So in the last part of Muscle Building 101, you were introduced to all the training principles you need to know in order to structure your weight lifting and strength training workouts for the gym. In this part, you'll read about proper exercise programming and recovery.
Now here are two sample strength training programs to familiarize you with using all the concepts we covered. Both of these routines are recommended for newbies because they are simple and effective.
Full Body ABA
The full body ABA workout uses 2 different full body workouts alternating every other day in a given week. Workout A will use a different selection of exercises and workout B will use its own exercises. The program follows a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule with Tuesday, Thursday, and the weekends off (free from lifting).
The workout follows this format,
- Monday: workout A
- Tuesday: rest/free from strength training or do light cardio for 20-30 minutes (the ultra skinny with ultra-fast metabolisms should skip cardio)
- Wednesday: workout B
- Thursday: another rest/free day
- Friday: workout A again
- Saturday and Sunday are rest days
- Monday: workout B on the following monday
*repeat the above cycle
Do workout A on Monday, workout B on Wednesday, and workout A again on Friday. Then the next week on Monday, you'll start with workout B. So it alternates A B A B A B every other day. Alternatively, you can also use a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday schedule, or something similar as long as you allow one day of rest in between each strength training session.
This is a basic one day on, one day off, with weekends off schedule. Very flexible for everyone. It doesn't require you to spend hours in the gym every day. Each workout can be completed in under 45 minutes.
Here's what the routine looks like,
Workout A
- squat 3x 8-12, sets x reps ( 3 sets of 12 )
- bench press 3x 8-12
- pullups 3x 8-12
- hammer curls 2x 12
- barbell tricep extension 2x 12
- weighted crunches 2x 12
Workout B
- deadlift 3x 5-8
- dips 3x 5-8
- barbell rows 3 x 5-8
- dumbbell side bend 2x 15, each side
- glute ham raises 2x 8
- standing calf raises 2x 12
Workout Notes:
The weight lifting routine combines 6 compound exercises (3 for each workout; squat, bench press, pullups, deadlift, dips, barbell rows) with 3 supplementary/isolation movements for the smaller muscle groups (calf raises, side bend, hammer curls). There are a total of 12 exercises in this strength training program.
You'll use the bodybuilding repetition ranges of 5-8 and 8-12 reps for both workouts. Use weight and repetition progression with these rep schemes as you progress through the workouts to ensure both forms of progressive overload.
Rest about 2-3 minutes between each set. You can even do the entire workout using a circuit approach if you have the equipment is not taken at the gym or your gym is empty. Take workout B for example, you can do a set of deadlift, rest a minute, move onto a set of dips, rest a minute, move to barbell rows, rest, etc. until all the required number of sets are done.
The above ABA workouts can also be adjusted by adding more exercises and utilizing any of the mentioned progression schemes for your weight lifting routines from part 3 of Muscle Building 101.
Push, Pull, Leg Body Part Split
Another good routine for beginners is the classic push, pull, leg split. This workout has you working the "pushing" muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps) on one day, the "pulling" muscles (back, biceps) on another day, and the legs (quads, hamstrings, calves), on the last day of the work week, following a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule similar to the ABA program above.
So for each workout, you're focusing on different exercises; both compound and isolation exercises with bodybuilding rep schemes.
Here's what the push/pull/leg split looks like,
Workout 1- Push day
- bench press 4x 8-12, sets x reps
- db flys on flat bench 2x 8-12
- dips 2x 5-8
- dumbbell shoulder press 2x 8-12
- weighted crunches 3x 15
- db side bend 3x 12
Workout 2- Pull day
- barbell rows 4x 8-12
- hammer curls 2x 12
- wrist curls 2x 12
- chinups 2x 5-8
- barbell curls 2x 10
Workout 3- Legs day
- squats 3x 12
- glute ham raises 2x 10
- dumbbell or barbell lunges 3x 12
- good morning 2x 10
- standing calf raises 2x 15
Workout Notes:
You'll do 5-6 different exercises per workout day.
For both routines, rest 2-3 minutes per set between the same exercises. Like the full body ABA routine, you can also do this routine using the circuit approach described above.
If you time the rest periods right and do the exercises without wasting any time you should be able to finish the each workout in under 45 minutes. Train with focus and intensity.
The above 2 routines are templated routines. You can use your different exercises as long as you follow the basic structure. The structure involves using mostly compound movements with isolation exercises to supplement the workout, focusing on the basic and core lifts, using rep schemes of 5-12 reps (5-8 and 8-12 rep ranges), and incorporating various progressive overload methods (repetition and weight progression). As long as you keep these basic factors in mind and apply them to all of your strength training workouts, you'll do exceptionally well for muscle building success.
If you still don't know where to start, then just start with the above strength training routines. Pick one program. Either one will be great for starting out.
Split Routines
There are plenty of other routines you can do. The benefit of split routines is that you can focus more on each muscle group and/or specialize using a greater variety of exercises (you do more sets and reps; greater volume). Once you've built that foundation of strength, you can move onto split routines and experiment with a higher volume training load and see how well you respond.
Here are some popular split routines,
Routine 1
Monday- chest, shoulders, triceps
Tuesday- back, biceps
Wednesday- rest
Thursday- legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes)
Friday- forearm/grip, calves, abdominal
Sat and Sun are rest days
Routine 2
Monday- legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves)
Tuesday- chest, shoulders
Wednesday-rest
Thursday- back
Friday- arms (biceps and triceps)
Sat and Sun are rest days
Routine 3
Monday- chest, shoulders, triceps
Tuesday- legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves), abs
Wednesday- back, biceps, forearms/grip
Thursday- rest
Friday- chest, shoulders, triceps
Saturday- back, abs,
Sunday-rest
Routine 4
Monday- Upper body workout A
Tuesday- Lower body workout A, quad dominant exercises
Wednesday- rest
Thursday- Upper body workout B with different exercises than workout A
Friday- Lower body workout B with different exercises than workout A, hip dominant exercises
Sat and Sun are rest days
Routine 5
Monday- Upper body push exercises, workout A
Tuesday- Lower body push exercises, workout A
Wednesday- rest
Thursday- Upper body pull exercises, workout B
Friday- Lower body pull exercises, workout B
Sat and Sun are rest days
Routine 6
Monday- push upper body exercises
Tuesday- rest
Wednesday- pull upper body exercises
Thursday- rest
Friday- lower body/legs
Sat and Sun are rest days
Generally, split routines are recommended to those who are more advanced and know their body. They've been training seriously for several years and have built a good base of strength foundation. They know what works best, the best exercises and volume range their body responds best so they can use their own split routines to bring up weak points and prioritize muscle groups. Come back to split routines after you've done a few cycles of full body workouts.
Formulating your own Strength Training Workouts
Now here are my proven guidelines to get you started on formulating your own strength training workouts for building muscle and strength,
1) To start off, pick either the full body ABA workout or the push/pull/leg split routine. Use the sample routines if you like.
2) For the ABA routine, pick one compound lift for each major muscle group (chest, back, legs) and one isolation exercise for the smaller muscle groups (biceps, triceps, abs, calves, forearms). Do the same for workouts A and B, each using different exercises. You'll end up with a total of 6-9 exercises for each workout, similar to the sample routine above.
3) For the push/pull/leg split, pick 3 compound exercises that cover the pushing muscles (chest, triceps, shoulder exercises) so you have one main compound movement for each of the push muscles. Then pick 3 isolation exercises. For legs, pick two compound movements instead of three.
4) Put the exercises together and do the most difficult movements first, meaning put the compounds ahead of the isolation exercises. Use the circuit approach if you want to save time.
5) Rest 2-3 minutes between each set and 3-4 minutes between each exercise. Make sure you can complete each workout in under 1 hour, preferably 45 minutes.
6) Use a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule with Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sundays off, free from strength training. You may do some light cardio lasting no longer than 40 minutes on those rest days. But if you're a hardgainer and very skinny, skip the cardio.
And that's basically it. Just follow these 6 guidelines to coming up with your first bodybuilding routine for building muscle and strength. Keep everything basic and simple. What matters most are heavy weights, compound exercises, and progressive overload. Lift with intensity and focus. Everything will fall into place and you'll see results.
Here's another recommended reading list that gives you some ideas of how to structure basic programs for real results,
- The New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle, Alwyn Cosgrove, Lou Schuler
- Men's Health Home Workout Bible, Michael Mejia, Lou Schuler
- Scrawny to Brawny: The Complete Guide the Building Muscle the Natural Way, John Berardi, Michael Mejia
- Beyond Brawn: The Insiders Guide on How to Build Muscle and Might, Stuart McRobert
Stagnation and Plateau
Though eventually, you will adapt to these workouts. You will eventually adapt to whatever workouts you're doing. And when that time comes, you'll stop getting stronger and building muscle. You'll stop seeing results. But that's normal. The body is a natural homeostatic "machine" that will eventually adapt to whatever stresses you apply. This is called the law of accommodation.
Each successive workouts yields less and lesser results until you plateau. When you stagnate, you'll have to re-format and/or change your routine. You'll have change one or two factors of your routine to see results again.
Here are some effective ways to bust through plateaus,
- use different exercises or different compound variations of the main compound lifts, for example, do front squats instead of regular barbell back squats, switch over to sitting dumbbell shoulder presses instead of standing barbell military presses, substitute weighted pushups (wearing a backpack or weight vest) for barbell bench presses.
- use different rep ranges, you can try 1-4 or 12 + rep ranges for a nice change, the heavier you lift the less reps you should use and vice versa.
- take a week off and then come back and use lighter weights in the gym, use about 10-15 % less weight and start to build back up again, this is called progression cycling, also get into the habit of using weight, set, and rep progressions (see progressive overload in part 3 of Muscle Building 101)
- rearrange the exercise order, ex. instead of doing squats, bench press, and pullups in that order, try the reverse: pullups, bench press, and squats
- switch over to the circuit approach if you've been doing each exercise using straight sets
- reduce the frequency of your workouts, so instead of doing one workout every other day, do a workout once every 3 days instead
Check out the "Bust through strength training plateaus with muscle building shock techniques" article I wrote a while back on busting through plateaus for new PRs (personal records).
Overtraining and Recovery
On the subject of overtraining, many exercise physiologists and fitness trainers have spoken and written volumes about it. But I'll say don't worry too much about overtraining as long as you recover well by getting lots of sleep. And sleep is the last piece of the bodybuilding puzzle.
This is the most simple factor of the bodybuilding equation to understand and implement. It is the most effortless. Rest and recovery is basically sleep. In order for muscle adaptations to occur for bigger, stronger, and thicker muscles, you have to get an adequate amount of sleep every single night. I recommend 8 hours of sleep a night, with 6 hours being the minimum. Whatever you do, regardless of your priorities, make sure you sleep at least 6 hours a night. 8 hours is preferred.
You're just going to be cheating yourself and become disappointed with a lack of gains if you don't sleep enough. That's because sleep is vital for overall body recovery and rejuvenation. The body refreshes itself and repairs all the “damaged” muscles and skeletal structures during sleep.
Muscle also grows the most during sleep. If you remove this from the equation, you won't see any gains. Sleep also counters the hormone cortisol. And you know how destructive cortisol is to building muscle. A good night's sleep will boost your growth hormone levels and accelerate neural and muscular recovery. It will prevent overtraining.
If you can't get at least 6-8 hours of sleep a night, then get several small 10-15 minutes naps throughout the day. It is a good idea to take a 15 minute nap right after a workout and right after a post workout drink. There's no need to fall into deep sleep either as the short nap will be be sufficient. So get your sleep. Make it a priority. It doesn't require straining and pain. It's effortless.
And that wraps up the 3 main factors of bodybuilding: Exercise, Nutrition, and Recovery. In the final part of this long series, you're going to be given a 5-step action guide to put everything we've discussed so far together. Just follow the 5 short steps to put your nutrition and strength training program together for a full comprehensive bodybuilding program. Be prepared to build lots of muscle and strength.
Let's move on to the final part of Muscle Building 101.
Train Hard. Train Safely. Train Smart.
If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to leave a comment below or email me at ZQH245@gmail.com or ZQH250@gmail.com
photo credits:
Jason.Lengstorf
Rennett Stowe
ennuidesign
Funnyfence
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