The End Of The Ultimate Weight Training Workout Routine

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If you’re reading this, then it appears you’ve made it all the way to the end of my guide to creating The Ultimate Weight Training Workout Routine. Nice!

At this point, I have just 5 things left to say.

1. Congrats!

First of all… congratulations are in order.

You’ve now learned more about weight training, program design, and how to get the results you want than the majority of the population will ever learn in their lifetime. So… congrats on that!

2. Put It To Use!

I hope you liked the guide and actually use what you’ve learned.

Because honestly, reading and learning and understanding are great and all, but the only way it’s truly going to work is if you actually put it into action. So… do that.

3. But Wait, There’s MORE!

Believe it or not, I still have a ton of information to share with you.

While this guide was pretty damn comprehensive, there’s actually plenty of stuff that I purposely left out, skipped over, or didn’t think fit right within this guide.

Stuff about weight training, cardio, diet and nutrition, supplements, building muscle, losing fat, increasing strength and performance, improving health, and much more.

And I’ll be sharing all of it right here on a regular basis. To make sure you never miss any of it, you can subscribe for free, and also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

4. More Workouts To Choose From!

Even though I just covered how to create your own workout routine, I’ve realized that many people want something more.

More what? More proven workouts to choose from that I designed myself and have been using with my coaching clients for years with amazing results.

They are now all included as part of my Superior Muscle Growth program.

Feel free to check it out.

5. Give Me Your Feedback!

And last but not least, I want to hear your feedback. In fact, I want 3 different kinds of feedback.

  1. First, I want to know what you thought of the guide.
    I want to know what you liked best, what section was most useful, what you wish I covered in more detail or explained better, what you felt was missing (if anything), and basically just your thoughts and opinions on the guide itself.
  2. Second, I want to answer your questions.
    If you had any questions about any aspect of weight training, creating your routine, reaching your specific goal (building muscle, increasing strength, losing fat, etc.), the sample workouts or anything else while reading any part of this guide, email me here and ask. I will answer. Also be sure to check out the nearly 3000 comments below this post. Most questions have already been asked/answered at this point.
  3. Third, I want to hear how well it’s working for you.
    Once you start using the information contained in this guide, guess what’s going to happen? You’re going to start getting the results you want. Sounds good, huh? Trust me… it is. And when that starts happening for you, I want to hear all about it. So, email me and let me know.

The End

Well, that’s about it.

I hope you liked the guide (and if you did, be sure to tell your friends about it) and I hope you actually use what you’ve learned from it.

I also hope you subscribe for free, because I plan on writing similarly awesome and useful guides in the future.

And again, if you have any questions, comments, feedback, or just want to tell me how well it’s working for you, email me here.

Enjoy your results.

(This article is part of a completely free guide to creating the best workout routine possible for your exact goal. It starts here: The Ultimate Weight Training Workout Routine)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
About Jay
Jay is the science-based writer and researcher behind everything you've seen here. He has 15+ years of experience helping thousands of men and women lose fat, gain muscle, and build their "goal body." His work has been featured by the likes of Time, The Huffington Post, CNET, Business Week and more, referenced in studies, used in textbooks, quoted in publications, and adapted by coaches, trainers, and diet professionals at every level.

2,735 thoughts on “The End Of The Ultimate Weight Training Workout Routine”

2,735 Comments

  1. I have work on Wednesday and Saturday. Is it alright if I do Lower Body Monday/Thursday then Upper Body Tuesday/Friday? I don’t want to have sore legs at work as I work pretty long hours.

  2. I’m a beginner but I’m in decent shape already. Just need to get things under control. My work schedule is a little goofy. Work m/t then off w/t. Then work f/s/s and off m/t. Work w/t then off f/s/s. It switches from days to midnights every 2wks, but 12 hr shifts. I would like to workout on my days off. Would this frequency be alright? Not too much or too little, for rest/recovery as well? Your thoughts?

  3. Been using the U/L split for about 6 months now and seen some great strength and size gains, so thanks man! Only problem is my lifts have not been progressing much, if at all on the isolation exercises.

    Is this because I’m increasing weight with my compound movements and the bi’s, tri’s etc. are getting a greater workload from this part of the routine? Hence can still only lift the same amount each time when it comes to the isolations despite getting stronger.

  5. What is the reasoning behind doing a beginner or intermediate routine? Say I had a friend who wanted to start working out to build muscle; why not make him do the intermediate routine that you’ve made, and steadily progress (with proper form on each exercise of course) as opposed to just the beginner?

  6. Is it a good idea to work one muscle group while resting for another? For example, if I just finished a set of bench press, and I was resting, would it be a good idea to do a set of rows during that rest?

  7. Hey Jay, hope you’re doing great.
    I’ve got an issue. Body scales don’t work properly in my house. I mean, I tried 4-5 scales that showed exact number no matter where you put it, but when I weight myself on those scales in my house, it shows different numbers at the different spots of the room, sometimes even same spots up to 2 pounds. This is especially an issue at muscle building phase, because progress is much slower due to nature of it. Would you recommend any alternative methods, for ex. taking photos each week? Would it help? What would be your suggestion?
    Thanks in advanced, and love what you’ve been doing all these years for us.
    P.S. My food scale is working perfectly fine though, so I know my exact calorie intake. BTW, I got it with your recommendation I read in your blog. I weigh every single food I consume, and I gotta say, I’m loving it, it’s really fun 🙂

  9. Hey!
    Very useful information, thank you!
    What’s your opinion, if I am going like split program 4 days in a week, and schedule like this: Mon. Chest/biceps, Tue. Back/triceps. Thu. Legs/shoulders. Saturd. Full body.
    I personally really like going like this, but how do you think – it’s okay?
    Waiting for your opinion. 🙂

  10. Hey there,

    Stumbled upon your guide and found it really useful. I used to be a gymnast when I was younger, so even though I’m used to being fit, being in charge of my own fitness is completely new to me. I do however have a question. In your beginners workout routine, your quad dominant exercise is a squat. I’ve finally getting back into shape after a hip injury, and I can’t do any sort of squatting motion. At all. Are there any exercises I could do to get in a quad dominant that don’t have that movement?

    Thanks,
    Ashley

  11. Would using a more narrow grip be easier on the shoulders? When I do pullups with a grip slightly wider than shoulder width, my right shoulder pops. It’s really uncomfortable. Chinups are a no too, because of my left elbow. I’ll get tendonitis if I don’t stop with those. I also don’t have access to neutral grip either.

  13. You recommend 30-60 reps per major muscle group per workout when working out each muscle group about twice per week. However, if I start to notice that I am not adequately fatigued from each workout when following this recommendation does that mean it is acceptable to up my volume per workout? Thanks in advance.

  14. Hey Jay, I’ve been following your intermediate workout routine precisely as it’s layed out with the goal of building muscle (except I substituted the Romanian Deadlifts with conventional, sorry :x) and I hurt my lower back doing squats one day (due to 1 rep of poor form) so I can no longer do squats or deadlifts.

    What do you recommend I do instead of those? I’ve been avoiding those 2 workouts but do everything else outlined in your routine. Thanks in advanced!

  15. Read the whole guide, really learned a lot from it, thank you. Just 1 question though, in your beginner workout routine you listed pull-ups as the Vertical Pull Back Exercise. The issue with this is that you said beginners have to emphasize progressive overload, and pull-ups are a Body Weight Exercise, and thus there are no weights to add on to achieve progressive overload. Rather you’d have to add on reps/sets which would screw with the optimal Volume range. Any exercises I can use instead of pull-ups that use free weights? (Preferably a dumbbells exercise)

  16. Hey Jay. I have a thin neck. I was wondering, do you recommend doing direct neck workouts, or do you think compound movements plus shrugs would be enough for a thicker neck?

  18. In your beginner workout routine you gave 2 different versions, the 3 exercises per workout version, and the 5 exercises per workout version. It sounded like you thought version 1 was better, but version 1 doesn’t include any exercises that focus on abs or biceps/triceps, other then being 2ndery muscles in compound exercises, and I’d rather have big arms and a big chest, then a huge chest and just above average arms. So which version would you say is better?

  19. Hey I was wondering I am gonna try to do

    Monday- Chest, triceps, shoulders (and calves)
    Tuesday- Back and Biceps (and abs)
    Wednesday- LEGS (and calves)
    Thursday- Chest, Triceps, Shoulders (and abs)
    Friday- Back and Biceps (and calves)
    Saturday- Off ( maybe abs or calves)
    Sunday- Off

    Week 1

    Strength
    1-8 reps
    4-5 sets

    Week 2

    Building Muscle
    5-12 reps
    3-4 sets

    Week 3

    Muscle endurance
    12-20 reps
    3-4 sets

    2-3 workouts per body part

    But my question is my first workout took me like an hour and 20 min to do the chest and tris part but I was working out with my girlfriend and I was wondering how long can you workout for each session. Thank you

      • Ok thank you. That clears up a lot. And the other question is in that article you said don’t do 4 sets of this 4 sets of that 4 sets of them and so on. What is your recomendation as far as number of sets I read the volume article and I seen the difference between the big muscles and small muscles per week but are you saying mix up the set numbers or not that many. And another thing. If I am training chest, tris and shoulders should I do one chest then one Tri then one shoulder or should I finish one and then move on to the other and if so what is the general rules about which one to start with. I’m thinking chest, tris, shoulders

  20. Thank you so much for putting this out there for all to read.
    I know a lot of time, effort and experience went into it, more than I can imagine.
    There are countless routines in magazines and websites with no explanation as to why they would work for ME.
    You have thoroughly explained, in layman’s terms, the art of the routine.
    It was a pleasure to read and it has been exciting and enjoyable to implement.
    Your book has been put on my ‘to buy’ list.
    Once again, sincere thanks.

    T. Bison

  21. In your FAQ u said we can sub pull ups for another row. How can u do that? Pull ups are a vertical pull, while rows r a horizontal pull!

  22. Hey Jay, I do barbell curls at 40lbs 2×12 following your intermediate routine, but I struggle on my 2nd set and only can do 7 reps. The next lowest barbell weight is 30lbs and I can do 30lbs 2×12 just fine. With progressive overload in mind, I go to failure on my 2nd set of 45lbs and I’m planning to drop down to 30lbs to finish off the last 5 reps. I was wondering whats a good amount of time to give my biceps rest after taking them to failure to finish off the last 5 reps with 30lbs?

  23. Thanks a lot for your website guide it seems like the best I’ve seen for beginners who want to understand and get through all the BS out there to the reliable core.

    One question – so for beginner workout dumbell rows, doing three sets of 8-10. But how to ensure working both right and left arm equally? Does a set actually mean 8-10 with each arm, so 16 to 20 total? Or you just do right arm one workout, left the next? I’m starting off doing dumbell rows on both A & B workouts (slightly differently as your FAQ advises), because I don’t have a pull-up bar etc at home yet.

  24. What are your thoughts on one-legged leg press (as an alternative to squats/regular leg press) due to lower back pain? I’ve researched the 1-legged leg press and I’ve found it’s puts less stress on your lower back. I’m just wondering if the costs outweigh the benefits doing this variation (or potential high risk injuries). One comment on a thread said it will damage your knees more (unreliable), but there aren’t a lot of articles about it, so I thought I’d ask you! 🙂

  25. Thoughts on weighted chin-ups in replacement of dumbbell/barbell curls in your intermediate routine for size?

  26. Hey Jay, when you say Split Squats in your routine, what kind of split squats do you mean? Bulgarian Split Squats or Body Weight when you jump and alternate legs, or am I reading it wrong?

  27. Say my routine has 1 horizontal push, 1 horizontal pull, 1 vertical push, and 2 vertical pulls. Do I need another vertical push, or will a horizontal push be fine?

  28. I’ve been using your beginner routine for around 7 months now, and I feel like buying your Superior Muscle Growth. Is your book suited better for intermediates and advanced or should I buy it? Thanks for everything Jay!!!!

  29. Love this blog. Love the simplicity of such a complex subject. Jay, any mid-morning meal suggestions for a desk jockey? I work out at lunchtime and have a solid food post workout meal, but I am sick of the liquid pre-workout meal. I’m not sure if a protein bar at 11:00am might solve my problem. I can afford the 200-250 cals. Any other thoughts on a convenient solid meal option? I usually have carbs before bed to sleep, light breakfast but am starving by workout time.

    Thanks in advance,

  30. Hey,

    I have gone through just about all of your articles. GREAT INFO!!!!!! Thank you so much for your “No BS Approach”. I’ve been searching for your genuine expertise for years. I am very much interested in The Best Workout Routines guide, but it appears the workouts require gym equipment. Do you have a home workout guide that will produce the same results, losing fat and gaining muscle. I’m not a member of a gym, but I will become a member, if need be.

    Thanks again!!

  31. I plan on starting your Version 1 Workout from Bodybuilding 2.0 but have concerns about my lower back. What could I do instead of the Romanian Deadlift? (I am still recovering from back surgery that was done on February 1, 2014.)

  32. Your beginner workout routine has been very effective so far, thanks!! Fortunately I have free trainers at my work gym that have been able to work with me on form, which has been the most difficult thing to grasp. I have not been loading on ridiculous amounts of weight and progress has been steady. I think the most important thing (that my body is still working on) are the stabilizer muscles. Doing these compound exercises first seems to me like building a house. Get the foundation built and then start building the structure. Right now I am a little wobbly, but I am improving week over week.

    I do have a question in relation to the rowing machine that I love to use. What is the best way to incorporate it into my routine. I typically did a 20 minute session prior to starting out the routine. Can I do it after I workout on my lifting days or is it best to do it in between the days that I am lifting? I am a bit confused in how to incorporate it when the body needs days to rest.

    Thanks!

  33. Hey Jay, I just finished reading your Movement Patterns article and I was interested in learning more about them when it pertains to working out. Could you possibly direct me to more information about it?

    Also, is it absolutely necessary to directly train my shoulders? They get a lot of indirect work from the exercises I do, and I’m scared to injure them.

    • No additional resources come to mind.

      And technically no, you do not need to directly train your shoulders if you have some legit reason for not doing so. They’ll grow… although they will grow better with direct work.

      • Would not directly training my shoulders cause some sort of imbalance that can lead to injury? ex: Benching which works my anterior deltoids, but my posterior and and lateral are used significantly less in the exercises I do; and my posterior would be way stronger than the others which might somehow injure me by being stronger…..?

        Sorry if it sounds stupid! xD Maybe I’m a little paranoid….

  34. Hi Jay,
    40 year old male, started with bodyfat around 15%. In 4 months am down to 10%, but looks like my progress has stalled. Getting below 10% is proving very tough.

    do you have any pointers? how about using fat burners? are they safe/recommedned?

    thank you

  35. The Beginner Weight Training Workout Routine:

    Why is there a back excercise for both workout A and B, but the other muscle groups are exercised in only one of the two workoust?

    Why are shoulders, being a small muscle group, exercied as a secondary target in workout A, but as a primary target in workout B?

  36. Hey I was just curious about the split squat exercise you included in your upper/lower body split program. You mean for it to be a stationary exercise, but would doing lunges across the floor be pretty much the same thing? Or would it not target the muscles in the same way?

    • A split squat is basically a stationary lunge… so they are certainly similar. Lunges just add a larger cardiovascular component too it, as well as impact stress on the knees from having to step forward and land. Both are good exercises, though.

  37. Jay, you have completely changed my outlook on bodybuilding. I appreciate the amount of effort you put into your articles. You make everything easy to understand, I am able to put everything you advise into perspective and apply it to all of my workouts. I was the typical “bodybuilding routine” guy in the gym, training each muscle group once a week, training 6 even sometimes 7 days a week… I sacrificed gains for the love of the iron… In the beginning I actually got significant gains training that way but have been in a plateau rut for about 6 months. With your advice I can already see a difference. Thanks again!!!

  38. I’ve realised that for now I don’t have the money or space for enough weight for deadlifts or bench press (or to join a gym – also social anxiety problems). So I’m doing press-ups (knee ones for now) instead of bench press. What about the deadlifts, would just squats suffice? One legged ‘King deadlifts’ or something? Thanks for any advice.

  39. Jay – have been following your nutritional guidelines (from your book) and have gone down to a BF of 12-13%.

    Progress stalled now.

    I am not all that muscular and am waiting to get to 8-9 % BF before bulking up.

    Question – in order to get faster to 8-9 BF, will it help if I modified your nutritional advise to cut down on carbs and instead add some more protein? I understand that cutting carbs means I might not be able to lift or exercise very well, but like I said, I am not muscular to begin with.

    Desperate to get down on BF.

    Thank you

    • If fat loss progress has stalled, you have to either eat a little less or burn a little more. And if you’re gonna eat a little less, carbs would typically be the “little less” to make it happen.

  40. Thanks so much for this insanely good website.
    I was using a conventional 3 day split for about 6 months and getting some results, but the results were not satisfactory(especially in terms of strength)..turns out I have been using an unintelligent workout routine. One month into your beginner program using steady progression and I have already added a lot of weight on my major lifts AND have also lost 10lbs of bodyweight(I also started cutting calories). I’ve read a lot of stuff on the internet but your articles are the only one that actually helped me getting towards a better body. I’m thinking of buying the superior muscle growth just for the sake of thanking you, after I milk out all the results I can get from the beginner routine. Again, thanks so much for your help!

  41. I’m a beginner to fitness in general. I would have been content to use my gym time doing nothing but cardio… but I have recently learned that won’t get me far and I also need to weight train. Your breakdown here is awesome, it really helps a lot. I do still have a couple questions though. They will probably be “stupid” questions, but I digress.

    My goal is to look better in my clothes (and naked of course). I recently saw a photo of myself and felt like I could pass for a linebacker. I immediately started making changes in my diet.

    1. When do I work cardio into this 3 day full body routine of yours? On the same days as the weight training, or on the OFF days? Or both?

    2. Say I follow your sample routine for beginners. How often should I change the exercise I’m doing for each muscle? Do I have to change it at all, as long as I’m focusing on overload progression?

    Thanks so much for all your help!

  42. Jay, I was wondering how I should do the beginner’s workout with only dumbbells. I work out at home and I’ve been doing full body workouts with dumbbells only. Also I wanted to know if I have to take two days off at the end of each week or can I just work out every other day? Finally I was wondering if you have to switch up the exercise and go A then B and so on. Can’t I just stick to one routine for each workout or is it important to switch it up?

      • I was basically asking if I should do the ABA format you gave. Like do I have to do the ABA or can I just do A every time. I’m not sure if I’m being more or less clear haha. Also I’m posting a link that shows the exercises I do with dumbbells. Could you take a look and tell me whether it’s good to do all of them 3 times a week or should I cut stuff out or even add any other exercises that aren’t there. I’m trying really hard to stick to what you outline, but I just want to make sure I’m doing it right since I only have dumbbells.

        http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/rudy6.htm

  43. greetings! for each bench there should be a row, but does the amount of force matter? in other words, is it OK to bench 225 for 10 reps and row 20lbs for 10 reps, or does the weight need to be somewhat even?

  44. Hey Jay,

    I’ve just started your beginner’s workout and its going well.

    I am 6″4 and on the skinny/lanky side and can’t do much weight for Dead Lift. This means I’m starting very low to the ground and my back was pretty sore after my first “B” workout.

    Do you still recommend a regular dead lift for some who is tall and skinny like me who is starting lower to the ground because i’m not using the bigger plates yet?

  47. Hi there,
    Would just like to say I found the information on this website to be very useful and accurate. I can say that after a few years of training I can relate alot with most things you describe about weight training, especially for ectomorphs, as I am 6 foot 8 inches tall and was very thin.
    My question in regards to training, is you only have 4 sets dedicated to arms (bi’s and tri’s), can this reasonably be considered as enough to build muscular arms? I understand they are smaller muscle groups, but just wondering your thoughts on it.
    Kind regards
    Aaron

  48. Would adding a forearm exercise to the end of my workout be very helpful in building more muscle in my forearms?

  49. A real good guide. Thanks for this, takes time to read but will never have another doubt regarding my program again.

  50. I’m 34, with a previous back injury that required surgery (herniated disc). I have a complete fear of squats and can’t even begin the squatting process once I add weight to the bar. Do you recommend weighted lunges instead? I’m athletic, and healthy, but a beginner weightlifter.

    Thanks
    Michael

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