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.

Reg Park’s Beginner’s Routine

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.