Barbell Exercises That Suit Beginners

The aim for beginners to weight training must be to lay the foundations for the intensive workouts that their bodies will eventually be subjected to. Obviously successful bodybuilding involves bringing together disparate elements such as nutrition and rest but choosing the right exercises is crucial. In this article we'll outline the barbell exercises that will enable new bodybuilders to develop the general strength and body conditioning needed.

Initially beginners should aim to complete two sets of ten to twelve reps but after a few weeks, when you have developed sufficient control and basic strength, experiment with one set of six to eight reps to failure. This will maximize your muscle growth and give you the impetus to move on to the next stage of development. Before long you'll find the use of this single piece of equipment restricting, so later in this series of articles we'll pull together a muscle boosting program that utilizes other equipment to take you to the intermediate level. In the meantime, get to work with these exercises in order to get used to working your muscles. 

Start off training four days per week and work body parts on the following basis not forgetting to incorporate rest days: 

Day 1 - Biceps, Back, Abs 
Day 2- Hamstrings, Shoulders, Abs 
Day 3 - Quads, Forearms, Calves 
Day 4 - Triceps, Chest, Abs 

The exercises recommended for beginners are as follows: 

CHEST: Bench press 

SHOULDERS: Upright row, military press, front shrug 

TRICEPS: Lying triceps extension, lying triceps extension with EZ curl bar 

BICEPS: Standing curl, EZ standing curl 

LOWER BODY: Squat, reverse lunge, calf raise