Reg Park’s Beginner’s routine below was also used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in his late teens to get big. Reg Park trained using this routine 3 times a week and it comprised mainly of heavy compound movements done with his “5×5″ program. Reg Park advocated that sets 1 and 2 are to be warmups for sets 3,4 and 5. In other words once you hit your max weight for five reps after two warmups, then crank out 3 sets of 5. For example, for bench press exercise, the first set would be at 60% of your 1 rep max – 135 lbs, then the next warmup set could be 80% of your 1 rep max – 185lbs and then the next 3 sets would be at 90% of 1 Rep Maximum– 225lbs for 5 reps. Reg also recommends to take anywhere from three to five minute resting periods between each set to ensure you recover fully and can use maximum poundage.
Workout A:
Back Squats 5×5
Chin-Ups or Pull-Ups 5×5
Dips or Bench Press 5×5
Barbell Curls 2×10
Wrist Work 2×10
Calves 2×15-20
Workout B:
Front Squats 5×5
Rows 5×5
Standing Press 5×5
Deadlifts 3×5 (2 warm-up sets and 1 “stabilizer set”)
Wrist Work 2×10
Calves 2×15-20
Training Schedule:
Week 1: A, B, A
Week 2: B, A, B
Week 3: A, B, A and so forth.