Beginner workout plan for gaining muscle.

Are you finding it hard to build muscle & strength? Here I have put together a basic workout plan for any beginners who are trying to do both quickly and effectively.

First of all I would like you to forget any workouts which involve a split routine (e.g - Exercising Chest & Biceps on a Monday, then back & triceps Wednesday.. etc) Those type of routines will only be useful once you have built an adequate base of strength in order to execute them to their full potential.

What we are going to use is a routine that is based on compound movements, the basic exercises are;

• Barbell Squat
• Deadlift
• Barbell Bench press
• Military press
• Barbell Row
• Wide grip pull ups
• Tricep Dips
• Press-ups

The reason behind using these compound movements is because they incorporate more than one muscle when performed, for example the Deadlift engages most of the major muscles within the body it will strengthen the entire back and its surrounding muscles, build core strength & stability and also bring in the use of the hamstrings & glutes within the legs. By hitting all of these muscles at once you are able to increase strength in many parts of the body unlike isolation movements which only target one muscle group at a time.

So here is a basic program:

Monday

- Barbell Bench press

4 sets of 6-8 repetitions using Moderate weight in the first 3 sets & then increasing the weight for the final set.

- Barbell Squat

4 Sets of 6-8 Repetitions using heavy weight throughout.

- Tricep Dip

Finishing off with 4 Sets of Tricep dips, each set going to failure.

Wednesday

- Deadlift

4 Sets of 6 repetitions using moderate weight for the first set (warm-up) then increasing the weight for the remaining sets.

- Barbell Row

3 Sets of 8-10 Repetitions using moderate weight.

- Wide Grip pullups

4 Sets reaching failure in each set.

Friday

- Standing Military press

3 Sets of 6 repetitions using moderate weight in the first set (warm-up) then increasing the weight for the remaining sets.

- Upright Row

3 sets of 8 repetitions using moderate-heavy weight.

- Press ups

4 Sets to failure.

This is all you will need in order to build strength & muscle as a beginner, you must remember to increase the weight if you feel you are able to go heavier but do not sacrifice your technique for more weight! Technique is key, if your technique is wrong then you could risk injury.

As for nutrition it is pretty simple once you are able to get your head around it, basically if you are aiming to gain muscle then you will need to be eating a calorie surplus ( More calories in than your body is burning off) in order to calculate your daily calorie intake, you can do this using any online calculator by basically typing in some information about yourself. Split the calories into three, proteins, carbs & fats , you will need around 40% from carbs, 40% from proteins & the remaining 20% should be from fats.

To achieve your target calorie intake you should be eating foods such as these in your meals;

Lean Meats

• Turkey
• Chicken
• Steak
• Lean ground mince

Vegetables are a good source of food, green vegetables contain a lot of fibre so they will keep you fuller so it is good to add these to your meals. Most meals should consist of a lean meat & Vegetables/Rice/Pasta etc.

Clean sources of carbohydrates will boost your energy levels and keep you feeling full.

Breakfast

For breakfast I recommend Oatmeal & a Protein shake or you can add your protein powder to your oatmeal for maximum taste! Other good breakfasts for gaining weight are Omelettes, Bacon or eggs.

What to drink?

It is best to drink lots of water (1-2 litres p/day) as it helps aid your bodily processes, as well as water I would recommend Full cream milk for anyone trying to get extra calories as it is a great source of protein, fats & carbs! If you feel you ever need to drink soda then its best to stick with Diet, in full it tastes barely and different and you are eliminating the extremely high sugar levels they contain. Diet soda such as Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Fanta Zero etc contain <10 calories in each can and have 0 sugar so enjoy!

All in all if you can keep your diet in check as well as your workouts then you will gain muscle, gaining muscle is not a fast process infact it is very slow if you go the natural route. Building muscle is all about patience & dedication, picture 2-3 years from the day you started lifting weights, if you gained 10lbs of lean muscle mass in each year your body would look a lot different, stick at is and in the end you will know why.

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