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Program Design
Program Design

Training Guide for Beginners

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Starting prescriptions for new lifters — about 2-3 sets per exercise in the 60-70% of 1 RM range, 2-3 minutes rest, training 3x/week and hitting each muscle every session.

Detail

A beginner should be able to perform up to 15 to 30 reps per set at 50% to 70% of 1 RM (repetition maximum) and up to 6 to 8 reps at around 85% of 1 RM.

At first — perhaps for about a month of training — stay in the 60-70% range (excluding the warm-up set), and perform about 2 or 3 sets per exercise (excluding the warm-up set). Each set should be followed by a rest period of 2 to 3 minutes long.

For the first 3 months of training, it is probably more effective to work out 3 times weekly, hitting each muscle group in all three workouts. However, as strength and size progress and training becomes more intense, additional recuperation time becomes more important. At that point, begin training each body part only twice weekly — which necessitates switching to a split routine, a system requiring more than 3 workouts per week.

In the beginning months, perform basic exercises that involve all antigravity muscle groups, atrophic-weakening muscle groups, and the major muscles of the body.

Key facts

  • Beginner capacity: up to 15-30 reps at 50-70% of 1 RM, and up to 6-8 reps at ~85% of 1 RM.
  • First month: stay at 60-70% of 1 RM, 2-3 sets per exercise (excluding warm-up set).
  • Rest 2-3 minutes between sets.
  • First 3 months: train 3x/week, hitting each muscle group every workout.
  • Then switch to training each body part twice weekly via a split routine.
  • Use basic exercises covering antigravity, atrophic-weakening, and major muscles.

Connections

Sources

Historical reference · reference manual (page cited)
p.656
Pages: 656.

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Atlas Connections

Principle of Progressive Overload
To keep improving, gradually make training harder than your body is used to: more weight, more reps or more sets. You don't need to add weight every week or go to failure. Small, steady increases you can recover from are what work.
Frequency of TrainingClosely related
How many days per week you train — don't work the same muscle two days in a row, and generally not more than three times a week.
Intensity
The amount of weight (resistance) lifted — also shaped by speed, reps, sets, rest interval, and workout duration.
Number of Sets
How many sets you perform for an exercise — 3 to 6 sets are most productive for strength, and the total interacts with workout time.
Rest Periods Between Sets
How long you rest between sets: trained lifters gain the most strength with more than 2 minutes, muscle grows a little better with more than 60 seconds, and short rests (under a minute) suit muscular endurance work.
Split Routine SystemClosely related
Different body parts are trained on alternate days so each can be worked thoroughly at high intensity without overtraining.