Rate beginner routine/10

[BeginnerGainz]

So after working out with a lot of friends, giving them pointers, I’ve become overloaded with request for programming. With that, I decided to package it in a neat little format. The different exercises aren’t listed, as I like to leave the option of what movement to do to the individual but the movement types are listed.

Day 1: workout A
-bilateral squat 3x5-6
-chest dominant horizontal push 3x5-6
-horizontal pull 3x6-8

Day 2: rest

Day 3: workout B
-hinge 2x5-6
-vertical push 3x5-6
-vertical pull 3x5-6

Day 4: rest

Day 5: workout C
-tricep dominant horizontal push 3x6-8
-unilateral squat 3x6-8
-horizontal pull 3x6-8

Day 6: core
-upper abs 3 sets AMRAP
-lower abs 3 sets AMRAP
-bird dogs 4x5 per side
-Bridge variation 60 seconds

Day 7: rest than repeat

I’m working on an intermediate push/pull as well. Thanks for any feedback!

[ECGordyn]

So after working out with a lot of friends, giving them pointers, I’ve become overloaded with request for programming. With that, I decided to package it in a neat little format. The different exercises aren’t listed, as I like to leave the option of what movement to do to the individual but the movement types are listed.

Day 1: workout A
-bilateral squat 3x5-6
-chest dominant horizontal push 3x5-6
-horizontal pull 3x6-8
-core

Day 2: rest

Day 3: workout B
-hinge 3x5-6
-vertical push 3x5-6
-vertical pull 3x5-6

Day 4: rest

Day 5: workout C
-unilateral squat 3x6-8
-tricep dominant horizontal push 3x6-8
-horizontal pull 3x6-8

Day 6: workout D
-hinge 3x6-8
-horizontal push 3x8-10
-vertical pull 3x8-10
-core

Day 7: rest then repeat

I'd change the above just by my preferences, but original looks good overall. How about intensities and progression? <9RPE / <1RIR? I'd guess double progression by the rep ranges? Lifter can add a set later when they start to stall. Also maybe give a list of exercises in each category to guide beginners better.

[BeginnerGainz]

I'd change the above just by my preferences, but original looks good overall. How about intensities and progression? <9RPE / <1RIR? I'd guess double progression by the rep ranges? Lifter can add a set later when they start to stall. Also maybe give a list of exercises in each category to guide beginners better.

Just a simple add a rep, then add weight, just to keep it simple at first. I always tell them stop if they’d don’t feel like they can get another rep with good form, if it is in a prescribed rep range, then I have them repeat the same weight. But overall, they should have 1-2 reps left in the tank at the end of a set.

Oh, I have a massive list of exercises for each respective movement pattern. For beginners with access to barbells I usually have them work with them or if not, a smith machine (a lot of people only want to pay 10 a month to work out, which sucks but it is what it is). Dumbbells and machines are an option as well, but I usually keep those as a secondary movement after a main barbell or smith machine lift.

Example: have a friend who can only afford a PF membership, which is ok but I get it, money is tight for a lot of people. So he does the following:

Dumbbell chest press
1-arm DB row
Close stance leg press

DB RDL
Seated DB presses
Assisted chin up machine

Assisted dips
High row machine
DB reverse lunges

For those with access to barbells it would look more like:

Incline bench
1-arm DB row
Hack squat or front squat

BB or DB OHP
chin variation or lat pulldown
RDL

CGBP
Chest supported row
B-stance squat or split squat variation

My intermediate (that I do myself) is centered around a “Hatfield” split, or push+quads and pull+glutes/hams.

[EliKoehn]

Example: have a friend who can only afford a PF membership, which is ok but I get it, money is tight for a lot of people. So he does the following...

Uh oh...

No respectable program pays any heed to the "lunk alarm"

Been trying to figure out what the definition of "lunk" is, but the best etymological and philological tools at my disposal can only trace the root to something roughly equivalent to "serious about progression" or "desirous of maximal exertion" and even though it must derive from a dead or totally foreign language, I don't think there is a word analogous to "strength" on planet fitness.

In all seriousness... otherwise, looks like a pretty good template to me

[BeginnerGainz]

Uh oh...

No respectable program pays any heed to the "lunk alarm"

Been trying to figure out what the definition of "lunk" is, but the best etymological and philological tools at my disposal can only trace the root to something roughly equivalent to "serious about progression" or "desirous of maximal exertion" and even though it must derive from a dead or totally foreign language, I don't think there is a word analogous to "strength" on planet fitness.

In all seriousness... otherwise, looks like a pretty good template to me

I’m pretty sure they had a commercial some years ago with a gay bodybuilder, you know, the “I lift things up and put them down” guy lol, I think that is their definition of a “lunk”. I’m sure Paul could give us a better example...

I’ve had the talk with him a couple times, next gym closest to him is $30 extra a month and is WELL equipped, but you can build muscle anywhere and it certainly beats doing nothing.

[MyEgoProblem]

Acceptable framework.

Needs knee flexion movement on day c or d.
And I wouldn't put so much junk core on that day, wasted time splitting abs into upper /lower lol.

I will say it wont work for 90%+ of novices on here tho.
Giving them so many options is a recipe for disaster.

For people you can have actual interventions or contact with, sure, if you get buy in.

I'll have to rate it good, but Inferior to the usual suspects of novice programs normally recommended that have exceptional track records and many years of iterations and updates from client feedback and results.

Greyskull lp (not phrak)
Gzclp
Candito lp (pl focus)
Ptw novice (pl focus)
Bbmed beginner

[ECGordyn]

I’m pretty sure they had a commercial some years ago with a gay bodybuilder, you know, the “I lift things up and put them down” guy lol, I think that is their definition of a “lunk”. I’m sure Paul could give us a better example...

I’ve had the talk with him a couple times, next gym closest to him is $30 extra a month and is WELL equipped, but you can build muscle anywhere and it certainly beats doing nothing.

Or it's from Clunk without the C, because you're not gonna C me later because I don't clunk. Nomsayin?

SNL did the Hans and Franz skit from this. Never knew. In 2004 I hiked the Appalachian Trail, my trail name was Hans because I showed up to a campsite one evening with another bald guy I'd met on the trail that afternoon. People called us Hans and Frans and kept doing the "pump you up" thing. I never had a clue wtf they were talking about until now.

Carry on

[BeginnerGainz]

Ok, so no one here is a fan of direct core work I see I can understand that, it IS boring as hell. However, I meant it to be something easily accomplished at home, not in a gym.

I like the frame work you laid out Gordyn, which is eerily similar to my old routine. But for abs, I’d probably limit it to some kid of anti-extension or anti-rotation work.

Ego, knee flexion is included in my intermediate routine (for someone who would have been lifting for 6 months or more) but I can see that it would make sense to scrap that idea and just include it in another workout.

[Heisman2]

However, I meant it to be something easily accomplished at home, not in a gym.

That makes it much more difficult and I'm doing the same thing as you are (but for my website, not friends, haha). At home people have access to different equipment and different underlying fitness levels so specifying specific exercises is rather difficult.

You may find your specified rep ranges are too low; if people aren't willing to make heavy sandbags or fill trash bags with a lot of water they will likely not be able to use enough resistance to make sets of 5-6 challenging.

But above you mentioned barbells, planet fitness, etc. Are you trying to create something for the home set-up without any equipment or a gym set-up? I'm personally making completely different routines for both settings.

[BeginnerGainz]

That makes it much more difficult and I'm doing the same thing as you are (but for my website, not friends, haha). At home people have access to different equipment and different underlying fitness levels so specifying specific exercises is rather difficult.

You may find your specified rep ranges are too low; if people aren't willing to make heavy sandbags or fill trash bags with a lot of water they will likely not be able to use enough resistance to make sets of 5-6 challenging.

But above you mentioned barbells, planet fitness, etc. Are you trying to create something for the home set-up without any equipment or a gym set-up? I'm personally making completely different routines for both settings.

Just the core work was meant to be done at home, not the rest of it. Unless of course they had their own home gym.

[air2fakie]

Think it’s mostly fine. IMO most casual novices who aren’t fully invested in training yet for the long run may not enjoy doing it and/or would need significantly more guidance to run it, so that’s something to keep in mind. But that’s a separate preference/motivational thing.

[Heisman2]

Just the core work was meant to be done at home, not the rest of it. Unless of course they had their own home gym.

Got it.

You may want to give a templated option that has all of the exercises listed but then also include a list of exercises that can be used as substitutions if desired. This will be particularly helpful if you have no way to ensure they are using good form; in this case put the exercises that are harder to screw up in the initial template.

Additionally, those workouts will be pretty short if they are avoiding going close to failure as they will not need much recovery time between sets. In the first post there are only 6 squatting sets and 2 hinge sets per week. You may want to add in a simple hinge movement (ie, cable pullthroughs) on workouts A/C, move the unilateral leg work to workout B, and add a squat/leg press variant in workout C. This is based on my assumption that they are beginners and are not going to be pushing themselves very hard on the individual sets.

[paulinkansas]

While this post does not provide feedback on the routine you are suggesting for your friends, it is important to mention the importance of proper nutrition. All the lifting in the world isn't going to be of much benefit without proper nutrition. Everyone in this thread knows what proper nutrition is, so I won't repeat it.

[air2fakie]

While this post does not provide feedback on the routine you are suggesting for your friends, it is important to mention the importance of proper nutrition. All the lifting in the world isn't going to be of much benefit without proper nutrition. Everyone in this thread knows what proper nutrition is, so I won't repeat it.

Dog food, toilet water and snapping turtle. Check.

[paulinkansas]

Dog food, toilet water and snapping turtle. Check.

I've been contemplating taking an eye of a newt every day. Would it be better to take it in the morning on an empty stomach or in the evening after dinner? Anyone??

[BeginnerGainz]

While this post does not provide feedback on the routine you are suggesting for your friends, it is important to mention the importance of proper nutrition. All the lifting in the world isn't going to be of much benefit without proper nutrition. Everyone in this thread knows what proper nutrition is, so I won't repeat it.

This is the hardest part of helping people get in shape honestly...I’m still pretty guilty of it most days.

[BeginnerGainz]

Think it’s mostly fine. IMO most casual novices who aren’t fully invested in training yet for the long run may not enjoy doing it and/or would need significantly more guidance to run it, so that’s something to keep in mind. But that’s a separate preference/motivational thing.

Yeah, most people want me to go with them to their respective gyms and show them how to do this stuff. So I go, explain the movement patterns, show them a few exercises and see what clicks best with them.

[paulinkansas]

I've been contemplating taking an eye of a newt every day.

Yesterday after posting that message I took eye of newt with a meal. Within 10 minutes I had a stomach ache that lasted about 10 minutes. I can't remember the last time I had a stomach ache after eating.

Conclusion: Don't consume eye of newt.
Definition: Eye of newt is a pseudonym for mustard seed.