Tip How to Make the Most Newbie Gains Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip How to Make the Most Newbie Gains New to lifting Here are some common mistakes to avoid and a simple plan for getting strong by Aaron Fick October 24, 2017August 18, 2019 Tags Powerlifting & Strength, Tips, Training As a beginner, you need very little stimulus to create an adaptation. Doing more isn't going to make you grow any faster; it's just going to slow your progress. You must be patient and let the body grow. After your warm-up sets, three working sets of five reps on the bench, squat, and lat pulldowns are all you need to stimulate the body enough to grow. It's boring, but enjoy it. You'll wish gains came this easy when you're older and stronger. Below is an example of this training method: Day 1 Bench Press: 3x5 Lat Pulldown or Barbell Row: 3x5 Squat: 3x5 Day 2 Off Day 3 Repeat day 1 with 5 or 10 more pounds on all the lifts. Day 4 Off Repeat this model from week to week. It's seriously this simple. Lift, eat, sleep, and grow. You might not even need to spend an hour in the gym at this point. And it might not feel like you're getting shredded or putting in hard work. Why? Because you just aren't strong enough to make it hard. Benching 95 pounds for 3 sets of 5 is going to take about 10 minutes, warm-up included. Same with a 135-pound squat. All the more reason you should focus on this and get away from being weak. This can be the hardest stage of training. It's bland, it's boring, and you don't feel like you're doing a lot. Just focus on your numbers for motivation and watch them go up because this is the quickest way to escape weakness. Deadlifts and overhead pressing should eventually be added after a couple of months of this basic beginner stage. They simply just aren't that important right now. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip The Bodyweight Back Challenge Sick of push-up challenges? Switch things up with this and balance out your home training. Training Gareth Sapstead April 25 Training Tip High Box Squat with Safety Bar When you have knee or shoulder issues, this is a good alternative to a standard squat. This is the touch-and-go version with chains for overload at the top. Bodybuilding, Exercise Coaching, Legs, Tips Eirik Sandvik March 20 Training Tip Hand Walkouts Train your core anywhere with this exercise. Add a weight vest to make it tougher. Do it from your knees if it's too difficult. Abs, Exercise Coaching, Tips Ben Bruno October 15 Training Tip Medicine Ball Slam Proper Form To do this correctly, resist forward flexion and stay more upright. Athletic Performance, Exercise Coaching, Tips Eric Bach June 18