Building Muscle

Follow this starter weightlifting program. Listen to your body and you will get good results.

I will post a starter weightlifting program for you. The program is broken up by muscle group and is three days a week, but you can modify it if you like for more or less days. You can do this for eight weeks until your body gets used to the new activity, and then you can modify it by lifting heavier. You should show up at your workouts feeling strong and refreshed. If not, you may be over training and need to leave more days in between workouts.

Keep in mind that your body grows during rest days, not training days, so you need to leave it enough time to recover. You may only need two days between sessions, but you may need three or even four. Listen to your body and you will get good results.

Here's the program.

Day 1: Chest (bench press with bar or dumbbell press, flyes, pushups), triceps (bench dips, kickbacks)

Day 2: Back (bent over rows) biceps (curls, standing or seated)

Day 3: Shoulders (lateral raises, front raises), legs (squats, lunges)

Do 10-12 repetitions, 1-3 sets per exercise. That means select a weight you can lift 10-12 times to momentary fatigue with good form. When you can easily lift the weight 12 times, increase the weight.

You can experiment with different splits. For instance, you could try the following

Day 1: Chest (bench press with bar or dumbbell press, flyes, pushups), Back (bent over rows, pull downs)

Day 2: biceps (curls, standing or seated), triceps (bench dips, kickbacks)

Day 3: Shoulders (lateral raises, front raises), legs (squats, lunges)

There are dozens of exercises for both your lower and upper body. I've given you just a few. You might also want to browse some of the bodybuilding magazines for ideas on splits. Keep in mind that the people in the magazines are professionals and lift more than anyone, and you certainly don't need to lift as much they do, but you might get some ideas for splits.

Here's a brief summary of the key elements from the resistance training statement.

For development of strength:

1. Beginners: 1-3 sets, 8-12 reps

2. Intermediate: multiple sets, 6-12 reps

3. Advanced: multiple sets, 1-12 reps

For development of mass:

1. Beginners: 1-3 sets, 8-12 reps

2. Intermediate: multiple sets, 6-12 reps

3. Advanced: multiple sets, 1-12 reps with emphasis on 6-12 reps

For development of endurance (and somewhat more emphasis on tone, although you will get tone with strength and mass development too):

1. Beginners: 1-3 sets, 10-15 reps

2. Intermediate: multiple sets, 10-15 reps or more

3. Advanced: 10-25 reps or more

You might also be interested in reading about periodization, a method of training where you break your workout schedule into cycles throughout the year. For instance, the first 8-12 weeks would be a cycle where you keep the weight light enough to "prepare" the muscles and joints for heavier lifting later on. You would keep the weight lighter and reps higher during this cycle (10-15 reps), and this first cycle would also be a good time to experiment with different exercises and splits. This type of cycle might be a way for a beginner to start lifting or an athlete coming back after an injury or prior to preseason.

After the first cycle, you could start lifting heavier (6-10 reps), and focus more on mass for 6-8 weeks. Then the third cycle might be a brief cycle (2-4 weeks) where some of the sets are very heavy lifting (1-6 reps) to increase absolute strength. You can read more about periodization in two articles in the NSCA Online Fitness Journal, http://www.nsca-lift.org/perform/issues/0108.pdf and http://www.nsca-lift.org/perform/issues/0109.pdf

You might also want to measure your circumferences. The standard circumference measurements are arms (flexed and relaxed), chest (after a normal exhale), shoulders (the widest part), waist (the narrowest part below the ribs and above the belly button), abdomen (across the belly button), buttocks (at the maximum extension of the buttocks), gluteal/thigh (high on the thigh at the groove where the buttocks end), mid-thigh (halfway between the crease in the groin and the top of the knee cap), and calf (at the maximum circumference, either with leg hanging freely off a table or with legs 8 inches apart and weight distributed evenly). Keep the tape horizontal during measurements and pull the tape lightly so it indents the skin only slightly.

Article courtesy of Jason Thomas. Discover How You Can Build Muscle With Immediate Effective Results Using Proven Simple Steps