The End Of The Ultimate Weight Training Workout Routine

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

2,735 Comments

1. I respectfully just can’t completely agree here.I am not a bodybuildng expert, but I do know a bit about physiology. Let’s say your sedentary caloric intake should be 2000 Cal per day. If you workout, let’s say it should be 2500 a day, to maintain some basic muscle growth and energy expenditure. If you dropped it then to 2250 Cal per day, you would be taking in more calories then if you were sedentary, but lower than you should, which would help generate fat loss. Do you agree?

   But we could discuss theory all day. The truth of the matter is, if you workout hard 3-4 times a week, in a slight calorie deficit, there will be muscle growth after 3 months. You would see something. You would be able to measure something. I would assume, the body would find the nutrients to repair damaged muscle tissue. We aren’t talking about starving,. We are talking about a slight caloric deficit. I don’t agree that the nutrients just aren’t there. Muscle tissue breaks down in a workout. The muscles need to be repaired. If they are repaired, they will grow back stronger. How could you say this is impossible to do in a slight caloric deficit?

   • That’s all well and good, but the thing you’re missing is that there’s theory and then there’s scientifically proven fact. A caloric deficit being required for fat loss and a caloric surplus being required for muscle growth are facts.

     The stuff you’re saying is theory (and incorrect theory at that).

     You can’t argue fact vs theory (especially when one person doesn’t see the difference), so it’s kind of pointless to take this conversation any further.

     No offense, but arguing the law of thermodynamics is a joke.

2. Ok. I understand. You probably are right. I am probably wrong. This is just how I saw it according to physiology. So you are saying that unless you create a caloric surplus, there is absolutely no way one can increase muscle size at all?

   • I’m saying that with some very rare exceptions, the majority of the population will get absolutely nowhere trying to build muscle in a deficit.

     I’ll be writing quite a bit about trying to build muscle/lose fat at the same time in the future… stay tuned.

3. I’m not trying to Bogart the forum. Sorry to post so much, but I find this very interesting.

   I don’t understand why the body wouldn’t use the nutrition you give it to build muscles, and then break down stored fat to use for fuel for basic physiological processes? If you eat 500 calories below what you should be, wouldn’t the body burn that 500 calories it needs from the stored fat to use? The rest of the calories it can use to build muscle? Isn’t that the point of fat burning? This is why how you CAN’T increase muscle size, albeit slight increase, while on a slight caloric deficit isn’t making sense to me.

   • Because with the exception of fat beginners under the best possible circumstances, we will NOT be able to take the calories from stored body fat and put them towards the process of muscle growth.

     It would be awesome if we could, but we can’t. So if you’re not creating a surplus by eating more calories, and the human body isn’t capable of taking stored calories from body fat and using them for this purpose… then the calories needed to support muscle growth aren’t being provided.

     And for that reason, muscle can not be built

4. That’s not my point, but I do understand what you are saying. I think you are skipping over what I am trying to focus on.

   My point is if you laid in bed all day you would burn, let’s say for arguments sake, 2000 calories per day just in keeping you alive. That is sedentary. Let’s say you work out and require an additional 500 calories for muscle growth, but you have excess fat. Wouldn’t the body, take 500 calories from your food to rebuild the muscle after a workout. An acute type trauma, so it would focus on it. Then it has 1500 left over, yet it needs 2000 for normal physiological processes. It uses up the 1500, then what? It can take 500 calories of fat for fuel to charge your physiological processes. Wouldn’t the body be able to adequately feed the muscle, while finding stored fuel sources for the non muscle building needs?

   • No matter how many times you ask it or try to rephrase it, the answer is still no.

     Whatever you’re trying to say or focus on is still incorrect.

     I’m honestly running out of ways to say this.

     • I have been following Jeremy’s comments and your insightful responses. I may be wrong but I think this is partly what Jeremy was trying to focus on so let me try putting it in a different way: Everyone knows that you need a caloric deficit for fat loss yet experts claim that incorporating weight training into this regimen of caloric deficit will BUILD muscles which accelerates the fat loss. If one can ONLY build muscles when there is a caloric surplus then what are your comments on pretty much everything that is out there advocating that weight training be incorporated into a fat loss (caloric deficit) program for building muscles and accelerating fat loss?

       • For every pound of muscle you build, your body will burn a whopping 6 additional calories per day. Not 60, not 600… just 6.

         So if you build 10 pounds of muscle, your body will burn an extra 60 calories per day. This doesn’t “accelerate fat loss,” it just SLIGHTLY increases your metabolic rate. As long as a surplus is still present, no fat will be lost.

         Of course, I’d still always recommend that weight training be a part of a fat loss program (primarily because it’s a requirement for maintaining muscle/strength).

         But none of this changes the fact that with the possible exception of fat beginners, steroid users and people re-gaining lost muscle, you’ll always need a surplus to build muscle and a deficit to lose fat.

5. Hey! i started a routine last week on saturday, and my first workout was upper body A which consisted of deadlift 3×8 reps , dumbbel bench press, 3×8 reps, seated cable row, 3×8 reps, upright rows 3×8 reps, incline bench press 3×8 reps, and skullcrushers and bicep curls both of 3×8 reps. The next day my upper and lower back was very sore (i think from the heavy deaflifts), my forearms were sore, and my chest was a little sore. I originally planned to do my upper body B workout today, but my back and forearms are still quiet sore, so i figured id wait until im not sore so i wouldnt overwork. Do you think i should have did my upper body b workout even if i was still sore? i still did my lower body A workout on tuesday, and my inner thighs are sore. How do you think my upper body A workout is? Thanks, and your guide was great!

   • oh by the way, i am 15 years old and have lifted weights before, but i think i had an ineffective routine, because i worked only 2 body parts per workout, and each body part had a 1 week frequency

     • Soreness isn’t really an indicator of much, and it’s pretty normal to just train right through it in certain situations (like beginners who are new to weight training in general, anyone who has increased their training frequency, anyone who has just made some significant change to the way they train, etc.).

       The true way to tell if you’re doing too much/not recovering properly is progression and results. Are you getting stronger and progressing at an acceptable rate? If so, you’re probably fine. If not, you’re probably doing too much.

       And being a 15 year old beginner, you should be progressing pretty consistently for a while assuming you’re training correctly. Speaking of which, why are you using a higher volume 4 day upper/lower routine instead of a lower volume 3 day full body routine?

       • I figured that since i had a little experience weight training, and since i got some results that i would try the upper/lower routine, but since i havent lifted for a while do you think i should go to the full body routine?

         • At just 15, it’s pretty hard to be anything but a beginner, and the fact that you mentioned you were training ineffectively before this only adds to that.

           Like I’ve said before (https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/beginner-intermediate-advanced/ and https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/beginner-workouts/), I’d consider a beginner to be anyone who has been weight training for LESS than 6-8 months *consistently* and *intelligently*.

           Based on what you’ve told me, you seem to fit that description.

6. Hi,just thought i let you know,ive been on your 3 day muscle building routine for many weeks now and its working very well compared to my previous routine,one example is on dumbell bench,my previous workout was a 3 set pyramid going up to a max of 27kg dumbells for 7 reps,and with your methods,i,m up to 30kg for three sets of 10 reps!with a similar improvment on most other exercises.i,m feeling stronger and starting to see an improvment in my muscles.thanks very much for taking the time to write all these articals.i will keep you informed on my progress,ive got a pair of 45kg dumbells in my garage that i’m aiming for on bench.

   • Awesome progress dude, glad the routine has been working well for you. Those 45kg dumbbells will be reality soon enough.

     Definitely keep the progress updates coming!

7. Thank you very much for the guide. I’ve followed the diet one and this one. I thought I would provide what you have asked and then ask a few follow up questions.

   How was the guide? The guide was excellent. It explained how to do what I need to do. I have enough education to help myself. I think I have more knowledge than a lot of people looking to start exercising. My issue is “knowing” what I need to do, otherwise, I feel I am wasting my time and watching TV was less complicated – so I went back to TV. I also want to provide another praise that the guide was very down to earth and easy to understand. I’ve been trying weight loss now for about 2 years, and each website I would visit, I would get conflicting information. Forums can be junk because anyone can say anything, however, when you are needing information, you assume it is correct. That backfires when you find another site that contradicts. So, I needed an unbiased site that explains the facts, and lets me determine my route. As a small Con, I wish there was a section already for cardio.

   I’ve combined basically question 1 and 3 in the same paragraph. It has worked out great for me. I mean, I’ve only read it so far, and haven’t walked into my gym yet. However, if I may, I want to add that I’ve overheard a conversation at my work with an employee that is a part time trainer. I enjoyed the conversation much more because I found a few loop holes in the reasoning. I believe he was trying to sell his services by saying he helps people loose weight by asking for 5 days a week and 2 FREE DAYS. I mean, according to your site, “what works for you, is what works for you.” So, I can’t judge, but he was suggesting you can have whatever you want on those days. Sigh, it’s calorie reduction, cardio, some strength training, and a good balance of macro-nutrients, with 1 – 2 free meals, not days. lol.

   Alright, so I enjoyed absorbing this new knowledge in my brain as you can tell. I even through a few vocab words. Ha.

   As for my questions:

   I am 26, 5’10, and was 290. I have a sit down job for 9 hours a day. My endocrinologist (I’ll put it out there – low T – I take shots every 2 weeks) recommended me to go on a 1500 cal diet. I thought I couldn’t live without food and anytime I get a slight hunger, I thought I was dying. However, my fiancee and I went on Slim Fast (jokes on me). The first few days were tough for 1500 but after that, we can’t imagine eating more. We barely make the 1500, usually at 1300-1400. I suppose it was mind over matter. For those who don’t know, it is a sugary shake for breakfast, 1 snack, 1 sugary shake for lunch, 1 snack, a 500-700 cal dinner and one snack. Anyhow, I don’t really drink them much anymore but still stick to the same calorie intake of 1500. I think I might take your recommendation of Whey shakes with dextrose for a better balance and calories. However, Slim Fast isn’t all that bad. It did help with recognizing that it was a mind hunger and their website has easy but healthy food recipes for food. It’s been 2 weeks.

   Now that you have the background, my questions are:

   Is it unrealistic to try to aim for 100 pounds weight loss in one year? This is roughly an average of 2 lbs per week.

   What do you recommend that I do to achieve this?

   Is cardio before or after weight training and for how long/doing what?

   You’ve mentioned giving your body some rest at least 1-2 days a week, but what are your opinions of practicing pushups, situps, etc in the off time or in between workouts? Could this be incorporated into a daily exercise or is this prolonging the benefits?

   I’m 278 now and I started losing weight 2 weeks ago which I was 290.

   I know I am this person, but I have one other question…

   My fiancee is 5’6, 350, 28, and sit down job as well.

   For her size, I’m trying to setup a routine for her. She can’t go much faster than 3.0 on the treadmill and that is the pace she is some what comfortable at, but she grips the bars which I’ve told her not to do. The rate she is comfortable with is 2.6 – 2.8mph. Her shorter legs and added weight don’t allow her to go much faster. What machine/exercise can I have her do that will help her with the best cardio giving her body a challenge. Should I set her up on a full body workout with me as well? Maybe put her more towards the endurance 20-30 reps of 3 sets?

   Overall, thank you for the articles.

   • This combined both the weight loss article and work out article.

   • I’ve also taken your suggestion about multivitamins. I have the generic target brand that I take daily.

   • Now that’s some impressive feedback. Awesome to hear the guide has been so helpful, and I definitely know what you mean when you mention conflicting information and never really knowing what’s true and what’s not. That’s why this site exists, so it’s good hear it’s having the intended effect.

     Now about your questions…

     “Is it unrealistic to try to aim for 100 pounds weight loss in one year? This is roughly an average of 2 lbs per week. What do you recommend that I do to achieve this?”

     That’s actually a pretty solid goal for someone your size. It won’t be easy, but it’s definitely within the realm of realistic and doable as long as you just consistently do what needs to be done. As for what I’d recommend, basically the exact same thing I’d recommend for ANY amount of fat loss.

     Create a moderate caloric deficit, and then get those calories from a sufficient amount of protein, a sufficient amount of fat (especially the essential fatty acids), and the rest from carbs. Put it all together in whatever format is most enjoyable, convenient and sustainable for you, and if possible, combine it with a proper weight training routine. From there, only if needed/preferred, add in some cardio. Do it all for a year and you’ll reach your goal.

     But, keep in mind that this is just my advice. If your doctor has given you his own advice and is working with you, you should always do whatever he/she recommends over anything I recommend.

     “Is cardio before or after weight training and for how long/doing what?”

     I will definitely be writing a lot about cardio in the future (you’re like the 1000th person to ask me this exact question this month). My first recommendation is to do cardio on your NON-weight training days. If it must be done on the same day, my next recommendation would be to do one in the morning, and the other later in the day. But if they must be done within the same period of time (meaning back-to-back), I’d probably most often recommend doing weights first, cardio after.

     As for how much to do and what form of cardio to do, that answer is a bit more complicated than I can provide in quick comment reply. But, I’ll definitely be covering it in detail in the future.

     “You’ve mentioned giving your body some rest at least 1-2 days a week, but what are your opinions of practicing pushups, situps, etc in the off time or in between workouts? Could this be incorporated into a daily exercise or is this prolonging the benefits?”

     Nah, that’s just overkill and really not doing anything beneficial other than maybe burning some calories. If you need/want to burn some extra calories or do some form of exercise on those days, some low intensity walking will do the trick just fine while also not screwing with recovery at all (in fact, it may help recovery).

     As for your fiance, get her diet right first, then add in some exercise in the form of whatever she is most capable and comfortable with doing at this point. Even if it is just some walking while holding the handles of the treadmill, start her off with that and then gradually progress from there as her weight starts dropping and her body (and mind) becomes more capable.

     I’d definitely love to hear how well both of you do, so if possible, keep me updated!

     • Lol! Thank you for the help.

       I know it seemed dumb to ask “what do you suggest on how I can lose the weight.” I bet in your mind was, der, did you just read my article on how to lose weight? I don’t think it was possible for you to read my mind, so let me ask this follow up question. [I’m afraid to lose muscle during my weight loss process. I’m trying to get a certain weight limit to enter some programs with specific weight requirements. Can weight training get me there or will that bulk me up more than I want?]

       As for the cardio question, I hate to have asked a similar question as everyone else. That was another deal going from website to website they all mention one way or the other. I’ve never heard of not doing it at all on the same day. So, do you go into the gym cold turkey and start lifting or do you warm up some how?

       • Well, for starters, someone looking to lose the last 10 pounds is more at risk for muscle loss than someone at the beginning stage of losing 100lbs. That above-average amount of fat actually puts you at a slight advantage in terms of maintaining muscle. Gotta find the pluses somewhere. 😉

         But in either case, as long as you create the needed deficit, eat a sufficient amount of protein each day and add in some intelligent weight training… you’ll lose plenty of weight while maintaining muscle just fine.

         As for cardio, I don’t really consider the quick and easy 5-10 minute warm-up before weight training (which I DO recommend in most cases, by the way) the same as doing a full 30+ minute cardio session at a moderate-high intensity for the purpose of fat loss/burning calories.

         The former is fine, but I’d rather see the latter done at some other time if possible.

         • Awesome. Now the muscle loss issue makes sense. Some of my skinnier relatives/friends have mentioned about trying to lose some crazy small amount (1-10 lbs). Now, I understand why the muscle loss applies to those people much more than say someone like me. Cause, yeah, you can lose 10 lbs but it won’t be actual fat depending how you go about it. My short term goal is to get on Omega-3 and buy some Whey.

           I’m going to the gym today but I’ll update later in the future on progress.

           Thanks for your quick responses and helpful replies.

         • No problem man… looking forward to hearing how well you do.

8. I think this is key in your latest article:
   “As long as you keep progressing, your body will keep improving. It’s when that progression STOPS that it’s time to change your workouts around in some manner so you can start progressing again.”

   Muscle Confusion is based on the theory that you need to keep “shocking” the muscles every workout, and by “tricking” your muscles and switching up routines consistently, you are shocking your muscles the best, creating more stimulus for muscle growth. What people don’t seem to understand, is that your muscles do not have a brain!

   Diet and workouts, the philosophy is do damn simple, that marketing experts had to come up with ways to sell you something that anyone can learn in 20 minutes. It’s all about branding. This company has the secret answer that everyone has been hiding from you. Yes, its true, the answers have been hidden from you, but it’s not what they are offering. The secret answers are too simple to ever make money off of.

   • Exactly! No matter where I personally went, someone wanted to sell me a book on the simple easy secret. Some sold movies. Some sold subscriptions. I just wanted an unbiased factual bit of information to start my routine. I wish I knew how simple this was a few years ago.

9. Hey, Do you think its really bad if you were to stop working out for some time. I’ve started school again havent been able to workout for about 2 weeks now and have noticed by muscles being a little smaller. Will it be easy for me to gain back that muscle? and should I go back to a lower weight again and start from there.

   • Well, I think it should be pretty obvious that if you remove the stimulus required to (at least) maintain the muscle you’ve built, you’re going to gradually start losing that muscle. So yes, assuming you’d like to maintain muscle, it would indeed be a bad idea to stop training.

     As for how easy it will be to gain back… easier/faster than it was to originally build it, but it’s still going to take time and effort just the same.

     And yes, after an extended period of time off from training, you want ease back into it slowly and then gradually work back up to where you previously were. Not to mention, you’re going to end up losing strength if you stop training for a significant amount of time, which means you’ll have to start back at a lower weight whether you wanted to or not.

     • Ill definitely try to hit the gym again, and get back into my routine, as I find your guide to be working for me. Thanks.

10. Do you care if I take all the information from your site, put it into a book, call it the best kept secret, advertise “get mad muscles” and “skim down like milk in no time” on the cover, give no credit to you, call it something crazy like Way to weight loss in 19 days, advertise that one can lose 5 pounds in 3 days, create calorie deficit schedules for people to follow cutting out carbs one day (calories), protein the next and fats the other, and make lots of money?

    –Kidding– It’s all the ads you so strongly hate. lol.

    • Hate? Nooooo, I love that stuff. 😉

11. Let me add my thanks for the guides/information. I’ve been mulling over bits and pieces of different articles for awhile now. My head still kind of spins a little trying to put it all together; the linear nature similar to what’s used in the The Best Diet Plan seem to help, btw.

    I’m hesitant to ask anything about “cardio on off days”, having read that so many other people have had similar questions. But one of my questions does revolve around that.

    1. I’ve started the Beginner’s Workout routine recently, and I’ve been reading what you’ve said in other comments. My goals are fat loss and muscle gain. To those ends, I’m attempting to create a caloric deficit (more questions on that to follow), so it seems like extra activity in my off days seems like a good idea. I do not, however, want to eat my muscles while they’re recovering. I spend about 1 hour in the gym 6 days/week. On off days (tues, thurs, sat) I’ve been doing relatively intense (for me) cardio workouts on the treadmill, elliptical, and stairmaster. It sounds perhaps that I could probably create a decent caloric deficit in an hour of gym time that wouldn’t interfere with muscle growth too much by just walking or taking it easy on the treadmill.

    2. Food-related. How the hell am I supposed to eat this much protein? Given my activity level, goals, and body stats, my calculations ended up having me eat 220g of protein, approx 215g carbs, and 65g fats. Maybe this is just new territory for me, but that’s a lot of f’ing protein. I’ve started drinking whey protein shakes before and after my workouts, but still…by dinner time I’m left needing around 80g of protein and only having 30g or less of carbs to work with. It’s been slightly irritating. I guess more protein shakes? The thought of cramming chicken breasts down my throat constantly isn’t pleasant. It’s possible I’m just not creative enough in the kitchen.

    3. Back to working out. I’m not really noticing any progression–I don’t really feel stronger, so I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. I’m doing a slight compromise between the Beginner routines 1 and 2. I basically do variant 1 and I add some core exercises and a short stint on the row machine at the end for conditioning. Over the last year I’ve lost 40lbs (started at 260), and I have about 30 more to go. I’ve worked with a few trainers off and on and liked it, but I just can’t afford it now. As my training was inconsistent, I decided the beginner routines were probably best to start with. So, is there possibly something that I could have done with the trainers (common bad habits) that might be causing problems for my progression?

    4. Romanian Deadlifts have me a little paranoid. For my height, I have a rather long torso and short legs, so lower back injuries worry me. I *think* I’ve been doing them correctly, but my lower back does get tired. I wouldn’t say it’s sore exactly, and it’s fine the next day, but I wanted to make sure that was normal. The vast majority of the activity happens through my hamstrings and glutes, which I assume is normal, but is some lower back work unavoidable?

    Thanks for all the work you’ve put into your online materials.

    • 1. If I’m understanding you right, you’re doing the 3 weight training workouts PLUS 3 “intense” 1 hour cardio sessions on off days? On paper, that sounds like way more activity than I’d recommend to someone looking to lose fat while, at the very least, maintaining muscle. How has your weight training progress been going during this time? Are your lifts increasing fairly consistently (even in a deficit, a beginner’s progress should still be pretty good)? If not, it’s a good sign you need to cut back on the cardio.

      2. I remember how impossible it seemed for me at first to force myself to eat whatever protein amount I needed to eat early on (probably 150g or less at the time). Now I literally have to watch myself and make sure I don’t go too far over the ideal protein intake I’m trying to reach. Like anything else, it takes some getting used to, but you eventually adapt and it becomes less and less of a problem. Get a good amount of protein from the usual foods (chicken, meat, turkey, fish, eggs) and use supplements as needed to fill in the rest.

      3. Two things stand out here. First, the “core exercises.” Do you literally mean exercises for your core (like ab stuff) or you do mean “core” exercises as in other popular exercises for other body parts? And second, my answer to your first question. If you’re not progressing as a beginner, it’s possible all of that cardio you’re doing (those 3 sessions plus now you mention an additional session on the row machine after each weight workout). That’s a shitload of cardio, and a shitload of cardio is not conducive to strength gains or muscle maintenance/growth.

      4. Honestly, it’s impossible to say for sure without actually seeing you do them. All I can tell you though is that there is no way to NOT involve the lower back during a properly done RDL. The hamstrings/glutes should be doing the majority of the work, but the lower back will always be trained statically even when done perfectly. It’s part of the exercise.

      A bunch of comments ago someone asked me about proper RDL form. This was my answer: https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/the-end-of-the-ultimate-weight-training-workout-routine/comment-page-2/#comment-649

      • 1. Yeah. It’s been a little hectic. It’s been about a month since I started with the beginner routines. The 6 weeks before that I was working with a trainer doing “Metabolic Strength” training. This mostly involved me doing a lot of things that got my heart rate up for fair amount time; random full body exercises, jumping, etc. So I probably got the idea in my head that in order to have a workout I *must* be working that hard. So yes, now I’m doing the beginner routine, and on off days I do whatever it takes to get my heart rate up. The Pro side to that is that my heart is more efficient; it’s taking more work to get it going. The Con is that heart is more efficient, and it’s taking more work to get it going. This seems like a Con because the more work I have to do to get my heart rate up the more likely it seems that I’d be sabotaging strength increases. I’m not sure how that’s affecting my progress for my strength workouts though.

        My legs seem to progress; my squats of various sorts have increased in weight slightly. My cable rows have increased. Weirdly, and despite my bench pressing, I feel like I’m going no where there. When I add more weight it doesn’t seem to ever get better so I have to cut back, and I’m still hating push ups. So I don’t know if my cardio in off days would affect that. Regardless, I think I’m just going to start having an hour of walking on my off days. I have a desk job, and I mostly just sit at home after work. So on my off days, I feel compelled to continue a daily caloric deficit through some sort of activity-hence the cardio. The strength progress overall just doesn’t feel encouraging at the moment.

        3. Yes, by “core” exercises I literally mean my core. I’ll do 30 seconds of front plank followed by a like amount time for each side plank, rest, and then repeat. I’m also wondering if I could get away with altering the overhead press in workout B to a swimmer’s press.

        • Well, as with most training related goals, it’s hard to focus on 2 things at once and still make optimal (or sometimes ANY) progress on both. So yes, I’d say that the ton of cardio you’re doing is probably hindering your strength gains to some extent. On the other hand, putting the majority of your focus into strength gains will probably hinder your cardio/endurance related goals to some extent.

          It’s a trade off, and you’ll probably do best picking the specific goal that is most important to you and focusing mostly on that (while still at least maintaining the other). So if you’re #1 goal is fat loss and all of that cardio is what’s allowing you to reach that goal, then stick with it. But if strength gains are your goal, reduce the cardio to a more tolerable level, adjust your diet to ensure the deficit is still present, and hit those weights.

          And as for whether you can get away with the swimmer’s press instead of the overhead press, it’s possible. Personally, I’d recommend sticking with the overhead press.

12. I’ve been making good progress. All of the sudden, I feel like I have more energy for cardio. I’m not sure about strength yet.

    I’ve read when the muscles are sore, you can lift much lighter weight to help out? You strongly mention about taking breaks and no more than 2 days consecutive work out days. Just wondering your thoughts on very light days in between or does that not help at all?

    • Unless you’re training for some specific sport or activity where that typical next-day-soreness can hinder your performance, I’d rarely ever recommend it.

13. Hi there,

    This site looks awesome! Thank you for posting all this great info.
    This may be a silly questions. Is this routine the same for men and women?
    I am looking to change up my routine. I currently do way too much cardio (i think) even though its usually in the form of fitness classes. I would like to get more toned and have muscle definition. I have lost a considerable amount of weight and would like to keep it off but also tone my new body. There is a fear in me that losing out on all the cardio will hinder my maintenance and will ultimately lead to me gaining some weight back. I do have strength training in my routine now but I would like to make my time at gym as efficient as possible. Currently i do at least 4 cardio sessions a week and 2-3 weight training sessions a week as well.

    Thanks again for all the great info!!!

    • You’re welcome… glad you liked it.

      Yup, unless I specifically state otherwise, everything I’ve written applies exactly the same to both men and women. I explain more about this here: https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/workout-routines-for-women/

      Regarding all of your questions about getting toned, this article should answer them: https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/muscle-tone/

      And about this quote: “There is a fear in me that losing out on all the cardio will hinder my maintenance and will ultimately lead to me gaining some weight back.”

      It’s all about the balance between calories eaten and calories burned. So if you’re maintaining your weight while doing a lot of cardio and you stop doing that cardio, the amount of calories you’re burning will decrease and throw off that “calories in vs calories out” balance. This would result in weight gain if your diet isn’t adjusted to compensate.

      So, to avoid that weight gain in this scenario, you’d have to lower your calorie intake to make up for the fact that you’re no longer burning the same amount of calories you previously were.

14. Hi again, i have a problem at progressing on certain exercises (mostly cables), because the smallest increment is 5KG. So my last two Upper B workouts looked like:
    Cable Rows 55kg x 9; 55×9 55×10
    Cable Rows 60kg x 8; 60×7 60×5 — a huge dropoff, (same stuff happens for triceps pressdowns) so do you suggest doing another rowing exercise (ex. T-Bar rows) or leaving as it is and just trying to progress?

    • I used to have the same problem with the few machines I’ve used (especially cable rows) because the plates go up in anywhere from 10lb, 12lb, 15lb or sometimes even 20lb increments instead of the 2.5lb or 5lb increments that would be most ideal.

      The best solution is to simply create your own increment. On most machines like these, you can take a 2.5-5 pound (or 2-3kg for you if my math is correct) plate that you would put on a barbell, and either just sit it on top of the weight stack of the machine or if there’s a pin involved, just put the pin through the plate and then into the weight stack so it gets sandwiched against it.

      I do that all the time… works perfectly.

      • Tried, works great, now it’s better than barbell :D, lowest increment 1 lbs/0.5kg.

        • Ha, awesome!

          • Btw, can I use methods described in “The Muscle Building Routine” (fatigue over tension and alternating sets) in other programs (ex. Upper Body Focus)? Because there are no such versions.

          • Yup, both methods could be applied to the Upper Body Focused Training routine.

            I actually should have included them myself in the guide already. I’ll probably add them in the first big update.

15. I have a question about muscle gain in caloric deficit. I’ve read, and heard, from other sources/people that it’s impossible. Is it really impossible or just annoyingly difficult and slow? I want to lose fat, so I’m eating to a caloric deficit. I’d also like to gain some muscle. Popular logic seems to indicate that I can’t have both because building muscle requires a caloric surplus. But don’t I have a surplus that I’m currently trying to get rid of; It’s slowly going away but my mid section still jiggles when I walk. That seems like a surplus to me. Obviously I’d want to eat a fair bit of protein and have a workout that supports muscle gain, but are the people I’m talking to who are saying it’s physically impossible just misunderstanding, or do I really need to *eat* to a caloric surplus to gain *any* muscle? Thanks.

    • Muscle can’t be built out of nothing, which means it requires additional calories beyond maintenance for muscle growth to take place. And this means that with some exceptions (namely fat beginners, steroid users, and people re-gaining lost muscle), muscle won’t be built in a chronic deficit.

      Now there are various recomp/calorie cycling methods that aim to work around this by providing a surplus on certain days and a deficit on others with the goal being to still end up in an overall deficit at the end of the week.

      In a scenario like this, it may be possible to build some muscle while losing fat, although it would definitely fit the super slow/difficult description.

16. Hey I just wanted to ask you a something regarding when to workout,

    so im following your sample ABA BAB workout routine 3 times a week. (Mon, wed, fri)

    However I am not able to workout on wednesday’s anymore as I will be busy, do you think its fine if I workout on mon, tues and thurs? or even mon thurs and fri? or will that not give enough time for my muscles to rest.

    • With a 3 day full body routine, I wouldn’t really recommend any setup that involved training on consecutive days. Can you train on Saturdays or Sundays? If so, something like Saturday, Monday, Thursday would be ideal.

      • I can’t workout on saturday’s, sunday’s or wednesday’s, so thats really the problem. So you don’t recommended working out on consecutive days since that would make my arms smaller right, since they don’t have time to repair and build.

        If that’s said would it be better for me to workout with a 2 day split?
        Is that my best option since those 3 days I cannot workout?

        • Not doing full body workouts on consecutive days is about a lot more than just arm size. There’s a ton of problems that can (and most likely will) arise when doing squats and deadlifts, bench and overhead press, and rows and pull-ups on back-to-back days.

          A 2 day full body split or possibly an upper/lower/full body split are 2 options, as is the 3 or 4 day version of the upper/lower split (which isn’t really my favorite option for beginners).

17. That makes sense,

    Ill probably have to try to make room on Wednesday’s so I can workout every mon, wed and fri.
    For a beginner tho you still believe the 3 day workout split is still the best right??

    Thanks for the info, ill definitely take that into consideration.

    • Yup, for a typical beginner with a typical goal in mind, the 3 day full body split is what works best.

      • Thanks, I’ll try to stick with that as I found its working as well.

18. For a upper/lower body split, do you think my upper A and B splits have too many compound exercises that would slow down recovery time?
    Upper A is
    Deadlift 3×6
    dumbell bench 3×6-8
    seated cable rows 3×8
    upright row 3×8
    incline bench 3×8
    bicep curls 2×8
    skull crushers 2×8
    Upper B is
    bench press 3×6-8
    one hand rows 3×8
    incline dumbell press 3×8
    chin ups 3x max
    dumbell shoulder press 3×8
    bicep curls 2x 8
    skull crushers 2×8
    Also, i have not been able to do my lower body workouts or deadlifts on upper A because i think i strained my right butt doing a deadlift, so i run hills on my lower body days. Should i stop training my upper body too until my butt heals?

    • I can’t give you any injury specific advice (check with your doctor on that), but in terms of what you’re doing being too much… the best way to know is simply by how it has been working.

      You didn’t mention your goals, but I’ll assume they are muscle/strength related. In that case, have you been building muscle/increasing strength at a realistic rate? Have your lifts (especially compounds) been progressing at a realistic rate? If so, then it’s probably fine. But if not, and you’re doing everything else right (like your diet, for example), then that would be a sign that something needs to be adjusted somewhere.

19. Question for you. I showed the beginner work out to a trainer with the abs and curls. He said Exercise set B is too back intensive. Do you think this might be correct and what can I do to change it up a little?

    • Just to be sure I’m understanding you correctly… the trainer said that Workout B of my beginner routine (deadlifts, pull-ups, shoulder press… with Workout A being squats, bench and rows) is “too back intensive?”

      I guess out of context and with no other knowledge of any other aspect of the split being used or what the A workout is, it’s possible someone might see 2 pulling exercises and 1 push and think something might be a little unbalanced.

      But within the context of this program, it’s as perfectly balanced as can be.

      Assuming the trainer was aware of the context, I’d highly recommend not taking much advice from him in the future.

20. Yeah he knew of both. Sounds good! I will avoid. Thanks.

21. Concerning nutrition and what good you should eat when in that workout process is it fine to eat outside fast food say twice a week?

    I usually go to pizza pizaa or Mcdonalds about once a week, do those foods destroy your body.
    Just really curious about that.

    • As long as your total calorie and nutrient intake remains what it needs to be each day, and the majority of your diet comes from higher quality foods, a little lower quality stuff from time to time is perfectly fine.

22. Hey i love your site. Just had a quick question to ask. Im 20 years old 5’10 170 pounds and have been lifting on and off since high school during baseball and football workouts. I have a decent working knowledge and good form of the excersises outlined in your guide. I’d like to consider myself as an intermediate lifted but wanted your opinion on what workout program I should be doing . I did start on your intermediate 4 day muscle building routine and t ried that for about 8 weeks , but it was becoming difficult to balance with school and all. I switched over to madco w 5×5 and have been doingh that now for 3 weeks. Should I continue with this routine ? I starting second guessig myself and wondering if I should have started with your beginners program. My current lifts are bench 225 squat 295 deadlift 250.

    • How long have you been training consistently and intelligently, and what type of progress have you made since you started?

      • I have done other exercise programs like insanity and p90x buti only started lifting at a gym consistently since the middle of the summer., with your program I’ve gained about 5 pounds and have increased my bench about 10-15. Pounds

        • Well, if you legitimately bench/squat/deadlift what you mentioned with solid form, you could be on the verge of being intermediate. In terms of time lifting consistently/intelligently though, you could be considered a beginner.

          So… you’re probably somewhere in between. I’d say to give some kind of 3 day full body beginner routine a good solid run before moving on to something for intermediates. You’ll probably still be able to progress well for a little while longer on those types of programs, at which point you could then move on to something more ideal for intermediates.

          And at THAT point, it depends on your specific goals. If your primary goal is strength, then some type of 5×5 intermediate program like madcow would be ideal.

          But if your primary goal is building muscle, a more hypertrophy orientated program (like my muscle building routine, for example) would be more ideal.

23. This is on hell of a Guide! i mean it

    The one thing that I did not see you mention here was periodization linear/non/conjugate etc..heavy medium light or switching up the major compound exercises every 3 weeks. The soviets dedicated years of research to this type of training and most schools also use it for strength training classes. However, I did see you alternated the exercises on the A/B day splits and recommended optimal reps scheme for each body part. Was this your way of incorporating variation in the routine or just another variation of a periodization schedule?

    Again, Thanks for everything

    • Glad to hear you liked the guide.

      Really getting into periodization is one of those things that was originally on my “stuff to MAYBE cover” list for the guide, but it just seemed like it would really need to turn into a guide-within-a-guide to cover fully. Plus, like you mentioned, other parts of the guide sorta cover certain related aspects (different rep ranges and intensity, progressive overload, etc.), so I figured that would be more than enough to really help people get the basics.

      And then articles I’ve written since (how to deload, when to change exercises, etc.) fill in some additional blanks.

      One of these days I’ll probably cover it directly.

      • Thanks & i purchased your full guide..prolly didnt need it at this point but you put out way too much information in an organized way for you to not be compensated for in some way. im sure ill enjoy reading it and ill let you know the results.

        FOR ANY OF YALL READING, I’VE DOWNLOADED THE GUIDE AND ITS DEF. WORTH THE PRICE

        • Awesome! And thanks… I definitely appreciate the compliments.

24. First off, thanks a million for this thorough guide… As a terribly confused beginner who’s been obsessively browsing the internet for some time now, trying to put together an effective muscle building plan, I found your guide extremely helpful…

    Everything is explained very clearly, in as much detail as is relevant to most people… I’ve been reading a lot of incomplete, incoherent, confusing guides, so it’s quite a relief to find this much practical information provided for free, IN A SINGLE SOURCE 😀

    I’ve also come across so many websites that try to sell you the ‘latest *limited edition* magic purple concoction that will give you rock hard abs, huge biceps, rippling muscles, eagle wings, a 3 meter long moustache that plays the clarinet and caresses your hair while you sleep, a penis that spews Jujyfruits and caramel at will, the power to communicate with horses and mongooses, and a deep seductive singing voice like Barry White’s in just three days!!!!’… So glad this is all over now 😀

    I still have a couple of questions however (being the obsessive person I am):

    1- First off, do you see any reason why I shouldn’t do the entire workout with dumbbells?

    I am planning to follow one of the sample beginner workout routines you provided, and I’d really prefer to work out at home rather than the gym… I have a bench, a pair of adjustable dumbbells, and enough weight plates to last me some time… (I might buy another pair of adjustable dumbbells so I won’t have to keep changing plates as often as I would with just one)

    Apart from dumbbell exercises being a little harder in terms of getting the correct form at first, do you think I absolutely need the support of some machinery as a beginner?

    2- How does progressive overload work for an exercise like the pull-up? Is there a way to incorporate extra weight in the exercise when I’ve met the rep range?
    Also I do not currently own a hand bar… would it be ok to replace the pull-ups in workout B, with dumbbell rows, or would that be too much for the back? (I am also referring here to the sample beginner workouts you provided)

    3- The 5 pound increment to add with every progression is for the total weight being lifted per exercise, not to the weight of one dumbbell, right? This would account for a 2.5 pound increment per dumbbell at most, rather than a 5 pound increment per dumbbell?

    • Glad you liked the guide. And dude, hook me up with a link… I’d kill for a clarinet playing mustache!

      1. No machines are needed at all. You’ll be able to do PERFECTLY fine with just dumbbells, although a few exercises will become more ideal to be done with a barbell as you get stronger.

      2a. Like any other exercise, you just need to add weight. With a body weight exercise like pull-ups, you’d just need to add weight to your body somehow. This can be done by holding a dumbbell between your feet, putting weights in a backpack and wearing it, or best of all and what I personally do… get yourself a pull-up belt (aka dip belt). It’s basically a weightlifting belt with a chain attachment that you can put plates on for added weight. They are like $30 on Amazon.

      2b. If you have no access to a pull-up bar or anything that can become a pull-up bar, replace them with rows (any kind of back row exercise will do) done with your elbows closely tucked into your sides (targets lats a bit more). Make the original row in the other workout some type of back row done with your elbows a bit more flared out to the sides (targets mid-back a bit more).

      3. Yup, 5 total pounds for the exercise as a whole, not per side (unless there is no lesser option available). Really whatever the smallest possible weight increment is for a given exercise/piece of equipment… use that.

      • great 😀
        Thanks a lot

25. Hey Jay had a question on pg 111 of your guide under outstanding arms version 2. I know that you mentioned that some routines that’ve failed have either too much or too less volume.

    How about pullups everyday? I’ve a pullbar wedged into my closet door right outside the bathroom door so everytime I used to pass by it, I did couple pull ups (slightly wider than shoulder grip). As a result, I saw an increase in my lat pulldown at the gym and my lats and just the whole upper back in general grew. Now with that routine, could I still do maybe 20-30 pull ups here and there throughout the day (body weight) or less?

    • While I’ve never personally messed around with the “grease the groove” technique you’re referring to, it seems to be a useful training tool for improving at exercises like pull-ups.

      However, adding it in on top of another routine, especially one aimed at arm specialization, isn’t really something I’d recommend.

      If your primary goal is getting better at pull-ups, you’ll do best adjusting your entire program to suit that specific goal rather than attempt it while simultaneously training for other overlapping goals.

26. Hey,

    I’ve now been using the working out for the past year and a half, and feel that I’m making progress and know the basics of exercising.

    Do you think it would be fine for me to move onto the intermediate level workout?

    • If the beginner routine is still working and you’re still progressing on it, I’d stick with it.

      When it stops working, that’s when it’s time to consider moving to something more advanced.

      • Yea I probably should still stick with it, thanks.

27. Also on another note concerning how your body grows, some of my bones still stick out from my skin, such as where the shoulders are, waist and stomach/chest (ribs). Will working out help with this problem, or a larger calorie intake.
    Cause I’m really looking to get bigger, and lose these bones showing.

    • You can’t change your bone structure, but building muscle/gaining weight will definitely have a positive effect on how visible those bones/ribs are and how “boney” you look in general.

      The bigger you get, the less boney you’ll look.

28. I apologize if this has been asked 100 times already, but first let me say how much I appreciate your information on this site and it’s FREE! Thank you SO much from a 45 year old man who has tried off and on my whole life to find success with weight training and not had much luck.

    Okay, to the question. I have 2 goals. Lose about 10 lbs of fat and then build muscle. Would the proper approach then be to reduce my calorie intake while working out to drop the fat FIRST and then go into Calorie Surplus mode to start building muscle? Or should I just go for the “build muscle” goal first and the fat will disappear while I’m working toward that (with maybe a slightly less surplus?)

    My ‘engineer’s instincts’ tell me to stick to one goal at a time, lose the weight and THEN go for the muscle. Would like to hear your thoughts please!

    • Ah, if only everyone had “engineer’s instincts.” 😉 For most people, your instincts are indeed correct. Trying to lose fat and build muscle at the same time usually results in failing to do either. You just need less calories for fat loss, and more calories for muscle growth. Makes it kinda hard to do both simultaneously.

      There are some methods of “recomposition” that involve being in a surplus or deficit at different times over the course of the week, but still ending up at maintenance in the end. This ideally results in some sort of improvement in terms of fat loss and muscle growth over time. But the big problem with this approach is that these improvements are VERY tiny and come VERY slowly to the point where it’s just a huge painfully slow waste of effort for basically all but the super advanced.

      As for which to do first, it will take a full article to explain fully (don’t worry, it’s on my to-do list), but you typically don’t want to go into a surplus and start a muscle building phase while in an already fat state. So, the right answer most of the time is to lose the fat first and get lean, and then switch over to trying to build some muscle.

      You still definitely want to keep weight training correctly during this time for reasons explained here.

      Everything I’ve said so far applies to the majority of the population, with one exception worth mentioning… beginners. A beginner will actually have the short term ability to build some muscle WHILE in a deficit. Again, I’d need a full article to explain the how’s and why’s, but for now just consider it a temporary super power that you should take advantage of if you happen to be a beginner.

      Create your moderate deficit, get enough protein (and everything else), and use an intelligent weight training routine and focus on progressive overload.

      But if you’re not a beginner, focus on fat loss/muscle maintenance first, then switch to building muscle after that.

29. Great online guide, it’s everything I’ve been looking for to finally get started.

    First off, Im 20 yrs old, 5’9 and 135 lbs. I’ve never been involved in any kind of regular routine even though I play a variety of sports and run occasionally.

    I want to follow your beginner’s version 2 workout, but I don’t have any equipment at home. Should I get a gym membership and use the machines/weights there, or can I accomplish the same exercises in other ways?

    • Well, at the very least, you’re going to need a barbell, weight to put on it, a bench, a pull-up bar and some sort of rack. Some dumbbells would be nice too, but that’s optional at this point.

      Now if this is stuff you have the space (and money) for in your house, then by all means, feel free to train at home.

      But if not, a gym membership is probably going to be needed.

      • Probably gunna end up getting the gym membership.

        As for a warm up, i’m used to running about 10 min and stretching before I get to any actual exercises. Is that acceptable as far as a warm up goes? Also should I be stretching, if at all, the muscles Ive used after or before each exercise?

        • A short, light and easy cardio warmup before weights is fine (and often recommended), as is some type of dynamic warmup or mobility drill.

          Stretching on the other hand is a bit more complicated and would honestly take a full article to fully explain.

          Short answer: unless you have a good reason to be statically stretching a specific muscle group (for example, maybe you have tight hamstrings and it’s interfering with your ability to squat properly), then you probably don’t need to be doing much stretching, especially before/during training.

30. if my main goal is to build muscle and look good, would isolating my chest while doing bench press by lifting my legs up and crossing them be more ideal for building muscle, or should i drive my feet into the ground and arch my back so i can lift a heavier weight? also, would you recommend doing cable lateral raises instead of dumbbell lateral raises because i heard that it works your deltoid muscles more throughout the entire range of motion. thanks, love your guide!

    • Definitely keep your feet on the floor when bench pressing. It’s WAY more important that you just focus on getting stronger over time than screw around trying to isolate muscle groups better. Leg drive, sane degree of lower back arch, etc. is recommended.

      As for lateral raises, it’s virtually all the same thing. Pick whatever you happen to like best.

      • alright thanks for the advice!

31. Hey,

    So far I’ve been sticking to the sample workout routine for a good 3 months and I haven’t really noticed my weight changing that much. I started off at around 134-135 and am currently at 135-136ish. I can’t really get out of that weight range. I’m trying to eat as much as I can,but I still can’t seem to gain that more weight. However what I do notice is that I am able to lift more weight than I did before. I have to admit as well that sometimes I am only able to get in 2 days of workout instead of 3 per week.

    Would to recommend me going and buying a weight protein shake, as I haven’t been using those yet. Or any other tips that could help me?

    • A lack of weight gain is never about your workout and ALWAYS about your diet. You’re just not eating enough, and there’s really only one tip to fix it: eat more.

      Even if you think you’re eating a lot already… if you’re not gaining weight, you are simply still not eating enough.

      I suck at creating meal plans and recipes and that kind of thing, but all you really need to do is find foods you like and eat more of them. As for weight gainers, I don’t typically recommend them because most are just sugar filled garbage. I’d much rather see someone just eat more rice, pasta, potatoes, meat, chicken, nuts, peanut butter, olive oil, oats, etc.

      If needed, there are plenty of weight gain shake recipes out there that you can make yourself with similar calories but much better ingredients than you’ll find in an actual weight gain shake.

      • Thanks, that helps alot.

        • Also on another note,

          One thing that I notice when weightlifting is that when I do bicep curls, preacher curls, and similar weight lifting exercises like those, the forearm of my right hand is in pain. It usually happens right after I let go of the resistance (so once I let go of the weight or put it down), but the pain does not occur in the forearm when I am bringing the weight up.
          Sometimes even when lifting my bag ill feel the pain.

          Is this something to be concerned about? have you had any experiences that could let me know whats actually happening? Thanks.

          • Honestly, it’s impossible to say for sure, which is why I always avoid giving any specific injury advice.

            The only way to know is to have it checked out by a doctor.

          • Thanks

32. I would just like to say thank you for taking the time to do this guide and website. It is hands down the best one that I have come across and I love to read up on things as much as possible (prob part of my problem of not being able to stick to anything for long!) This has been a huge help much appreciated sir

    Andy

    • You are quite welcome. Awesome to hear you liked it.

33. Hello, The information given in your website is very useful. I would like to thank you for providing so much information for us.
    There is too much fat in my stomach area, I want to reduce fat in stomach area and i want to have flat abs. Kindly tell me what should I do to reduce fat in my stomach area and get flat abs. Please help me…

    • An article specifically about abs and stomach fat is on my to-do list and will answer all of your questions. Until then though, here’s the short answer: create a caloric deficit.

      More about that here: https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-lose-fat/

      • Thank you for your kind reply. I will surely read the article about abs.

34. How do you recommend doing progressive overload? Working up to a specific goal i.e.

    3 sets of 8 reps

    or

    3 sets of 6 – 8 reps.

    Currently, I lift a weight untill I can do 3 sets of 8 reps and then increase the weight by a small increment. Should i perhaps do 8, 7, 6 and then increase the weight?

    Cheers

    • Honestly, both ways will work just fine. Try both and see which suits you best.

35. Hi 🙂 you wouldn’t happen to have made a beginner’s no equipment work ou would you? Thank you!
    Rose
    p.s. love the website, and I have actually been to a nutritionist before, and so know what diets are scams. Yours isn’t!

    • By “no equipment” do you mean body weight only? If so, I’d recommend pretty much the same routine only with exercises like push ups, inverted rows, single leg squats, pull-ups, dips, etc. substituted in.

      Also keep in mind that the key to any workout (especially for beginners) is progression, and while you can add reps for quite a while on some of these exercises depending on what your initial strength levels are, at some point some kind of equipment will be needed to increase the weight being lifted.

      • Thank you, it is only a temporary solution. What are inverted rows as well? And I really appreciate the quick response! Would circuit training be suitable for building muscle? I had a small routine going which used no equipment, but I don’t know if it would be worth it if the results will be minimal. It involved sit ups, planks, squats etc.

        • Here’s an example of inverted rows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvkIaarnf0g

          They are being done there with feet elevated, but can also be done with your feet on the floor instead.

          As for circuit training being “suitable” for building muscle… really any form of resistance training done progressively is suitable for building muscle. But whether or not it’s IDEAL would depend on the exact specifics of what’s being done. But, generally speaking, circuit training is usually far from ideal for muscle growth.

          Not to mention, if 2 of the first 3 exercises you listed are for your abs, then I’d have to assume that this routine most likely sucks overall.

36. Hello, if my main goal is to build muscle but emphasize bigger deltoids and traps, should i do my shoulder exercises first in my upper body workout of the lower/upper split, or should i do chest and back because they are larger muscles? im thinking if i do my shoulders first i would be able to use a higher weight than if i do it in the middle or end of my workout. THanks!

    • If your primary goal is shoulder specialization, then yes, it would make sense to put shoulder work before everything else for the reasons you mentioned.

      But if you’re really just looking to get bigger overall and shoulders just happen to be a body part you’d like to see a lot of progress on, I’d probably recommend keeping the bigger stuff (chest/back) first.

      And if you don’t know which group you fall into, you can just do some shoulder specialization for X number of weeks, then switch back to the more typical setup for X weeks after that. If desired, repeat.

      • thanks for the advice! i think im going to put shoulders first on upper body A workout and then do the bigger muscles on upper body B workout =)

37. Thanks for a great guide, I have a couple of questions:

    1. I consider myself a beginner and am planning to follow your beginner workout routine version 2 but I’m unsure how long I should follow this routine. Should I just follow this routine for 6 months and then go over to intermediate routines (while working with progressive overload), or could I add more exercises as I become stronger and if so, what kind of exercises?

    2. On your list of best exercises for each muscle group I’m not seeing any for abs? Is sit-ups the best choice here?

    3. I have been trying to gain weigth while simultaneously following a rather poor workout routine which I didn’t even follow to 100%. Now I’ve gained around 5kg (~10lbs) but the only thing that’ve grown is my stomach. Is this because I haven’t been training properly and will this stomach go away when I start training more regularly? I’ve always been a skinny guy and never thought I would get a problem with a big stomach so I’m afraid I will have a hard time getting rid of this now.

    Sorry for a the long post and I hope you have the time to answer!

    • 1. Stick with the beginner routine until it stops working. No time limit. If you’re still progressing at 6 months in, keep on going. Don’t add to it along the way. Just ride it out for as long as it works, and then when progress finally stops, switch to an intermediate routine.

      2. I hate writing about abs (probably my second least favorite subject after cardio), so I just left it out. I’ll write a full article about ab training at some point, but until then, situps aren’t usually a great idea from a lower back health standpoint.

      3. Sounds like you gained a lot more fat than muscle, which is definitely a result of a less than ideal workout routine and possibly a less than ideal diet as well. Starting to train better now won’t make it go away, only a caloric deficit will. More about that here: https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-lose-fat/

      Assuming your goal is to build muscle/gain quality weight, I’d recommend losing that fat first and getting leaner before going into a full muscle building phase/caloric surplus.

38. Are there any alternatives to deadlifts ? I’ve been trying to work on my form but I’m having a hard time and my lower back is usually sore for days after doing them.

    • What type of deadlifts are we talking about here? Conventional? Romanian? Some other variation?

39. Just conventional deadlifts. I have trouble with hip flexibility so i have a hard time lifting my chest and keeping back straight .. you think Sumo deadlifts would be any easier? Anything else you might reccomend ?

    • Honestly, I think fixing your issues with form and flexibly is probably the best option, especially if the conventional deadlift is an exercise you want/need to be doing or is part of the program you want to be doing.

      And yup, it’s possible some other deadlift variation might feel better for you, but whether you can substitute it in to replace the conventional deadlift depends on the specific context on your program and goals. If it’s doable, then the second best option would be to try some other variation in its place and see if it feels better for you. If so, keep it. If not, see option #1.

40. Hi! I’ve just started your beginners workout, but it feels like it’s mostly working my arms and upper body and not my lower body or legs. Or am I missing something? Maybe I’m just trying to skip ahead into doing something more intense than I need to, but I have been looking at how my SO works out, and he always does splits (legs one day, chest and arms another day, ect)

    I just want to make sure I’m working my whole body without doing an intermediate or advanced workout.

    • What a workout “feels like” it’s doing and what it’s actually doing are 2 different things, especially for a beginner who really doesn’t know what things should feel like. Meaning, if you’re looking to get a ton of pump and be super sore and feel trashed at the end of your workout, that’s not what an intelligently designed beginner routine (such as mine) is designed for. It’s designed for higher frequency, lower volume, and the plain and simple basics… all of which is what is unanimously agreed upon to be most ideal for virtually every beginner.

      So, my question would be this. Are you progressing each week? If so, it’s definitely working… even if it might not “feel” like it is.

      And just for the record, you can do a ton of sets of a ton of exercises using a ton of advanced methods for each muscle group, and it will REALLY feel like it’s working. However, it most definitely won’t be.

41. Ok thank you for the advice. I went ahead and tried the sumo variation and i felt it was a bit easier on my lower back .I guess I will try that for a few weeks and see how I feel and hoe I’m progressing

    • Sounds good to me.

42. I only have access to dumbbells at the moment and I’m struggling with the deadlifts as I’m only feeling my lower back when doing them, not my hamstring as intended.

    So what kind of dumbbell deadlift exercise would you suggest that I try (straight-back straight-leg, straight leg, bending knees etc.)?

    • A Romanian deadlift is probably the best option for putting the most emphasis on hamstrings and the least on your back.

43. The world would be a better place if it was a national requirement to read your entire site lol. It’s exceptionally helpful for people just starting as well as intermediate to advanced lifters.

    • Now there’s a comment I fully support. 😉

44. first of all thanks a lot for sharing really useful information … i have a question . iam 21 years old and i weigh 53kg only .. i thought of doing workouts( i am a beginner) . can u please tell me how much weights should i lift in order to avoid any harmful effects .. please reply asap ..

    • Have you read this article yet? https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-much-weight-should-you-lift-and-use/

45. First of all, thanks for all of this information. I will definitely recommend this website to other people.
    I have been training over years, but I still have some questions.
    1) I always try to workout in every set until failure. Because of that, the normal order of repetitions on 3 sets will be something like 10, 8, 6 (as an example), because in the first set I worked out until failure, and then I am very tired on the next two sets. This means that it is very difficult to maintain the same amount of repetitions in all 3 sets. Now, when you say 3 sets of 10 (or 9,8, whatever number), do I need to try to always get to 10 in all the sets by taking mini-breaks? So that if I do 6 and I can’t do more, I take a mini break and then continues until 10.

    2) One way that I have been working out is the following: Lets say that I’m gonna do bicep curls, so I start with 40 (and I can do like 10 reps), then when I can’t do more, I quickly put the dumbbells aside and take 35 and start again until failure. I do the same 4-5 times, so I drop 5 pounds each time and at the end I finish with 20. What do you think about this type of workout? How can I integrate this in a twice-per-week program?

    I have other question but I will wait until your answer to these 2
    Thanks

    • Glad to hear it dude. Regarding your questions…

      1) I actually don’t recommend training to failure, and DEFINITELY not on every set like you’re doing. More about that here: https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/failure/

      2) What you’re describing here is called a dropset, and while it can have its uses, it’s another training method that I don’t really recommend for most people.

      Between training to failure every set and the large use of dropsets, your training sounds like it’s super high in volume and intensiveness to the point where recovery would be hindered significantly. I’d honestly recommend cutting back on both rather than trying to find the best way to integrate it all.

      • So that means that possibly in the first 2 sets you can do X amount of reps (without pushing so hard), but in the third one you really feel it a lot? And when you can do the X amount of reps in all the sets without training to failure then you are ready to add more reps or weight?

        Thanks… definitely this is the most complete website to learn about training

        • You basically want to stop most of your sets about 1 rep before failure. You’re still pushing hard and working your ass off just the same, you’re just not purposely going to failure on every set… just trying to stop 1 rep before the rep you would have failed on.

          And regarding progression, read this: https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/weight-training-progression/

46. I started weight training way back in the early ’70’s.
    I bought the old “Sears and Roebuck” weight bench and the cement weights encapsulated in plastic. lol They seem to be the norm at that time. I happened to come across a book entitled, “Power Training in Kung Fu and Karate”, by Ron Marchini and Leo Fong, 1972-1976, the “Hey Day” of martial arts! The book has various weight training routines and cardio exercises as well. I chose the “Bulk and Strength Routine”.
    Exercising three days a week! Interesting isn’t it? 3 days a week back almost a half century ago! Whew! The workouts were very good and I was seeing good results even on a macrobiotic/lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet! My starting weight was about 150lb. and I managed to put on 15lb. and reached 165lb. at my last visit to the chiropractor.
    This was quite a struggle being a skinny, lanky ectomorph. What was so funny back then was some guys would call me “Frankenstein”! WTF? lol It took me many years to figure that one out. The reason:” I was bigger and taller than most of my peers at that time”. Let me finish up and get to my main point as why I’m commenting here.
    In 1976, I went into service. I dropped everything, diet,weights, martial arts, and became a complete “jarhead”! lol Luckily I stumbled into a bookstore and pick up a copy of “Muscle and Fitness” magazine. That mag became my “Bible”. It was March, 1977 when I culled info from the mag, designed a bulk routine. My starting weight 165lb. at 6’0″ medium frame I think. I started out doing the 3 days a week training, but instinct suggested that I train every other day. So for two years I trained. Within two years, I went from 165lb. to 215lb. I was even impressed that I could bench press 270lb., an exercise that isn’t included in my routine!
    Sorry I got carried away here, “Post Comment” it reads. Damn, I’ve written a short story! lol I’m glad I found your site, most helpful. Dreas

    • Not a bad story at all… definitely impressive to hear you’ve been into this stuff for nearly 40 years now. And it’s always cool hearing about the diet/fitness world back then from someone who was actually there to experience it.

      Glad you liked the site!

47. Hi,
    I have heard that after 45 minutes in the gym your body releases a catabolic hormone which has adverse effects on muscle building. On your example Intermediate workout routine, following it exactly took me 55 minutes. I am fairly skinny so catabolic hormone = bad. Is the train no longer than 45 minutes a load of rubbish? Also, I am creating a caloric surplus by 500 calories but doing no more than 8 reps on each exercise. Am doing progressive overload and not getting any bigger. By following the new routine (your muscle building one) should I do more reps per set I.e 10 reps? Thanks.

    P.s I am getting stronger though. Would like 50/50 strength and muscle build.

    • The difference between training for 45 minutes and 55 minutes is nonexistent. And the 45 minutes number is just one of many bullshit figures someone pulled out of their ass that people have gone on to repeat with no basis on any kind behind it. Ignore it. As long as your program is designed properly (which The Muscle Building Workout Routine definitely is), and you’re not spending 20 minutes between sets talking to people, you’re fine.

      Regarding reps, you should do EXACTLY what is outlined in the program and not screw with it.

      Regarding “not getting any bigger,” answer these questions: Over what period of time? How long have you been using this routine and eating properly to support it? How much weight have you gained? At what rate? How much stronger have you gotten?

48. I have been using the begginer program for a while. But I changed it so each goal was 3 sets of 8 max. Probably shouldn’t of changed it. Won’t make the same mistake again! In terms of strength I have increased my bench from 60 kg to 85 kg in just under a year but chest not much bigger. I have gained a stone and a half (20 pounds). Do you think the lack of size is due to not going over 8 reps?
    I made no progress untill reading the overload section where my strength gains went through the roof. Will do exactly what you say on the intermediate one and get back to you regarding results.

    All the best,
    Benedict

    • So you increased your bench by 25kg and gained 20lbs of body weight over the span of a year, but didn’t get any bigger? Are you sure about that? Have you tracked measurements and taken progress pics? Because gaining 20lbs in a year sounds like the opposite of a lack of size.

      And no, the fact that you did 8 reps instead of 9 or 10 reps would make virtually no difference here.

49. Hey,

    So just came back to school after the Christmas break and haven’t worked out for the past month. Do you think it would be a good idea to go reduce my weight and get back into it like normal after sometime, or just start again where i left off.

    Also when doing bench press I seem to be pushing my chest out a little bit to much off the ground and making a arch (you can slide a hand under the gap between my back and bench). Would you recommend arching your back because when I bench in order to push up I need my back to be arched. However ive heard it can be dangerous as you can tear your ribs.

    Last thing, I’m around 6 foot and 140 pounds and looking to gain weight, however I’m still not really gaining weight from the diet I am on now. Do you recommend a protein shake or weight gainer? Or do I simply need to just eat more food? Thanks.

    • After a month layoff, you should definitely work your way back up rather than just jump straight into where you left off. For example, start back at around 80-85% of your previous weights. Then go back to 90-95% the next week. Then back to 100% the week after that, and then back to pushing for progression after that.

      Regarding the bench, there SHOULD be an arch. Your ass and upper back should stay on the bench, but there SHOULD be a space between your lower back and the bench.

      And if you’re not gaining weight, it’s pretty simple… you need to eat more. There’s nothing special about protein shakes and weight gainers. You just need more calories, and I’d always recommend food over sugar and crap filled weight gainers.

      • great sounds good, thanks for your time.

50. Excellent guide you’ve created. I have it bookmarked and will spread the word about your site.

    What do you think about this workout plan for the next 6 months or so. It is broken up into 3 phases, each lasting about 2 months:

    Phase 1 – Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. My goal here is to focus on cumulative muscle fatigue (short rest periods and high volumes). I want to utilize pyramid sets in the range of 6-15. The weight lifted is secondary to fatiguing the muscles. 2 days on, 1 off. Day 1 is chest, shoulders, triceps. Day 2 is legs, calves, abs. Day 3 is back, biceps, forearms.

    Phase 2 – A mix of myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. My goal here is to increase muscle and muscle density. There will be an almost equal focus on muscle fatigue and strength gain. I’ll use a set/rep combo of 5X5 usually. Slightly longer rest periods. I will use a 2 day split here. Day one is legs, back, biceps, and forearms. Day 2 is chest, shoulders, triceps, and abs.

    Phase 3 – Myofibrillar. My goal here to maximize muscle density and tone. Low reps and heavy weights. I will also tighten up my diet. This will be as close to a 2 day split as I can get. Day 1 is chest, back, abs. Day 2 is shoulders, biceps, triceps.

    After I finish this plan I will focus on the mix (revert back to phase 2) as my typical workout schedule. Let me know what you think! I would like any recommendations or things you would add/subtract..maybe you think I should scrap it all together! Who knows. I would appreciate it!

    • I only skimmed what you laid out (if I did a full program critique for you, I’d have to do it for everyone else too… so I try to avoid it), but honestly, it just looks like a strange and overly-complicated form of periodization.

      And while periodization is great (especially when you get advanced enough to truly need/benefit from it), if you’re still a beginner or intermediate, you’re definitely focusing on stuff WAY beyond what you need to be.

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