Being a novice

[k.crow]

Hi! I am new in practicing gym. I want a balance between power and muscle mass. Could you recommend me a training program?

 

[Smont]

The best training program is the one you can stick to, so make sure it looks interesting to you.

I have always thought the best approach for someone new is a simple full body workout 3x week. Focus on a couple compound lifts and get as strong as you can on them.

My first training program was
Bench press
Lat pulldown
Squat
Shoulder press
Deadlift
I did 1 or 2 warm up sets and then 3 sets of 6 on each exercise, if I had extra time I threw in barbell curls and cable pressdowns at the end.

I did this every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for about 4 months before switching to a push pull legs routine and I gained about 20 lbs and got much stronger in that period of time. Keep in mind I was younger back then and eating pretty much non stop.

You can pick any routine you want but keep it simple and pick one that focus on only a few main exercises. You can't get good at 20+ exercises at the same time, but you can get really good at a handful.

Look up "starting strength" and "5x5" or just Google "beginners full body training program"

You could also look into John Meadows programs but pick the beginners one. I think it's called baby groot

 

[Smont]

Muscles grow in response to training, so make sure that you're not neglecting strength-training exercises. Strength training is done with heavyweight and low reps to cause the maximal release of certain hormones within the body related to muscle repair and growth.

You can also do high-rep sprints or HIIT exercises for a different type of muscular stimulus without major damage to the muscles themselves (yet still be powerful). Please keep tracking your food intake and sleep schedules as well! All of these elements play into any equation about getting stronger or bigger!

When someone is new to training you gotta keep it simple. Telling someone who's just starting out they need to track everything including there sleep schedule is a bit rediculous. Let them learn the basics of how to properly lift weights and save the complicated stuff for down the road

 

[k.crow]

Thank you, gym-bros

 

[Smont]

Thank you, gym-bros

If you ask 10 ppl you might get 10 different answers. My suggestion would be to pick a beginners program that focuses on getting stronger on the compound lifts. The first 6 months to a year is when you will make the fastest progress so take advantage of that

 

[AnaBrolicHK]

5x5 is a solid suggestion. I expanded 5x5 to incorporate many more exercises as a full body workout. I only did more reps (and fewer sets) for shoulder and arm isolation exercises. It was very effective until COVID hit and gyms closed. Might switch back to modified 5x5 again down the line.

 

[jinxie]

5-3-1 plus boring but bigger sets.

 

[BBiceps]

5-3-1 plus boring but bigger sets.

It’s a few easy to use apps for 5/3/1 that makes it even easier to keep track on progress.