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Goatfishtwo's Beginner Bodybuilding Program
This is going to be short for the sake of simplicity. I want this to be easily understood to produce a solid base for beginners.
The most important thing to remember with working out for mass is that you do NOT want to overtrain and you do want to develop an effective "workout split" that allows for successful healing which will, of course, lead to muscle growth.
Important notes:
- When you do most back workouts (mostly rows), your biceps are also used
- When you do chest presses, your triceps and front shoulders are also used
- When you do shoulder presses, your triceps are also used
- If you still FEEL too sore to workout then you're probably too sore to workout, always listen to what your body tells you
- If you are doing an exercise and you have an astounding mind to muscle connection and you feel like you're really getting some great sets... don't stop at 3 sets. There is no rule in biology that says you HAVE to do any specific number of sets. The three set thing is not constricting. Again, listen to your body.
- 4 exercises per muscle group will suffice as long as your sets are as intense as you need them to be to induce hypertrophy.
- When you work out longer than ~1 hour (disclaimer: this is a rough estimate, the time can vary from 45-90 minutes depending on a multitude of factors), your body will release cortisol (a glucocorticosteroid) that will be COUNTERproductive to what you're trying to accomplish and induce muscle wasting so don't be under the impression that working out for some insane amount of time will make you bigger faster. It will do quite the opposite.
*** I'll use days of the week rather than numbered days in this example
Monday- Back and Biceps
- Standing bicep curls
- Standing hammer curls
- Straight bar curls
- Concentration curls
- Pull ups
- Lat pull downs
- Seated low row
- T bar row
Tuesday- Legs
- Squats
- Leg press
- Leg extensions
- Leg curls
- Assortment of calf raises
- Calf raise on leg press machine
- Standing calf raise machine
- Etc.
Wednesday- Shoulders and Triceps
- Seated shoulder press with dumbbells
- Lateral raise with dumbbells
- Standing vertical row with straight bar or cable machine
- Shrugs (in whichever way you prefer, I prefer with cables standing on something)
- Skull crushers
- French press
- Tricep extensions w/ cables
- Kickbacks
Thursday- Legs and Back (completely optional, but I'd recommend it, you may also opt to do one or the other rather than both but these are large muscle groups and can really benefit from being worked twice a week)
^^ see above exercises for legs and back
Friday- Chest
- Chest press with dumbbells
- Medium grip bench press
- Incline press with dumbbells
- Medium grip incline press
- Chest flys on cables
Saturday and Sunday- Rest/cardio (your decision)
This is going to be short for the sake of simplicity. I want this to be easily understood to produce a solid base for beginners.
The most important thing to remember with working out for mass is that you do NOT want to overtrain and you do want to develop an effective "workout split" that allows for successful healing which will, of course, lead to muscle growth.
Important notes:
- When you do most back workouts (mostly rows), your biceps are also used
- When you do chest presses, your triceps and front shoulders are also used
- When you do shoulder presses, your triceps are also used
- If you still FEEL too sore to workout then you're probably too sore to workout, always listen to what your body tells you
- If you are doing an exercise and you have an astounding mind to muscle connection and you feel like you're really getting some great sets... don't stop at 3 sets. There is no rule in biology that says you HAVE to do any specific number of sets. The three set thing is not constricting. Again, listen to your body.
- 4 exercises per muscle group will suffice as long as your sets are as intense as you need them to be to induce hypertrophy.
- When you work out longer than ~1 hour (disclaimer: this is a rough estimate, the time can vary from 45-90 minutes depending on a multitude of factors), your body will release cortisol (a glucocorticosteroid) that will be COUNTERproductive to what you're trying to accomplish and induce muscle wasting so don't be under the impression that working out for some insane amount of time will make you bigger faster. It will do quite the opposite.
*** I'll use days of the week rather than numbered days in this example
Monday- Back and Biceps
- Standing bicep curls
- Standing hammer curls
- Straight bar curls
- Concentration curls
- Pull ups
- Lat pull downs
- Seated low row
- T bar row
Tuesday- Legs
- Squats
- Leg press
- Leg extensions
- Leg curls
- Assortment of calf raises
- Calf raise on leg press machine
- Standing calf raise machine
- Etc.
Wednesday- Shoulders and Triceps
- Seated shoulder press with dumbbells
- Lateral raise with dumbbells
- Standing vertical row with straight bar or cable machine
- Shrugs (in whichever way you prefer, I prefer with cables standing on something)
- Skull crushers
- French press
- Tricep extensions w/ cables
- Kickbacks
Thursday- Legs and Back (completely optional, but I'd recommend it, you may also opt to do one or the other rather than both but these are large muscle groups and can really benefit from being worked twice a week)
^^ see above exercises for legs and back
Friday- Chest
- Chest press with dumbbells
- Medium grip bench press
- Incline press with dumbbells
- Medium grip incline press
- Chest flys on cables
Saturday and Sunday- Rest/cardio (your decision)
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