Bodybuilding For Beginners Program

Updated: 28th December, 2025
If looking like Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Daniel Craig as Bond, or Brad Pitt in Troy is your goal, then a training program with a bodybuilding focus is what you need.

For those allergic to the idea that they are “bodybuilding,” this doesn’t mean that you won’t get strong or be “functional.” It means you are training with muscle growth as the priority and doing it in the most efficient way possible.

If you have been struggling to grow, this program will help.

Don’t make the mistake of training your chest, arms, and abs every day while neglecting the majority of your musculature. To develop a thick chest, you need a well-developed back. To have big legs, you need to train your hamstrings. To achieve shredded abs, you need enough muscle mass to make getting lean worthwhile.

In this article, I introduce the sample Novice Bodybuilding Program from the second edition of our bestselling Muscle and Strength Pyramid: Training book. (The book is now in its third edition, but the program is still popular and equally relevant.) I’ll show you how to choose exercises and adjust things for the areas where you are more advanced.

If you’re stuck choosing between this, the intermediate program, or our powerlifting programs, consider reading How to Choose The Right Training Program.

The Beginner Bodybuilding Sample Workout Overview

The Novice Bodybuilding Program, unlike the Novice Powerlifting Program, is a four-day program. It has more exercises to ensure all muscle groups are adequately trained and a higher total volume.

We have two strength days and two volume days. Strength development complements the accumulation of training volume and aids hypertrophy (muscle growth) by allowing heavier loads to be used over time.

Because skill development is not as important to a bodybuilder as it is to a powerlifter, and because greater volumes are performed each day, a lower/upper split is used to balance out fatigue and recovery across the week.

Exercise preferences, limitations, and equipment availability differ from person to person, so I’ve written more details on how to choose exercises later in the article.

Spread your workouts out across the week, and try to have no more than two sessions back to back. This is better for recovery.

How The Novice Bodybuilding Sample Program Looks

Take a look at the program, and then I’ll explain the meaning of the ‘%1RM’ and ‘1st Set RIR’ notation and how to use it.

HOW TO USE THE BEGINNER BODYBUILDING PROGRAM

WARMING UP

Do you like injuries? Do you like the idea of having to take weeks off from your training? Do you like the idea of permanent mobility issues? If not, make sure you warm up before you train.

I do 5–8 minutes of brisk walking on a treadmill set at a 5º incline until I get a light sweat on, then 15 minutes of mobility work. If you’re flexible enough to perform all of your exercises with a full range of motion without the latter, then you can consider it optional. But my shoulder issues and lower back pain at night are gone now that I do it daily. (I can appreciate this comment will not resonate with some of you younger ones reading this.)

👉 Here’s our guide to warming up.

REST PERIODS

Rest for ~2–3 minutes for the main exercises. (Enough so that you’re recovered and ready to go again.) You’ll need just 60–90 seconds for the smaller isolation exercises like the bicep curls.

FORM

Unlike what many people say, there isn’t one correct way to squat, bench, or deadlift. The key to getting strong, staying uninjured, and growing a ton of muscle is learning how to lift in a way that suits the mechanics of your body. Here are our three free mega-guides teaching you how to do that:

• 🏋🏻‍♂️ How To Low Bar Squat Properly
• 🏋🏽‍♂️ How To Bench Press Properly
• 🏋🏿‍♂️ How To Deadlift Properly

MODIFICATIONS

If you have more experience with one lift than the others, consider adding a set to that exercise. So, let’s say you’re relatively new to the squat and deadlift, for example, but have a lot of experience bench pressing (pretty much describes every dude on the planet when they start lifting seriously); consider starting with four bench press sets for your horizontal push exercises instead of three.

Savvy readers may notice that this program has changed a little since the program in the book‘s first edition. This is because newer meta-analyses have been released about training volume, and there were instances where we decided to reduce it. We’ve written more on this in the FAQ.

HOW TO CHOOSE EXERCISES

Choose exercises that you can perform confidently with good form, pain-free, with a full range of motion. My bigger guide to exercise selection is here, but below are the crib notes relevant to this program.

Squat Variants

This could be a high-bar, low-bar, front, or safety-bar barbell squats.

Select the variant you enjoy, are confident that you can master, and suits your biomechanics. For example, suppose you are very bent over when you perform a low-bar squat to full depth. In that case, you may choose one of the other variations that allow for a more upright body position to ensure more even lower-body development.

If an injury prevents you from performing a barbell-based squat of any type, a leg press variant can be used in place of a squat variant.

Hip Hinge Variants

Hip hinge variants include movements such as barbell hip thrusts or glute bridges. Cable or machine hinges can also be used.

Single-Leg Squat Variants

Bulgarian split squats, lunges, or single-leg squats with a kettlebell or dumbbell on the floor or off a plyo-box (also known as pistol squats).

These are primarily in place to ensure equal development across the legs and to ensure adequate coordination and even contribution of force when performing bipedal exercises such as squats or leg presses to reduce the risk of injury.

You can select a machine-based movement, such as a single-leg leg press, but this will only help you ensure equal force production between legs and not necessarily coordination and balance. Thus, the injury prevention effect will be reduced.

Deadlift Variants

Conventional, sumo, or Romanian deadlifts, or good mornings.

If you select a sumo stance deadlift, do not perform it ultra-wide if you only compete in bodybuilding; instead, use a stance slightly wider than your hand position. This can be an excellent position for a bodybuilder to perform a deadlift as it allows a straighter back and more upright torso, thereby reducing injury risk while mimicking the biomechanics of a conventional deadlift.

The advantage of selecting a Romanian deadlift or a good morning is that the eccentric will be automatically controlled. However, these movements take more kinesthetic awareness and time to master and perform properly with heavy loads.

Vertical and Horizontal Pulls

For the horizontal row, choose an exercise that doesn’t fatigue your lower back. I would advise a cable, single-arm dumbbell, chest-supported dumbbell, seal/bench, or machine row.

For vertical pulls, feel free to select what you would like; however, if you choose to do chin-ups or pull-ups, ensure you can perform them with the proper range of motion for the required number of reps. If not, try band-assisted pull-ups until you are strong enough. Then add weight when you need it.

Vertical and Horizontal Pushes

For horizontal pressing, you can use the bench press, a decline, or incline press. Just don’t use a very severe angle in either direction. For vertical pressing, feel free to do either standing or seated presses. Barbells or dumbbells can be used.

Isolation Exercises

Bicep curls, triceps extensions, leg extensions, leg curls, and other single-joint movements should be performed with a full range of motion and in a safe manner that is pain-free. Whether you use free weights, machines, cables, or some other variation you would like to employ is entirely your choice.

Flys can be performed with cables, dumbbells, or machines and can be performed at incline or decline angles if preferred.

Standing calf raises don’t necessarily need to be standing; they just need to be straight-legged (for example, a calf raise on a leg press).

Shrugs and direct abdominal work are not included for reasons covered here.

HOW TO PROGRESS WITH THE BEGINNER’S BODYBUILDING PROGRAM

In its simplest form, you just need to choose a weight you can lift for the number of sets and reps written, add a little weight to each of your workouts, and avoid training to failure.

There are two types of failure; both should be avoided. Mechanical failure occurs when you can no longer move the weight. Technical failure (sometimes known as form failure) is when you can’t get any more reps without your form breaking down.

The 1RM Notation Tells You the Initial Weight to Lift With

The %1RM notation stands for the percentage of 1-rep maximum. It is a guideline for how much you should load the bar the first time you start the program (only), and we will use this with our main compound barbell lifts.

So, where you see Squat 3*5 (82.5%), you should put 82.5% of the weight of your maximum single-rep squat on the bar and then perform three sets of 5 reps. If you don’t know your 1RM, use an online 1RM calculator.

Alternatively, after warming up, choose a load you can comfortably lift for the target sets and reps. You may choose to do this if you don’t have a lot of experience with the lift, are new to it, and can’t use the 1RM calculator, or are coming back after time off. You should do this for any lift without a %1RM guideline. These are the lifts where %1RMs are harder to gauge, and a calculator is less accurate.

Add a little weight each time for each successive training session while maintaining good form and keeping to the first set RIR target.

The 1st Set RIR Notation Tells You How to Load the Bar From the First Session Onwards

‘RIR’ stands for Reps in Reserve. It is a means of managing fatigue, which can help recovery and growth, telling you how many reps, ideally, you will stay short of failure.

While you will aim to add load each session, on a scale of 1–10, an RIR of 2 means to stop the set when you feel like you could perform just 2 more reps.

Note: In the second edition of the books, we used percentages of one-rep max (%1RM) to set loads for compound lifts and “Rating of Perceived Exertion” (RPE) for the rest. However, for the third editions, we use %1RM only for the powerlifting programs, so I have removed them. Also, as “Reps in Reserve” (RIR) is now more commonly used with bodybuilding programs, I have swapped the RPE guidelines for RIR. You can see how these compare below.

Table: RIR and RIR-based RPE

You’ll notice the RIR values for this beginner program are “1st set RIR 2”. You should load the bar with a weight where you could do two more than the number of prescribed reps for your first set.

If you do this right, your subsequent sets will be harder, and you should be able to use the same load for all your sets.

If you “miss reps” on subsequent sets at the same load, you either started too heavy, didn’t rest long enough, or perhaps made a technical fault, all of which are learning experiences for your next session.

Progression Rules

Add a little weight to each exercise every session, whenever you are able to do so.

Once you are no longer able to consistently do that, start using Autoregulated Double Progression, covered in How To Progress.

Note that if you choose to perform the same exercise on the strength and volume days (the bench press on both, for example), the load on the bar will be different. This is because the number of reps performed on each day is different. (You can bench more for five than ten reps, right?) So, progress each day independently.

Though you will get stronger over time, your strength will fluctuate from session to session. This can happen if you didn’t sleep well, you are stressed, your diet wasn’t on point, you had 10 pints the night before, or it could just be some cumulative fatigue build-up. So, keep in mind that you will be stronger on some days than others.

1. Do not get frustrated with yourself and add weight to the bar when you shouldn’t.
2. Don’t be afraid to lift a little less if you need to.
3. Always lift with good form so that you stay safe.
4. Do not go to form failure so that you don’t get injured.

Beginner Bodybuilding Program Q&A

If you have found this helpful, you might be pleased to know it is just a small section taken from our best-selling Muscle and Strength Pyramid books.

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