12 Week Beginners Training Routine

A twelve week full body beginners routine designed to get your body ready for an intense split routine. Includes a detailed week by week plan.

Workout Summary

Main Goal:

Build Muscle

Workout Type:

Full Body

Training Level:

Beginner

Days Per Week:

2

Equipment Required:

Barbell, Bodyweight, Cables, Dumbbells, Machines

Target Gender:

Male & Female

Author:

Doug Lawrenson

Workout Description

Everyone has to start somewhere. If you have never trained with weights before, you need a routine to get your muscles prepared for more serious training. It's essential that you complete a full body routine (like the one in this article) for 12 weeks before starting a split routine.

If you're new to the gym and working out, head over to our forum and get some advice to make sure you're on the right path and don't waste your gym time!

Weeks 1-6: Total Body Circuit Workout

• Complete the following on two non-consecutive days per week.
• During the first three weeks, do each exercise for one set of 15 reps: during the last three weeks, do two sets of 12 reps for bodyparts indicated (using a slightly heavier weight on all sets)

WEEKS 1-3:

Weeks 1-3
Weeks 1-3
Bodypart	Exercise	Sets	Reps
Quads/Glutes	Leg Press	1	15
Hamstrings	Lying Leg Curl	1	15
Upper Back	Seated Cable Row	1	15
Chest	Flat Bench Press	1	15
Shoulders	Dumbbell Press	1	15
Traps	Dumbbell shrug	1	15
Triceps	Pushdown	1	15
Biceps	Barbell curl	1	15
Lower Back	Back extension	1	15
Calves	Standing calf raise	1	15
Forearms	Barbell wrist curl	1	15
Abdominals	Crunches	1	15

WEEKS 4-6:

Weeks 4-6
Weeks 4-6
Bodypart	Exercise	Sets	Reps
Quads/Glutes	Leg Press	2	12
Hamstrings	Lying Leg Curl	2	12
Upper Back	Seated Cable Row	2	12
Chest	Flat Bench Press	2	12
Shoulders	Dumbbell press	2	12
Traps	Dumbbell shrug	2	12
Triceps	Pushdown	2	12
Biceps	Barbell curl	2	12
Lower Back	Back extension	2	12
Calves	Standing calf raise	2	12
Forearms	Barbell wrist curl	2	12
Abdominals	Crunches	2	12

Weeks 7 – 12: Split Workout with Increased Intensity.

• Divide your body into two parts (upper and lower), increasing weight training days to three non consecutive days per week (i.e., Monday, Wednesday, Friday).
• Alternate between the two exercise routines. In the first week, you’ll end up doing Workout 1 twice, while in the second week you’ll do workout 2 twice etc.
• Do sets and reps as indicated.
• Rest 60-90 seconds between the sets.
• Choose exercise alternates on occasion to work the muscles a little differently

Workout 1: Upper Body

Workout 1: Upper Body
Workout 1: Upper Body
Bodypart	Exercise	Sets	Reps
Chest	Flat Dumbbell Press Pec Dec Fly	2 1	10-12 10-12
Upper Back	1 arm dumbbell rowSeated Cable Row	2 1	10-12 10-12
Shoulders	Seated dumbbell pressDumbbell lateral raise	2 1	10-12 10-12
Traps	Dumbbell shrug	2	10-15
Triceps	Pushdown	2	10-12
Biceps	Barbell curl	2	10-12
Forearms	Barbell wrist curl	2	10-12

Workout 2: Lower Body

Workout 2: Lower Body
Workout 2: Lower Body
Bodypart	Exercise	Sets	Reps
Quads/Glutes	Smith machine squats	1	8-12
Quads	Leg extension	1	10-12
Hamstrings	Lying leg curl	1	10-12
Lower Back	Back extension	1	20-30
Calves	Standing calf raise	1	12-15
Abdominals	Crunches Reverse crunch	2 2	15-40 15-30

If you need any help with the workout on this page head over to our muscle building forum. Our experienced members will make sure you're on the right track!