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Beginner Full Body Program
If you are new to lifting, or coming back after a long break, this is the program we point people to. Three sessions a week, the whole body every session, and one simple rule for adding weight. Nothing fancy, and that is the point. Give it at least 12 weeks before you start changing things.
Who it is for
- You have trained for less than about a year, or not at all.
- You are coming back after six months or more away from the gym.
- You keep switching programs every few weeks and never seem to get stronger.
The schedule
Train three days a week with a rest day between sessions, for example Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Alternate the two workouts below, so one week is A, B, A and the next is B, A, B. Missed a day? Do the next workout when you are back. Do not try to squeeze two sessions into one day.
Workout A
- Squat: 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps
- Bench press: 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps
- Barbell or dumbbell row: 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
- Romanian deadlift: 2 sets of 8 to 10 reps
- Plank: 3 holds of 30 to 45 seconds
Workout B
- Deadlift: 2 sets of 5 reps
- Overhead press: 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps
- Lat pulldown or pull ups: 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
- Leg press or goblet squat: 2 sets of 10 to 12 reps
- Dumbbell curls and triceps pushdowns: 2 sets of 10 to 15 reps each
A session takes about an hour. If the racks are busy, a dumbbell version of the same movement is fine.
Warming up
Five minutes of easy cardio, then two or three lighter sets of your first lift, building up to your working weight. For the lifts after that, one lighter set is usually enough.
How to add weight
This is the part that makes the program work. It is called double progression:
- Start with a weight you can lift for the bottom of the rep range with good form and one or two reps left in the tank.
- Each session, try to beat last time by a rep or two.
- When you reach the top of the range on every set, add weight next session and start again from the bottom of the range.
- Add 2.5 kg at a time on lower body lifts and 1 to 2.5 kg on upper body lifts. Use the smallest jump your gym allows.
- Deadlifts stay at 5 reps. Add 2.5 to 5 kg every time you get both sets clean.
Write down every set, in a notebook or an app. If you are not logging, you are guessing.
Rest between sets
Two to three minutes on squats, bench, deadlifts and overhead press. One to two minutes on everything else. Resting longer on the heavy lifts is not lazy. It lets you lift more on the next set.
When you stall
At some point a lift will stop moving. If you miss the bottom of the rep range two sessions in a row, take about 10 percent off that lift and work back up. Before you do that, check the boring things. Are you sleeping seven hours or more? Are you eating enough protein, and enough food overall? Most beginner stalls are a food or sleep problem, not a program problem.
Form and pain
Use weights that feel easy for the first couple of weeks and learn the movements properly. Film a working set from the side now and then. If something looks off, start a thread in this board with the Question prefix and ask for a form check.
Sharp pain, or pain in a joint rather than the muscle, means you stop that exercise for the day. If it is still there after a week or two, have a doctor or physiotherapist look at it. Chest pain or pressure, breathlessness that is out of proportion to the effort, or fainting is a different matter: stop at once and call 112 in Sweden and Denmark or 113 in Norway.
Food and sleep
You do not grow in the gym, you grow between sessions. Eat enough protein, eat enough in total if you want to gain, and sleep. Nutrition Fundamentals covers the basics, and our guides on protein and sleep and recovery go deeper.
When to move on
Most people can run this for three to six months. When most of your lifts have stopped moving for a few weeks, even with good food and sleep, it is time for something with more volume, like an upper and lower split over four days. Post what you are planning in Share Your Current Training Program and members will give you feedback.
Questions about the program, or want someone to look at your numbers? Reply here.