Beginner wants to make progress in Body Weight Training and needs programming advice

[minzoir]

Hello everyone

I (male, 24 y.o., 180 cm, 84 KG) would like to start body weight training.

I did a few workouts already and educated myself on what to do as a beginner. Regarding working out, I read that as a beginner one should focus on the basics (Squats, Pull ups, Push Ups, Dips, Pike Push Ups), in order to build a solid foundation until one reaches something like:

30 consecutive Push Ups

12 cons. Pull Ups

20 cons. Dips

Just as a note:

I am at 12 Push Ups (at least with perfect form, nose to ground and 0.5-1 second break at the bottom),

2-3 Pull Ups (grip is a little bit wider than shoulder width, overhead grip)

1-2 Dips (I don't get it, but for some reason I completely lack the strength for dips)

Now, to improve I came up with the following plan:

I always choose a difficulty, so that I can do 5-12 reps in a set.

• 3 sets of Pike Push Up
• 3 sets of Pull Up (overhead grip, wide)
• 3 sets of Push Ups
• 3 sets of Pull Up (tight neutral grip)
• 2 sets of easiest dip progression (where you have your feet elevated and the hands behind your back)
• 2-3 sets of hanging from a bar (to increase grip strength)

However, I have some questions about this for which I could not find answers until this point:

1: How often do you think I can do this workout ? 2 times/week? 3 times/week? My plan was to do this every other day...

2: For Pull Ups I read that doing negatives might help. So what I do is I try to do 1-3 normal reps, and then I do some negatives (going up and trying to go down as slow as possible) until I reach a about 6-8 reps in total. But I am not sure if this is too intense (i.e. going too close to failure)

3: In general, also for e.g. Push ups, I regularly have 2 (or even 3) sets in which I just stop if I know I could not do 1 more rep with good form. Is this too intense?

I would really appreciate some insights, since I found it to be extremely difficult to find something on "intensity", since this is such a subjective topic. Still, I would like to maybe get some thoughts on this.

Thanks in advance

 

[marvin54]

@minzoir Just do the recommended routine as a beginner, it's there for a reason. (In this sub)

 

[leoriofarel]

@marvin54 This video explains it nicely for anyone who hasn’t seen it.

 

[followup]

@minzoir Congrats on starting your bodyweight journey! Your plan looks good.

1) 3 times a week is generally ideal.

2) Starting with full pullups and finishing off with negatives is a good strategy. As you mentioned, slow negatives can be pretty intense, so progress slowly with those. Remember that what matters is not so much the number of reps, but the time under tension. With a slow negative, your time under tension is similar to several reps, so take that into account. Pullups assisted with a band are good to do as well. Alternatively, you could also do horizontal rows after your pullups.

3) Stopping at form failure (instead of muscle failure) is a good idea, since it is equivalent to keeping 1 or 2 reps in the tank before muscle failure. Keeping a couple reps in the tank (RIR of 2, or RPE of 8) is often advised, because it decreases the strain on your body without losing too much muscle development potential, so it's beneficial in the long-run.

More generally, you're gonna have to figure out what works well for you ;-) It doesn't matter that a specific training strategy is said to be optimal by some study or influencer, if it gets your injured, or not progressing. The most important is that you are consistent and keep track of your progress. That way, you can evaluate more objectively what works and what doesn't.

 

[aureliasoleil]

@minzoir Remember to always seek advice from a physician or professional trainers before starting any new exercise routine. Stick to working out every other day, around 3 times a week. If you can't do more reps with good form, it's okay to stop. Consistency and form are key—listen to your body and you'll progress steadily!