The Exercises

Now that we are ready, we will start with the discussion and illustration of the exercises. Now be forewarned...there are millions of books, articles, and websites that deal with exercises, routines and how to perform each and every one of them. And the same amount of opinions! In this instance, i'll try to keep it simple, and complicate it as I go along! (No, I am just kidding!) This example will touch on the basics.

There are countless exercises, and regardless of whatever exercise you do, they will all include one or more of these major muscle groups. Below are a few of the exercises and the target muscles that are involved:

 

  • Chest - Bench Presses, Parallel Bar Dips, Flyes.....
  • Shoulders - Military Presses, Dumbbell Presses, Shrugs....
  • Back - T-Bar Rows, Deadlifts, Seated Cable Rows, Pull-ups......
  • Arms - Barbell Curls, Dumbbell Curls, Preacher Curls.......
  • Legs - Squats, Hack Squats, Lunges, Leg Presses.......

 

Clicking on the links above will take you to the various exercises for that particular bodypart, and how they affect that particular muscle group. Every workout, every routine, will focus on these muscle groups. In the case of the beginner, it is best to work all of the muscle groups at one time, using a full body routine. Below is an example of a beginners routine:

 

Warm up/Stretching : 10 minutes of stretchng to warm up the body and circulate blood to all of the joints.
The Routine:

1) Bench Press - 3 sets of 6-8 reps

2) Incline Bench Press - 3 sets of 6-8 reps

3) Military Press - 3 sets of 6-8 reps

4) Dumbbell Press - 3 sets of 6-8 reps

5) Seated Cable Rows - 3 sets of 10-12 reps

6) One Arm Dumbbell Rows - 3 sets of 10-12 reps

7) Barbell Curls - 3 sets of 8-10 reps

8) Squats - 3 sets of 12-15

This is a very basic, beginner routine. If you are just starting out on your bodybuilding journey, this is a suggestion routine. I will be posting many more routines from myself and from others, for as I said, everyone responds differently to exercise, and no one routine will work for everybody.

So, on the next page, we will go into more routines, variations on the movements, and much more.

Part 4: Towards more routines and techniques...... Previous ....... Home