Beginner's Guide and Training Program
PROGRAMLAR
Yiğit Örsoğlu
4/2/20254 min read
The program emphasizes compound exercises over isolated movements for several key reasons:
Engages Multiple Muscle Groups: Compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses target multiple muscle groups simultaneously, providing a balanced and comprehensive workout.
Develops Functional Strength: These exercises mimic daily movements, improving overall physical performance and building more functional strength.
Burns More Calories: By engaging multiple muscle groups, compound exercises increase energy expenditure, supporting fat loss.
Time Efficiency: These exercises are ideal for limited workout time as they target multiple areas with a single movement.
Boosts Hormonal Response: Compound exercises involving large muscle groups promote the release of key hormones like testosterone and growth hormone, critical for muscle growth and recovery.
Builds a Strong Foundation: Compound exercises are essential for developing core strength and stability, which is necessary for advancing to isolated movements at later stages.
Squat - 3x8-12: A fundamental lower-body exercise. It strengthens the glutes, leg muscles (quadriceps and hamstrings), and the core.
Bench Press - 3x8-12: A classic weightlifting exercise that works the chest, triceps, and shoulder muscles. It enhances upper-body strength.
T-bar Row - 3x8-12: Targets the back muscles and biceps. It's essential for posture correction and upper-body strength.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 3x8-12: Works the shoulders, triceps, and upper back muscles. A core exercise for developing upper-body strength.
Leg Raise - 3x15-20: A bodyweight exercise targeting the lower abdominal muscles. It improves core endurance.
Day-1
Pull-ups - 3x6-8: An effective bodyweight exercise targeting the back and biceps. Ideal for shaping and strengthening the upper body.
Dumbbell Incline Press: Similar to the bench press, this exercise focuses specifically on the upper chest muscles and promotes balanced muscle development.
Seated Cable Row - 3x10-12: This exercise works the back muscles and provides stabilization with the cable system, enhancing back width.
Pec Fly - 3x10-12: Specifically targets the rear shoulder muscles in detail, improving balance and stability.
Calf Raise - 3x15-20: A simple yet effective exercise that strengthens the calf muscles, improving lower leg strength and endurance.
Day-2
Squat - 3x8-12: A fundamental lower-body exercise. It strengthens the glutes, leg muscles (quadriceps and hamstrings), and the core.
Dips - 3x8-10: Effectively works the triceps, chest, and shoulder muscles. As a bodyweight exercise, it requires balance and control.
Lateral Raises - 3x8-12: Targets the outer part of the shoulders (lateral deltoids). It is effective for sculpting the shoulders
Chest Flyes - 3x12-15: Isolates and shapes the chest muscles. Typically performed with dumbbells or cables.
Machine Crunches - 3x15-20: A machine exercise targeting the abdominal muscles. It supports muscle development by adding resistance.
Day-3
Introduction
I do not recommend the 5x5 program for beginners. Personally, I did not include this program during my own initial training phase. One of the main reasons is the lack of technique and limited use of weights. Beginners usually work with very light weights, such as an empty bar or 2.5 kg, which makes low repetitions inefficient.
You can follow this program as a 9-day cycle, with one workout day followed by two rest days. Additionally, I suggest performing the exercises outside of compound movements with only two sets in the initial cycle. This is important for motivation and minimizing muscle soreness while also reducing the risk of injury.
The program includes isolated movements, but don’t let these worry you. You may not feel them at first or think they’re ineffective. However, isolated movements are valuable for building familiarity with the exercises and the muscle groups that you will train in the future. After the first cycle, you can perform all exercises for three sets. After completing three cycles, you can increase the sets to four based on your motivation and how you feel.
Fat Loss and Cardio
If your goal also includes fat loss, you can support your workouts with brisk walking as cardio. The key here is to create a calorie deficit. I recommend brisk walking for 15–30 minutes after your workout, depending on your schedule. Additionally, having a protein supplement before walking will help repair muscles and provide protein needed to counteract the breakdown during your walk.
Note: During cardio exercises aimed at burning calories, not only fat is broken down—protein is also used for energy, and glucose from carbohydrate stores is consumed.
Activities on Rest Days
On rest days, if you feel motivated, you can do push-ups at home during your free time or even go for a walk outside based on your goals.
Nutrition and Hydration
Hydration plays a critical role in this process, just like your nutrition plan. Drink plenty of water, avoid sugary and high-carbohydrate foods, steer clear of trans fats and similar harmful fats, and stay away from packaged snacks and junk food. If you experience a drop in morale and crave sweets, you can have a small amount once a week.
Mental Preparation and Patience
This journey is challenging and demanding, so mentally preparing yourself and standing firm during any setbacks is crucial. No matter how passionate you are, know when to step back during important or special moments. Time is the most valuable thing, and you may have moments that you won’t be able to experience again. That’s why, if needed, you can skip a workout for one day—taking a day off won’t harm your progress.
Muscle Mass and Weight Gain
Do not rush to increase your weight. Over time, your weight will increase along with your muscle mass. However, some muscle groups may grow more slowly than others. Don’t let this discourage you; everything will improve with time.
Importance of Warm-Up Sets
I recommend doing a warm-up set before each exercise. If your warm-up weight is equal to your working set weight, you can skip the warm-up set. Warm-up sets are more effective than general warm-up movements before the workout because they specifically prepare the muscle group you are working with using light weights and high repetitions.
Form and Technique
Doing the movement correctly is more important than anything. At first, your brain-muscle connection may not be strong, so you may not “feel” the exercise. However, this connection will improve over time with correct form and technique. To learn the correct form for exercises, you can ask someone to guide you or watch YouTube content creators to develop your technique. Performing a movement incorrectly or with poor form can lead to injuries, so please be careful.
Conclusion
I wish you the best of luck and success on this journey! If you need help, we’re always here.
Iron Lift Club Team