The Beginners Guide to Weight Training

I’m a firm believer that Good things come to those who wait. Weight Training (of any variety) definitely falls into this category. I won’t deny you can find an easy fix (steroids) but the short term gain is not worth the waste in money, possible damage you can do to your hormone levels (if you are under 25), et cetera.

I have the firm belief that if you develop your base strength and then move onto focus on your intended end point (be it sport, strength, bodybuilding) you will result in a superior body for all three and one that can be tweaked to perfection.

If you have just started weight lifting, I would use the below outlined routine. I know it is very similar to Mark Rippetoe's “Starting Strength” but I have made a few minor changes which I feel allow for a swifter transfer from beginner to intermediate.

Workout A

·         3*5 Squat

·         3*5 Bench

·         1*5 Deadlift

·         Dips to Failure

Workout B

·         3*5 Squat

·         3*5 Military Press (Standing)

·         5*3 Power Cleans

·         Pull Ups to Failure

You should do these workouts on 3 non-consecutive day’s per-week.

I also hold the firm belief that you should not attempt to use your 5 Rep-Max Lifts, but pick a weight you can work easily with. From this point you should add around 1.25lbs to 10lbs per-workout per-lift (aside from Dips/Pull Ups). If you are a fan of cardio (of any form) do this on the weekends or in short bursts (of less than 15 minutes) after the routine.

You want to continue the above routine until you go from Untrained to Novice on the EXRX Weight Lifting Performance Standards. Once you are up to Novice move onto the next article that’ll detail a more advanced routine for the lifter.