Home — Bodybuilding Workouts For Beginners

BODYBUILDING WORKOUTS FOR BEGINNERS

Have you been watching the Mr. Olympia contests in awe, wanting to have the same body as Shawn
Rhoden, Phil Health, and Big Ramy? Hey, everyone wants more muscle, but only the serious and the
dedicated can pack on the size that these mass monsters do.

Also called hypertrophy training, bodybuilding focuses on maximizing muscle size and definition. If
you’re new to weight lifting and you want to get swole and show off some serious muscle serration,
you need to arm yourself with the right workouts. Let’s review everything you need to know about
bodybuilding workouts for beginners.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. What Are Acute Variables?
1.1. Repetitions
1.2. Sets
1.3. Rest (Break)
1.4. One Repetition Maximum
1.5. Intensity
1.6. Speed (Tempo)
2. Specific Acute Variables For Bodybuilding
3. Best Exercises For Bodybuilding Workouts
4. Full-Body Training
5. Split Training
6. Bodybuilding Workouts For Beginners
6.1. Months 1 And 2: Full-Body
6.2. Months 3 And 4: Split Training
6.3. Months 5 And 6: Hybrid Training
7. Are You New To Bodybuilding Workouts?

1. WHAT ARE ACUTE VARIABLES?

Before we talk about the bodybuilding workout that you’ll be doing, it’s important that you understand
the acute variables that are essential for muscle building. The term acute variables refers to the
following:

Repetitions
Sets
Rest / Break
One Repetition Maximum (1RM)
Intensity
Speed (Tempo)

1.1 Repetitions
Repetitions are a counting system for the physical movement of the exercise. One repetition is when
you complete a lifting, pausing, and lowering movement.

For example: With a dumbbell curl, you lift the dumbbell, pause at the top, then lower the dumbbell.
This is one repetition.

1.2 Sets
Sets are based on the completion of the prescribed repetitions for an exercise. When you complete
all of the prescribed repetitions, that is considered one set.

For example: Let’s say that your workout recommends three sets of 15 repetitions. You would
complete 15 repetitions (set one), take a break, complete another 15 repetitions (set two), take another
break, then perform the final 15 repetitions (set three).

1.3 Rest (Break)

The recommended amount of time you should stop exercising and focus on active stretching or
simply catching your breath.

For example: After completing a set of push-ups, you rest (or take a break) for 60 seconds then begin
again.

1.4 One Repetition Maximum

This is the maximum amount of weight that you can successfully move one time with perfect form
during an exercise.

For example: During the barbell bench press

press, let’s say you can successfully bench 150 pounds one
time with perfect form. After that, the weight becomes too heavy, your form starts to slip, and you
need assistance. One hundred fifty pounds is your one repetition maximum (1RM).

1.5 Intensity
This is the amount of effort and energy you are using in order to push yourself to complete the
exercises in your workout. There are two ways to measure intensity:

1. How intense you perceive or feel the exercise is for you.

2. Expressed and based on a percentage of your one-repetition maximum.

For example: Your workout recommends performing three sets of barbell bench press at 65% to 75%
of your 1RM. Your 1RM for the bench press is 150 pounds. We would take 65% of 150, which is 97.5,
but it’s easiest to round up. For this exercise, you’ll be using 100 pounds.

1.6 Speed (Tempo)

Speed or tempo refers to the pace you use to move through each phase of the exercise. There are
three phases to any repetition of an exercise:

Concentric: Lifting the weight

Isometric: Pause at the bottom or the top of the movement
Eccentric: Lowering the weight to the starting position

A tempo will be displayed as a three-number readout that looks like this: 3 / 1 / 2. Each number refers
to the amount of time in seconds you should spend in each phase above, respectively.

For example, let’s say the tempo is 3 / 1 / 2, as in the example above. If you are performing a dumbbell
bench press, you would spend three seconds lifting the weight, one second pausing, and two
seconds lowering the weight.

2. SPECIFIC ACUTE VARIABLES FOR BODYBUILDING

When you enter bodybuilding, or if your goal is to maximize muscle mass growth, you will be using a
very specific set of acute variables. The goal with hypertrophy training is to push the muscle into a
zone of complete fatigue so that during the recovery period, your muscle will be forced to adapt to
the stress placed on it.

Now that you know all about acute variables, let’s review the specific numbers for bodybuilding
workouts:

Repetitions: 8 – 12 (15, on occasion)

Sets: 3 – 5
Rest / Break: 60 – 90 seconds
Intensity: 65% - 75% of your 1RM
Speed (Tempo): 2 / 0 / 2

3. BEST EXERCISES FOR BODYBUILDING WORKOUTS

You have your acute variables, but what about ideal bodybuilding exercises? Your bodybuilding
workout schedule is going to have three phases: full-body, splits, and hybrid. You will begin with the
essentials: compound exercises.

4. FULL-BODY TRAINING
Compound exercises activate the greatest number of muscle groups during a single movement. For
example, compare the pull-up to the bicep curl. The pull-up activates muscles in the back,
abdominals, and biceps. The bicep curl only needs the bicep muscle to be active.

When an exercise triggers several major muscle groups, you will be able to achieve your goal of
muscle growth faster. If you were to jump into isolation-based training, your body could miss
important chances to build the groundwork for strength, muscle, and performance.

We recommend that the first two months of your workout program be focused on full-body workouts
with compound movements.

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM

INJURIES AND INCREASE YOUR
PERFORMANCES!
From $13.00

BUY NOW

5. SPLIT TRAINING
After the first month or two of your program, your body will have developed a strong foundation. You
will notice you have a lot more strength and while you aren’t jacked like Phil or Kai, you’ll definitely
notice an increase in muscle mass. With the key relationships between length-tension and major
muscle groups established, we can upgrade your program and start using split training.

Like the name implies, we will split up your exercises to focus on upper body versus lower body. Why
do we do this?

Your body needs consistent change in order to continue growing. Compound exercises are great but
we need to throw your body a curveball to keep it guessing. This is how you’ll achieve the size you
want.

Separating your workouts based on an upper split and lower split will also let you perform more
exercises on a given body part. That means the muscle will be pushed to new heights of hypertrophy,
resulting in more size.

An example of a week on an upper split and lower split program would look like this:

Monday: Lower Body

Tuesday: Upper Body
Wednesday: Rest / Cardio
Thursday: Lower Body
Friday: Upper Body
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest / Cardio

6. BODYBUILDING WORKOUTS FOR BEGINNERS

We present to you the program that you’ll be using for the next three to six months, depending on
your progress and how quickly you feel comfortable moving to the next level. Stick to what we have
listed below, and use the acute variables that we’ve already discussed. This isn’t a race so take your
time, enjoy the learning process, and get ready to see incredible results.

6.1 Months 1 And 2: Full-Body

You will alternate every other day with the following A and B workouts. For example, during your first
week, you’ll follow an A-B-A workout pattern. For the second week, you’ll perform a B-A-B workout
schedule.

DAY 1: FULL-BODY WORKOUT A

Chest: Flat Bench Dumbbell Press: 3 sets of
12 to 15 repetitions
Back: Barbell Row: 3 x 12 – 15
Quadriceps: Barbell Squats: 3 x 8 – 10
DAY 2: REST
Hamstrings: Leg Curls: 3 x 12 – 15
Shoulders: Military Press: 2 x 12- 15
Core: Mountain Climbers: 3 x 25
Total Body: Burpees: 10

DAY 3 FULL-BODY WORKOUT B

Quadriceps: Sumo Squat: 3 sets of 15 to 20
repetitions
Back: Weighted Pull-ups: 3 x 8 – 12
Hamstrings: Romanian Deadlifts: 3 x 12 – 15 DAY 4: REST
Chest: Incline Bench Dumbbell Fly
Shoulders: Lateral Dumbbell Raises: 2 x 12 –
15
Core: Side Oblique Crunches: 3 x 25
Core: Hanging Leg Lifts: 3 x 15

DAY 5: FULL-BODY WORKOUT A

Chest: Flat Bench Dumbbell Press: 3 sets of
12 to 15 repetitions
Back: Barbell Row: 3 x 12 – 15
Quadriceps: Barbell Squats: 3 x 8 – 10
DAY 6: REST
Hamstrings: Leg Curls: 3 x 12 – 15
Shoulders: Military Press: 2 x 12- 15
Core: Mountain Climbers: 3 x 25
Total Body: Burpees: 10

DAY 7: REST

6.2 Months 3 And 4: Split Training

Now that you have developed a solid mind-to-muscle connection and your muscles have learned to
work efficiently together, we can switch to split training. During these months, you’ll be splitting up
your workouts into upper and lower exercises. If you want to dramatically improve your grip strength,
consider using Alpha Grips
Grips.

DAY 1: LEGS DAY 2: BACK AND BICEPS

Quadriceps: Barbell Squats: 3 sets of 12 to Back: Deadlifts: 3 x 8 – 12
15 repetitions Back: Lat Pulldown: 3 x 12 – 15
Quadriceps: Leg Extensions: 3 x 15 – 20 Back: Seated Rows: 2 x 8 – 12
Quadriceps: Jump Squats: 2 x 15 Biceps: Preacher Curls: 3 x 12 – 15
Hamstrings: Leg Curl: 3 x 12 – 15 Biceps: Hammer Curls: 2 x 12 – 15
Hamstrings: Stiff Legged Deadlift: 3 x 8 – 12 Reverse Barbell Curls: 2 x 12 – 15
Calves: Calf Press: 5 x 25 – 30

DAY 4: CHEST AND TRICEPS

Chest: Incline Barbell Bench Press: 3 x 12 –
15
DAY 3: REST Chest: Flat Bench Dumbbell Flys: 3 x 8 – 12
Chest: Push-ups: 2 x 25
Triceps: Rope Pushdown: 3 x 12 – 15
Triceps: Dumbbell Kickbacks: 3 x 12 – 15

DAY 5: SHOULDERS AND CORE

Shoulders: Military Press: 3 x 8 – 12
Core: Swiss Ball Crunches: 3 x 20 – 25
Shoulders: Lateral Dumbbell Raises: 3 x 8 – DAY 6: REST
12
Core: Cable Crunch: 3 x 20
Shoulders: Rear Deltoid Fly: 3 x 8 – 12
Core: Lying Oblique Crunches: 3 x 20

DAY 7: CORE AND CARDIO

Core: Lying Swiss Ball Pass/Exchange: 3 x
20
Core: Reverse Crunch: 3 x 25
Core: Cable Crunch: 3 x 20
Cardio: 20 minutes of high intensity interval
training
Give this HIIT workout a try on your
cardio day.

6.3 Months 5 And 6: Hybrid Training

DAY 1: FULL-BODY WORKOUT DAY 2: LEGS

Quadriceps: Front Squat: 3 x 12 – 15 (Use a Quadriceps: Hack Squat: 3 x 12 – 15
squat pad to protect your shoulders.) Hamstrings: Romanian Deadlifts: 3 x 8 – 12
Hamstrings: Romanian Deadlifts: 3 x 8 – 12 Calves: Calf Press: 3 x 20
Chest: Cable Crossover: 3 x 12 – 15 Quadriceps: Barbell Squat: 3 x 12 – 15
Back: Barbell Rows: 3 x 12 – 15 Hamstrings: Leg Curl: 3 x 12 – 15
Shoulders: Barbell Overhead Press: 3 x 12 – Calves: Calf Raise: 3 x 25
15 Quadriceps: Leg Extension: 3 x 12 – 15
Core: Plank: 60 seconds

DAY 4: CHEST AND BACK

Chest: Flat Bench Barbell Press: 3 x 12 – 15
Back: Lat Pulldown: 3 x 12 – 15
DAY 3: REST Chest: Decline Dumbbell Fly: 3 x 12 – 15
Back: Seated Row: 3 x 12 – 15
Chest: Elevated Push-ups: 3 x 15
Back: Weighted Pull-ups: 3 x 10 - 12

DAY 5: SHOULDERS AND ARMS

Shoulders: Lateral Dumbbell Raises: 3
x 8 – 12
Triceps: Overhead Dumbbell Press: 3 x
12 – 15
Biceps: Alternating Dumbbell Curls: 3 x
12 – 15
DAY 6: REST
Shoulders: Dumbbell Overhead Press:
3 x 8 – 12
Triceps: Rope Pushdown: 3 x 8 – 12
Biceps: Barbell Curls: 3 x 8 – 12
Shoulders: Bent Over Rear Delt Fly: 3 x
12 – 15

DAY 7: CORE AND CARDIO

Core: Cable Crunch: 3 x 20
Core: Reverse Crunch: 3 x 25
Core: Hanging Leg Lift: 3 x 20
Cardio: 20 minutes of high intensity interval
training

7. ARE YOU NEW TO BODYBUILDING WORKOUTS?

Have questions about how to get started? Have a favorite bodybuilding workout? Have a video of
yourself doing a bodybuilding routine? Tag us on Instagram so we can share!

INTERESTED IN MORE OF OUR TIPS AND TRICKS?

Subscribe to IronBull's Newsletter and be the first to know about our exclusive deals. From info about
new product releases, to workouts you could do and some of our tricks and tips... this is the place where
you can find it all, before anyone else.

The best part? We'll drop the news straight to your inbox.

First Name Last Name

Enter your email address

Do you prefer:

Train at the gym

Train at home

We process your personal data as stated in our Privacy Policy. You may withdraw your consent or manage your preferences at any time
by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any of our marketing emails, or by emailing us at support@[Link].

Subscribe

Share Tweet Pin it

Heavy Duty Flat HD Dumbbells

Squat Wedges Speed Training Sled
Bench $75.00 Medium Set - (25-45 $120.00
$275.00 Lb)
$995.00
SHOP NOW SHOP NOW
SHOP NOW SHOP NOW

RELATED TO THIS ARTICLE