What is the best bodybuilding split for complete beginners?
Wondering where to start? It can be overwhelming at first. There is a lot to learn and a minefield of information on the internet which is often contradictory.
If you are new to the gym and are starting bodybuilding from scratch, you are probably wondering, what is the best bodybuilding split for complete beginners?
The best bodybuilding split for a complete beginner is going to give you a solid base with compound exercises.
This gets the muscles in your body used to being overloaded and promotes good form. You will also need to train frequently with plenty of rest between sessions so that the muscles can adapt.
The following workout plan will teach you about the training, nutrition, supplements and commitment needed to help you reach your bodybuilding goals.
Whether you are naturally skinny and looking to pack on some mass or if you are obese and trying to transform.
Everything you need to know to get started in bodybuilding is here in one place!
Why start with the basics?
There are a few very good reasons not to jump in at the deep end with bodybuilding.
It is tempting to start copying what online influencers and professional competitors do in the gym but without the right foundations, you are leaving yourself open to injury and disappointment.
Working the major muscle groups.
By starting with compound lifts, you are working on all of the major muscle groups.
Hitting the legs, back and chest will not only provide a solid strength base but it releases more of the growth hormones such as testosterone and cortisol.
This will lead to quick overall muscle growth throughout the body.
Strengthening joints
When you start your bodybuilding journey you will be putting strain on your joints, connective tissue, spinal erectors and central nervous system.
These take some time to adapt to the new regime. This will leave you feeling sore and fatigued to start off with which is why we are starting with just two workouts a week.
As you progress, your body will train itself to prepare for big lifts and to recover from tissue breakdown
DOMS
You may not have heard of the term DOMS before as it is fairly unique to weight training. DOMS stands for delayed onset muscle soreness.
You will not feel the effect of DOMS whilst you are working out as it usually takes 24-48 hours to manifest but it can leave you very sore for a few days.
This is another reason that we are limiting the workouts to twice a week at first whilst the muscles learn to adapt to regular overload.
Form
Good form with your exercises is essential to avoid serious injury. Training with an arched back or bad stability can lead to all sorts of long-term problems.
We will be starting with light. manageable weight with higher reps to perfect form and generate muscle memory.
What do I need to start bodybuilding?
There are five things you will need to start this programme.
1 - Access to a good gym.
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Take your time to research all of the gyms around you. They will all offer the option of a free tour or have a virtual online tour that will allow you to check that they have the range of equipment required.
You need to consider the monthly cost, facilities, location and accessibility. Many gyms offer 24 access which is great if you are a night owl or early riser.
2 - Good Nutrition.
Training and nutrition go hand in hand with bodybuilding. There is no point in training to break down muscle fibres if you are not eating to rebuild them. Likewise, you can not out-train a bad diet.
Getting your nutrition on point is essential.
Drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated is important for muscle repair and recovery.
Count the calories! Use a tracker such as the MyFitnessPal app. This will help you to estimate your daily allowance for weight gain or weight loss. It is a bit of a faff at first but you soon get used to using it and thinking about your calories in and out.
Count the macros! This can also be done with a tracker app. Protein is essential for building muscle so you need to be at least tracking this.
There are a lot of different studies and articles online about protein intake but a good guide is to aim for 1 gram for every pound of lean body weight. Spread out protein intake throughout the day for maximum absorption.
As an example, if you are a 180 lb male, aim for 180 grams of protein every day (4x45 grams with 3-4 hours between). If you are over 40, consider upping this to around 1.2 grams per lb of bodyweight.
As we age, our body becomes more stubborn in breaking down protein so this will help to account for it. The rest of your diet should consist of healthy fats (olive oil, fish oil etc...) and healthy carbs (oats, sweet potato, brown rice for example).
Protein - It can be hard to hit your daily protein goals with food alone, especially if you are keeping the calories low. Protein shakes and clear whey protein drinks are an ideal way to hit our markers.
Caffeine - Caffeine is a stimulant and if overused, you can develop a tolerance to it so it is worth cycling (3 weeks on 1 week off for example) to make sure your body stays reactive to it.
3 - Supplements.
Supplements are not essential if you are getting a well balanced, high protein diet filled with essential vitamins and nutrients, but they can certainly help. Listed below are the best supplements to get you started.
Vitamins - A good multivitamin is great for your energy levels, physical health and mental health. Don't opt for cheap tablets that will immediately break down in your stomach and be urinated out within minutes. These are some of the best on the market at the moment...
Protein - It can be hard to hit your daily protein goals with food alone, especially if you are keeping the calories low. Protein shakes and clear whey protein drinks are an ideal way to hit our markers.
There are diet versions available that allow you to get 50 grams of protein for under 200 calories. These are ideal as a post-workout drink as they are a fairly pure and very fast-acting protein.
Caffeine - Caffeine is a stimulant and if overused, you can develop a tolerance to it so it is worth cycling (3 weeks on 1 week off for example) to make sure your body stays reactive to it.
Caffeine serves a purpose in a pre-workout supplement as it gives you mental focus especially if you're hitting the gym first thing. The secondary benefit of caffeine is that it assists in fat loss as it keeps the metabolism ramped up.
4 - Commitment
This sounds obvious (and cheesy) but you have to be prepared for the long haul.You will achieve short term gains very quickly, but they can be lost just as quickly if you do not stay on top of your nutrition and training.
Commit to this 12-week plan so that you can measure progressive overload. When you have finished, start a more advanced plan and continue to progress.
Track your progress through a fitness tracking app or a diary and take regular measurements.
5 - Rest
Rest is an important part of bodybuilding and strength training. The aim of training in the gym is to break down the muscle fibres by causing micro-tears.
As you rest, your muscles are not only repairing the micro-tears but strengthening themselves ready for the next workout.
If you don't take the time to rest, these repairs can not happen. This is what is known as 'overtraining'.
The majority of your repairs will happen as you sleep so make sure that you are getting a minimum of 8 hours of REM sleep every night.
On rest days from the gym, it is advisable to be lightly active but not to put too much strain on the central nervous system. Hiking, jogging and other low-intensity sports are ideal.
Beginners Training Plan.
Let's get down to the fun stuff! This training plan is a full-body programme that is adaptable and flexible. You will be spending over an hour in the gym for each workout but this is only twice a week to start out.
The exercises will remain the same so that you can progressively overload the muscles and force them to grow. We will be splitting the programme into 2x 6-week blocks at the end of which you will realise notable gains in muscle mass and strength.
You will also have a great foundation to build on with an intermediate programme.
It is advisable to take a pre-workout supplement before training. This can be in ready-mixed form but check the reviews to make sure that it has amino acids, creatine and caffeine. Avoid anything that is packed full of sugars and empty carbs.
If you are training first thing, you can train in a fasted state if that is your preference. If you train later in the day, make sure that you are fuelling yourself with good carbs.
After your workout, take fast-acting carbs and protein to help with recovery. Bananas are ideal for carbs and a whey protein drink will get amino acids into the bloodstream quickly.
Block 1 - Weeks 1-5
Workouts are twice a week ideally spaced with at least two days of recovery in between. You will be working muscles that are rarely used and this can lead to soreness so take the time to recover with plenty of hydration, resting, stretching and good nutrition.
Perform the advised warm-up sets as a minimum before starting your working sets to prevent injury.
Your working sets should be performed to failure. If you can lift for more reps than the plan suggests, add a note to the diary and increase the resistance on your next workout.
Workout A
Back Squat - 3 warm-up sets followed by 4 sets of 3 to failure
Standing Calf Raise - One-legged, standing calf raises - 3 sets to failure on each side
Seated Chest Press - 3 warmup sets followed by 3 sets of 12
Lat Pull-downs - 3 warmup sets followed by 3 sets of 10
Lateral Raises - 2 warmup sets followed by 3 sets of 12-15
Preacher Curls - 1 warmup set followed by 3 sets of 10-12
Tricep Extension - 3 sets of 12-15
Crunches - 3 sets of 25
Workout B
Incline Bench Press - 3 warm-up sets followed by 3 sets of 6
Deadlift - 3 warm-up sets followed by 4 sets of 3
Cable Row - 2 warm-up sets followed by 3 sets of 10
Machine Shoulder Press - 2 warm-up sets followed by 3 sets of 10
Incline Dumbbell Curl - 3 sets of 12-15
Tricep Rope Extension - 3 sets of 12-15
Seated Calf Press - 2 warm-up sets followed by 3 sets of 15
Leg Raises - 3 sets of 25
Remember to use a tracking app or diary to log your weight, sets and reps. Gradually increase the resistance each week if you can. Do not sacrifice form or reps.
Progressive overload is not overly important at this stage as we are initially building a base and perfecting the movements.
Block 2 - Weeks 6-12
We're going to step things up a little bit for block 2. The focus will still be on compound movements but we will be introducing an extra workout each week and some more isolation movements.
Workout A
Back squat - 3 warm-up followed by 4 sets of 5
Incline bench press - 3 warm-up followed by 3 sets of 8
Lat pull down - 2 warm-up followed by 3 sets of 10-12
Lateral raises - 2 warm-up followed by 3 sets of 15
EZ bar curl - 3 sets of 12-15
Overhead tricep extension - 3 sets of 12-15
Standing calf raises - 3 sets to failure
Machine crunches - 3 sets of 25
Workout B
Deadlift - 3 warm-up followed by 4 sets of 2
Leg extensions - 2 warm-up followed by 3 sets of 15
Dumbbell shoulder press - 3 warm-up followed by 3 sets of 8-10
Dumbbell Flyes - 2 warm-up followed by 3 sets of 10-12
Bent over dumbbell row - 2 warm-up followed by 3 sets of 10-12
Incline dumbbell Curl - 2 warm-up followed by 3 sets of 12-15
Cable pushdowns - 3 sets of 12-15
Leg raises - 3 sets of 15-20
Seated calf raises - 2 warm-up followed by 3 sets of 12-15
Workout C
Pull-ups (assisted if required) - 2 warm-up followed by 3 sets to failure
Seated leg press - 2 warm-up followed by 4 sets of 10-12 (superset with calf presses below)
Calf press on leg press machine 2 warm-up followed by 4 sets of 15
Chest dips - 2 warm-ups followed by 3 sets to failure (assisted or weighted depending on ability)
Upright rows - 2 warm-up sets followed by 3 sets of 12-15
Preacher curls - 2 warm-up sets followed by 3 sets of 12-15
Reverse grip tricep extensions - 2 warm-up sets followed by 3 sets of 12-15
Crunches 3 sets of 25
Try to get 48 hours rest period between workouts if possible.
Concluding the programme.
By the end of 12 weeks, you will notice a considerable difference in your appearance, muscle mass and strength. The regular practice of compound movements will prepare your central nervous system and train your body to use strict form.
If you enjoyed the workouts, you can continue block 2 for as long as you like. By regularly increasing the reps and resistance, you will force progressive overload of the muscles and increase your strength.
If you would like to advance to a different programme, consider an upper/lower split or a push/pull/legs split. These both allow you to train for 5-6 days of the week and target certain areas that you may feel need more development.
