THE COMPLETE 4-WEEK BEGINNER'S WORKOUT PROGRAM

THE COMPLETE 4-WEEK BEGINNER'S WORKOUT PROGRAM

Drastically Improve Your Physique and Fitness Levels in Four Weeks.

In the realm of fitness, three month fitness workout programs dominate the landscape. You’ve been looking at plenty of them over the internet and magazines over the years. Are they effective??

Absolutely.

But here I’m going to let you know an interesting secret which I’ve learnt by training myself and also a group of friends and clients at the gym and through online personal training.

It doesn’t take 8-12 weeks necessarily to get your feet wet in the gym. Not that you will be a seasoned veteran after 4 weeks of training, but if you can just get that first month under your belt, you will get yourself over the proverbial hump, where so many of you fail and give up and set the stage for a lifetime of muscle gains.

Let’s call this the accelerated beginner’s guide to bodybuilding. In this plan, your first month of training will be demanding, but not so demanding as to cause injury (or worse, yet burnout), and progressive in the sense that you will graduate to different exercises, higher volumes, more intensity or all of the above. After 4 weeks you’ll not only be able to get ready for the next challenge but you’ll have built a significant amount of quality muscle. In other words, one month from now you will look significantly better with your shirt off than you look now. (How’s that for results?)

This program is not just for a true beginner who has never touched weights before, it’s also suitable for anyone who has taken an extended leave of absence from training. As this was applied to me once due to a major injury where I had injuries in my left shoulder, lower back and also my left knee in an accident which kept me away from training for almost a year. And for the second time I had to stay away from my training due to my career choices to continue as a software engineer apart from my fitness career when I was at a peak in powerlifting, so I took a break of almost 3-4 months and came back to training after suffering from illness i.e., Malaria twice in the same month which completely broke me physically, mentally and emotionally. Then I decided I’ve to take my stand and start my training and once again. So once again the program came to my mind.

How long has it been since you went to the gym regularly? Six months? A year? Five years?

No worries, the following routines will get you back on track in - you guessed it – just four short weeks. Let’s get to work….

Beginner’s Workout at a Glance:

Week-1: Full-body Split

Week-2: Two-day Split: Upper Body/ Lower Body

Week-3: Three-day Split: Push/Pull/Legs

Week-4: Four-day Split: Full Body

Week-1: Whole-In-One

You’ll begin the program with a full- body training split, meaning you’ll train all major body parts in each workout (as opposed to “splitting up” your training). Train three days this first week, performing just one exercise per body part in each session. It’s important that you have rest between each workout to allow your body to recover. This makes training Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Saturday and Sunday being rest days – a good approach.

The exercises listed in Week-1 are a collection of basic moves that, while also are used by advanced lifters, I feel suitable for the beginner as well. Notice we are not starting you off only with machine exercises, a handful of free-weight movements are present right off the bat. Reason being, these are the exercises you need to master for your long term gains in muscular size and strength, so you may as well start learning them now.

Carefully read all the exercise instructions before attempting them yourself.

In Week-1, you will perform 3 sets of every exercise per workout which over the course of the week adds up to 9 sets total for each body part, a good starting volume for your purpose. With the exception of crunches of abs, you will have to do 8-12 reps per set. This rep scheme is widely considered ideal for achieving gains in muscle size (the scientific term is hypertrophy) and is commonly employed by amateur and pro bodybuilders alike.

Notice in the workouts below that your first set calls for 8 reps, second set for 10 reps and third set for 12 reps. This is referred to in the bodybuilding circles as a “reverse pyramid” (a standard pyramid goes from higher to lower reps), where you decrease the weight each set to complete the higher rep count. For example, if you first set of Lat-Pulldowns you used 60kgs for 8 reps, try using 50-55kgs on the set two for 10 reps and 40-45kgs on the third set for 12 reps.

Week-2: Split Decision

You’re only a week into the program, yet you’ll begin to train different body parts on different days with a two-day training split (meaning the entire body is trained over the course of two days, rather than one as in the first week). You’ll train a total of 4 days this week, the split includes two upper-body days (Monday and Thursday) and two lower-body days (Tuesday and Friday), and each body part is trained twice. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday will be your recovery days.

Several exercises from Week-1 are carried over to Week-2, but one move is added to each body part routine – with the exception of abs – so you can train all the muscle groups more completely from multiple angles. Chest, for example, includes two exercises i.e., one is a compound movement (Dumbbell Bench Press) that involves multiple joints (both elbow and shoulder) to work the largest amount of muscle possible, and the other is an isolation exercise (Dumbbell Flye) that involves only one joint (shoulder) and targets the pecs to a greater extent. (When doing presses for chest, the deltoids and triceps are involved to a degree, meaning presses doesn’t isolate the pecs as much as Flyes do).

You will employ a reverse pyramid scheme of reps, though in Week-2 you will go slightly higher in reps (15) in your third set of each exercise. Fifteen reps may be just outside the ideal muscle-building range, but these sets will help you increase muscular endurance to provide a solid foundation on which to build size and strength going forward.

Week-3: Three on Three

In the third week of the program we step it up to a three-day training split i.e., Training all “Pushing” body parts (Chest, Triceps and Shoulders) on Day-1. Hit the “Pulling” body parts (Back and Biceps) and abs on Day-2. Work on your lower body parts (Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings and Calves) on Day-3. You train each body part twice a week, so you will hit the gym six days this week.

One new exercise will be added to each body part routine to provide even more angles from which to train your target muscle group with two exercises of 3-4sets each. Four sets for large body parts (Chest, Back, Shoulder Quads and Hamstrings) and three sets for smaller body parts (Biceps, Triceps, Abs and Calves). The result is 16 total sets for the week for large body parts and 12 total sets for the smaller body parts again. Working with the 8-15 rep range which is a substantial increase in volume from Week-1.

Week-4: Turning Up the Volume

In the fourth and final week of the program, you’ll train four days in a four-way split that hits each body part just once (except for Calves and Abs, which are trained twice). Four-day splits are common among experienced lifters because they involve training fewer body parts (typically 2-3) per workout, which gives each muscle group ample attention and allows you to train with higher volume. As you will see, Chest and Triceps are paired up, as are Back with Biceps and Quads with Hamstrings, each a very common pairing among novice and advanced bodybuilders. Shoulders are trained more or less on their own and you’ll alternate hitting Calves and Abs – which respond well to being trained multiple times per week – every other workout. No new exercises are introduced in Week-4 so that you focus on intensity in your workouts instead of learning new movements.

Rep Schemes remain in the hypertrophy range this week, but overall volume increases by adding more sets to individual exercises, up to five sets per move for larger body parts and even 10 sets of Calf Raises on Thursday. This bump in volume will ensure that your muscles are overloaded sufficiently to continue the growth they’ve already begun experiencing in the first three weeks. Completion of this four week program now entitles you to go to the next stage.

Week-1: Full Body Split

·         Day-1: Full Body.

Dumbbell Bench Press	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Lat Pulldown	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Overhead Dumbbell Press	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Leg Press	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Lying Leg Curls	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Rope Pressdown	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Barbell Bicep Curls	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Standing Calf Raises	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Crunches	3 sets	15reps

·         Day-2: Rest Day.

Today is rest day. Enjoy yourself.

·         Day-3: Full Body.

Dumbbell Bench Press	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Lat Pulldown	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Overhead Dumbbell Press	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Leg Press	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Lying Leg Curls	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Rope Pressdown	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Barbell Bicep Curls	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Standing Calf Raises	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Crunches	3 sets	15reps

·         Day-4: Rest Day.

Another Rest Day? Yes, Please.

·         Day-5: Full Body.

Dumbbell Bench Press	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Lat Pulldown	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Overhead Dumbbell Press	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Leg Press	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Lying Leg Curls	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Rope Pressdown	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Barbell Bicep Curls	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Standing Calf Raises	3 sets	8,10,12 reps
Crunches	3 sets	15reps

·         Day-6: Rest Day.

Relax. You’ve crushed your first week.

·         Day-7: Rest Day.

Seriously, recovery time is important. Wait until tomorrow.

Week-2: Two-Day Split: Upper and Lower Body

·         Day-8: Upper Body.

Barbell Bench Press	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Dumbbell Flye	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Barbell Bent-Over Row	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Lat Pulldown	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Overhead Dumbbell Press	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Dumbbell Lateral Raise	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Barbell Biceps Curl	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Preacher Curl with Cable	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Rope Pressdown	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Crunches	3 sets	15-20 reps

·         Day-9: Lower Body.

Leg Press	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Squats	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Lying Leg Curls	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Leg Extensions	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Standing Calf Raises	3 sets	15-20 reps
Seated Calf Raises	3 sets	15-20 reps

·         Day-10: Rest Day

Rest Day once again. Feeling Sore? That’s why it’s important to recover.

·         Day-11: Upper Body.

Barbell Bench Press	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Dumbbell Flye	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Barbell Bent-Over Row	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Lat Pulldown	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Overhead Dumbbell Press	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Dumbbell Lateral Raise	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Barbell Biceps Curl	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Preacher Curl with Cable	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Rope Pressdown	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Crunches	3 sets	15-20 reps

·         Day-12: Lower Body.

Leg Press	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Squats	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Lying Leg Curls	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Leg Extensions	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Standing Calf Raises	3 sets	15-20 reps
Seated Calf Raises	3 sets	15-20 reps

·         Day-13: Rest.

Way to go, you‘ve completed two weeks! By now you should be noticing some results.

·         Day-14: Rest.

Enjoy your rest day! Back to work tomorrow for the second half.

Week-3: Three-Day Split: Push, Pull and Legs.

·         Day-15: Push.

Incline Barbell Bench Press	4 sets	10, 10, 12, 15 reps
Dumbbell Flye	4 sets	10-15 reps
Overhead Dumbbell Press	4 sets	10-15 reps
Smith Machine Upright Row	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Dumbbell Kickback	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps

·         Day-16: Pull.

Barbell Upright Row	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Single-Arm Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Row	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Incline Dumbbell Biceps Curl	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Preacher Curl with Cable	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Reverse Crunch	3 sets	15-20 reps
Crunches	3 sets	15-20 reps

·         Day-17: Legs.

Back Squat	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Leg Press	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Lunges	4 sets	8-12 reps
Romanian Deadlift	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Standing Calf Raises	3 sets	25 reps
Seated Calf Raises	3 sets	25 reps

·         Day-18: Push.

Incline Barbell Bench Press	4 sets	10, 10, 12, 15 reps
Dumbbell Flye	4 sets	10-15 reps
Overhead Dumbbell Press	4 sets	10-15 reps
Smith Machine Upright Row	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps
Dumbbell Kickback	3 sets	10, 12, 15 reps

·         Day-19: Pull.

Barbell Upright Row	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Single-Arm Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Row	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Incline Dumbbell Biceps Curl	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Preacher Curl with Cable	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Reverse Crunch	3 sets	15-20 reps
Crunches	3 sets	15-20 reps

·         Day-20: Legs.

Back Squat	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Leg Press	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Lunges	4 sets	8-12 reps
Romanian Deadlift	4 sets	8, 8, 10, 12 reps
Standing Calf Raises	3 sets	25 reps
Seated Calf Raises	3 sets	25 reps

·         Day-21: Rest Day.

Only one day of rest this week. You have definitely earned it.

Week-4: Four-Day Split: Full Body.

·         Day-22: Chest, Triceps and Calves

Incline Barbell Bench Press	5 sets	10 reps
Dumbbell Bench Press	5 sets	8-12 reps
Dumbbell Flye	5 sets	8-12 reps
Rope Pressdown	4 sets	10-12 reps
Dumbbell Kickback	3 sets	10 reps
Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension	3 sets	10 reps
Standing Calf Raise	4 sets	25 reps
Seated Calf Raise	4 sets	25 reps

·         Day-23: Legs and Abs.

Back Squat	5 sets	10 reps
Leg Press	5 sets	8-12 reps
Leg Extensions	5 sets	8-12 reps
Lying Leg Curl	3 sets	8, 10, 12 reps
Romanian Deadlift	3 sets	8, 10, 10 reps
Lunges	3 sets	8, 10, 12 reps
Reverse Crunches	2 sets	25 reps
Crunches	2 sets	25 reps

·         Day-24: Rest.

You’ve been working hard. Enjoy your rest day!

·         Day-25: Shoulders and Calves.

Overhead Dumbbell Press	4 sets	12 reps
Arnold Press	3 sets	10 reps
Barbell Upright Row	3 sets	8, 10, 12 reps
Dumbbell Lateral Raises	3 sets	10 reps
Bent-over Rear Delt Raises	3 sets	10 reps
Seated Calf Raises	4 sets	25 reps

·         Day-26: Back, Biceps and Abs.

Bent-Over Barbell Row	5 sets	12 reps
Lat Pulldown	5 sets	8-12 reps
Single-Arm Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Row	5 sets	8-10 reps
Barbell Biceps Curl	4 sets	10-12 reps
Incline Dumbbell Biceps Curl	3 sets	10 reps
Preacher Curl with Cable	3 sets	10 reps
Crunches	4 sets	25 reps

·         Day-27: Rest.

Way to go, you’ve made it the full four weeks! You’re no longer a beginner.

·         Day-28: Rest.

Another rest day – aren’t you lucky?