Starter Full Body Workout Thoughts

[justinspicher]

I’ve only used kettlebells for the past few years and have had really good results. IF I cleaned up my diet I would most likely have much better results.

I started out with 60 straight days of simple and sinister with a pullup/dip combo as well later in the day/evening.

I found out about quick and the dead and did that for another 60 straight days along with the pullup/dip combo.

I am also a huge fan of A+A training cycles for using heavier weight.

I generally stick to swings, I prefer hand to hand swings. These days I do a single set of high rep (20-30) throughout the day. I don’t really have a set workout time, I just do different movements at different times of the day.

I know this won’t work for everyone, but it’s just food for thought on a different approach.

Folks do some pretty radical workouts for a very simplistic activity. For me, I e found that the more simple the workout, the higher the payoff on terms of longevity and risk to injury.

 

[Joshuajosh]

Strong lifts 5x5 Is a pretty solid strength training plan, if you incorporate some endurance training such as the Murph or Cindy workouts + low steady state running for cardio it’s a pretty well rounded routine.

 

[McKolorado]

Could you further define general fitness and strength? The KB simple and sinister program will get you “fitter” and “stronger” than 80% of the population. Pretty much every recommendation in the thread will get you fitter and stronger, so maybe a more defined goal would help narrow the focus and programming.

 

[3325]

Many good recommendations have been posted. It’s obvious that most posters have their favorite programs and movements. Let’s all remember that a pretty good program done faithfully and consistently always beats the optimal program not done or done infrequently.

What do most of the recommendations here have in common? Usually three things: an upper body compound push, an upper body compound pull, and a squatting/knee bending movement. Other things are usually considered assistance and get added as time permits.

People naturally have their preferences, but debating dips v bench or pull ups v rowing strikes me as tinkering on the margins.

 

[LCguy]

Look up Jeff Nippard's Fundamentals Hypertrophy program, it's pretty similar to this but a lot more refined.

If you don't want to do that, as a beginner, I'd probably switch out a few exercises. For example, I'd swap out bulgarian split squats for dumbell walking lunges because, as a beginner, you'll have a hell of a time with Bulgarian split squats. Additionally, I'd swap out reverse lunges for leg extensions and I'd program in an additional hamstring/glute like hip thrusts and/or leg curls since you are opting for trap-bar deadlift which is more quad-dominant than a straight bar and you have a ton of quad programming and not a lot of programming for your hammies/glutes.

I'd also probably sub the dumbell rows with a chest-supported T-bar row. I also probably wouldn't worry about pull-ups yet and focus on lat pulldowns/pullovers/various rows. Just from experience, the back muscles are by far the hardest to develop a mind-muscle connection with and doing pulldowns/pullovers/rows will help with that a lot. Then, once you can establish that connection, pull-ups will be much more beneficial in your progress. Also, since you have access to an assisted pull-up, I'd lean more towards assisted dips than bench dips. Can get a much deeper stretch on your chest.

If you are truly a beginner, I cannot stress enough how important it is to establish mind-muscle connection. Your workouts will get so much better and your pumps will improv significantly.