Aug 17, 2004
Here is my current program, more suitable for maintenance, done every other day, used since about mid-2003:

Calfs - calf raise
Thighs - straight leg lifts (not a primary exercise, but it doesn't involve the knees)
Hamstrings - leg curls
Chest and triceps - bench press
Abdominals -leg holding and detail work
-V-ups
-crunches
Trapezius - shrugs
Upper back - bent-over barbell rowing
Lower back - straight-leg deadlifts
Shoulders and triceps - vertical press in front of neck
Biceps - dumbell curls

2-day split: Legs and chest vs Back shoulders and arms. Do calfs, abs and forearms every workout.

Leg and Chest day
-------------------------
Calfs - calf raise
Thighs - leg extensions - squats
Hamstrings - leg curls
Inner thigh, Outer thigh (after or during chest work) *2
Chest
-incline bench press
-bench flyes
-vertical flyes, or pec-dec
-pullover
Abdominals*
Forearms - wrist curls

*Abdominal work - every workout
----------------------
-leg holding and detail work
-V-ups
-crunches
-leg raises
-bending leg crunches
-crunches on ab machine
-crunches on incline bench
-hanging leg raises

Back, shoulders and arms
----------------------------------
Calfs - calf raise
Lower back - back extensions, -bending-over deadlifts
Abdominals*
Trapezius - shrugs
Upper back - reverse chinups, -pull-downs, - dumbell rowing
Shoulders - vertical press in front of neck, -vertical press behind neck, -lateral raise with thumbs down.
Biceps - dumbell curls
Triceps - triceps extensions, -tricep peaking
Forearms - wrist curls
Rotator cuffs - outer pulls, -pull-ins*2

*2 - I don't always get to these

According to "Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder", by Arnold Schwartzenegger with Douglas Kent Hall, a total beginner should start with two to six months of "free" exercise, i.e. without weights. Do pushups and situps and pullups hanging from a tree branch or under a broom handle across two chair backs, etc. Although it didn't say in the book, I think you can do this 6 days a week with one day of rest per week. In phase one of actual weightlifting, a beginner's weightlifting program, work out the whole body every workout, working out every other day, and stay with this program for three to six months. In phase two, you will start to need more time in the gym, so you will need to split your routine as in the above program of mine. Every week, do Day 1, then Day 2, take one day off, repeat, then take two days off. Stay with this program for three to six months. In phase three, work out six days per week using a three-way split. Do routine 1 Monday and Thursday, routine 2 Tuesday and Friday and routine 3 Wednesday and Saturday.

There's no reason for women not to do weightlifting. It's a myth that women "will start to look like men" if they do weightlifting. No! They start to look better *as women*. Women would have to work out on an unbelieveably heavy schedule and put on amounts of muscle that are impossible for most normal women before they would "start to look like men".

Here's a note from the current YMCA (early April 2003) newsletter:
Myth: You shouldn't perform resistance training until you get down to your ideal body weight. Many women feel that adding muscle to an overweight physique will make them look even fatter. They mistakenly try to diet their way to fat loss while avoiding weight training. The fact is, weight training helps to promote fat loss. Muscle mass increases your metabolic rate, which directly aids in the burning of fat as fuel. Studies have shown that for each pound of muscle added to your body, you burn an additional 30 to 50 calories a day at rest. Moreover, the calories burned are more apt to come from fat rather than glycogen stores. Thus, weight training is one of the most important activities that you can do to help to lose body fat, arguably even more important than cardiovascular exercise.
- Brad Schoenfeld

A note about poundages: For the young (teenaged to under 25), and for those wishing to increase strength, choose weights that permit 6 to 12 repetitions of the exercise. For those over 25 or who want to grow larger muscles, do 8 to 15 reps. Heavier weights may strain the tendons and ligaments of older folks. The relation between reps (R) and weight is that if you cannot do the minimum reps in good form, the weight is too heavy; if you can do more than the maximum with the weight, it is too light. Thus you will be using slightly less weight in the 8-15R program and may avoid undue strain on your tendons and ligaments.

Anchor: OpusWeightlifting