T Nation

Beginner Routine

#1

Hey Guys

Im only 15 and new to these forums but Ive been reading up for a while now and it looks like there is some very knowledgable people out there.

Anyways I was just after some opinions on a basic workout split routine over to seperate days a week I have started doing, It consists of:

Day 1:
3 sets wide grip incline bench
3 sets wide grip flat bench
4 sets conventional deadlift

Day 2:
5 sets inverted rows
3 sets bicep dumbell curls

I know there is nothing much in there for quads, glutes or calves but I go for solid 10km bike rides every morning which I find give these muscles plenty of work and are definatly my strongest body parts.

So I was just wondering if you guys think this is a reasonable beginner workout to start of and if I can add anything more without taking up to much time because I am still currently at school.

Cheers in advance!

#2

This is the typical routine a 15-year old would come up with. Which means it is BAD. No, bike rides do not substitute leg work; if this were the case, you could also crawl around instead of doing bench presses.

There are plenty of very decent routines on this site, pick one. What I will tell you is that your routine should include basic movements. So pushes (bench presses, overhead presses), pulls (pull ups, rows) and leg lifts (squats, deadlifts). If you start training correctly now you’ll be ahead of the pack in a few years. Should you decide to act like the average teenager and sulk over constructive criticism - hey, it’s your body.

#3

Why don’t you find a workout you like from the website. I’m an old man, and I don’t bother trying to come up with programs on my own. VERY bright folks who are VERY good at what they do write articles here/post here. I take advantage by reading up and following their programs. That’s my suggestion for you as well.

I suggest reading up on Dan John (who I think is a HS coach) and possibly Chad Waterbury (his TBT is a great place for a noob to start).

This is my 2 cents. Good luck.

#4

[quote]TheLifterdude wrote:
Anyways I was just after some opinions on a basic workout split routine over to seperate days a week I have started doing, It consists of:

Day 1:
3 sets wide grip incline bench
3 sets wide grip flat bench
4 sets conventional deadlift

Day 2:
5 sets inverted rows
3 sets bicep dumbell curls[/quote]
Even without knowing how many reps you’re doing or how often you’re doing these workouts each week, I can tell you it sucks, just like the other guys have said. There’s no rhyme or reason to it that I can figure. I guess technically it’s better than not training at all, since you’re at least trying to include deadlifts, but it’s really, really just not a good looking routine.

As was said, riding a bike for long distances (or even short distances) is absolutely positively not enough work for your legs. Your profile says you’re 6’1" and 140 pounds. Bud, you have [u][b]no[/b][/u] “strongest bodyparts.”

I know being skinny with abs is the “in thing” for kids your age, but believe me that in the long run, it’ll only be a good thing if you focus on building muscle and strength ASAP.

Starting tomorrow, do this:

Mon, Wed, and Fri
Squat 2x15 (No weight, keep both feet flat on the floor.)
Push-up 2x15 (On your toes, go until the chest almost touches the floor.)
Lunge 2x15 (Alternate legs, 1 rep left/1 rep right.)
Neutral-grip pull-up 2x15 (assisted if necessary. Could be substituted with inverted rows.)
Plank 2x15-count (Hold the top part of a push-up, on the toes, arms straight, keep the whole body straight. Count to 15.)
Burpee/squat thrust 2x15

As soon as that workout becomes easy from start to finish, then you should get on a well-designed lifting routine, but definitely not some plan you try to create yourself.

#5

Thankyou guys very much for your advice and critisism. I now know that just bike riding alone will not cut it for a lower body workout. Thankyou Chris Colucci for that workout I will try it first thing tomorrow and see how it goes. As for finding a workout plan that would be suitable after I progress from this one what would you recommend?

Cheers

#6

Stronglifts, Back2Basics, Starting Strength and a lot more. Pretty much everything with a frequency of 2-3 times on the big 3(or 4); Bench, Press, Squat, Deadlift.

I wouldn’t recommend Wendler for dudes just starting to lift. Frequency is too low. To get a great technique at the key lifts you need to have as many GOOD reps per week as possible. With good reps, I mean reps where you haven’t done 11213 reps of inferior exercises before squatting (Like the BB splits all over bodybuilding.com) An example is:

Hack squat 3x15
Romanian Deadlift 4x8
Squats 2x20

Etc. First of all. technique isn’t build by highrep work, especially not in the bench and deadlift. At all. It goes to shitter in the bench after 4 to 8 reps depending on how tight you are. The more tight, the less time you’re able to hold it.

Deadlift just shouldn’t be above 5 reps at all IMO. That’s one of the reasons I think Wendler’s deadlift routine is messed up. the form is fucked after rep 5.

#7

[quote]TheLifterdude wrote:
As for finding a workout plan that would be suitable after I progress from this one what would you recommend? [/quote]
I’d x2 the advice of looking into stuff from Dan John or Chad Waterbury. They both have a lot of different programs that emphasize the basics.

But it’s hard to go wrong with really any well-designed plan that has you lifting 3-5 days a week, hitting every bodypart (whether it’s with a full body, upper-lower, or a more detailed split), certainly incorporating all of the big basic exercises (squat, deadlift, bench, overhead press, row, pull-ups/pulldowns, etc.).

More important than choosing the “right” training plan is your food. You’re a tall, very skinny dude, so you need to be eating three big meals everyday to see real results. There are a bunch of articles with detailed info, but keep it simple - quality protein, carbs, and fats in each meal.

#8

Ok thanks I really appreciate the advice and I will be sure to look into some of there workout plans.

Cheers