separate entity.

[pandablacklist]

I honestly don't know what to say apart from to remind you that there is more than one was to train than your full body circle jerk tbh, I'll admit in second thought the ab work was a bit excessive and, yes, HIIT might not technically be light cardio but this routine is not better or worse than any other, just different. You will not Overtrain doing this as it instructs you, myself and many I know have train with programs similar to this and as well as full body and bro splits. None of these styles of training are better or worse, just different for different people depending on their goals.

[TheGymJim]

I honestly don't know what to say apart from to remind you that there is more than one was to train than your full body circle jerk tbh, I'll admit in second thought the ab work was a bit excessive and, yes, HIIT might not technically be light cardio but this routine is not better or worse than any other, just different. You will not Overtrain doing this as it instructs you, myself and many I know have train with programs similar to this and as well as full body and bro splits. None of these styles of training are better or worse, just different for different people depending on their goals.

1. I'm not on a full body, and I've told you that I think PPL can totally work for a beginner so you can shut that sh*t down right away
2. Can the attitude. Did you really not expect any criticism on here? We're trying to a) improve what you've got down here and b) ensure that any beginners reading this thread will not think your routine is a good idea for them
3. What works for you or your friends will not universally work for beginners.

Now, this much frequency may well work for some beginners, particularly younger ones who recover quickly, but I wouldn't recommend any beginner start training for the first time on any more than 3 days per week. Full body isn't the only way to do this (though it's probably optimal) and, as I'll reiterate, your PPL program itself isn't bad, what's bad is throwing that much intensity, volume and frequency at a beginner with your recommendation of 6 days per week + abs + cardio.

They will burn out.
They will give up either just on your program and switch to another, or entirely.

I'd rephrase it to suggest starting on 3 days per week with at least 1 day of recovery between each session. If they'd like to gradually increase the frequency based on their own recovery rates, that's fine.

But issuing a blanket statement to beginners that " I would recommend six times a week to see the best progress" and describing that as "optimal" and recommending additional ab and cardio work, is simply wrong. It's bad advice. Period.

[pandablacklist]

1) Can the attitude I was addressing all the points raised in the thread not just what you said
2) I did expect critisism and, yes, the ab work I origionally put was too much but telling a beginner that this is too much and not a good idea is wrong, the average person looking to start working out would not have any trouble on this.
3) 'Friends' was a blanket statement for people I know and have known, the point was that I as a person who has met other people has observed that it is not always optimal for a beginner to start on full body and that a six say a week program is not too much for the majority of people.

Yes, the frequency may be much for say an older person starting out but that kind of person would look for a routine specifically for them rather than just a bog standard routine. Most people start lifting in their teens to their twenties and those people would have not problems with recovery on a program like this if they took it seriously.

[TheGymJim]

I don't know how I can offer any more constructive criticism or add to this thread without repeating myself, since we're now just going back and forth. It's clear that you've convinced yourself that you're right so idk what else there is to say.

[User8675309]

FWIW, I'm a beginner doing my own PPL with more volume than this one. I've seen significant strength and size gains in the last 2 months, I dare say considerably more than I'd have seen following the progression of the recommended starter routines. That progress keeps me motivated and I spend 1.5 to 2 hours a day 5-6 days a week in the gym, and the other 22 hours a day I'm wishing i was back in the gym.

With that said, it really is too much, I know it's too much. Although, I feel great and my lifts are still going up every time I workout, I feel that my CNS is lagging. I have trouble sleeping more than 6 hours a day and no more than 3 hours at a time. And I'm having to use straps more and more on pull day because my grip strength is declining. I'm currently looking for ways to optimize my routine.

[TheGymJim]

FWIW, I'm a beginner doing my own PPL with more volume than this one. I've seen significant strength and size gains in the last 2 months, I dare say considerably more than I'd have seen following the progression of the recommended starter routines. That progress keeps me motivated and I spend 1.5 to 2 hours a day 5-6 days a week in the gym, and the other 22 hours a day I'm wishing i was back in the gym.

With that said, it really is too much, I know it's too much. Although, I feel great and my lifts are still going up every time I workout, I feel that my CNS is lagging. I have trouble sleeping more than 6 hours a day and no more than 3 hours at a time. And I'm having to use straps more and more on pull day because my grip strength is declining. I'm currently looking for ways to optimize my routine.

This basically proves my point tbh.

Too much, too fast, too often is just gonna burn you out and make you more prone to injury.