Beginner's Exercise Program

Starting with the basics and moving towards more advanced, this post will be dedicated to a beginner's program with the premise that the trainee does not have a lot of history exercising and does not have much time to devote to fitness. The following will consist mainly of:

• compound exercises (movements that involve multiple muscle groups)

• short, but intense interval training (brief periods of high perceived exertion followed by rest)

MONDAY

• Incline Bench Press or Other Pressing Movement: 3 Sets * 8-10 Reps

• Stationary Bike or Other Cardio: 10 Sets (1 minute sprint, 30 seconds rest)

WEDNESDAY

• Chin-Ups or Other Pulling Movement: 3 Sets * Reps to failure

• Row Machine or Other Cardio: 10 Sets (1 minute sprint, 30 seconds rest)

FRIDAY

• Squats: 3 Sets * 12 - 15 Reps

• Ellipse Machine or Other Cardio: 10 Sets (1 minute sprint, 30 seconds rest)

NOTES

• Choose a weight where you are performing all lifts to failure (meaning you could not perform another repetition)

• Other compound pressing movements may include bench press, shoulder press, etc.

• Other compound pulling movements include pull-ups, row variations, etc.

• Running is my personal favorite for cardio, but I assumed that the trainee would not have access to a track or field.

• Rest 90 seconds or so in between lifting sets.

You should be able to knock out each workout in about half an hour--very efficient. If a sedentary person made a life style change by committing 1.5 hours per week to this program, they'd be quite pleased with the results. Your metabolism should increase both from added muscle mass and the short cardio sessions (which has shown to be more effective than longer sessions of light intensity).

Questions?
Comments ......