Beginners Workout Routine for Optimum Results
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Anyone who has never lifted weights who decides they can commit 3-4 days a week to the gym and follow somewhat of a decent diet will get results. This is due to the sudden strain on the muscle, going from no strenuous activity to heavy strenuous activity 3-4 days a week will practically force your muscles into growth. However, beginners following a solid workout routine and a solid diet can potentially transform their body completely in a matter of weeks. If you are someone who is interested in changing your body to the point where your friends and co workers will look at you in disbelief, then there are a few keys you must follow. These are some of the simple keys I followed to gain 20 lbs of lean mass in 12 weeks.
Beginners Workout Routine Rule #1 – Diet
I won’t say that any rule here is more important than the other, but without following rule number 1, it will be impossible to maximize results from 2 and 3. The first rule is to diet properly in order to fuel your body with enough nutrients to maximize your gym performance as well as to repair broken down muscle fibers. Because this is a beginners workout routine, I won’t get into too many details about the types of foods you should be consuming. What I will provide you with is a very simple formula that you can use in order to calculate how much you should be consuming on a daily basis. One piece of advise to go along with this formula is to make sure you are having 1.5-2 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.
Beginners Workout Routine Formula
The Number of hours you spend in the gym per week (+) 10 =
(My program requires 4 hours per week of weight lifting)
4 + 10 = 14
14 (x) Your Target Body Weight = Daily Calories
For example:
4 + 10 = 14
14 x 150 = 2100 calories per day
If you are of the ectomorphic somatotype, I would recommend adding an addition 500 calories to your “daily calories” total.
Advanced Lifters follow this muscle building diet plan
Beginners Workout Routine Rule #2 – Rest and Repair
Contrary to popular belief, muscle is created away from the gym while your body is resting. Most beginners start to weight train and end up seeing little to no results. The first conclusion they come too is that they are not working out hard enough, so they end up adding more time or days in the gym. However, this is just making matters worse because now they are giving their muscles much less time to repair and rebuild new and stronger muscle. This is why the “Mass in a Flash” routine I followed and shared with my clients only requires 3-4 days in the gym per week. Proper rest will not only allow you to build muscle faster, but it will also allow you to give a peak performance each and every gym session. Unless you give your body enough time to rest and recover, your body will not grow. Aside from taking 3-4 days off per week, I highly suggest you get at least 8 hours of quality sleep per night.
Beginners Workout Routine Rule #3 – Maximizing Your Efforts in the Gym
When your goal is to build larger muscle, the key is to break down more muscle fibers. The key to breaking down more muscle fibers is to perform heavy compound lifts that target more than one muscle group. Although isolating each muscle group is ideal later down the road, compound lifts should be the focal point of your workout. These lifts will not only allow you to recruit more muscle fibers and target more than one muscle group, but they will also help increase the production of the two most important muscle building hormones your body can naturally produce.
The Workout Routine:
Squats or Deadlifts 3 x 12
Bench Press 3 x 12
Pull Up/Dips Superset 3 x 12
Bent Over Rows 3 x 12
Military Press 3 x 12
This workout should be performed every other day with 2 consecutive days off every other week. The reason I have created this routine with 12 reps per set is simple, this beginners workout routine is created for building mass.
If you a beginner who is interested in maximizing your muscle building potential, I highly recommend downloading a free copy of my program “Mass in a Flash”, this is the same program I followed to gain 20 lbs of lean mass in 12 weeks.
Feel free to leave any questions you may have in the comments section below. Happy Lifting!
April 19th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Although my workout goals lean more toward weight loss and fat loss vs. gaining muscle mass, your tips apply and are very relevant. This is my first visit to your site, and I look forward to following along. Thanks.
July 1st, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Humm?….in this article you have a different formula where you do 10+4 to get total amount of calories but then in another article you have the formula of multiplying.Like
your body weight times 20-22 to get total amount of calories? then there’s a video where you have a chart and although I don’t recall that formula I think it was also different.
So which is it? I’m confused?
July 1st, 2011 at 4:08 pm
The 10+4 formula is a NON hardgainer formula that I have converted to fit hardgainers. The 20-22 Formula is a general hardgainer formula. The formula in the video is the same 10+4 formula. They both work, pick one and stick to it.
July 9th, 2011 at 7:42 am
I have been training for about 6 years and have only been able to put on very little mass. would this program be benificial for me or would I need something more advanced like bony to brawny?
July 19th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
Hey Roger, I would recommend first trying my “Mass in a Flash” program. Its free and available for instant download. If this does not yield the results you want (since you are an advanced lifter) then “Bony to Brawny” is definitely the program for you.
August 5th, 2011 at 9:18 am
hi for Roger try this it works you must be over traing
monday back
Wide Grip Overhand Chin-Ups – 2 sets of 5-7 reps
sitting Rows – 2 sets of 5-7 reps
Barbell Shrugs – 2 sets of 10-12 reps
tusday shoulds
Seated Overhead Dumbbell Press: 2 Sets of 5-7 Reps
Standing Dumbbell Side Laterals: 1-2 Sets of 5-7 Reps
wensday
Bicep Workout
2 Sets of Standing Barbell Curls (5-7 reps)
2 Set of Seated Dumbbell Curl (5-7 reps)
tursday chest
2 Sets of Barbell Bench Press (5-7 reps)
2 Sets of Incline Dumbbell Press (5-7 reps)
2 Sets of Wide Grip Dips (5-7 reps)
friday tricps
2 skullcrushers (5-7 reps)
1 Set of Cable Pulldowns (5-7 reps)
February 21st, 2013 at 7:07 pm
Hi Alain,I have a question:
A hardgainer like me can gain muscle without taking supplements?
Thank you!