GYM101- Intro to working out. Part 5: Workout Routines

Why do I need a workout routine??
The answer is quite simple, it's good to be organized. You know what you have been doing previously and you can plan your next sessions. But these are all smaller reasons, the biggest advantage is, you can monitor your progress.
If you just go to the gym and start pulling whatever weight you find, it's still a load on the muscle. But only when you progressively increase the load on the muscle, you start making gains, you start gaining strength and muscle.

Why should I progress? Can't I make life easier and stick to the same weight?

When you lift a weight that's quite heavy for your body, or if you go on really high reps, your muscle is in a situation it has never been in before and it needs to grow to bear that load. If you provide enough calories and proteins, it will grow. When muscle grows, you get stronger. The load that previously felt heavy wouldn't feel as heavy and you need a heavier load to stimulate the muscle. You need to keep increasing progressively to give the muscle a reason to get bigger.
This is an accepted theory for gaining mass and strength. For more info, refer to this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_hypertrophy

Any routine should
1. Have sufficient volume and intensity
2. Should not be too heavy
3. Should allow sufficient time for recovery
4. Most importantly, should reflect your goal

Most routines are 3-4 days a week routines. A most general routine would have 3 days of workout in the gym- three different muscle groups on three days, or a full body workout with varying intensity on three days. Some have 4 days a week- Four different muscle groups a day or the whole body is split into upper and lower and both are worked 2 days each. Most routines include 2 days of cardio and 2 days of rest for recovery.
A lot of routines have been in use for a long time, each backed by its own theory. Each has its own advantages and supporters. You'd find them on the net and I'm not posting any now, will probably post them later. A lot of lifters/builders make up their own routines to suit their needs, but that is when they reach a stage when they know what they're body says.

"...............Crawl before you walk, Walk before you run....."


A lot of guys copy some routine from the net and try to work it out from day 1. That's the worst thing you can ever do.
When you're not a pro, don't train like one.
A beginner needs to first set his body up before he can start working out like the others in the gym. Before you lift heavy weights, you need to lift the lighter ones, and before you lift any weight, your body must be ready to take it.
In most gyms, beginners are advised to start off with leverage machines (or simply machines, as opposed to free weights- barbells and dumbells). Leverage machines and free weights act on your muscle at a particular angle, and they always tempt you to try heavier weights. If your muscle is not ready, it's not a good idea to start working it. A better option is to do some body weight exercises- exercises where you only use your body weight as a load.


Pushups, Pullups, Free hand squats and Crunches- Some basic bodyweight exercises, but nonetheless, very important. It's always a good idea to start off with these before you start working out in the gym. 

25 pushups, 5 pullups, 30 Free hand squats and 15 crunches should be a decent target for a beginner to achieve before starting with some weights.

In case you don't know the above exercises, check these links
http://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Push-Up
http://stronglifts.com/how-to-squat-with-proper-technique-fix-common-problems/
http://stronglifts.com/how-to-do-pull-ups-and-chin-ups-with-proper-technique/
http://www.fitstep.com/Library/Exercises/Crunches.htm

If you don't like crunches, go for leg raise (lying leg raise)
http://www.better-exercise-fitness-for-life.com/leg-raises.html


For a beginner, 3 days of the above exercises and 3 days of cardio should be good, since you need to cut down on your fat. Lower the fat, better the gains. I practiced karate for a couple of months in my 6th and 7th classes and then for some months in 9th and in my 11th and 12th classes, I was regularly doing some jogging and pushups and pullups and occasionally some legraises too. I believe I was already ready to get started in a gym when I thought of going to a gym because of that karate practice I did, but nonetheless, it'd have been great to start it this way. 
You know the exercises, now your routine should be like this-
Do cardio on Tuesday, thursday, saturday ( I've already written about this in part 4), 500 minutes of sprint followed by some jogging or swimming or cycling or anything else
Do bodyweight exercises on Monday, Wednesday, Friday- 3 sets for each exercise. First set, take it easy, do very few reps. Say you cannot do more than 6 pushups. Do only 4 in the first and second sets. Aim for 5 reps in the third set and push for more reps after you're done with 5. Do the same number for two days and on the third day add more reps to each set. Keep progressing till you reach the number of reps you've targeted.


After you reach the targets I've mentioned, it'd be good to get started in a gym.

P.S: You'll find a lot of advertisements on various sites talking about machines and pills and all.. Don't trust them. Post any query as a comment and I'll try to answer them.


Good luck