US Myprotein Writer
Logan Berman
So you’re beginning in the gym and want to find out what kind of workouts will be most beneficial towards building muscle. Well, it’s actually a lot simpler than you think.
This is one of my favorite workouts of all time and has been one of the largest factors towards what has helped me in achieving my bodybuilding career and lifestyle. I focus on training each body part once a week in the beginning and eventually moved towards training body parts twice a week after a few years when I built up the proper muscle endurance to do so.
Perform the exercises for each body part in the order as listed. This is because the movements and exercises that require the most energy as best completed at the beginning when you have most strength.
Mini-Glossary
☑ Sets = how many ‘lots’ or ‘cycles’ of consecutive reps of an exercise you do.
☑ Reps = how many repetitions of each exercise you perform during the set.
For example, if you were doing bench press at 4 x 8 reps. You will perform 8 consecutive repetitions and then take a rest. This is one set. Sometimes you will have set rest periods other times you won’t. When you’re ready you will then perform 8 reps again. This is your second set. Continue this until you have reached the number of sets you are aiming for.
If the rep requirement says 6-8 for example, you will aim for this target depending on the weight. If you did 8 reps of bench press at 100lb, felt good and increased it to 120lb for the next week, you may only be able to achieve 6 reps.
Workout Routine For Beginners
Chest
| Exercise | Sets x Reps |
| 1. Flat Chest Press/Bench Press | 4 x 6-8 reps |
| 2. Incline Dumbbell Press | 4 x 6-8 reps |
| 3. Flat Dumbbell Flye | 4 x 10-15 reps |
| 4. Decline Bench Press | 4 x 6-8 reps |
| 5. Push-Ups | 5 sets (50, 50, 50, 50, failure) |
Legs
| Exercise | Sets x Reps |
| 1. Barbell Squats | 5 x 5 reps |
| 2. Leg Press | 5 x 10 reps |
| 3. Leg Extensions | 4 x 10-12 reps |
| 4. Lying Leg Curls | 4 x 8-10 reps |
| 5. Walking Lunges | 4 x 25 yards |
| 6. Seated Calf Raises | 4 x 25 reps |
Shoulders
| Exercise | Sets & Reps |
| 1. Seated Dumbbell Press | 4 x 8 reps |
| 2. Front Dumbbell Raises | 4 x 8 reps per arm |
| 3. Side Dumbbell Raises | 4 x 10 reps per arm |
| 4. Seated Machine Press | 4 x 12 reps |
| 5. Smith Machine Upright Rows | 4 x 15 reps |
Back
| Exercise | Sets x Reps |
| 1. Deadlifts | 5 x 5 reps |
| 2. Lateral Pull Downs | 4 x 15 reps |
| 3. Seated Rows or Dumbbell Rows | 3 x 12 reps |
| 4. Close Grip Lateral Pull Downs | 3 x 12 reps |
| 5. Back Extensions | 5 x 10 reps |
| 6. Reverse Machine Flyes | 4 x 12 reps |
Arms
| Exercise | Sets x Reps |
| 1. Narrow Grip Bench Press | 4 x 8 reps |
| 2. Tricep Pushdown | 4 x 12 reps |
| 3. Skull Crushers | 4 x 10 reps |
| 4. Single Arm Overhead Extensions | 4 x 10 per arm |
| 5. Barbell Curls | 4 x 8 reps |
| 6. Seated Single Arm Preacher Curls | 4 x 10 reps per arm |
| 7. Seated Dumbbell Curls | 4 x 8 per arm |
| 8. Concentration Curls | 4 x 10 per arm |
Abs
For abs, I trained them weighted about twice a week and performed cardio three to five times a week after my weights workout for about 30 minutes at a time.
Take Home Message For Beginners
Try this workout out using lightweights and increase your weight load over time before increasing your workout load. Once you build up strength, beginning adding more sets, not reps, to your workouts.
