total body workouts for beginners

[keegan]

What about all the beginner's workouts??

Usually 1 excersice per major muscle group, 3 or 4 sets, total body workouts 3 times a week...

Are these programs going to develop mass in a beginner or are they mostly geared to tone and prepare the body for the "real" workouts to come?

Has anyone spent any real time doing these workouts when they started and what kind of results did you achieve??

[Nayl]

Cut it back to 2 times a week. Only do 1-2 sets (they must be intense). Do 2-3 exercises per muscle group. Keep the whole thing under an hour not including warmup. And yes, with a good diet, this will not only prepare you for more training, you can add mass and keep this program for a long time. I know some who have just cut back the number of sessions over the years to where now they only workout once a week--and still growing!!

[jracoma]

hey nayl, i wrote a thread last april 27, titled 1 hour workout. I'm still wondering if that is still popssible since that's what you alway advise people to do. Hope you can check it out!

[Nayl]

9:00 am enter gym and jump on treadmill
9:30 warmup complete, begin lifting
9:31 plates set for warmup set of X
9:32 warmup set complete, rest
9:34 begin workset for exercise X
9:36 complete set 1, rest
....<average 5 minutes between starting sets>....
10:20 10 sets completed, workout finished. Stretch and eat.

There is time for 12 sets in 1 hour. Here's what I would do:

flat bench - 1 set
push press - 1 set
dips - 1 warmup set, 1 workset

sl-deadlift - (treadmill is the warmup) 1 set
squat - 1 set

pullups - 1 warmup set, 1 workset
bent rows - 1 set
shrugs - 1 set

Yes it's possible. Yes you can grow like a madman for a while. Yes it's intense as hell. No it may not be for you.

When I do a 3-day split sometimes my lifting time is only 25 minutes. I'm still sore later and I still grow. It's all about intensity. As long as that set was brutal, you'll grow like a weed.

[keegan]

Good deal.. Then I think I'm on the right track for now. I know I am seeing progress, especially in the chest, even though I'm primarily focusing on the fat loss first.

Thanks for your input

[joeshmoe321]

Originally posted by Nayl
9:00 am enter gym and jump on treadmill
9:30 warmup complete, begin lifting
9:31 plates set for warmup set of X
9:32 warmup set complete, rest
9:34 begin workset for exercise X
9:36 complete set 1, rest
....<average 5 minutes between starting sets>....
10:20 10 sets completed, workout finished. Stretch and eat.

There is time for 12 sets in 1 hour. Here's what I would do:

flat bench - 1 set
push press - 1 set
dips - 1 warmup set, 1 workset

sl-deadlift - (treadmill is the warmup) 1 set
squat - 1 set


pullups - 1 warmup set, 1 workset
bent rows - 1 set
shrugs - 1 set

Yes it's possible. Yes you can grow like a madman for a while. Yes it's intense as hell. No it may not be for you.

When I do a 3-day split sometimes my lifting time is only 25 minutes. I'm still sore later and I still grow. It's all about intensity. As long as that set was brutal, you'll grow like a weed.

What about your calves? You are a better man than I am... doing the big three on the same day.

[Nayl]

It all depends on how ready you are for it. With 3-4 days rest and some serious glycogen I can tackle this routine. But it's not for the faint of heart if you're an experienced lifter. That's why I moved to the 3-day split a long time ago. But every once in a while, if I need to reduce days in the gym, I'll do this routine 3 times in 2 weeks. An ex-lineman I know does this once a week and still manages to grow. But he's moving so much metal he needs 6 days rest to recover.