Beginner Workout Routines

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Here is question about getting started as a beginner on a workout routine from one of our fitness newsletter readers. (You can read below or skip it and I’ll narrate it in the video below) Lets get at er!

Hey Ray,
I’ve been reading your workout routines and I’m having trouble finding which one is best for me… I’ll tell you a bit about myself. I’m an 18 year old farm boy, I play hockey + baseball. I’ve got a natural build, 5f10.5/180 lbs. My ups are my arms (to a limit) and my chest, my downs are my stomach and thighs. I’ve recently decided that hockey will no longer work for me since I’m going to be moving out to a college without a hockey team, and baseball will just interfere with a summer job… I have access to a gym between now and the time I leave in January, and as well in January when I arrive to the college.

I’ve decided to really “up” my body and boost my fitness and endurance level. As where my endurance level stands now, I’m able to jog 15 minutes before I’m saying to myself “just 1 more minute…”, which is not so great. With no previous workouts, I can bench about 170 lbs, in which I have a goal to eventually be able to bench 250+, and have better cardio to allow me to jog longer and more at ease.

I’ve been looking for an all-around workout with cardio aswell, so I can target my gut, thighs (fat), and gain muscle at the same time. I have daily access to a gym and all the equipment, and have a heavy mind-set to follow a routine that works. Basically, I want to eliminate as much fat as possible, get toned, and become fit in every aspect.

For the past week i’ve been going to the gym every day, doing 20 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of weight training (biceps, triceps, pecs, back muscles, inner and outter thighs, calfs). I’m almost certrain I’m doing this wrong… I’m just really not sure what to target, and how often to target that area before proceeding to target somewhere’s else. Could you help me out, Ray? My family has a long line of premature heart problems and attacks in the early 40′s, and all of them have never really been active – I want the active lifestyle and will work hard for it. Any diet/nutritional plans as well? If not, any tips/pointers? And yes or no for creatine? I’ve never used it because I’ve never been sure.

Hope you’re able to get back to me!
Thanks in advance,
Josh

Answer From Ray Burton:

I’ll start from the end and work my way back Josh. What do I think about creatine? Well, it works for size and power but I don’t like to use it frequently and never put my beginner clients on it because they just don’t need it at that point when there are so many other variables that can be utilized to produce crazy results naturally. Here is some more reading on the subject of creatine.

Do I have any diet/nutritional plans? Yes I do but it takes a lot of time to design a nutritional program for someone based on their goals, body-weight, and food preferences. So what I would suggest to you is not eating on a stuck plan but educating yourself by reading these articles here on nutrition basics.

Alright now for the beginner workout routine. Like I said earlier when you are establishing a base in your training, you should start with a three day a week beginner workout that works your body with a variety of big, compound exercises. Something like this beginner full body workout. There are also more in the workout routines section of this site, but don’t get confused messing around in there too much.

There you go Josh. That’s the basic start point for you. I’ve shown you the info, now go put it into practice.

We have also been discussing this video over at my Buildingbodies YOUTUBE CHANNEL. The question was asked about foods to eat and not to eat. Here is a list of top 10 diet foods.