Every new body building enthusiast ponders over the difference between them and the professionals, the likes of Arnold, Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman, etc. Well, there isn’t much of a difference; they didn’t come into the world with six-pack abs or the strength to do a 250-pound bench press. The difference is that unlike you, they had the desire of self-improvement on a major scale. All these men made mistakes that got them where they are now. Broken bones, ripped muscles, dislocation of bones and what not. All of their mistakes are for us to use and learn from.

Below is a complete 8-week regimen for a beginner at the gym, but, before I give you all the exercises I need to stress over a few basics of starting a new plan.

1. Do one exercise for each major muscle group

2. For the first two weeks lift lighter weights and practice your form, do additional sets if you want to keep rehearsing the movements. Keep your ego in check!

3. Keep the workout in constant progression, once you have achieved perfect form it’s time to increase the weight

4. As you get stronger, add an additional set, and increase the weights

5. If free weights are proving to be difficult (barbells, dumbbells) for an exercise, find its counterpart machine and practice on that before getting back to free weights

Familiarize yourself with this information; this all you will be doing for the next 8 weeks.

Week 1-2

Bench Press – 2 sets of 15 reps
Supported T-bar Row – 2 sets of 15 reps
Seated Dumbbell Press – 2 sets of 15 reps
Standing Barbell Curl – 2 sets of 15 reps
Triceps Dips Machine – 2 sets of 15 reps
Leg Press – 2 sets of 15 reps
Lying Leg Curl – 2 sets of 15

Week 3-4

Bench Press – 3 sets of 15, 12, 10 reps
Supported T-bar Row – 3 sets of 15, 12, 10 reps
Seated Dumbbell Press – 3 sets of 15, 12, 10 reps
Standing Barbell Curl – 3 sets of 15, 12, 10 reps
Triceps Dips Machine – 3 sets of 15, 12, 10 reps
Leg Press – 3 sets of 15 to 12 reps
Lying Leg Curl – 3 sets of 15 to 12 reps

Week 5-8

By now, you should be a lot stronger, consistent and better at lifting. So now it’s time we go HEAVY!

Bench Press – 3 sets of 12, 8, 8 reps
Supported T-bar Row – 3 sets of 12, 8, 8 reps
Seated Dumbbell Press – 3 sets of 12, 8, 8 reps
Standing Barbell Curl – 3 sets of 12, 8, 8 reps
Triceps Dips Machine – 3 sets of 12, 8, 8 reps
Leg Press – 4 sets of 15 to 12 reps
Lying Leg Curl – 4 sets of 15 to 12 reps

Once again, and I cannot stress this enough, your main goal is not to lift as much as the professionals. But it needs to be concentrated on achieving the perfect form because unless you have the right positioning and the right form for an exercise, there is no way you can pick up heavier weights without getting seriously injured.