First of all, let's define a beginner. A beginner is someone who has either never lifted weights before; someone who may have lifted years ago, but stopped; or someone who hasn't trained on a regular basis for over six months. How long before a beginner becomes an intermediate and moves on to a new training program? One school of thought says that a beginner should use a combination of machines, cables and free-weight exercises, while employing a number of intensity techniques, including supersets and forced reps to get better workouts. Proponents of this system agree that a beginner is only a beginner until he or she can handle more weight, then he or she graduates to the intermediate level. I don't belong to this school of thought. I believe, like many others, that a beginner should not rush through a beginner program. Developing a solid foundation using basic exercises and excellent form will help ensure a lifetime of injury-free training. This goal should be first and foremost to any serious beginner. Many of today's top bodybuilders once used this method as beginners and stayed on this system for almost a full year. The results speak for themselves. I know firsthand. I trained on this beginner's program for the first two years and gained 65 pounds of muscle drug-free! Moreover, after 14 years of training, I have not had a single injury. Building a solid foundation is the answer. Today, I'll often see beginning bodybuilders doing "finishing movements" when they don't even have much mass to shape like dumbbell concentration curls for 12-inch arms! I want to ask them, "Hey, what are you doing, shaping the bone?" Some of the most common injuries among beginners result from doing too much too soon. As a beginner, one of the most difficult things you'll ever face is holding yourself back from adding those extra exercises, sets, reps and plates before your body is ready for them. Because beginners often make good gains very quickly, many fall into the trap of thinking more is better. This is true later in the training equation, but not for a novice. Stick with the basics to build a solid foundation but don't overtrain. 

Breathing & Proper Form

Most of us breathe without thinking about it. That is until you start working out. Proper workout form demands that you breathe correctly. Here's how to breathe for any exercise you do:

• Take a deep breath before you start. When you reach the bottom position of each movement (which is most often where the most difficult portion of the movement begins), begin breathing out in a controlled manner until you reach the top position. Remember to inhale at the top or easiest part of the exercise, and exhale throughout the hardest part of the movement.

The Importance of Nontraining Days

Let's talk a little about days off. As a beginner, you're going to be brimming with enthusiasm for working out. After all, this is a new sport that promises to make your body look and feel great. But just as too little exercise won't stimulate your muscles to grow, too much won't either. Most beginners achieve growth spurts unparalleled by other levels of bodybuilders: Their bodies seem to literally grow overnight. Many beginners are also resilient to overtraining; they can push themselves into what would normally be the overtraining zone and their bodies will adapt to those demands by growing and getting stronger very quickly. If only it could last! But it doesn't. Soon the phenomenal growth rate slows down and the beginning bodybuilder enters the "more-intensity-for-any-growth" zone. That's why you need to give your body plenty of rest especially if it's still sore from your last workout to keep it fresh and growing. Never train a bodypart that's still sore from your last workout. By all means, stretch out and get blood flowing into the sore muscle area, but don't train that bodypart until it has fully recovered. Follow your beginner program to the letter and don't throw in an extra day of training just because you want your body to grow faster. It won't. If you're on a Monday- Wednesday-Friday program, take those remaining four days off for rest. And take one complete week off from working out for every six weeks of consistent training.  

Your Changing Nutritional Needs

Most beginners are interested in one thing - getting massive. Even if their training is right on target, if they neglect this one crucial component, they can kiss their dreams of big muscles goodbye. That component is diet. So, how's your diet? It should include: 

• 4 - 6 small meals per day.
• 55% calories from carbs, 35% from protein and 10% from fat.
• A good multivitamin/mineral supplement.
• 80 ounces of water daily.
• A carb drink with 50 - 75 grams of carbs within 30 minutes after your workout.
• 50 grams of protein within 90 minutes after working out. 

If you're missing any of these elements, then your diet is holding you back from maximizing bodybuilding gains. All of these are sound nutritional strategies that will give you a head start on building muscle mass while keeping bodyfat levels low.

What Should You Eat?

Let me give you a few recommendations. For protein, stick with lean sources, like lean beef (I recommend flank steak), skinless chicken and turkey, egg whites and a whey- or egg-based protein powder.

You have a number of choices when it comes to carbohydrates. For sustained energy, eat complex carbs such as vegetables, rice, whole grains and pasta. Simple carbs, including strawberries, melon, bananas, apples and grapefruit, provide quick energy, but should be eaten in moderation. 

If eating 4 - 6 balanced meals each day is difficult, substitute a protein shake for one or two of your regular meals. These are ideal for anyone who has a busy schedule. I also strongly suggest that you have a protein shake about 90 minutes before bedtime. I found that as a hard-training beginning bodybuilder, my body was in a near-constant state of hunger. I also discovered that the only thing that would keep my stomach from growling at night was a high-protein meal before bedtime. Eating my final meal at 6 or 7 p.m., and then waiting a full 12 hours before I ate breakfast, left me feeling weak, flat and lethargic. The extra late-night protein meal was the answer. Make sure, however, that you don't eat it too close to bedtime.  

When to Change your Workout

Often, a bodybuilder will find a routine and then stick with it, not because it works (though it may have been great at one time), but because it's comfortable, and change requires thought. But changing your routine not only signifies a jump to a higher level (for example, from beginner to intermediate), but also stimulates your muscles in new, growth-creating ways. When to change your training, however, cannot be generalized; genetics, training goals, level of previous experience, desire, existing level of strength and growth development are all major factors that must be considered before moving to the next level. As a rule, stay on your beginner program for at least four months. Training longer at this level will certainly not hurt you! During those four months, you should have developed excellent exercise form and have found your "exercise groove" using the basic movements, strengthened your muscles and connective tissue, and established the all-important mind- muscle link for increased intensity and greater results. Once you become an intermediate, you'll notice a number of changes: working out more frequently with more sets and heavier weights, using high-intensity training principles, increasing nutrient uptake and supplementation, and needing more rest. Most likely, you will want to add a few shaping movements to your routine. For someone wanting to gain muscle mass, the emphasis of his or her training should be on 90% compound movements and 10% isolation-shaping movements. Remember, you've got to have the size before you start chiseling your body!

Getting Ready for Intermediate Training

• Identify your goals. Do you want to gain muscle mass? Lose bodyfat? Maintain the muscle you have and improve definition? Decide exactly what it is that you want.
• If your goal is more muscle mass, then focus your attention on barbell and dumbbell movements, using a slightly longer rest time between sets with heavier weights.
• If your goal is to lose bodyfat and become more defined, then focus your attention on dumbbells, machines and cables. Pick up the pace, take shorter rest periods between sets, use lighter weight and do more reps.
• From a wide variety of exercises for each bodypart, create at least five whole-body workouts and do 2­3 different exercises for each bodypart every training day. The exercises should make use of the categories mentioned above (barbells, dumbbells, machines and cables) that conform to your goals.
• In a journal, write down every exercise you do and note how each felt. Did you get a great pump? Did you get sore? If so, how sore and for how many days? Did it make your muscles burn? Think of as many ways as possible to judge each exercise you do.
• Throw out the ineffective exercises and keep only those that your body responds to best. Find at least five excellent exercises for each bodypart.
• Now, execute 2­3 exercises of your top-five bodypart movements to do each workout. On the next workout, change the exercises.
• Constantly change the exercises, order performed, tempo of training, reps, weight, angles and rest between reps and sets. You've got to keep your body off-guard if you want it to grow, get stronger and be in better shape!

One of the best beginner programs is the three-days-a-week routine. For example, do a whole-body workout on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The other days are for rest. Begin your workout with legs, your biggest muscle group. Here's the routine: