If You’re Looking For A Simple, Effective Beginner’s Workout Plan, Read This Article. It’s Your 30 Day Challenge To Start Living A Leaner, Healthier Life, For Good.

Starting out on your fitness journey can be a daunting prospect, especially when it comes to knowing what to do in the gym. So to help ease that headache, here’s a complete 4 Week Beginner’s Workout. Your 30 Day Challenge to build muscle and lose fat, the sustainable way.

In this article, you’ll be guided through a simple, yet effective beginner’s workout, including what exercises to do, as well as sets, reps and tempos. And you can even download a handy PDF guide for free with links to instructional videos for all the exercises.

Not only that, you’ll discover exactly what you need to do when it comes to nutrition, so you can start making progress from Day 1.

So let me guide you through your brand new beginner’s workout.

And if you’d prefer to listen to the audio version of this article, click the play button below.

Is This Beginner’s Workout Right For You?

Most people who read my articles are somewhat of a beginner. Whether a complete newbie, or someone who’s been training aimlessly for years, there’s a need to go back-to-basics. So whether you do or don’t consider yourself to be a beginner, these beginner’s workouts can really help take your training to the next level.

The foundation of the programme is based around movement patterns. For example, squat, hinge, horizontal push, horizontal pull, etc. Becoming more proficient in this basic movement patterns allows you to increase your skill-level in the gym and progress to more challenging exercises in the future.

Think of this as laying down the solid foundations of a house… a House Of Gains!

“Are These Workouts For Me?”

You might be wondering if these workouts are for you. There’s a billion beginner’s workouts available on the internet, so how do you know this one is for you?

Good question. Here’s a quick checklist to determine if these are the workouts you’re looking for.

1. Are you new to the gym or feel aimless with your training?
2. Do you want to build muscle and get stronger (also known as “toned”)?
3. Do you have access to a gym (or well-equipped home gym)?
4. Can you train 3-4 times per week over the next 30 days?

If you answered YES to those 4 questions, this IS the beginner’s workout you’ve been looking for.

“But There’s Only 2 Workouts!”

The first thing that might surprise you about the programme is there isn’t many workouts. In fact, there’s just 2. And that’s for good reason.

At this stage, frequent repetition of exercises that give you a big “bang for your buck” not only increase your proficiency in the gym, it helps you build muscle in the most efficient way possible. On top of that, you don’t have to waste time learning 35 different exercises, across 7 different workouts. These beginner’s workouts are designed to maximise your time in the gym over the course of your 30 Day Challenge.

So we’ve established this workout programme is right up your alley. And you understand that simple, effective workouts done well is the best place for you to start. Now’s the time to get to work.

Your 4 Week Beginner’s Workout: Instructions

There’s both a male and female version of the training programme, which you can download for free (along with a comprehensive set of instructions and instructional videos) here.

Female Beginner’s Workout

Workout A

Include 1-2 sets of Ab crunches, if you have time.

Workout B

Include 1-2 sets of Ab crunches, if you have time.

Male Beginner’s Workout

Workout A

Include 1-2 sets of Ab crunches, if you have time.

Workout B

Include 1-2 sets of Ab crunches, if you have time.

“How Should I Warm Up?”

Warming up for your workouts doesn’t need to consist of getting sweaty on a treadmill for 10 minutes. Arguably, that’s a bad way to go about it. Instead, follow this simple approach when you begin each of your workouts.

Start by completing the following pyramid for the first exercise of the workout.

• 1 Set x 12 Reps @ 50% of your working weight.
  • 60 seconds rest.
• 1 Set x 10 Reps @ 50% of your working weight.
  • 60 seconds rest.
• 1 Set x 6 Reps @ 75% of your working weight.
  • 60 seconds rest.
• 1 Set x 3 Reps @ 90% of your working weight.
  • 2-3 minutes rest.

For each subsequent exercise, warm up with 1-2 sets at approximately 75% of your working weight. But judge the number of sets based on how ready you feel to lift heavier weights.

“What The Hell Is A Working Weight?”

A good question, which I knew you’d ask. So it’s a good job I prepared the answer. And here it is.

Your working weight is the weight you intend to lift for the main exercises of the workout.

Find your working weight by aiming to complete the number of reps at the bottom of the rep range. For example, if it says 12-15 reps, aim for 12. The 12th rep should be a struggle to lift. You may need to experiment until you find the appropriate weight for you.

“I Don’t Get The Tempo Number!”

Ok, now we’re getting into a little bit of gym lingo. But it isn’t as daunting or intimidating as you might think.

Typically, a tempo number looks something like this ‘3120’ and refers to the number of seconds each phase of the rep should last.

• Eccentric: This is the first number and relates to the “lowering’ part of the rep. For example, the descent in a squat, or lowering the dumbbell in a bicep curl.
• Pause: The second number is the pause at the bottom of the rep. For example, how many seconds you’ll spend at the bottom of the squat.
• Concentric: The third number is the ‘effort’ phase of the rep. Standing up in the squat, pressing the bar in a bench. Basically, the hardest part!
• Squeeze: The final number is the squeeze. How long you’ll spend in the contracted position.

Many people skip tempo. But don’t! This is a vital part of any beginner’s workout. Hell, it’s a key part of ANY workout. Following a tempo correctly helps minimise momentum, ensuring you lift the weight with the muscle you’re supposed to. Tempo is also used to help with the mind-muscle connection, ultimately helping you accelerate your progress in the gym.

So pay attention to how the tempos change from exercise to exercise.

“When Should I Add More Weight?”

Progressive overload and lifting more weight is the main goal. It won’t happen every week, but it should be the target. Follow these 2 rules to know when to increase the weight you’re lifting.

1. 1 More Rep!: Aim to complete at least 1 more rep than you did in the last workout (if you can).
2. Top Of The Range! When you can lift the same weight for the highest number of reps in the target rep range, for 2 sets in a row, increase the weight.

BUT MAINTAIN FORM!!! Never sacrifice form to lift more weight. This is a recipe for injury, not progress!

“When Do I Do The Workouts?”

The beauty of this workout and 30 Day Challenge is that it’s completely customisable to suit you. Whether you’re training 3 or 4 times a week, you’ll be making progress, regardless of when you train.

Training 3 Days Per Week:

• Weeks 1 & 3: Workout A, Workout B, Workout A.
• Weeks 2 & 4: Workout B, Workout A, Workout B.

It doesn’t matter what day of the week you do the workouts, as long as you follow the correct sequence. Ideally, plan a rest day between each workout to allow for recovery.

Training 4 Days Per Week:

• Weeks 1 – 4: Workout A, Workout B, Workout A, Workout B.

Again, it doesn’t matter what day of the week you train. Ideally, complete 2 workouts in a row and then take a rest day.

“Should I Do Some Cardio?”

Time to talk about the dreaded c-word. Thankfully, I’ve created your beginner’s workout programme with NO cardio. However, if you’re slightly mental and love cardio, feel free to do some. Also, if your step count during the day is <5-8k, you may want to consider adding some in to help create a larger calorie deficit.

And speaking of nutrition…

Grab Your FREE Calorie Guide For The 30 Day Challenge

To lose fat and build muscle, a workout programme is only part of the equation. So to supplement your beginner’s workout plan, I’m going to help you with your nutrition as well (don’t worry this is free too).

Nutrition can be a frustrating and overwhelming minefield. So I’m going to help you keep things as simple as possible. Once you download the beginner’s training programme, you’ll get access to the “Iron Paradise Fitness Guide To Calories”, giving you the evidence-based basics of nutrition you need, to start making progress from day one.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s included in the guide:

• What are calories?
• Are all calories created equally?
• What to consider when trying to minimise hunger on a diet.
• Understanding how many calories you burn each day.
• How to read a food label.
• …and more!

Plus, you’ll get exclusive access to a free online calorie and macro calculator, so you can understand how many calories you need to eat to achieve your goals. It takes the headache out of the process and saves you a huge amount of time.

Click here to grab the training programme (the guide will follow 24 hours later).

And the fun doesn’t stop there. Because once you download the programme, over the next few days I’ll send you some more free information to help kickstart your fitness journey, including:

• A guide on how to conquer your uncontrollable cravings.
• An exclusive recipe book with over 30 delicious, diet-friendly recipes.

So, if you follow the training programme, download the guides, and apply the information, this is truly going to do the best 30 Day Challenge you’ve ever done. So if you want all that, click here.

But for now, all I’ll say is… Keep living the Lean Life and I’ll see you soon.

How To Get The Most Out Of Your 4 Week Beginner’s Workout

Staying the course, being consistent, and maintaining motivation are crucial to getting the most from these beginner’s workouts. So to help you do just that, here’s 5 top tips to keep you on the right track over the next 30 days.

1. Train with a friend. Having the support and motivation of a friend is awesome. Plus, you’re less likely to skip a session if someone’s counting on you.
2. Start a Facebook Group. If you can get a group together, create a little place on social media where you can support, motivate, and inspire each other.
3. Track Your Progress. Keeping tabs on your progress both in and out of the gym will help you know if you’re on the right track.
4. Celebrate your achievements. Every day celebrate an achievement from the last 24 hours. Because, whether it’s big or small, it all helps create positive momentum.
5. Set yourself a reward at the end of the challenge. If you have a goal at the end of the 30 days, you’ll have something to motivate you.

You now have everything in place to kickstart your journey to a leaner, healthier life for good. Once you’ve completed the 30 day challenge, hit me up and let me know how you got on. I’d love to hear about your progress.

But until then, keep living the Lean Life, and I’ll see you soon.