How many days a week do you train on this programme?

You train five days a week, with one main exercise and three accessory exercises each day, followed by two days of rest or active recovery. If five consecutive training days do not fit your schedule, you can insert a rest day and move the remaining sessions accordingly.

How heavy should you lift in the main exercises?

The weights are calculated as a percentage of your 1RM from week 1: 80% in weeks 2 and 5, 85% in weeks 3 and 6, and 90% in weeks 4 and 7, with repetitions falling from four to two as the weight rises.

How do you find your 1RM?

Test one exercise per day so you are rested. Start with three to five warm-up sets and gradually increase the weight, then attempt one repetition and add weight after each successful lift. The heaviest weight you can lift with good technique is your 1RM. Stop adding weight if your technique begins to fail.

What can you do on active recovery days?

You can take a leisurely walk, cycle lightly or do some simple mobility exercises. Keep the intensity low so the activity does not tire you out or affect the next strength session.

What if you do not have the equipment for an accessory exercise?

You can replace it with an exercise that trains the same muscles. The five main exercises, however, should be kept throughout the training period so you can track progress from week 1 to week 8.

Strength Program for Beginners with Five Weekly Sessions | Hardworkout Magazine

Key takeaways

- The programme runs for eight weeks with five strength sessions a week, built around squats, bench press, deadlifts, standing barbell shoulder press and bent-over barbell rows.

- Week 1 is used to test 1RM in all five main exercises, one exercise per day, and these results set the training weights for weeks 2 to 7.

- Main-exercise loading moves from 5 sets x 4 reps at 80% of 1RM in week 2 to 4 sets x 2 reps at 90% of 1RM in week 7, before 1RM is retested in week 8.

- The percentages apply only to the main exercise of the day; the accessory exercises keep the same sets and reps throughout and are performed without training to exhaustion.

- A daily protein intake of 1.6-2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight and a moderate surplus of 200-400 kcal are given as the nutritional starting point for strength and muscle gain.

Good progress in strength training is about gradually being able to lift heavier weights while maintaining good technique in the exercises. For beginners, a fixed training plan provides clear guidelines for how much and how heavy you should train from week to week.

The major compound exercises are well-suited for this because they involve several large muscle groups and make it easy to track progress over time. This 8-week strength program gives you a planned progression with a focus on increased strength.

How to follow the strength program

The training program spans eight weeks and is designed for beginners and those with some experience who want to get stronger.

You train five days a week, with squats, bench press, deadlifts, standing shoulder press, and barbell rows as the main exercises.