The Best Workout Plan for Beginners

The surplus of information out there is more often an obstacle than an aid for those who are new to exercise. It is important to understand and accept basic fundamental principles of physical training to make progress and keep making progress over the long term. These principles do not change, and any additional nuance only adds to these basic principles.

1. You must get stronger over time. This does not mean week to week, but 1 year from now you should be able to lift more weight.

2. You must train hard. There are many different styles to training, and there are many ways to personalize your training approach, but there is no way to train easy and maximize results. 

3. You need to eat for your goals. You will not lose fat without a caloric deficit, you will not build a lot of muscle without adequate protein and a caloric surplus. If you are overweight, the additional body fat you have is part of your surplus. If you are underweight, you will have to accept some fat gain, but a standard, healthy bodybuilding diet is still going to add a small amount of fat but a lot more muscle.

The Program

Day A

PRIMARY QUAD EXERCISE

• Barbell Squat 3x5+
• Leg Press / Machine Squat 3 x 6-8

VERTICAL PRESS

• Barbell Overhead Press 3x5+
• Dumbbell/Machine Shoulder Press 3 x 6-8

VERTICAL PULL

• Lat Pulldown 2x8-12
• Pull Ups / Assisted Pull Ups 2-3 x AMRAP

1-2 Bodybuilding exercise(s) of Choice 2x10-12

Day B

HORIZONTAL PRESS

• Barbell Bench Press 3x5+
• Dumbbell Bench Press / Machine Chest Press 3 x 6-8
• Push Ups / Dips 2-3 x AMRAP

PRIMARY HINGE

• Conventional Deadlift / Stiff-leg Deadlift 3x5+
• RDL 3 x 6-8 
• Good Morning 3 x 10-15

HORIZONTAL

• Pendlay Row 3 x 5
• Barbell / Machine / Cable Row 3 x 6-8
• Dumbbell / Machine / Cable Single-arm Row 2-3 x 8-12
• Inverted Row 2-3 x AMRAP

1-2 Bodybuilding Exercise of Choice(s) 2x10-12

Alternate between day A and day B

Rest between each day OR after two days of working out, only if absolutely necessary due to scheduling constraints

Rest 2-3 minutes for the first two exercise and 1-2 minutes for the last 2 exercises

“+” indicates going to technical failure (i.e. when form breaks down, the set is over)

Add 5lbs every week on the 3x5+ exercises

Add weight on the bodybuilding exercises when you can complete 2x12 with good form

Considerations

• This should be used for 6-12 months, it can be used for a lot longer if you implement a reset when you can no longer hit 3x5 by reducing the load by 15% and build back up
• The bodybuilding exercise should address areas that you want to build OR areas that experience some amount of discomfort. 
  • Achy elbows : bicep curls and tricep extensions
  • Achy knees : leg curls, lunges, and/or calf raises
  • Achy shoulders : reverse fly, lateral raises
  • Achy lower back : back extensions, abs
• Eventually, your recovery may allow you to do the same workout twice in the same 7 day period. If you are able to perform and make progress doing the same workout twice in the same week, do it. Once recovery starts to become an issue, you can replace the exercises on one of the days to perform variations of the main lifts.