Linear Progression / Beginner Routines

Reg Park Beginner Routine

Alternate workouts A & B every 48 hours with 72 hours after every 3rd workout.
For Park 5x5 means two warm-up set and three stabilizer or working sets.
Workout A
Squat, back
Chin/Pull-up
Bench or dips
Curl
Wrist work
Calves

5x5
5x5
5x5
2x10
2x10
2x15-20

Workout B
Squat, front
Row, barbell
Press, military
Deadlift
Wrist work
Calves

5x5
5x5
5x5
1x5
2x10
2x15-20

Reg Park Three Phase 5x5

Repeat workout every 48 hours with 72 hours after every 3rd workout.
Again for Park 5x5 means two warm-up set and three stabilizer or working sets.
NOTE: Phases 2 & 3 are not shown here because they are NOT beginner routines.
Phase 1
Squat, back
Press, bench
Deadlift

5x5
5x5
5x5

Stronglifts 5x5
Alternate workouts A & B every 48 hours with 72 hours after every 3rd workout.
All sets are working sets.
Workout A
Squat, back
Press, bench
Row, barbell

5x5
5x5
5x5

Workout B
Squat, back
5x5
Press, military 5x5
Deadlift
1x5

Starting Strength
Alternate workouts A & B every 48 hours with 72 hours after every 3rd workout.
All sets are working sets.
Phase 1
Workout A
Squat, back
3x5
Press, military 3x5
Deadlift
1x5

Workout B
Squat, back
Press, bench
Deadlift

3x5
5x5
1x5

After the deadlift is well ahead of the squat, move to Phase 2.

Phase 2
Workout A
Squat, back
3x5
Press, military 3x5
Deadlift
1x5

Workout B
Squat, back
Press, bench
Power clean

3x5
5x5
5x3

Page 1 - RP,SL,SS

Linear Progression / Beginner Routines

A Workout Routine.com
(from the 2014 ebook The Best Workout Routines)

The Beginner Weight Training Workout Routine: Version 1

Alternate workouts A & B every 48 hours with 72 hours after every 3rd workout.
All sets are working sets and rest 2 minutes between all sets.
Workout A
Squat
Bench
Row

Workout B
Deadlift
Press
Pull-up
(or Lat Pulldown)

3 x 8-10
3 x 8-10
3 x 8-10

3 x 6-8
3 x 8-10
3 x 8-10

DETAILS AND CLARIFICATIONS

Workout A
Squats are definitely recommended, but leg presses could be used in their place if necessary.
For the bench, a flat barbell bench press is recommended, but a flat dumbbell press can work too.
For the row, pick any horizontal back rowing exercise you want. Bent over barbell or dumbbell rows, seated
cable rows, chest supported machine rows. They're all fine.
Workout B
For the deadlift, a conventional deadlift would probably be recommended for beginners most often, but a
Romanian deadlift or stiff-legged deadlift could be used instead if necessary or preferred.
Pull-ups are recommended for the vertical pull, but if you can't do them yet, lat pull-downs or some form of
assisted pull-up would be a suitable replacement.
For the shoulder press, any type of seated overhead should press is fine (seated barbell press, seated dumbbell press, whatever).

The Beginner Weight Training Workout Routine: Version 2

Alternate workouts A & B every 48 hours with 72 hours after every 3rd workout.
All sets are working sets.
Workout A
Squat
Bench
Row
Triceps Pushdown
Calf Raise

3 x 8-10 @ 2min rest

3 x 8-10 @ 2min rest
3 x 8-10 @ 2min rest
1 x 10-15
2 x 8-12 @ 1min rest

Workout B
Deadlift
Press
Pull-up
(or Lat Pulldown)
Dumbbell curl
Abs

Page 2 - AWorkoutRoutine.com

3 x 6-8 @ 2min rest

3 x 8-10 @ 2min rest
3 x 8-10 @ 2min rest
1 x 10-15
2 x 8-15 @ 1min rest

Linear Progression / Beginner Routines

Greyskull LP
Train once every 48 hours with 72 hours after every 3rd workout.
All sets are working sets.
AMRAP = As many reps as possible with good form (1 rep short of failure)
Day 1
Press, bench
Squat, back

2x5, 1xAMRAP
2x5, 1xAMRAP

Day 8
Press, military 2x5, 1xAMRAP
Squat, back
2x5, 1xAMRAP

Day 3
Press, military 2x5, 1xAMRAP
Deadlift
1xAMRAP

Day 5
Press, bench
Squat, back

Day 10
Press, bench
Deadlift

Day 12
Press, military 2x5, 1xAMRAP
Squat, back
2x5, 1xAMRAP

2x5, 1xAMRAP
1xAMRAP

2x5, 1xAMRAP
2x5, 1xAMRAP

NOTES:
Greyskull is a very versatile program in that its base is super simple but there is room to add.
The most common addition is an opposing upperbody pull-type movement rows on bench days
and chin-ups/pull-ups on press days.
Other very common additions include the following:
Performing power cleans, power snatches or high pulls during the warmup for the deadlift
Adding curls and neck harness work

70s Big LP
Train once every 48 hours with 72 hours after every 3rd workout.
All sets are working sets.
AMRAP = As many reps as possible with good form (1 rep short of failure)
Day 1
Press, military
Squat, back
Chin-up, wgtd
Chin-up, BW

3x5
3x5
3x5
AMRAP

Biceps
Row Types
Order of Preference
Barbell/Pendlay
Yates
Dumbbell
T-bar
Cable

Day 3
Press, bench
Deadlift
Row

3x5
1x5
see chart below

Triceps

Set/Rep Scheme
3x5, drop set optional
3x8
3x10
3x10
3x10

Page 3 - GS,70sBig

Day 5
Dips, wgtd
Squat, front
Pull-up, wgtd
Pull-up, BW
RDL
Biceps

3x5
3x5
3x5
AMRAP
3x5

Linear Progression / Beginner Routines

Paul Carter Strength, Life, Legacy Philosophy Behind Beginner Training

First 6-8 weeks Do 1 technical lift in the beginning. Namely, the squat.
Use the incline as the initial press. There are no real technical aspects to the incline press.
Thus, the novice can simply focus on strength building with a press. Rather than worrying about
setup issues and technicalities.
Do pulling work 3-4 times a week. Rows twice a week and chins 1-2 times a week. Everyone
overworks the bench right out of the gate. This develops bad lifting habits early, poor posture,
and creates the stage for injuries down the road. No one has ever been accused of having an
overdeveloped back.
Take lower back and ab work seriously. Lots of hypers and ab wheel and decline sit ups.
Lots and lots of volume with manageable weight. Most workouts I had my daughter do 8 to 10
sets of triples with just the bar on squats. Concentrating on keeping her chest out, unhinging
the hips, and pushing off of her heels. The more weight you pack on in the beginning, the more
technique will break down. Strength will come after GOOD technique is reinforced.
Add weight when necessary. Again, I didnt push the weights on her, I let her strength curve
develop naturally. I had no programmed plan in terms of weights. I kept the volume high and
focused on teaching her little things like bar path.
I kept the reps low on squats and medium on presses. I dont think we did more than a handful
of sets of anything over 5 in squats. Reps build fatigue and fatigue causes breakdown. I wanted
all of her sets to feel strong and sharp. If I had to coin a phrase about it I would say medium
weight, low reps. This worked perfectly.
For pressing it was generally sets of 5-8.
On rows I kept the weights medium and reps medium. I didnt want it to be heavy and have her
trying to heave the weight. I wanted her to be able to pull the weight in and learn how to feel her
back working. Usually sets of 8-12.
High frequency and volume also were a big key. Lots of beginner routines are built around 3x a
week and Ive never understood this. This is the one time when you can train pretty much everyday and not overtrain. You dont have the strength to tax recovery so just get in there and do 1-3
movements for high volume, drilling form. Strength will come very fast like this.
For the first 5-6 weeks or so this is what I had her do on a weekly basis I kept the number of movements to 2 or 3 per workout. I didnt want to overload her with having to
learn too much... The best way to teach someone nothing is to try and teach them everything. I
kept 'it very simple.
Monday - Pressing and Rows
Incline Press 8-12 sets of 5-8
Cable row
5-6 sets of 10
Tuesday - Back Work
Chins
4-6 Ladders of 1,2,3
Hypers
4-5 sets of 10
Wednesday - Misc.
Ab wheel
5 sets of max reps
Upright row
5 sets of 10-20

Thursday - Squats
Squats
6-8 sets of 5s or 3s
Lunges
2-3 sets of 15-20
Friday - Off
Saturday - Back Work
Cable row 6 sets of 10
Ab wheel 4-5 sets of max reps
Arm work 3-4 sets
Sunday - Misc.
Chins
Chins - more ladders
Abs
More Abs

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Linear Progression / Beginner Routines

Just to backtrack a bit, the first night I had her deadlift she pulled 135 for two sets of doubles.
My thinking that lots of back building and erector work in conjunction with the squat did exactly
what I thought it would do. She understood how to get and hold an arch, and she had enough
strength in her posterior chain to pull with good form and confidence.
Because she had developed a little bit of pressing strength, teaching her the technique aspects
of benching went much easier. She had more control over the bar, thus she didnt have a balancing issue, and could put a little more effort into concentrating on things like getting tight on the
bench and leg drive. This in turn helped her bench more from session to session. She went from
benching 55 for a single to 55 for an easy triple from 1 session to the next. Yes I understand
thats nothing more than noobie strength, but Ive seen plenty of novice trainees struggle with just
balancing the bar for weeks on end. By just building some basic strength in the incline press, it
carried over to the bench and then the technical teaching portions went much smoother.

Page 5 - PC-SLL