BEST NOVICE STRENGTH TRAINING PLAN
StellaBby10
Posts: 108
This is the continuation of the topic I posted on 8-15-2011 – “BEGINNERS WORKOUT PLAN”. This is the BEST way for beginners to start their strength training. (=
FEEL FREE TO PRINT THIS OUT
STRENGTH TRAINING– HOW TO GET STRONGER
What you’ll find on this post…
• Part 1: What will strength training do for you?
• Part 2: What is strength training?
• Part 3: Beginner strength training workouts
PART 1 – WHAT WILL STRENGTH TRAINING DO FOR YOU?
Strength training is one of the best ways to build muscle, lose fat and build insane strength. Strength training is the main form of weight training for athletes, especially those in sports like football, wrestling, track, gymnastics and power lifting (any physical sport really…).
Unlike most bodybuilding routines that you’ll find in fitness magazines, strength training is actually very useful for improving physical performance in sports. Getting stronger is one of the best ways to improve your performance in nearly every sport.
If you’re a GUY, strength training will help you…
• get bigger, more defined muscles
• see significant gains in strength (improves athletic performance)
• boost your metabolism and help you burn fat
• produce more testosterone in your body
If you’re a WOMAN, strength training will help you…
• get a tight, toned fitness look through your arms, thighs, butt and stomach
• make you stronger, and give you more energy
• stay lean (You will NOT, I repeat NOT get big and bulky)
PART 2 – WHAT IS STRENGTH TRAINING?
Strength training is about working your body’s large muscle groups in natural movements (squats, deadlifts, bench press etc.) that result not only in an improved physique, but also a noticeable increase of strength and improved athletic ability.
**Many weightlifting programs are designed specifically to make your body look better, while neglecting the function behind the form.** While this is better than sitting on the couch, you aren’t getting the full benefits of your workout. The majority of these programs use exercises that are totally useless outside of the gym (wrist curls, calf raises etc…), and do not translate into athletics or real world activities.
Most guys who work out with traditional magazine workouts (high rep, lower weight) will see some results and start to feel good about themselves. They look better in the mirror, and think damn! This is finally working! Then one day their neighbor’s car gets stuck in the snow and they have to help her push it out… Or they need to hoist that overloaded box into the crawl space of their attic. This is when people finally realize their bloated three sets of ten reps muscles are utterly useless. They’re confused. They go to the gym six days per week. They follow everything they’ve read online and in the magazines, but despite their muscular appearance, they’re still WEAK!
Now what? Reality has kicked in… and the reality is they have FORM with no FUNCTION. They have big muscles with no purpose behind them…If this sounds like you, no need to panic. It’s actually good that you realize there’s a problem, and that you need to change your strength training workouts. Here’s what we’re gonna do to fix your workouts…
• Simplify
• Increase the weight, decrease the reps
• Rest
• Test your progress
SIMPLIFY
• To build strength we aren’t going to go through the entire encyclopedia of exercises. We’re going to stick with five basic movements: squats, deadlifts, pull ups, shoulder presses and bench presses. That’s it. And dare I say that if these five lifts were the only lifts that you ever did, you would be just fine. Probably better than fine. It’s almost always better to keep things simple. Just remember that simple does not necessarily mean easy.
INCREASE AND DECREASE
• To build strength, do two things: increase the weight of your lifts and decrease the repetitions. Do not do any more than five reps per set. In most cases, three repetitions will be ideal (3 reps for 5 sets is a good starter). Heavy sets of one rep on occasion are a good thing as well. If you’re using a load that you can lift more than five times in one set, you are not using enough weight to build strength. Put some damned plates on the bar, grit your teeth, and lift! Again, simple does not mean easy.
REST
• You should wait at least two minutes between sets when strength training. Waiting as much as five minutes between sets when doing heavy singles is not a bad thing. I typically rest 2-4 minutes between sets when strength training. Also, you may need to increase your rest periods as the workout progresses and fatigue creeps in. You may rest two minutes between your first and second set, and four minutes between your fifth and sixth set. Use a stop watch and log your rest periods as meticulously as you log your weights, sets, and reps.
TEST
• Find your one-rep max for each of the five listed exercises. And then test your max every four to 8 weeks thereafter (I find six week intervals to be ideal). You won’t know if you’re getting stronger unless you establish your max periodically. These “tests” let you know if your training is effective or if you need to make adjustments.
Lift a weight that requires all of your focus and determination at that moment. Keep your technique clean, be safe, lift with a spotter and also lift as heavy as possible within these parameters. Keep it simple. And when strength training, simple should not mean easy.
PART 3 – STRENGTH TRAINING WORKOUTS
Just because this is a novice workout, doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. If you’ve never seen results, or you’ve never done real strength training before, this is a perfect place to start. If you hate working out, this is a great place to start too because once you start to see real results, you’ll be hooked!
Ok for the novice workout, we are going to focus on the 5 main exercises.
• Squats
• Deadlifts
• Bench press
• Shoulder press
• Pull ups
These exercises will help you build the most amount of strength in the shortest time possible, because all of these movements are compound exercises which target the largest muscle groups.
NOVICE STRENGTH TRAINING WORKOUT
3 day workout (M-W-F) or (T-Th-Sa)
If you have never performed Squats, Deadlifts, Shoulder Presses, Pull ups or the Bench Press, I recommend you start with the beginner workout program I posted on 8-15-11 and learn the proper form (proper form is crucial). Working with just the barbell before you add weight is the best way to learn the proper technique.
———————————————————————–
WEEK 1 WORKOUT
DAY 1 (Monday)
• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by either jumping rope, doing jumping jacks, using a rower machine or riding a stationary bike
• Squats – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added). 5 sets of 5 reps ( Find a weight that makes five reps difficult)
• Shoulder Press - 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added). 5 sets of 5 reps (Find a weight that makes 5 reps difficult)
Notes: Rest 2 minute between each set
DAY 2 (Wednesday)
• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by either jumping rope, using a rower machine or riding a stationary bike.
• Deadlift – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (barbell with some weight added). 5 sets of 5 reps ( Use a weight that’s difficult to do 5 sets)
• Chin ups/pull ups – Do 5 sets of 5 reps. If you can’t do a chinup, check out doing an assisted chinup. If you can do more than 5 chinups, add weight to your chinups so that you can only do 5.
Note: Rest 2 minutes between each set
DAY 3 (Friday)
• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by either jumping rope, using a rower machine or riding a stationary bike
• Squats – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added)- 5 sets of 5 reps ( Find a weight that makes five reps difficult)
• Bench Press – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added)- 5 sets of 5 reps ( Find a weight that makes five reps difficult)
Note: Rest 2 minutes between each set
That’s your workout for the first week. For week 2, we’re going to be doing the same exercises, except we’ll be performing the Day 2 workout twice, and the Day 1 workout once.
—————————————————————————
WEEK 2 WORKOUT
DAY 1 (Monday)
• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by either jumping rope, using a rower machine or riding a stationary bike.
• Deadlift – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (barbell with some weight added). 5 sets of 5 reps ( Use a weight that’s difficult to do 5 sets)
• Shoulder Press - 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added). 5 sets of 5 reps (Find a weight that makes 5 reps difficult)
Note: Rest 2 minutes between each set
DAY 2 (Wednesday)
• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by either jumping rope, using a rower machine or riding a stationary bike
• Squats – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added)- 5 sets of 5 reps ( Find a weight that makes five reps difficult)
• Chin ups/pull ups – Do 5 sets of 5 reps. If you can’t do a chin up, check out doing an assisted chinup. If you can do more than 5 chinups, add weight to your chinups so that you can only do 5.
Note: Rest 2 minutes between each set
DAY 3 (Friday)
• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by either jumping rope, doing jumping jacks, using a rower machine or riding a stationary bike
• Deadlift – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added)
• Bench Press – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added)- 5 sets of 5 reps ( Find a weight that makes five reps difficult)
Notes: Rest 2 minute between each set
Repeat the week 1 and week 2 workouts for at least 12 weeks.
FEEL FREE TO PRINT THIS OUT
STRENGTH TRAINING– HOW TO GET STRONGER
What you’ll find on this post…
• Part 1: What will strength training do for you?
• Part 2: What is strength training?
• Part 3: Beginner strength training workouts
PART 1 – WHAT WILL STRENGTH TRAINING DO FOR YOU?
Strength training is one of the best ways to build muscle, lose fat and build insane strength. Strength training is the main form of weight training for athletes, especially those in sports like football, wrestling, track, gymnastics and power lifting (any physical sport really…).
Unlike most bodybuilding routines that you’ll find in fitness magazines, strength training is actually very useful for improving physical performance in sports. Getting stronger is one of the best ways to improve your performance in nearly every sport.
If you’re a GUY, strength training will help you…
• get bigger, more defined muscles
• see significant gains in strength (improves athletic performance)
• boost your metabolism and help you burn fat
• produce more testosterone in your body
If you’re a WOMAN, strength training will help you…
• get a tight, toned fitness look through your arms, thighs, butt and stomach
• make you stronger, and give you more energy
• stay lean (You will NOT, I repeat NOT get big and bulky)
PART 2 – WHAT IS STRENGTH TRAINING?
Strength training is about working your body’s large muscle groups in natural movements (squats, deadlifts, bench press etc.) that result not only in an improved physique, but also a noticeable increase of strength and improved athletic ability.
**Many weightlifting programs are designed specifically to make your body look better, while neglecting the function behind the form.** While this is better than sitting on the couch, you aren’t getting the full benefits of your workout. The majority of these programs use exercises that are totally useless outside of the gym (wrist curls, calf raises etc…), and do not translate into athletics or real world activities.
Most guys who work out with traditional magazine workouts (high rep, lower weight) will see some results and start to feel good about themselves. They look better in the mirror, and think damn! This is finally working! Then one day their neighbor’s car gets stuck in the snow and they have to help her push it out… Or they need to hoist that overloaded box into the crawl space of their attic. This is when people finally realize their bloated three sets of ten reps muscles are utterly useless. They’re confused. They go to the gym six days per week. They follow everything they’ve read online and in the magazines, but despite their muscular appearance, they’re still WEAK!
Now what? Reality has kicked in… and the reality is they have FORM with no FUNCTION. They have big muscles with no purpose behind them…If this sounds like you, no need to panic. It’s actually good that you realize there’s a problem, and that you need to change your strength training workouts. Here’s what we’re gonna do to fix your workouts…
• Simplify
• Increase the weight, decrease the reps
• Rest
• Test your progress
SIMPLIFY
• To build strength we aren’t going to go through the entire encyclopedia of exercises. We’re going to stick with five basic movements: squats, deadlifts, pull ups, shoulder presses and bench presses. That’s it. And dare I say that if these five lifts were the only lifts that you ever did, you would be just fine. Probably better than fine. It’s almost always better to keep things simple. Just remember that simple does not necessarily mean easy.
INCREASE AND DECREASE
• To build strength, do two things: increase the weight of your lifts and decrease the repetitions. Do not do any more than five reps per set. In most cases, three repetitions will be ideal (3 reps for 5 sets is a good starter). Heavy sets of one rep on occasion are a good thing as well. If you’re using a load that you can lift more than five times in one set, you are not using enough weight to build strength. Put some damned plates on the bar, grit your teeth, and lift! Again, simple does not mean easy.
REST
• You should wait at least two minutes between sets when strength training. Waiting as much as five minutes between sets when doing heavy singles is not a bad thing. I typically rest 2-4 minutes between sets when strength training. Also, you may need to increase your rest periods as the workout progresses and fatigue creeps in. You may rest two minutes between your first and second set, and four minutes between your fifth and sixth set. Use a stop watch and log your rest periods as meticulously as you log your weights, sets, and reps.
TEST
• Find your one-rep max for each of the five listed exercises. And then test your max every four to 8 weeks thereafter (I find six week intervals to be ideal). You won’t know if you’re getting stronger unless you establish your max periodically. These “tests” let you know if your training is effective or if you need to make adjustments.
Lift a weight that requires all of your focus and determination at that moment. Keep your technique clean, be safe, lift with a spotter and also lift as heavy as possible within these parameters. Keep it simple. And when strength training, simple should not mean easy.
PART 3 – STRENGTH TRAINING WORKOUTS
Just because this is a novice workout, doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. If you’ve never seen results, or you’ve never done real strength training before, this is a perfect place to start. If you hate working out, this is a great place to start too because once you start to see real results, you’ll be hooked!
Ok for the novice workout, we are going to focus on the 5 main exercises.
• Squats
• Deadlifts
• Bench press
• Shoulder press
• Pull ups
These exercises will help you build the most amount of strength in the shortest time possible, because all of these movements are compound exercises which target the largest muscle groups.
NOVICE STRENGTH TRAINING WORKOUT
3 day workout (M-W-F) or (T-Th-Sa)
If you have never performed Squats, Deadlifts, Shoulder Presses, Pull ups or the Bench Press, I recommend you start with the beginner workout program I posted on 8-15-11 and learn the proper form (proper form is crucial). Working with just the barbell before you add weight is the best way to learn the proper technique.
———————————————————————–
WEEK 1 WORKOUT
DAY 1 (Monday)
• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by either jumping rope, doing jumping jacks, using a rower machine or riding a stationary bike
• Squats – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added). 5 sets of 5 reps ( Find a weight that makes five reps difficult)
• Shoulder Press - 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added). 5 sets of 5 reps (Find a weight that makes 5 reps difficult)
Notes: Rest 2 minute between each set
DAY 2 (Wednesday)
• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by either jumping rope, using a rower machine or riding a stationary bike.
• Deadlift – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (barbell with some weight added). 5 sets of 5 reps ( Use a weight that’s difficult to do 5 sets)
• Chin ups/pull ups – Do 5 sets of 5 reps. If you can’t do a chinup, check out doing an assisted chinup. If you can do more than 5 chinups, add weight to your chinups so that you can only do 5.
Note: Rest 2 minutes between each set
DAY 3 (Friday)
• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by either jumping rope, using a rower machine or riding a stationary bike
• Squats – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added)- 5 sets of 5 reps ( Find a weight that makes five reps difficult)
• Bench Press – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added)- 5 sets of 5 reps ( Find a weight that makes five reps difficult)
Note: Rest 2 minutes between each set
That’s your workout for the first week. For week 2, we’re going to be doing the same exercises, except we’ll be performing the Day 2 workout twice, and the Day 1 workout once.
—————————————————————————
WEEK 2 WORKOUT
DAY 1 (Monday)
• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by either jumping rope, using a rower machine or riding a stationary bike.
• Deadlift – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (barbell with some weight added). 5 sets of 5 reps ( Use a weight that’s difficult to do 5 sets)
• Shoulder Press - 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added). 5 sets of 5 reps (Find a weight that makes 5 reps difficult)
Note: Rest 2 minutes between each set
DAY 2 (Wednesday)
• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by either jumping rope, using a rower machine or riding a stationary bike
• Squats – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added)- 5 sets of 5 reps ( Find a weight that makes five reps difficult)
• Chin ups/pull ups – Do 5 sets of 5 reps. If you can’t do a chin up, check out doing an assisted chinup. If you can do more than 5 chinups, add weight to your chinups so that you can only do 5.
Note: Rest 2 minutes between each set
DAY 3 (Friday)
• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by either jumping rope, doing jumping jacks, using a rower machine or riding a stationary bike
• Deadlift – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added)
• Bench Press – 2 warmup sets of 5 reps (1 with just the barbell, 1 with some weight added)- 5 sets of 5 reps ( Find a weight that makes five reps difficult)
Notes: Rest 2 minute between each set
Repeat the week 1 and week 2 workouts for at least 12 weeks.
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Replies
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Thank you!0
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thanks for posting!0
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bump0
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YOUR WELCOME GUYS.... and OMG what the F does this 'bump' thing mean? I see it everywhere!!! -__-0
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Nice one.0
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bump Thanks for all the info. Now to find your post from 8/15/2011.
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when you BUMP something it sends it to YOUR TOPICS under the community tab, which makes it easy to find when you want to reference it again. Anything you comment on will go to YOUR TOPICS tab.0
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bump0
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when you BUMP something it sends it to YOUR TOPICS under the community tab, which makes it easy to find when you want to reference it again. Anything you comment on will go to YOUR TOPICS tab.
OHHH OKAYY hehehe I thought it was like someone was trying to bump me off the site or something lol
WELL THANKS GUYS N GALS!!!
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bumpis when a person really likes the post and want to "bump" it to the top of the thread list. This is also a way for them to save it into there recent posts.
Where did you find this? This is nearly exactly like the plan in my second link, but instead of pull-ups you do bent over rows. and thus, I approve.0 -
Thank you and Bump (not you, just the article) :laugh:0
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This is incredible information. Very helpful! Thanks for posting!0
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bumpy mcbump0
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I would add Rows to this as well since they are pretty much the opposite of the benchpress.0
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Bump is to put it at the top of the topics list, when you have absolutley nothing of interest to say, as any post will do this.
This site also saves it to the poster's my topics list, but has nothing to do with the meme bump, which is a common misunderstanding on this site.
This method is similar to the texas style http://stronglifts.com/the-texas-method-strength-training-for-intermediate-lifters/
There's no need to add rows. What would be the point?0 -
Thanks for this!0
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Bump, thanks! 0
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Thank you for posting!
Bump!0 -
Bump is to put it at the top of the topics list, when you have absolutley nothing of interest to say, as any post will do this.
This site also saves it to the poster's my topics list, but has nothing to do with the meme bump, which is a common misunderstanding on this site.
This method is similar to the texas style http://stronglifts.com/the-texas-method-strength-training-for-intermediate-lifters/
There's no need to add rows. What would be the point?
I am mostly going off my results from the standard SL build. But from personal experience I find I got a much better workout from rows than pull ups until I was able to start weighted pull ups. The other reason I suggested it was to balance all of my muscles out when I work out to prevent one from overcoming the other. Examples would be shin splints from running or knee pain from squatting (under developed hams). You can target that balance pretty well by matching your row grip to your bench grip. Personally I do both pullups/chin ups and rows in my routine as well as a few other exercises.0 -
"• Squats
• Deadlifts
• Bench press
• Shoulder press
• Pull ups"
Perfect!0 -
Great read
Can I suggest - as other posters on MFP do, can you add links to your 2 threads in your signature so that they're easy to find and read if people want to see them? I would like to read your first thread but not looking forward to wading through X pages to find it - with any luck it will be close!! 0 -
*takes notes*
Never really got into using free weights, I've just been using gym machines, now that I've built up a decent amount of strength I'm looking to transition to a free weight routine, and this looks perfect.0 -
bump0
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just a question? ive always known itss best to stick to low reps but i was under the impression low was 8-10, so ive been lifting weights that i start failing at 6-8.. so this is wrong? heavier and less reps?0
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I'd personally include bent rows also to maintain good balance in the shoulder.
And I'd just do all those exercises every workout. (and that is what I do except 8x3) Same principle though.
Good post.0 -
bump for reference....thanks!0
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bump..for later0
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bump...0
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I'd personally include bent rows also to maintain good balance in the shoulder.
Seconded0 -
Bump. So I can find it later.0
This discussion has been closed.
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