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Table of Contents
Q: What kind of routine should I follow?
A: That's a pretty open-ended question. Lets go through some things that you should consider before picking a routine.
------- Things to Consider -------
Are you a Beginner or Intermediate lifter?
Being a beginner (or "novice" if you prefer) lifter isn't an insult. It is a reference to your ability to make rapid progress in the weight room. Being a novice is awesome because it is at this point that you will make the fastest gains in your life.
T NATION | Who Wants to Be a Novice? You Do.
Here are some signs you might be a beginner/novice...
How often can you lift?
A lot of the beginner routines are meant to be done 3 days/week with at least one day off between lifting. So something like Mon/Wed/Fri or Tues/Thurs/Sat. At first you might think you can do it every day but once the weights get more challenging you will need the days off.
Another thing to take into consideration is what else you will be doing in addition to lifting. A busy work schedule, martial art training and playing sports will obviously cut into your recovery time and the time you have to lift. Even if you have the time to lift 3 days/week at first you might want to only lift 2 days/week to allow your body time to adapt. Listen to your body.
If you can only lift 2 days/week you can try the 2 day split. Also, some of the programs lend themselves to 2 days/week (e.g. Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5x5) because they just alternate between two workouts.
--------- Beginner Routines ---------
- Starting Strength
Mark Rippetoe's popular beginner routine. Start by reading the Starting Strength Wiki and then buy the book if you would like. There is also an instructional DVD that coaches the proper form for the lifts. One of the strengths of this program is that it is very popular so there is large amount of information available about it online.
Starting Strength Wiki
Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training
Starting Strength
- Bill Starr 5x5
Another popular routine with multiple variations. The first link provides more details on how to do the routine while the second link contains more variations.
Eclipse Gym :: View topic - Bill Starr 5x5 Primer - How to create your own 5x5 program
Bill Starr
- Things to Consider
- Beginner Routines
- Intermediate Routines
- Need a spreadsheet?
Q: What kind of routine should I follow?
A: That's a pretty open-ended question. Lets go through some things that you should consider before picking a routine.
------- Things to Consider -------
Are you a Beginner or Intermediate lifter?
Being a beginner (or "novice" if you prefer) lifter isn't an insult. It is a reference to your ability to make rapid progress in the weight room. Being a novice is awesome because it is at this point that you will make the fastest gains in your life.
T NATION | Who Wants to Be a Novice? You Do.
A "novice" lifter is a trainee who is so unadapted to the stress of lifting weights that he can make progress as rapidly as he can stress himself and recover, a process that actually takes no more than 48-72 hours.
Here are some signs you might be a beginner/novice...
- You've never lifted weights before (that's an easy one)
- Your previous lifting experience involved a bodybuilder-type split (back & bi's day, chest & tri's day etc) and lots of isolation exercises.
- Your previous lifting experience was all or mostly done with machines
- You can't back squat your own body weight
- You've never squatted or deadlifted because you were told they are bad for your knees/back
How often can you lift?
A lot of the beginner routines are meant to be done 3 days/week with at least one day off between lifting. So something like Mon/Wed/Fri or Tues/Thurs/Sat. At first you might think you can do it every day but once the weights get more challenging you will need the days off.
Another thing to take into consideration is what else you will be doing in addition to lifting. A busy work schedule, martial art training and playing sports will obviously cut into your recovery time and the time you have to lift. Even if you have the time to lift 3 days/week at first you might want to only lift 2 days/week to allow your body time to adapt. Listen to your body.
If you can only lift 2 days/week you can try the 2 day split. Also, some of the programs lend themselves to 2 days/week (e.g. Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5x5) because they just alternate between two workouts.
--------- Beginner Routines ---------
- Starting Strength
Mark Rippetoe's popular beginner routine. Start by reading the Starting Strength Wiki and then buy the book if you would like. There is also an instructional DVD that coaches the proper form for the lifts. One of the strengths of this program is that it is very popular so there is large amount of information available about it online.
Starting Strength Wiki
Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training
Starting Strength
- Bill Starr 5x5
Another popular routine with multiple variations. The first link provides more details on how to do the routine while the second link contains more variations.
Eclipse Gym :: View topic - Bill Starr 5x5 Primer - How to create your own 5x5 program
Bill Starr
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