Walk into any gym, and you will find an army of lifters performing the same old, same old routine. You know the routine…first hit the bench press, then knock out some flyes and/or pec deck flyes.
Then it’s on to bicep curls. Gym Rat Joe places the barbell in the squat rack (and why not, no one at the gym squats anyway except for that one big guy), and proceeds to knock out set after set of bicep curls. Staring at the mirror, he frequently flexes his biceps and chest, convinced that he’s making progress.
Finally, it’s time for abs. Gym Rat Joe knocks out 2 sets of sit-ups. Deciding that they are just too darn hard, he switches to twists and side bends. Then, one last set of sit-ups because he’s determined to get a 6-pack.
The next day, Joe works back and shoulders. Of course, the workout begins with lat pulldowns, and then proceeds to low pulley rows. After a brief, and extremely ineffective back blitzing, Gym Rat Joe grabs the 20 pound dumbbells and performs front, side, and bent-over laterals.
Checking the clock, he realizes that his workout is over and it only took 30 minutes. What to do, what to do? More ab work! Gym Rat Joe farts around the weight room for another 20 minutes, doing a few sets of sit-ups. In between sets, he catches glimpses of himself – and the girls on the treadmill – in the mirror.
The following day, Joe rests and recovers. Then it’s back to the gym for chest, biceps and abs.
Dump That Routine!
Honestly, I’m not sure how this routine developed. Maybe it’s genetic, or instinctual. Most likely, it’s just Gym Rat Joe doing the best he can – performing exercises he’s familiar with.
Gym Rat Joe, it’s time for that routine to go!
It’s time to break out of your comfort zone, and learn a few new exercises. I know the lack of progress is making you sick. If you really want a monster chest, beach biceps, a 6-pack, and quads the size of monster truck tires, then listen up! I’m here to put you on the right track.
Step 1: Forget Everything You Know About Weight Training
You heard me correctly. Empty your brain of everything you’ve learned from other Gym Rat Joe’s. Following the advice of a bunch of no muscle twerps is a fool’s game.
The only thing you’re doing right at the moment is bench pressing. But one exercise alone won’t pack on much muscle.
Step 2: It’s Time to Learn about Heavy, Compound Lifts
You need to start with the basics, and the basics are heavy, compound lifts. These lifts include:
- Chest. Bench Press, Incline Bench Press, Dips, Decline Bench Press, Dumbbell Bench Press
- Shoulders. Overhead Press, Upright Rows, Arnold Press
- Triceps. Closegrip Bench Press, Skullcrushers
- Back. Deadlifts, Yates Rows, Barbell Row, Dumbbell Row, Low Pulley Row, T-Bar Row, Pull-ups
- Biceps. Barbell Curls, Dumbbell Curls
- Traps. Power Shrugs, Barbell Shrugs, Dumbbell Shrugs
- Quads. Squats, Front Squats, Leg Presses, Lunges, Leg Extensions
- Hamstrings. Romanian Deadlifts, Hamstring Curls
- Calves. Seated or Standing Calf Raises
- Abs. Weighted Sit-ups, Leg Lifts
Muscle and Strength has plenty of resources that can help you learn these lifts. And if you have questions, please hit the forums and ask. You want to familiarize yourself with each exercise on this list, and learn proper form.
Step 3: Time for a Makeover
Now that you’re armed with heavy compound lifts, it’s time for a training routine makeover. As a beginner, you don’t need to get fancy to pack on muscle mass. I’ve provided you with two possible routines. Pick one and stick with it.
Each routine tells you how many exercises to choose for each day. Do NOT add in more. More is not better – better is better.
Full Body Workout
Routine 1: The Full Body Workout
You will hit the gym 3 times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Monday
- Squats, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Bench Press, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Back Exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Shoulder Exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Hamstring exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- 2 sets of Ab work
Wednesday
- Deadlift, 2 sets of 4-8 reps
- Dips, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Back Exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Shoulder Exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Tricep Exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Bicep Exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
Friday
- Squats, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Bench Press, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Back Exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Shoulder Exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Hamstring exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- 2 sets of Calf work
2 Day Split
Routine 2: The Split
You hit the gym 4 times a week, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Monday
- Bench Press, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Chest exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Shoulder Exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Tricep Exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- 2 sets of Calf work
- 2 sets of Ab work
Tuesday
- Squats, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Quads exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Hamstring exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 2 Back exercises, 2 sets of 6-10 reps per exercise
- Pick 1 Bicep exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
Thursday
- Bench Press, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Chest exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Shoulder Exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Tricep Exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- 2 sets of Calf work
- 2 sets of Ab work
Friday
- Deadlift, 2 sets of 4-8 reps
- Squats, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Quads exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Hamstring exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Pick 1 Back exercises, 2 sets of 6-10 reps per exercise
- Pick 1 Bicep exercise, 2 sets of 6-10 reps
Lift, Eat and Grow
Rule 4: Progression: The Road to Growth
Want to grow? I’ll give you the golden key to the kingdom of massive muscle: it’s called progression of weight.
Push for more reps on every set you perform. No excuses! And when you have reached the upper rep range for that exercise, move up in weight. It’s that simple.
Rule 5: Eat at Least 5 Times a Day
To grow muscle, you need to change the way you eat. Eat every 2.5 to 3 hours, and make sure you get at least 25-30 grams of protein with each meal. Protein sources can include chicken, tuna, salmon, cheese, dairy products, beef, beef jerky, eggs, nuts, peanut butter, protein shakes and protein bars.
You’ll also want to make sure you are eating the proper amount of vegetables, fruits and healthy fats.
One other key point – you need to learn to out-eat your metabolism. If the scale isn’t moving, odds are you’re not gaining weight. Count your daily calories, and add 500 to that total. If you’re still not gaining weight, add another 500.
This is Only the Start
The information provided in this article is only a start. It’s meant to get you on the right track; the path to more muscle. Natural bodybuilding is a lifestyle. You must learn all you can about this lifestyle if you want to grow.
35 Comments
Can I perform lunges on one day instead of squatting twice a week?
Hi Steve! Where would you place trap work in the 3 or 4 day routine? Thanks!
I noticed that that the only real chest exercises are the two bench presses and the dips, would it be ok to switch the friday benchpress to an incline or add another chest exercise on a day?
Hey Steve I wanna get really riped and what kind of gym routine should I do and how many times a week
Steve, I just started weight training about a month ago and have been doing lots of research around the website to educate myself. I see so many "beginner" programs that look good, how do I choose? Is the workout in this article something that can be done for months without additional workouts? Or should I be looking for something else? Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.
I definitely can appreciate how frustrating it can be trying to decide on a good workout. The truth is that most of them on Muscle & Strength will work as long as you are eating more then it takes to maintain weight, and pushing for progression of weight.
You want to find a simple workout that uses established, basic compound lifts like the bench press, squat, barbell rows and military/overhead press. Beginners grow rapidly if they focus on the basics and eat enough, so I always recommend to keep it simple. Here are some of my favorite beginner programs from M&S:
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/forget-steroids-5-fullbody-wo...
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/forget-steroids-5-fullbody-wo...
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/2-day-simple-ab-split-by-stev...
Ok thanks, well I've had some lifting experience, and I always focus on technique rather than the weight as I don't want injuries.
Another question(Sorry to bother you), is if I choose the same shoulder exercise for each of the 3 day split days, should i expect progression on all 3 of the days? Even if it is only an extra rep. Or is this asking too much?
Or on the contrast, should I be switching the exercise up for each one or even every few weeks to keep the muscle surprised so to speak.
Regarding progress, I strive for at least another rep on every workout. Will that happen? No. But it's the effort for more reps and weight that will help the muscles grow. And never switch out core exercises. The best thing you need right now to confuse your muscles is heavy weight on basic compound lifts, if that makes sense...
thanks, what weight percentage should these be at for a beginner??
If you've never lifted before, then you would need several weeks to a month with modest, but not heavy weights. If you're a beginner but have trained for months and knoe the exercises, then you always use as much weight as possible to complete the required reps.
Do we do any warm-up sets before we attempt the main two sets steve? or can we just dive straight in. Thanks
I usually do 1-2 warmup sets prior to each exercise, based on how heavy it is, and how difficult it is to perform.
Ohh okay.. well i'll swap out the chins and rows for something else, keep the deadlifts up and see how I go! Thanks for your time Steve, appreciate it :)
I deadlift once a week.. usually 4x8. My program is as follows:
Monday - Squats, Bench Press, Rows
Friday - Deadlifts, Overhead Press, Rows / Pull Ups
The reason I asked is that deadlift helped with my tendinitis. Anyway, since you already do them...
I don't use any isolation exercises, the only movements I use that involve the biceps that I can think of would be pulls ups / chin ups and bent over barbell rows.. I'm guessing it's from the chin ups? I was doing them weighted for a while and I think I went too heavy on them.. failure on the 4-5th rep
Barbell rows used to make it worse for me. I might suggest switching out chins and rows for a couple months with something like low puller rows or t-bar rows and lat pulldowns. Experiment and see if it makes a difference.
Do you deadlift at all?
I think i've got tennis elbow :( i don't know if you've suffered from this before Steve but do you have any recommendations? I've heard that some soft tissue stuff and 2-3 weeks rest would be optimal?
I've had very bad elbow tendinitis. I found that certain exercises were making it worse. How many bicep exercises are you currently doing?
Hi steve,
How long should i stick with this program?
I'm training for about one year now.
But i want to start over by the beginning.
And should i train heavy with the weights what do you recommend?
Greetz Seppe
*ps i'm dutch so forgive me my type mistakes
I would give it a good 4 month run or longer. Minor adjustments may be needed along the way, but basic programs can be run for quite a long time. Always focus on increasing the reps or weight on every set. This will maximize your progress.
Hi Tom...It would be better to alternate squats and deadlifts. Something like this:
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/2-day-simple-ab-split-by-stev...
great article steve
if i bumped that full body routine down to 2 days a week and had something like this twice a week:
Squat
DB Bench Press
Deadlifts
Pull Ups
Overhead Press
or would it be better if did that routine with squats on one workout.. then in the 2nd workout i replace the squats with deadlifts? having a bit of trouble structuring my workouts atm :/ thanks steve
Daniel...bench press and overhead press works the triceps, so they receive quite a bit of stimulation.
Regarding A/B splits, the primary reason you switch exercises is to cover all bases. It would be very difficult - and taxing - to do squats, deadlifts, bench press, etc., all on the same workout day. Because of this, you split up the work, doing fullbody each day but with different and important exercises.
Sorry, I was also wondering if you could clear up the A, B, A routines that I have seen where there is 1 compound movement for each major muscle group but between A and B the exercises are different for e.g. A = chin ups for back and biceps but B = bent over barbell row .. why don't they just keep the same full body workout all 3 workouts in the week? Thanks so much again for your time.
Thanks for clearing that up, if I could ask you though, with the full body routine example you have above, how come there is only a tricep exercise on the wednesday and not on monday and friday? Is this because the triceps are already being worked out with the heaving bench presses and overhead pressing? I have seen set full body routines for monday, wednesday and fridays which is the exact same work out on each day and then i've seen A, B, A full body routines where there is an exercise for each muscle group but the exercise for that particular muscle is different for e.g. A = chin ups for back and biceps and B = bent over barbell rows. I am just wondering if it is best to have some variation between exercises with the A, B, A workouts? Thanks again for your time.
Daniel...for most beginners to early intermediates, the best way to train is with a full body routine or a simple split. I'm not sure what level you are at, or how long you've been training. It became popular in the last 20 years for bodybuilding magazines to feature crazy split routines for pro bodybuilders. Before the steroid era, full body routines were the norm except on cutting days.
Lifters in their first 2 years of training grow very quickly. They do not need an excessive amount of exercises and should stick with staples to see how their body responds.
Hi Steve, I only have a short and simple question to ask.. what would you recommend for getting the most out of building muscle, a full body 3 times a week or a split for 4-5 days a week? Everywhere I look it seems like people are sticking with split routines
You bet. Hit me up on the forum if you have more questions.
You do as many reps as you can, but when you start to go beyond the 10 rep range, add weight. 6-10 is more a guideline then a cut in stone rule.
Thanks, Steve. I just came across this site a little while ago and was amazed at all the information. I've been lifting at home on and off for years and this site has rejuvenated me. Thanks again, Pete
Started doing the full body workout and it feels great. I'm a little confused as to the 6-10 reps. Do we start at 6 and work to 10 or do each set to failure with a max of 10 reps.
Cheers, Pete
Tony,
Keep rest about 2-3 minutes between sets.
What about the rest time between sets?
What about, particularly regarding the Mon.-Wed.-Fri. portion starting out, cardio on the non-lifting days, especially for someone just starting out, as in my case, that's been off for the better part of a year due to therapy to treat lumbar spondylosis (degenerative, arthritic back condition). Thoughts?