Gym training program for beginners 3 times a week

Biography facts

Vincent Anselmo Gironda was born in 1917, Ventura, USA in the family of a stuntman and a housewife. In 1925, my father was offered to star in a film about Jesus Christ, and everyone moved to Los Angeles. Captivated by his father’s adventurous profession, the teenager could not even imagine that he would take up strength sports. Bodybuilding came into life at the age of 19, when the guy saw a photograph of John Grimek. When looking at the athlete’s figure, something clicked in the guy’s head. He immediately went to a local gym that belonged to the Christian Association, where he trained for 8 months. Then he moved to the Easton Brothers Club, and there he began experimenting with training methods. In 1948, he opened his own hall , which existed until 1995.

Perfect Push Up Workout Plan

4 weeks/3 times a week/Master level

Advice for the first day of the first week

This perfect push-up workout plan works more than just your pecs. Using the rotation of the support, you can work the muscles of the entire upper body. Ideal push-ups help target only certain muscles to increase their strength. If you cannot complete all the required repetitions of the exercise at once, kneel down and complete them in this position.

Muscles that move during push-ups

First of all: pectoral and shoulder muscles, as well as triceps muscles of the shoulder (triceps) Secondly: biceps brachii muscles (biceps), forearm muscles, abdominal muscles, quadriceps muscles of the thigh

Brief description of the training system

This training regimen uses rotating weights that will allow you to target your upper body muscles to make them stronger and stronger, making your body one that will definitely have people staring at you. The unique design of the tool used in these classes allows you to stimulate all of the specified muscles. This training system takes full advantage of all possible benefits.

This workout plan will work your muscles to the max. It is designed for those who desire significant changes and incredible results.

Three days to achieve results

The exercises of this training regimen only need to be performed three times a week. By doing this, you will be performing push-ups that work your chest muscles, shoulder muscles, and all the muscles in your upper body. Each group of exercises has something new that allows you to achieve results that have never been seen before.

Since this plan allows at least 48 hours between sessions, there is room to add other exercise routines outside of the main schedule of the plan.

More than just working the pectoral muscles

The circuit offers a complete system of ideal push-ups, thanks to which your arms, shoulders and chest will become stronger. At the same time, the muscles supporting the core will become more stable and, in addition, grip strength will increase.

Strengthening your muscles will change you

The ideal push-ups of this training scheme differ greatly from the standard methods of performing them, mainly in the height of the support and the possibility of its rotation. By performing the various groups of exercises used in this training regimen, you will find it difficult to use your stabilizing muscles and overcome increasing fatigue. But all this will make your upper body excellent.

Complete the program to the end

Don't even think that this training regimen is simple. It is quite complex. Many who undertake this program, even those with significant fitness experience, will find that they are unable to complete the number of repetitions required, especially in the early stages.

This should not discourage you, since the whole essence of the program is self-development and overcoming oneself.

A training regime with the perfect push-up will take you on a whole new trajectory for your body's development. All that is required is to learn and improve a few new exercises and properly tune in to it psychologically. This workout regimen will get you stronger, leaner, and in better shape than you've ever been before.

Star Trainer

A couple of years later, everyone involved in heavy sports knew his name. In the 50s, film studios sent actors to him for training. Vince guaranteed to get them in shape in a matter of months and teach them to love sports. He always kept his promises. The list of students included: Brian Keith, Denzel Washington, Erik Estrada, Clint Eastwood and others.

They considered him the best mentor and called him a wizard.

The famous trainer trained a galaxy of champion bodybuilders. The following trainers used the author's method : Larry Scott, Freddie Ortiz, Reg Lewis, Pete Caputo, Don Howard, Sergio Oliva and many others.

Start by organizing a split

For the first four weeks, you'll do a two-day split, split between upper and lower body workouts. You'll train all major muscle masses to build a strong, well-proportioned body while also avoiding muscle imbalances that occur when you spend more time on some muscles than others. This imbalance can result in an injury that will set you back a long way.

By training all major muscle groups, you will build a strong and proportional body.

Gironde system

Many believe that he worked exclusively with celebrities and titled athletes. Actually this is not true. Vince took custody of promising newcomers and worked out the system on them. It was noticeably different from standard methods.

So, contrary to the statement that the number of training sessions for a beginning athlete per week should not exceed 3, Gironda insisted that in the first seven days you need to train for 6 days, giving the body a day of rest. If other coaches recommended performing 10 repetitions in 3 sessions, then Vince suggested :

1. In the 1st week - limit yourself to 1 set.
2. In the 2nd week I added 1 more set.
3. In the 3rd week I brought it up to 3.
4. On the 4th I installed a 3-time regimen with pauses every other day.

Push-up program table

By following this training program, you will seriously work on your pectoral muscles and increase your baseline to at least a high enough physical readiness test (push-up section).

For example, on Monday of the first week you should perform 3 sets of 10 push-ups, rest for 10 minutes, and then perform 2 sets of 10 push-ups.

If something works fine, why change everything?

For six months, the young athletes worked in a given mode, changing the set of exercises from time to time. This system allowed:

• avoid monotony and sports plateau;
• maintain motivation;
• pump up your muscles from all angles.

Moreover, Gironda advised to change programs more often, others - to stick to it for several months and not remove their favorite exercises from the complex.

The coach took a philosophical approach to the matter and stated:

If there are no breakdowns in a well-functioning mechanism, there is no need to repair it. When there are results, why change anything.

Secrets of Interval Training

For HIIT, burning 2% body fat in 8 weeks couldn't be easier.
And this was scientifically proven in 2001. Participants in a study at East Tennessee State University in the United States who did a HIIT program actually experienced a 2% fat loss over 8 weeks.

1. Australian scientists found that women who did 20 minutes of high-intensity interval training, which alternated between 8 seconds of sprinting and 12 seconds of rest, burned six times more fat than participants who did 40 minutes of constant-intensity fat-burning cardio.
2. The main reason why high-intensity training has a fat-burning advantage over steady-intensity training is the increased metabolism after HIIT. After high-intensity training, your body continues to burn calories for another whole day! This was proven by a study conducted in 1996 at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. The subjects who did a high-intensity interval training program on exercise bikes burned significantly more calories in the 24 hours after the workout than the participants who exercised as usual!
3. In addition to boosting your metabolism, high-intensity interval training boosts your metabolism, which helps burn fat and prevent fat storage. The process of lipid oxidation—that is, fat burning—in your muscle fibers occurs faster if you engage in high-intensity training.
4. Reduce fat-storing enzymes. A study conducted at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim shows that HIIT can reduce fat-storing enzymes. Metabolic syndrome participants showed 100% greater reductions in fat-storing enzymes after 16 weeks of high-intensity interval training than their counterparts after a steady-state, moderate-intensity program. Sounds amazing, right?

But there's more evidence that high-intensity interval training is effective at burning fat forever.

Vince Gironda training program

One of the key points is maintaining a consistent progression in loads. He advised starting with light weights and adding kilograms as the muscle frame strengthens. After all, overload requires endurance and excessive energy consumption, causing psychophysical fatigue.

According to Vince, a heavy barbell does not immediately stimulate hypertrophy.

First, endurance increases and tendons become stronger. Results in weight gain appear only with a combination of diet and rest, and training at the same hour.

Complex for beginners:

1. To develop the torso - bringing your arms together in a block simulator.
2. Shoulders - short block rows.
3. Deltoids - dumbbell flyes.
4. Triceps - close grip presses.
5. Biceps - bending limbs with a barbell.
6. Posterior thighs - leg curls in a lying machine.
7. Quadriceps - leg extensions.
8. Shins - tiptoe raises.
9. Press – leg raises, different versions of crunches.

Comments: if you are underweight, it is better to exclude abdominal exercises or perform them sometimes according to your mood.
The peculiarity of all practices is focusing on the work of target muscles and the development of neuromuscular connections.

8x8 training program.

Want to shock your muscles? The 8x8 training program is just for this. Follow this protocol for 5-6 weeks and watch your muscles grow.

Your body can adapt to anything. Try tormenting him with this extreme program for several weeks in a row. Do you know what will happen? Very soon, training will no longer seem difficult.

To keep progressing, you need to surprise your muscles. One of the fundamental laws of bodybuilding is that if you want sustainable growth, you must use shocking incentives at the first sign of stagnation in your results.

Legendary bodybuilder and trainer Vince Gironda believed that periodic shaking is the best tool for muscle growth. His 8x8 technique - 8 sets of 8 repetitions - became a real lifeline for bodybuilders whose muscles needed shock therapy. If you're starting to notice that your workouts aren't as hard as they once were, you definitely need to try this protocol.

Vince Gironda's full body workout routine is super effective. But I must warn you: the protocol is not for the faint of heart! Each workout involves a colossal amount of load in the rep range for hypertrophy, so there will never be a dull moment.

I have no doubt that after completing one of the proposed workouts, you will crawl out of the gym on all fours. But your suffering will be justified. The body will have no choice but to adapt to the load through muscle growth and increased calorie burning. This is exactly what we achieve when we come to the gym.

Training program 8x8 - shock program.

The workout takes place at a high pace and with high intensity.

Start right off the bat - train two days in a row, and then devote two days to complete rest. Swing, rest, repeat. The load will be prohibitive, so be sure to give your body enough time to recover before your next trip to the gym.

Every day you will do one exercise for each body part - 8 sets of 8 repetitions. That's right: it's a full-body, high-frequency split.

This approach may seem strange to many of you, but it is a great alternative, especially if you have been working on a standard split for a long time, built on the principle of dividing training into body parts. The frequency and total volume of the load will be a shock for the muscles and will give rise to serious adaptation processes.

Rest pauses between sets should not exceed 30 seconds. This is shock therapy, so don't sit between sets. Rest 5 minutes between exercises. Your task is to squeeze the maximum out of your muscles, to go beyond your own expectations and training abilities.

Follow this program for a maximum of 5-6 weeks. Try increasing your working weights every two weeks. And remember, this is a temporary measure, so you can be patient and really give it your best.

8x8 training program

Monday.

1. Running on a treadmill (medium pace) – 1 set of 10 minutes.

2. Barbell press lying on a horizontal bench – 8 sets 8 reps.

3. Barbell press, standing (Military press) – 8 sets 8 reps.

4. Back squats - 8 sets 8 reps.

5. Dips (additional weight) – 8 sets 8 reps.

6. Deadlift with a barbell - 8 sets of 8 reps.

7. EZ Raise - Barbell Curls - 8 sets 8 reps.

8. Shrugs with dumbbells - 8 sets of 8 reps.

9. Leg curls in the simulator, sitting - 8 sets of 8 repetitions.

Tuesday.

1. Running on a treadmill (medium pace) – 1 set of 10 minutes.

2. Reduction of arms on lower blocks, lying on a horizontal bench – 8 sets of 8 repetitions.

3. Dumbbell flyes, standing – 8 sets 8 reps.

4. Squats - jump - 8 sets 8 reps.

5. Triceps extensions from the upper block (rope) – 8 sets of 8 repetitions.

6. Wide-grip vertical row to the chest – 8 sets 8 reps.

7. Pulldown from the lower block to the chin - 8 sets of 8 reps.

8. Lunges with a barbell - 8 sets of 8 reps.

9. Crunches on a vertical block – 8 sets 8 reps.

Wednesday, Thursday: (rest)

Friday.

1. Running on a treadmill (medium pace) – 1 set of 10 minutes.

2. Incline dumbbell press – 8 sets 8 reps.

3. Seated dumbbell press – 8 sets 8 reps.

4. Leg press in the simulator (medium stance, shoulder-width apart) – 8 sets of 8 repetitions.

5. Barbell bench press with a narrow grip – 8 sets 8 reps.

6. Bent-over barbell row – 8 sets 8 reps.

7. Barbell curls for biceps – 8 sets 8 reps.

8. Shrugs with a barbell - 8 sets of 8 reps.

9. Straight-legged barbell row – 8 sets 8 reps.

Saturday.

1. Running on a treadmill (medium pace) – 1 set of 10 minutes.

2. Incline dumbbell curls – 8 sets 8 reps.

3. Alternating swings of dumbbells in front of you - 8 sets of 8 repetitions.

4. Straightening the legs in the simulator - 8 sets of 8 repetitions.

5. Wide grip pull-ups – 8 sets 8 reps.

6. French press with dumbbells, seated - 8 sets 8 reps.

7. Alternating biceps curls with hammer dumbbells – 8 sets 8 reps.

8. Lying leg curls – 8 sets 8 reps.

9. Shrugs with a barbell - 8 sets of 8 reps.

10. Leg raises - 8 sets 8 reps.

Sunday: (rest)

Advice.

Choose a working weight with which you can confidently perform all 8 sets of 8 repetitions. You'll only have 30 seconds to rest between sets, so don't go too heavy.

Try not to turn sets into rest-pause training. However, you shouldn’t rush to the other extreme either - don’t set the “weight of the pen” with which you will finish each of the eight approaches in one breath. Choose a normal load, with which the last two repetitions will be very difficult.

Don't lose efficiency by fiddling with your phone, choosing music, or chatting with friends.

Vary your workouts to keep progressing

Get ready to take your training to the next level in eight weeks! As a beginner, you will see a noticeable jump in strength in just a month. You will also find that progress slows and stops if you do the same program for too long. That's why this program includes elements that support your progress: changing your training split, increasing training volume for each body part, and increasing intensity, which means using more weight in a lower rep range.

It is important to understand how changing the strength training variables listed above affects muscle and strength gains. By learning to manipulate these variables, you can keep your workouts fresh and find new challenges to overload your target muscles.

Follow the 12 key principles in this article and you won't be a beginner for long.

Get ready to take your training to the next level in eight weeks

Exercise categories

The exercises in this program are divided into three categories:

1. Heavy compound movements : squat, bent-over row, bench press, deadlift, military press, pull-up. Their intensity will be the highest.
2. Assistance Exercises : Squat Assistance Exercise, Bench Press Assistance Exercise, and Military Press Assistance Exercise. Their intensity will be quite high, but lower than that of exercises from the first category.
3. Assistance exercises : Less intense exercises for muscle growth.

Basics of proper push-up technique

Rotation instead of linear motion

Push-ups are not pushing your body off the floor in a straight line. The body moves like a clock hand around an axis - the feet, which do not leave the floor.

Is the body on the same straight line?

Yes, the body needs to be kept in one straight line. But a common mistake is that we take the top of the gluteal muscles instead of the hip joint as one of the points on this straight line.

The five main points of our straight line: ankles, knees, hip joint (not gluteal muscles), head. The buttocks will protrude upward above this straight line.

Natural curve of the spine

The spine cannot be kept absolutely straight, as it is curved in the lumbar region. The mistake is to tense your buttocks and fully straighten your spine. If everything is correct, then after photographing yourself in the starting position for push-ups, you can turn the photo vertically and the position of your body will be the same as if you were standing upright.

To avoid too much arching, tense your abdominal muscles, supporting your spine from below. Imagine that you are stretching your spine rather than compressing it.

Incorrect: Squeeze your buttocks

Trainers often advise tightening your buttocks to prevent your body from sagging. It is not right!

That's right: tighten your quads.

You need to tense your quadriceps and adductor muscles of the hips. It is the muscles of the hips and core that help stabilize the spine. Tightening your quadriceps also helps keep your knees straight. Concentrating on tightening your hips is especially helpful when you're doing advanced pushups with added weight.

Hips: raise or lower

Ideally, the hips are in line with the spine. But it would be better if they were a little higher than to sag down. Hips higher is actually an even more difficult position, as you need to tighten the muscles more. It's not perfect, but at least it's not dangerous.

But a very common problem is sagging hips. This is a signal that the muscles are not tense enough. And because of this, more load is placed on the spine. “Lazy” push-ups are often done this way, because you need to strain your muscles less and the range of motion is smaller. But as a result, you have an achievement - a bunch of push-ups that kill your back and don’t work the right muscles. Time certainly well spent.

Head and neck

Pressing your chin to your chest is often recommended by trainers. But it's not right. The neck should be in a neutral position, in line with the spine.

Hand position

Raising your arms to the sides at an angle of 70-90 degrees is incorrect. This position is potentially traumatic for the joints. Most trainers recommend 45 degrees - and this is better. But ideally - 10-20 degrees to the body! The shoulder blades need to be brought together, lowered down - and the elbows almost pressed to the body (10-20 degrees).

It is this position of the shoulders (part of the arms from the elbow to the shoulder joint) that will help you open your chest. And this is the ideal position for push-ups.

Feet

Feet are on tiptoes, only toes touch the floor. During push-ups, your feet should be perpendicular to the floor. Paying attention to these details will help you keep your body in the correct position for push-ups.

Palms

The position of your palms during push-ups plays the same role as the position of your feet during squats.

Fingers should be pointing forward. But instead of touching the floor with your entire palm, try making a “cup” with them.

Push-up depth

Ideally, you should almost touch the floor at the bottom of the exercise. Maximum you can touch the floor with your chest (but it’s better not to touch).

Diet and nutrition during training

As we have already said, the Chris Gethin method and his diet are connected. It is nutrition, according to the author of the program, that plays one of the main roles in the race for ideal body shapes. For example, from the first day of working on yourself, Chris recommends not skipping breakfast. During it, you can eat egg whites, oatmeal and coffee. An alternative option is a kind of omelette made from proteins, white chicken meat and a pinch of oatmeal.

For second breakfast, Chris recommends eating lean steak and brown rice. About 3 hours after this, it makes sense to eat sweet potatoes, boiled chicken and broccoli (it is recommended to repeat the same sequence of dishes 3 hours after lunch). Next you will find boiled or grilled fish, brown rice and broccoli.

Immediately before training in the daytime, Chris Gethin's method suggests eating some fish (tilapia fillets), brown rice and drinking coffee. After playing sports, it is recommended to drink a protein mixture of Vitargo, creatine and glutamine. For dinner, according to the author’s advice, you need to eat broccoli and lean steak. And for those who like to eat at night, Chris recommends replacing food with a whole grain snack.

A real example from the author’s practice

A striking example of the effectiveness of Chris’s technique is the extraordinary transformation of Patrick Magno, an ordinary social worker from California. Despite his relatively small age (at the time of the experiment he was 29 years old), he could not boast of a slender and stately figure. Since his meals consisted mostly of fast food, it was easy to guess that Patrick suffered from excess body fat.

However, the announcement of a competition with a rather attractive cash prize forced him to radically change his life. Having set a goal, Magno worked hard using the Chris Gethin method. And by following his diet, in the end he was able not only to lose weight, reducing his fat percentage from 24 to 6, but also to make his figure simply ideal. And, of course, such works could not help but be appreciated by the jury members. Thus, Patrick Magno received the main prize, improved his health and acquired an attractive muscle profile.

In a word, the technique works. To implement it, you need to get used to a special daily routine and be patient.

Get to failure more often with the reverse pyramid method

In the second phase, the number of repetitions is built on the principle of a reverse pyramid. This means that after warming up sets on a particular exercise (do as many as you feel necessary, but never take warm-up sets to failure), you choose a weight with which you can only reach the target number of repetitions. This will be the maximum weight for this exercise, because in each subsequent set you will do the same or more repetitions (therefore, you will use slightly less weight).

The reverse pyramid technique—a series of sets of decreasing weight and increasing reps—will allow you to work to failure on each set. By comparison, in a regular pyramid, lighter sets are not taken to muscle failure. Again, it's important to note the relationship between multiple sets to failure and anabolism, the state that supports muscle growth.

Scheme for correct push-ups

For the busiest ones, here is a brief preparation plan. Next, each point will be described in detail so that there are no questions left about how to do push-ups correctly.

technique for performing correct push-ups

1. The head is neither raised nor lowered.
2. The shoulders are not raised to the chin, the shoulder blades are slightly brought together.
3. The hips and core muscles (abs, back) are tense to keep the pelvis in line with the torso and heels.
4. The buttocks and knees do not sag, the quadriceps (not the glutes) are tense.
5. Feet are perpendicular to the floor.
6. From this position we lower ourselves down without spreading our elbows, almost touching the floor at the lowest point.

Learn to train to failure

While in the first phase we recommended choosing a weight that brings you close to muscle failure, in the second phase you will have to learn the limits of your physical capabilities. This means that if you can complete one more rep in a set with proper form, go ahead. Continue as long as you can complete the repetitions on your own and according to all the rules.

However, do not forget that if you can perform more repetitions than planned for a given exercise, you need to increase the load. Conversely, if you can't reach your target number of reps, the load is likely too heavy and you should reduce the weight.

Once you've fine-tuned your weight, keep in mind that your goal is muscle failure, with the exception of your warm-up sets. And remember, you can't sacrifice technique to lift too much weight.