Beginning Workout Plan

If you are just starting out, the most important thing is to start out slowly so you don't get injured. It can take a year or more to get your muscles to the point where you can lift with 110% intensity - don't rush it, let your body slowly get used to the loads being placed on it
The only equipment you need to do these workouts is a pullup bar and a used weight set from a garage sale. Please don't waste money on new equipment, you can get it used for pennies on the dollar from craigslist. For a used weight set, expect to pay 10 cents to 50 cents per pound. If you cant find a used weight set then you can buy a new weight set but don't pay more than $1/lb!. You can make your own pullup bar with $5 of metal toprail from a hardware store or buy a no-mar, door mount pullup bar.

Remember, your muscles don't care if your weights are new, shiny, and chrome or rusty, used, and cast iron - don't waste money on new stuff, buy used and save money!

If you have never lifted weights before and want to get started at home this video is a great way to get started!

 Don't push yourself too fast, we want to give the body time to adapt to the exercise to avoid injury.  After the above workout is too easy for you, move to the one below.  Very gradually add weight or reps each week, don't start out on day 1 trying to imitate Arnold Schwarzenegger or your lifting career will be very short.   Since the workouts are not very intense when you are first starting out, we do whole-body workouts several times each week.

Don't neglect the cardio!  According to the American Heart Association, a min of 20 minutes of cardio is required EVERY day to maintain your cardiovascular fitness.  Besides that, cardio will help you get rid of fat!  When you stop seeing improvement in terms of your strength or the number of reps you can do, its time to move up to the intermediate workout.  Don't be too hasty though, stick with this workout 3-6 months but no longer before moving up to the intermediate workout.

	Beginning Home Workout
Mon	Chest: 3 sets of pushups (push-ups), as many as you can do with 60s rest between sets Back: 3 sets of overhand pullups (pull-ups), as many reps as you can do with 60s between sets. Legs: 3 sets of lunges, 6-12 reps per set with 60s between sets Abs: Two sets of crunches, as many as you can do with 60s rest between sets Cardio: 20 minutes - jog, brisk walk or bike Time Required - 50 minutes
Tue	Cardio: jog, brisk walk or bike Time Required - 30 minutes
Wed	Chest: 3 sets of pushups, as many as you can do with 60s rest between sets Back: 3 sets of overhand pullups (pull-ups), as many reps as you can do with 60s between sets Legs: 3 sets of lunges, 6-12 reps per set with 60s between sets Abs: Two sets of crunches, as many as you can do with 60s rest between sets Cardio: 20 minutes - jog, brisk walk or bike Time Required - 50 minutes
Thu	Cardio: jog, brisk walk or bike Time Required - 30 minutes
Fri	Chest: 3 sets of pushups, as many as you can do with 60s rest between sets Back: 3 sets of overhand pullups (pull-ups), as many reps as you can do with 60s between sets Legs: 3 sets of lunges, 6-12 reps per set with 60s between sets Abs: Two sets of crunches, as many as you can do with 60s rest between sets Cardio: 20 minutes - jog, brisk walk or bike Time Required - 50 minutes
Sat	Cardio: jog, brisk walk or bike Time Required - 30 minutes
Sun	Cardio: jog, brisk walk or bike Time Required - 30 minutes
	time = 4.5hrs/week

Many people make the mistake of sticking to this whole-body three times a week workout strategy way too long, they add fancy exercises and big weights but keep this basic schedule. The problem is that once you reach the intermediate level, you are working out with sufficient intensity that your body requires 5-7 days to recuperate and rebuild the muscles. If you stick to the 3x/week plan, your progress will plateau because your body does not have time to rebuild the muscles before you break them down again - this is called overtraining and its the second most common problem limiting a bodybuilders progress.

Care to guess what the #1 problem limiting a bodybuilders progress is? - Its Poor Nutrition!

Many beginning bodybuilders make the mistake of thinking that their work ends when they leave the gym, wrong! That's when the real work begins, in learning about nutrition and making sure that you eat properly. Proper nutrition is a lot more work than the weight lifting itself and it certainly takes a lot more time. Spend an hour or so every week reading about bodybuilding and nutrition. The more you read and learn, the faster your bodybuilding progress will be! Start with this website but don't stop here, I'm just one person with one point of view. 

Remember that adding muscle takes years, the most you can expect to add in a year is 5-10lbs.  You will be amazed how much better you feel, both physically and mentally,  after just a week of working out!  Stick with it, mass follows strength, so as you slowly get stronger the muscle will get added at an almost imperceptible pace.

Just a quick word about motivation, for many people this is the worst problem. What often happens is that somebody starts working out January First and their goal is to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger by springtime. After a month of lifting they give up because their muscles haven't started ripping out of their shirt yet. Its really important to have realistic expectations and the proper mind set so that you look forward to every workout. What I suggest is that rather than focusing on the future, live in the here and now.

Enjoy how it makes you feel NOW. Enjoy the fact that you are a little bit stronger than you were last week, you did 1/2 rep more! Enjoy how your workout has perked you up, you were yawning beforehand but now you are invigorated. Enjoy the feeling of pushing your body to is limits. When your alarm goes off at 5am for your workout, don't think about how you want to look like Arnold - that unobtainable goal will just cause you to hit the snooze button. Its much better to think about how good it will feel to workout! THAT will get you out of bed!