Developing a rudimentary beginning workout routine

Here's a factoid: A german study found that those individuals who had the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their diet had the lowest rates of hay fever.

Fortunately, I've never had hayfever. Nor have I had problems with allergies.

Anyway, I was asked by someone if I could supply a basic free weight workout routine. This is for an individual who certainly has the genetic potential to develop a significant amount of strength and muscle (you could describe his physique as metamorphic, with some endomorphic properties), but has almost no experience working out in the gym.

This is what I told him. He needs to start with basic exercises and, initially, it wouldn't be a bad idea to simply do one basic exercise per major muscle group. I also told him to use an amount of weight, on each exercise, that would allow him to comfortably accomplish 8-10 repetitions in good form (i.e. no jerking of the back on curls or pushdowns, and no bouncing of the bar on presses).

The routine I setup for him is a very basic four-day-split that groups certain complementary muscle groups together on mondays and thursdays, and other complementary muscle groups together on tuesdays and fridays.

What is the purpose of this type of split workout routine? Quite simple. It allows you to avoid overworking certain muscle groups by working them all on the say day and it also allows more than ample time for muscle recuperation.


Mondays and Thursdays

Chest - Bench Press
Shoulders - Lateral shoulder raises
Triceps - Tricep pushdowns on a pulley machine

Tuesdays and Fridays

Back - Lat (latissimus dorsi) pulldowns
Biceps - Dumbbell curls


This routine does not mention abs or legs, of course. But for an individual who is just starting a workout routine, particularly a free weight routine, there's no harm in taking graduated steps.