Workout Routines - The Basics

Workout routines are all about repetitions and sets. A rep or repetition is the number of time your repeat an exercise in eat set. A series of continuous repetition is called a set. For example if you were to do 3 sets of 10 biceps curls, you would pick up your dumbbell, curl the weight 10 times then stop (1-5 minutes) and rest, and then do another 10 curls, stop and again.

There will probably be a heated debate as to what is the ideal set in your workout routines. Studies have shown though that 3 sets are optimal. Beginner’s workout routines may have 1 set in the first week and gradually working up to 3 sets in about a month (4 weeks).

There are two types of workout routines, the whole body and the split. The whole body is when you work your entire body in the one go, whilst the split workout routines target different body parts on separate days. The split routine is the more popular of the two.

Below are sample exercises you can do with your split workout routines.

Muscles Targeted	Exercises
Chest	flat chest press, dips, barbell bench press, dumbbell bench press, cable cross over
Triceps	press downs, tricep pushdown
Back	back extension, barbell upright row, seated cable row, chin ups, dumbbell rows
Biceps	preacher curls, standing dumbbell curls, barbell curls,
Shoulders	dumbbell shoulder press, lateral raises seated barbell or dumbbell press
Abdominals	situps, leg raise, side crunches, twist crunches, cable crunches
Legs (inc. calves)	barbell squats, leg press, lunge

Sample workout routines

Repetition for each workout routines is 8 reps unless otherwise stated.

Monday
Chest and Triceps

3-4 sets: bench press
3-4 sets: incline press
3-4 sets: chest flys
3 sets: dips

Tuesday
Back and Biceps

3-4 sets: alternate dumbbell curls
3-4 sets: standing cross bar curls
3-4 sets: preacher curls
3-4 sets: cable rows
3 sets: back hyper extension

Wednesday
Rest

Thursday
Shoulder and Abdominals

3-4 sets: Seated lateral raise
3-4 sets: lateral side raises
3-4 sets: forward dumbbell raises.
3-4 sets: abdominal crunches – 30-50 reps
3-4 sets: hanging knee lifts – 10-15 reps

Friday
Legs

1x10 squats low weight
2x8 squats heavier
3-4 sets: seated Calve raises
3-4 sets: Standing calve raises

Saturday
Rest

Sunday
Cardio

10-15 minutes, treadmill or bike

Please note that every body is different and a workout routine perfect for someone does not necessary mean its perfect for you. The above routine works for me, you should experiment a little and find a workout routine that works best for you.