This workout program is designed for beginners looking to build strength and muscle using a push/pull/legs split, with a combined full-body session on the fourth day. All exercises can be found and tracked within the 12reps app, which will greatly benefit your training journey.
How the 12reps App Enhances Your Training
The 12reps app is an invaluable tool for any beginner embarking on a strength training journey. It offers a personalised approach to fitness, ensuring that your workouts are tailored to your specific goals, available equipment, and even your daily energy levels. Here’s how it can benefit you:
Personalised Plans: The app’s intelligent filtering system creates dynamic workout plans that adapt to you. Whether you’re aiming for muscle gain, fat loss, or improved endurance, and whether you have access to a full gym, home equipment, or just your bodyweight, 12reps will craft a plan that fits. This means no more guesswork or generic routines; every session is effective and engaging because it’s designed for you.
Effortless Progress Tracking: Say goodbye to manual logging. The 12reps app makes tracking every rep, set, and weight a seamless experience. You can easily visualise your progress with clear graphs and statistics, which is incredibly motivating as you see your strength increase and your physique change. The ability to track your personal bests (1RM) and share them on social media adds an extra layer of motivation and community.
Expert Guidance and Extensive Exercise Library: The app provides access to a vast library of over 1,300 strength exercises. Each exercise comes with detailed instructions, video demonstrations, and form tips from certified trainers. This is crucial for beginners, as proper form is essential for both effectiveness and injury prevention. You’re not just working out; you’re learning from experts, gaining confidence in your movements, and understanding the ‘why’ behind each exercise.
Flexibility and Customisation: Life can be unpredictable, and 12reps understands that. The app allows you to pre-plan your workouts and save them for later, or even create and save routines for future use. This flexibility ensures that your training fits into your life, rather than the other way around.
Beginner-Friendly: 12reps is perfectly suited for beginners. It adapts to your current fitness level and guides you step-by-step, allowing you to gradually increase intensity as you improve. This supportive environment helps you build a strong foundation and progress safely and effectively. By using the 12reps app, you’ll have a structured, guided, and motivating experience that will help you unlock your true strength and achieve your fitness goals.
Workout Schedule
•Day 1: Push Workout (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)
•Day 2: Pull Workout (Back, Biceps)
•Day 3: Legs Workout (Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves)
•Day 4: Full Body Workout (Combination of Push, Pull, Legs)
•Day 5-7: Rest/Active Recovery
Workout Details
Day 1: Push Workout
| Exercise | Weight | Sets | Reps | Rest Period |
| Barbell Bench Press | Light weight | 4 | 8-12 | 60-90 seconds |
| Incline Dumbbell Press | Light weight | 3 | 10-15 | 60-90 seconds |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | Light weight | 4 | 10-15 | 60-90 seconds |
| Lateral Raises | Light weight | 4 | 12-15 | 45-60 seconds |
| Triceps Pushdowns | Light weight | 4 | 10-15 | 45-60 seconds |
| Overhead Dumbbell Extension | Light weight | 3 | 10-15 | 45-60 seconds |
Day 2: Pull Workout
| Exercise | Weight | Sets | Reps | Rest Period |
| Lat Pulldown | Light weight | 5 | 8-12 | 60-90 seconds |
| Seated Cable Row | Light weight | 4 | 10-15 | 60-90 seconds |
| Face Pulls | Light weight | 4 | 12-15 | 45-60 seconds |
| Dumbbell Bicep Curls | Light weight | 4 | 10-15 | 45-60 seconds |
| Hammer Curls | Light weight | 3 | 10-15 | 45-60 seconds |
| Hyperextensions (Back Extension) | Bodyweight | 3 | 12-15 | 45-60 seconds |
Day 3: Legs Workout
| Exercise | Weight | Sets | Reps | Rest Period |
| Barbell Squats | Light weight | 4 | 8-12 | 60-90 seconds |
| Leg Press | Light weight | 4 | 10-15 | 60-90 seconds |
| Hamstring Curls | Light weight | 4 | 10-15 | 45-60 seconds |
| Leg Extensions | Light weight | 4 | 10-15 | 45-60 seconds |
| Standing Calf Raises | Bodyweight/Light weight | 4 | 15-20 | 30-45 seconds |
| Glute Bridges | Bodyweight | 3 | 12-15 | 45-60 seconds |
Day 4: Full Body Workout
| Exercise | Weight | Sets | Reps | Rest Period |
| Dumbbell Goblet Squat | Light weight | 5 | 10-15 | 60-90 seconds |
| Push-ups | Bodyweight | 4 | As many as possible | 60-90 seconds |
| Dumbbell Rows | Light weight | 4 | 10-15 | 60-90 seconds |
| Overhead Press (Dumbbell) | Light weight | 3 | 10-15 | 60-90 seconds |
| Plank | Bodyweight | 3 | Hold 30-60 seconds | 30-45 seconds |
| Lunges (Bodyweight) | Bodyweight | 3 | 10-12 per leg | 45-60 seconds |
Download the 12reps app to see all exercise demos and track your workout, sets, reps and weight.
Progression
As a beginner, your main focus should be on mastering proper form for each exercise. Once you can comfortably complete the recommended reps and sets with good form, you can gradually increase the weight. The 12reps app will help you track your progress and suggest appropriate increases.
Nutrition and Recovery
For optimal results, ensure you are consuming enough protein to support muscle growth (around 1.6-2.2g per kg of body weight) and getting adequate sleep (7-9 hours per night). The 12reps app can also help you stay consistent with your training, which is key for long-term progress.
Understanding the Push/Pull/Legs (PPL) Split
The Push/Pull/Legs (PPL) split is a popular and highly effective training methodology that organises your workouts based on movement patterns rather than individual muscle groups. This approach ensures that all major muscle groups are worked efficiently while allowing ample time for recovery, which is crucial for muscle growth and preventing overtraining, especially for beginners.
How the PPL Split Works:
Push Day: On this day, you train muscle groups involved in ‘pushing’ movements. This primarily includes your chest (pectoralis major and minor), shoulders (deltoid), and triceps. Exercises like bench presses, overhead presses, and triceps extensions fall into this category.
Pull Day: This day focuses on muscles involved in ‘pulling’ movements. This covers your back (lats, rhomboids, traps) and biceps. Examples include lat pulldowns, rows, and bicep curls.
Legs Day: As the name suggests, this day is dedicated to your lower body. You’ll work your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. Squats, leg presses, and lunges are staple exercises for legs day.
Benefits for Beginners:
Simplicity: The PPL split is easy to understand and follow. You don’t need to memorise complex muscle anatomy; just focus on whether an exercise involves pushing, pulling, or using your legs.
Frequency: This split allows you to train each major muscle group twice a week (when combined with a full-body day or repeated), which is optimal for muscle growth (hypertrophy) and strength gains in beginners.
Recovery: By grouping muscles that work together, you ensure that other muscle groups get sufficient rest. For example, after a push day, your chest and triceps recover while you train your back and biceps on pull day.
Efficiency: PPL workouts are typically efficient, allowing you to hit multiple muscle groups in a single session without spending excessive time in the gym.
Efficiency: PPL workouts are typically efficient, allowing you to hit multiple muscle groups in a single session without spending excessive time in the gym.
Our 4-day programme adapts this classic split by including a combined full-body session. This ensures a balanced approach, hitting all major muscle groups at least once a week, with some getting more frequent stimulation, which is ideal for accelerating beginner progress.
The Importance of Form and Progressive Overload
For any strength training programme, two principles stand paramount: proper form and progressive overload. Neglecting either can hinder your progress and increase the risk of injury.
Proper Form:
As a beginner, your absolute priority should be mastering the correct technique for each exercise. This means performing movements with control, engaging the target muscles, and avoiding compensatory movements that can strain other areas. The 12reps app is an invaluable asset here, with its extensive library of video demonstrations and form tips from certified trainers. Watching these demonstrations and even recording yourself to compare with the expert guidance can significantly improve your technique. Remember, lifting lighter weight with perfect form is far more beneficial than lifting heavy with poor form.
Progressive Overload:
This is the fundamental principle behind muscle growth and strength development. It means continually challenging your muscles to do more than they are accustomed to. For beginners, this typically involves:
Increasing the weight: Once you can comfortably complete the prescribed reps and sets with good form, slightly increase the weight.
Increasing the repetitions: If you can’t increase the weight yet, try to perform more repetitions with the same weight.
Increasing the sets: Adding an extra set to an exercise can also provide a new stimulus.
Decreasing rest times: Shortening the rest period between sets can increase the intensity.
Improving form: Even if the weight or reps don’t change, performing an exercise with better control and a fuller range of motion is a form of progression.
The 12reps app excels at helping you implement progressive overload. Its intuitive tracking system allows you to log every rep, set, and weight, making it easy to see your progress over time. This data-driven approach ensures you’re always challenging yourself appropriately, preventing plateaus and keeping your gains consistent.
Progression
As a beginner, your main focus should be on mastering proper form for each exercise. Once you can comfortably complete the recommended reps and sets with good form, you can gradually increase the weight. The 12reps app will help you track your progress and suggest appropriate increases.
Nutrition and Recovery
For optimal results, ensure you are consuming enough protein to support muscle growth (around 1.6-2.2g per kg of body weight) and getting adequate sleep (7-9 hours per night). The 12reps app can also help you stay consistent with your training, which is key for long-term progress.
Conclusion
This 4-day push/pull/legs workout program, combined with the power of the 12reps app, provides a solid foundation for any beginner looking to build strength and improve their fitness. Stay consistent, focus on form, and let the 12reps app guide you on your journey to unlocking your true strength.
