Workout guide, for newbies. Read the nutrition course first.

[R.C]

Ok, assuming you got your nutrition in check, here's a few things about working out.

1) Go to the gym. No ifs, no buts, no nothing. Gym. You cannot "workout from home" unless your goal is purely to lose weight. Which is alright, but even then you'd still be better of going to the gym and lifting weights. If you are serious about fitness there is no other way around it, and you will have to do it eventually. I will include an alternative if you are adamant about not subscribing to a gym, but that should be a last resort. You should take that up only if you can not get a gym membership for whatever momentary reason, and it should be a temporary solution exclusively. 

2) Get a workout plan and stick to it. Stick. To. It. For at least 6-9 months. Don't change it once you've chosen it. Don't alter it, you don't know what you're doing. Don't expect overnight results, although with proper diet and training, as a beginner, you very much will see them. 

4) Motivation is fleeting. Discipline is eternal. It's easy to go to them gym when you actually feel like doing it. It's hard when the last thing you want to do is leave the house. And that's when it's most important that you go do it.

5) Always. Warm. Up. I've had numerous small scale injuries that kept me out of the gym for weeks on end because I couldn't be bothered to do a 10 minute warmup. Don't be an idiot, it's not worth it. And aside from injury prevention, being warmed up will actually allow you to do your exercises in a much cleaner fashion. 

The rest of these posts will be gym oriented. You should still read them, but here's the at home solution. This only applies if you're trying to cut down. Go to google, find "Shaun T's Insanity", buy it, and do it. It's a 2 month program. Be able to finish that and you'll have my respect. It will absolutely wreck your soul. And during those 2 month do whatever you gotta do to be able to join that gym. Also, with a proper diet backing it up you'll be shredding fat like a maniac. 
You do not need a single piece of equipment for it. Maybe a yoga mat or whatever kind of surface to comfortably allow you to do ground level exercises without you bruising yourself over hardwood floor or getting carpet burns in the unfun way. 

[R.C]

Beginner workout plan:

First and foremost, this is strength training. Before you can move to more "specialized training", you need to have a solid basis. You need to move from absolute beginner to advanced beginner - borderline intermediate and you need to do it in an efficient way. As a beginner your body has absolutely huge potential, don't waste it.

This is very simple, but don't take it for granted. You will have two workout patterns. A and B. CM stands for Compound Movement and these are the staples of fitness. Not doing CMs in the gym should be illegal. And if you see someone never doing them, they're probably clueless. As the name suggests, these are the big boys of working out and will be utilizing your entire body.

Workout A:
Mandatory:
Back squat  - 3x5
- CM
Rows  - 3x5
- CM
Bench - 3x5

- CM
Chin ups - 15-20 reps. At first you probably won't even be able to do 3. That's fine, and normal. Use assisted chinup machine if you can't even do one, and progress slowly until you can do 8. Do 2-3 of however many you can until you can do 8 each set, then try to do 20 in one go. Once you're there, add weight. 

Optional:
3x8 Cable rows
3x8 bicep work
3x8 rear delt flyes
Abs 

Optional means that if you're having a really good day and are blasting through your mandatories, pick these up. Only if you feel like it and really don't stress them over if you can't. Also, you can either pick 1, 2 or all 3. Entirely up to you. 


Workout B
Mandatory:
Front squat - 3x5 - CM

Standing military press - 3x5
- CM
Deadlifts - 2x5
- CM
Dips - 15-20 reps. Follow the same rules as for the chinups. Again, you probably won't be even able to do one if you're just starting out.
Optional: 
3x8 Tricep work.
Abs

You'll do this in an alternative fashion. A today. B next time you're at the gym. Then A again. A - B - A - B - A - etc. 

Frequency
If you're a beginner, volume over intensity is your cookie cutter. Don't be the guy that thinks he'll be able to go to the gym 7 days a week and also believe it's a sustainable long term plan. You'll be burnt out in 2 weeks, tops. 
The minimum should be 3 times a week. And try to have one rest day in between your sessions. A on Monday, rest on Tuesday, B on Wednesday, rest on Thursday, etc. 
Your aim however, should be 4 times a week. As a beginner you shouldn't have much issue with it. 



Before you start
Take the time, go to youtube, and lookup each and every one of those exercises. Make bookmarks just in case. Learn how to do it correctly. The single most important sentence in this guide is the following: 
Form is law.
Form should be your main focus throughout your entire lifting career. Not how much you can lift, but how much you can lift correctly. That is your goal. Proper form means properly activating the targeted muscle groups. It means faster progress. It means no injuries. It is your holy word. 
Fire up those bookmarks if you're at the gym forgetting how you were supposed to do it. And feel free to PM me your research if you need confirmation on whether or not you've stumbled acros the right tutorials. 

How do you progress?

Trials
First, you need to start off. Your first day in the gym will be your trials. As a reference, and empty olympic bar (one you'll be using for every CM) weighs about 20kg or 44lbs with no load. Start off with no weight. Depending on how easy that is, for your next set, add adequate amounts of weight. Really whatever you think you can handle. If you think you can handle 10kg (22lbs) more, add 2 plates that total that amount. You get the point. 
Rinse and repeat 1 or 2 more times until you reach a weight at which you can do 3-4 reps with relative ease but struggle with the 5th. That will be your baseline. Repeat the process for each exercise. 
Also, when I started off I about 6 years ago I barely was able to complete 3 sets of back squats with an empty bar. And I kid you not, walking up the staircase while going home was a horrific experience. You'll know what I mean soon enough. Point is, don't be discouraged. You'll skyrocket in no time. 

Progressive overload
Fancy term, I know. If you endlessly lift the same amount of weight on each of your trips to the gym, you're going to stagnate. The human body is amazingly adaptable, and will need constant challenge to keep improving. 
You've noted your trials on your phone, so the next time you're at the gym you're going to add 2.5 kgs or 5lbs of weight to your exercises. Then you're going to do the required amount of sets and reps. If you have successfully done 3x5 bench presses with the new weight, congrats. Do the same for all others. If there were no failures, on your next A workout you will be increasing by the same amount, again.
If there were failures on any given exercise, then mark it down, and you will not increase that particular exercise on your next workout. You'll try again, same weight, until you can do it. 

Assuming you're eating right and resting right, you should comfortably be able to overload every single time you enter the gym for the first 10-15 weeks. 
Keep form in mind at all times.



Bulk or cut?
Question of the ages in the bodybuilding community. My advice? cut first. If your bodyfat is at around 15%, following this programme for 12 months will probably get you at around 18-19%. You'll end up looking a bit chubby. Not fat, but chubby. You'll have gained a metric ton of muscle by that time too, but it will be masked by some fat. You'll be showing it all off after a couple of months of cutting regardless, but some people get morale struck by the increasing fat, and decide to cut early and then end up in a vicious circle.

If you cut for 3-4 months, you'll get from 15% to about 10-11% with relative ease. Your in-existent abs will start to show at this point and any muscle gain will be much more visible. This will have the opposite effect and confer moral boosts. It's a slower process though. It'll virtually take you a few more months to reach the same result, but it might be a more satisfying journey.



Milestones:
You're no longer a beginner once you can:
- Bench your bodyweight, 3x5
- Squat 1.2-1.5 your bodyweight, 3x5
- Deadlift 1.8-2x your bodyweight, 2x5
This programmer should serve your needs up until that point, and based on a variety of factors, you should get there anywhere between 6-9 months to 12-15 months. 

[R.C]

Notes:
- You might notice that there are only two sets of deadlifts. Personally I think 3 is too much and 1 is too little for a beginner. They are by far the most demanding exercise in your list.
- Don't worry about training legs every time. a) you don't want chicken legs and b) you are physically incapable of overtraining at this level.
- Do your research. If you don't, you're stealing from your own pocket.
- Warm up. Seriously.
- Do not change this routine. Stick with it for at least 6 months. You will see results, I promise.
- Abs are optional, because CMs will work them anyway. And they won't show, anyway, unless you're around 12% body fat.

Myths:
- If you do more abs, you'll lose belly fat.
Targeted fat loss is pseudoscience. When your body ditches fat, it does so from all over the place. Excessive ab training will actually make it worse, because the abs will grow underneath and you'll look even bigger.

- Cardio is mandatory.
It's not, it's simply flexible. Doing cardio will allow you to eat more. It will also improve cardiovascular health. It also feels great post session. Do I recommend it? yes. Is is mandatory? no. Optional, whenever you feel like it.

- Walking is cardio.
I don't know who came up with this but unless you're severely overweight, walking will not increase your heartrate. Will you burn some extra calories? Sure. Is it a workout? no.

- Pushups and crunches count as a workout.
They don't. Bodyweight training in general does fuck all to improve your muscle mass. Unless you're doing some really acrobatic calisthenics, which I guarantee you can't pull off. And even then, actual lifting is probably better.

- Machines, with very very few exceptions, are for otherwise impaired people. As in, either extremely fat, or extremely skinny. Chances are you don't fit in this category. You CMs should be done with a barbell. Don't use machines. They are unreliable.

- Personal trainers know what they're doing.
They might. But most can't be arsed to put it any effort in your actual development. They know you're likely clueless, because otherwise you wouldn't be reaching out to them. But you're not, cause you've read my guide. In fact, most will cardio the shit out of you just so that you feel you got your money worth. They'll regurgitate vague information along the lines that were written here, without actually going in depth on why. You'll be told to eat 5 times a day. You won't be told to eat less calories, and why that may be a good idea. They'll make you do box jumps, but god forbid you ever touch the bench press.
Unless you got the money to spare on what's little more than an accountability partner, in case none of your friends are into working out, and you get more of a kick that way, then just don't bother.
Ofcourse, some are good. But those are dime a dozen and usually well booked up. If you're adamant on getting one, be sure to have a nice, long conversation during which he explains exactly what the process will be, why, and then decide if he's worth your money.

- Training to often can lead to overtraining syndrome.
True. But then again you're no olympic lifter, so don't worry about it.

- Supplements are bad because x reason.
They're not. But some if not most are useless. And their advertising is always dishonest. But you don't need to worry about all that because you've read up the nutrition guide. Seriously tho, stay away from anything that's not protein or creatine.

- Don't take advice from random people at the gym. Honestly. Most are clueless. Just like you don't take advice about picking up women from just about anyone. Again, most are clueless. Just nod and continue doing you.


Good job
Now you're ready. This is, by large, all you need to know in order to have a solid start down your fitness path. Count yourself lucky, most people go through years of trial and error. Have fun with it.

[dyneira]

Thank for the guide. I really appreciate the amount of detail you've gone into as well.

I've been working out on and off for a few years now but various issues have limited the amount of time I wished I put into it. By various issues I mean bullshit excuses, but I finally feel the motivation is there. I did go frequently up unti a few months ago when I was injured doing something else. Still waiting on doctors instructions for that, but have started going back and taking things easy.

I'm going to do this workout for the time being but might add a little more isolation exercises to 'part 2' when I move along.

Now to the questions. With the chin ups and dips, I don't have access to any assisted machines, so wondering what my best would be. I can use a pull down machine for the chin ups, but can't really replicate the dips on anything. Currently seeing how many I can do unassisted. Any suggestions?

What would you say the best warm. Up routine is?

And, any tips for the Front Squats? While I don't have a problem with the movement, I'm struggling with the grips.

Tha ks again.

[R.C]

Jun 5, 2018 18:59:59 GMT dyneira said:

Thank for the guide. I really appreciate the amount of detail you've gone into as well.

I've been working out on and off for a few years now but various issues have limited the amount of time I wished I put into it. By various issues I mean bullshit excuses, but I finally feel the motivation is there. I did go frequently up unti a few months ago when I was injured doing something else. Still waiting on doctors instructions for that, but have started going back and taking things easy.

I'm going to do this workout for the time being but might add a little more isolation exercises to 'part 2' when I move along.

Now to the questions. With the chin ups and dips, I don't have access to any assisted machines, so wondering what my best would be. I can use a pull down machine for the chin ups, but can't really replicate the dips on anything. Currently seeing how many I can do unassisted. Any suggestions?

What would you say the best warm. Up routine is?

And, any tips for the Front Squats? While I don't have a problem with the movement, I'm struggling with the grips.

Tha ks again.

Feel free to add isolation exercises as optional. Do whatever you once once you've completed your daily mandatory exercises. I get it, some people love the bicep pump.
Lat pulldown machine will work for chins, to a degree. As far as dips go, do some tricep work I guess. Dips should target your chest and triceps in combination, so tricep work that involves you pushing down on something can simulate that to a degree.

I've heard of gyms not having a squat rack, but it feels weird to hear of one not having a dip/chinup stand.

Anyway, warmup can include a bit of stretching and mobility movement, and then anywhere between 1-3 sets of your next exercise with about 50-75% of the weight. So if you bench 200, do a few sets with 100-150 before your actual work sets of 200. That will serve as a decent warmup. Then repeat for the next exercises. 

[dyneira]

Jun 15, 2018 9:12:36 GMT R.C said:

Jun 5, 2018 18:59:59 GMT dyneira said:

Thank for the guide. I really appreciate the amount of detail you've gone into as well.

I've been working out on and off for a few years now but various issues have limited the amount of time I wished I put into it. By various issues I mean bullshit excuses, but I finally feel the motivation is there. I did go frequently up unti a few months ago when I was injured doing something else. Still waiting on doctors instructions for that, but have started going back and taking things easy.

I'm going to do this workout for the time being but might add a little more isolation exercises to 'part 2' when I move along.

Now to the questions. With the chin ups and dips, I don't have access to any assisted machines, so wondering what my best would be. I can use a pull down machine for the chin ups, but can't really replicate the dips on anything. Currently seeing how many I can do unassisted. Any suggestions?

What would you say the best warm. Up routine is?

And, any tips for the Front Squats? While I don't have a problem with the movement, I'm struggling with the grips.

Tha ks again.

Feel free to add isolation exercises as optional. Do whatever you once once you've completed your daily mandatory exercises. I get it, some people love the bicep pump.
Lat pulldown machine will work for chins, to a degree. As far as dips go, do some tricep work I guess. Dips should target your chest and triceps in combination, so tricep work that involves you pushing down on something can simulate that to a degree.

I've heard of gyms not having a squat rack, but it feels weird to hear of one not having a dip/chinup stand.

Anyway, warmup can include a bit of stretching and mobility movement, and then anywhere between 1-3 sets of your next exercise with about 50-75% of the weight. So if you bench 200, do a few sets with 100-150 before your actual work sets of 200. That will serve as a decent warmup. Then repeat for the next exercises. 

Gym was refurbished a week ago and now has a dip/chinup stand. This however isn't an assisted one but have seen people use resistance bands so it acts like one. Might give that a go.

Usually for warm up I will do one set of the exercise with just the bar. Also do about 5 minutes on the crosstrainer beforehand.

Using a cross grip for the front squat but not feeling a 100% comfortable with it. Any suggestions for this? Can't grip it like most of the form guides show

[R.C]

Can't grip it like most form guides either. Crossgrip is my choice. It's hard to get used to at first, but it gets easier.

[N2thevoid]

Never liked cross grip it torques the body one way.

[R.C]

I don't much like it either, but the alternative I simply can't do.

[dyneira]

Don't feel to comfortabke with the cross grip myself but can't do the clean grip. Anyone tried the clean grip with straps? Seen it mentioned as being the best option.

[undecided]

Point 1 I would seriously argue its validity - specifically I mean the part where it says you cannot work out at home unless you are losing weight. Many people have built a great physique from home gyms.

I remember going to the Australian IFBB Pro Bodybuilding Grand Prix and as contestants were coming on stage they would mention where they worked out. Nearly all of these contestants had specific gyms that they worked out at however one guy was introduced as working out in his garage, and he was a real beast !

Now if a person can work out at home and develop a elite competition figure then surely a decent figure can be created from home for everyone should they have the correct equipment.

The viewpoint of machines being only for overweight or extremely skinny is debatable. Machines are very handy and should not be dismissed if you don't fall in the mentioned categories, especially handy if you are coming back from injury.

Otherwise theirs some very good information provided there and worth a read.