"It is a disgrace to grow old through sheer carelessness before seeing what manner of man you may become by developing your bodily strength and beauty to their highest limit." - Socrates

This guide is for absolute beginners and people who have been lifting without following a proper program. People who do not exercise at all have the most benefits to reap from this.

Keep in mind I'm not a coach. The information here is taken from Stronglifts and Starting Strength methods. For detailed execution of the lifts, refer to these methods or any source you prefer. The point of this article is to present information in a simple manner and stimulate research / action on the subject.

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Why you should do it

  • Potential. Read quote above. A man is built. A man is remembered by his deeds. You don't want to be another 40 year old weakling (assuming you're younger), with a beer belly that can barely walk 3 storeys upstairs. You also don't want to be another 20-something year old, a male at age of high-performance, that can barely do a pullup.
  • Health benefits. Assuming you don't do any other exercise: you're missing huge health gains. Exercise = longevity. It also means increased energy, focus and improved mood. This is pretty common knoweldge and the science evidence is massive. If you can't even get your ass up to do something that is proven to make you live longer, which is a basic instinct, you have a serious problem. Exercising is non-negotiable if you are to take yourself seriously.
  • Strength. It is a reason in itself. Strength is at the core of what masculinity is. Not only physical strength, but that's beyond this post. It hurts, it takes time, discipline. And that is why it is beautiful. You may feel like not going to the gym despite making awesome progress. You may feel like giving up when you fail to lift. It takes effort. It separates the low-performance from high-performance people.

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Core principles & Exercises

  • Intensity. As a beginner, strength trainning provides the most rewards for you to reap. ST = intensity = big (relative) weight. For the purposes of this guide, if you can lift a weight 8+ times for multiple sets, you're warming up.
  • Effort. Goes hand-in-hand with intensity. Going to the gym to curl 8kg (17lb) dumbbells is a very inefficient use of time. You must give your best. It shouyldn't be easy. Not too hard, but definitely not easy. You should sweat. You should breathe deeply from heavy effort. More details on 'How to begin' below.
  • Full-body. Forget about working out 'areas' of your body. Forget about getting big biceps / pecs / whatever. Your main priorities as beginner are to build strenght and technique. You need to strengthen your whole body. That is why you'll only do compound lifts, that is, lifts that work out multiple muscles. Also because more muscles involved = more weight lifted.
  • Progressive overload. This is the core of trainning. You'll be increasing the weight on your lifts with time. At first, very quickly. However it is only natural that gains come slower with time, see the diminishing returns principle.
  • Simplicity. 5 exercises. 2 workouts. 3 different compound lifts per workout.

What you'll be doing:

  1. Squat. Probably the most important lift here. Squat is the closest main lift to the walking movement pattern. Heavily trains your quads, which make up the majority of your thighs. Walking upstairs becomes unremarkable after your quads get used to lifting your body + your body weight in iron. It also heavily stimulates you core muscles, whose importance is way bigger than you imagine. How to squat (lower bar)? or How to squat (upper bar)? Lower = more back use, upper = more quad use.
  2. Deadlift. Similar to squat. Provides tremendous stimulus for your core. Core = abs + spinal erectors + glutes. Deadlift is the exercise in which you can naturally lift the most weight. For this reason, technique is extremely important. There is no shortage of footage showing people curving their entire backs while DLing. This is poor technique and poor technique will hurt you. Doing it correctly, DL will provide great core gains and motivation. You'll lift weights you never thought you'd. How to deadlift?
  3. Overhead Press. Personal favorite. Weakest move pattern (vertical push) of all here. OHP works your triceps and delts, very useful muscles but relatively weak ones. For me OHP technique is the trickiest to nail down. Yet, I'd say it feels like the most masculine of the lifts. Lifting heavy stuff above head level is no easy task. Make sure to read source material and watch tutorial videos. How to overhead press? and How to overhead press (Starting Strength).
  4. Bench Press. Strongest lift when it comes to upper body. BP works mostly your pecs, which are very important, but also triceps and delts to a minor extent. BP is not as straightforward as it looks. Again, read the source and watch the videos. BP requires correct shoulder position, wrist angle, spine curve and leg positioning. Most people just lay on the bench and push the barbell up. They lift less than they could with proper technique, with less safety, and only until their shoulders give in. This is not a problem with proper technique. How to bench press?
  5. Barbell / Pendlay Row. Rows will work mainly your middle/upper back muscles and biceps. And thus we have a full-body workout program. Most important thing about the row is to make sure you're lifting from a dead stop, like DL. Don't pick the bar, bend your torso down and bounce the bar in the air. Bend your torso all the way until the weights hit the ground / a small platform if needed. As always, watch the videos / read the source. How to barbell row?

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How to begin

Start with weights lower than your actual capability in order to nail down technique and get your body used to making effort. Follow the tutorials. Start with either empty barbell, lightly-loaded barbell for DL or dumbbells in case you can't lift the barbell. You'll be sore the first times, it's completely normal. Your body is getting used to stimuli it didn't have.

Your objective is to increase the weight you lift. During this time, you may be increasing your weights every single workout session. 2.5kg max increase (5lbs). Lower increase is not a problem. Bigger jumps, except for deadlift, are not good. For DL you can increase up to 5kg (11lbs) per workout.

Watch the videos listed above and search more by yourself. Read Stronglifts 5x5 for more details or Starting Strength, wich is similar.

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What you won't be doing: Don't use machines. Don't lift weak-ass pinky dumbbells. You equipment is the barbell and a barbell rack for squat/OHP or bench for BP. Load it with as much weight as you can lift for 5 reps, 5 sets (1 set in DL case) and good painless technique.

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Rest & Nutrition

These are essential parts of your workout lifestyle, and just as important as lifting, if not more. I won't get in as much detail as I did for the lifting, you can research more by yourself.

Lifting is the stimulus for the body to adapt. Your body can't adapt without proper nutrients and recovery.

For nutrition, your first objective, in case you're like I was and ate too little, to eat enough / eat big. Not all the nutrients you put in your stomach get to your blood. From these, a small portion will be used to build muscle. This it is of utmost importance you have enough proteins, fats and carbs flowing through your blood. After that, you should eat healthy.

Eating big but eating like shit will destroy you in the long run. It is not sustainable. The whole point of this is to build a healthy lifestyle. Also, eating healthy will provide you nutrients of greater quality (vitamins, fibers, better fats and carbs), thus improving your health. More health = more energy = bigger lifts.

Recovery is self-explanatory. Your body needs time to work throught the tissue damage caused by lifting. Insufficient rest also means less energy and focus. Less energy = more failures = smaller lifts.

Anything that impacts your health also impacts your lifts. Better health = bigger lifts. More lifts = better health.

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Conclusion

Lift heavy, lift smart. Get enough nutrients and recovery. For more details on the trainning philosophy and why it works, see Stronglifts 5x5. You also get a detailed description + video for each exercise in that guide.

Make sure to always keep your technique on point. Everyone develops bad habits.

Be a better version of yourself.