Beginner Lift Routine

cwolfman13

Hey, so I've recently added exercise to my lifestyle change and have primarily focused on cardio for the last month or so. I have been doing resistance training as well, but it would be of the calisthentics variety. It's all been going well, but I'm ready to get back into the gym and start lifting. I'm not exactly a stranger to the gym and lifting, but it has been a very loooooonggggg time since I lifted. I found this beginner routine on-line and am looking for opinions...remember, I'm considering myself a beginner as for all intense and purposes, I am.

Workout A
1 Squats - 3 sets of 8-10 reps. 2 minutes rest between sets.
2.Bench Press - 3 sets of 8-10 reps; 2 minutes rest between sets.
3.Rows - 3 sets of 8-10 reps; 2 minutes rest between sets.
4.Triceps Press Downs - 1 set of 10-12 reps.
5.Calf Raises - 1-2 sets of 10-12 reps; 1 minute rest between sets.

Workout B
1.Deadlifts - 3 sets of 8-10 reps; 2 minutes rest between sets.
2.Pull-Ups (or Lat Pull-Downs) - 3 sets of 8-10 reps; 2 minutes rest between sets.
3.Overhead Shoulder Press - 3 sets of 8-10 reps; 2 minutes rest between sets.
4.Biceps Curls - 1 set of 10-12 reps.
5.Abs - 1-2 sets of 10-12 reps; 1 minute rest between sets.

I've been passing this around to a few of my friends who work out a lot, including my mom who is one of my biggest motivators right now (one of the fittest 60 years olds I've ever seen). The consensus so far seems to be that it's a pretty good beginner, noob plan...with a few mentioning that I may want to drop the isolation stuff (4&5 in both workouts) and just focus on the compound stuff. I just feel a bit strange not working specifically on calves, biceps, triceps, and abs. Any thoughts? I would be doing this 3 days a week and switch it up...A, B, A...B, A, B and so forth.

Gunsentry

Looks good - high rep range for hypertrophy.

Might not need the calf raises and abbs as you got them coved with Squats and Deadlifts.

The routine is similar to Strong Lifts 5x5 but with accessory work added.

Increase your weights weekly\monthly to see gains and eat accordingly to fuel the growth.

RunDoozer

I am curious too as I am looking for one also. I wonder what people's thought are on this vs the 5x5 beginner programs.

jennaworksout

bump

cwolfman13

Looks good - high rep range for hypertrophy.

Might not need the calf raises and abbs as you got them coved with Squats and Deadlifts.

The routine is similar to Strong Lifts 5x5 but with accessory work added.

Increase your weights weekly\monthly to see gains and eat accordingly to fuel the growth.

Thanks...I think I'm on the right track then. I'll still be eating at a deficit as I have a lot of fat to burn (if I've calculated correctly, I"m about 30.4% BF)...right now I'm looking for small gains in RE to muscle mass. How do you know how many calories to eat back for weight training? I eat back most, if not all of my cardio calories, but I have no clue with weight training. I've heard that you don't burn that many weight training anyway...my focus is mostly some modest gains and not losing the muscle that I have...it's finally starting to poke through the fat. When I get closer to a healthy weight and healthy measurements, I'm definitely looking to put on some muscle.

I'll have to look into the 5x5...

ilovedeadlifts

It looks like a 5x5 program more or less, with some assistance added in.

5x5 works really well. I'd look into the stronglifts 5x5 or madcows 5x5.