You're No Longer A Beginner: Intermediate Training!

During the first six months you begin weight training, you learn a lot. You learn how to perform exercises correctly. Your workouts become consistent; you do not miss a scheduled workout. The diet you follow now has a little structure to it. You avoid "bad" foods, which do not lend themselves to your bodybuilding efforts.

Now that you have some experience under your belt, you are ready to make advancements. I am going to make the assumption that you followed my advice in my "Bodybuilding for Beginners" article. If you have, you have been following a 3-day training split made up of the basic, fundamental exercises. Now it is time for a routine that is a bit more challenging.

Training Program

Continue to do cardio on your choice of 2 out of your 3 off days.

What Is New

I have lowered the rep range some. Now, there will be times when you only get 6 reps. This means you will be training a little heavier. I have also added a few exercises that involve more technique to execute correctly. For example, stiff leg deadlifts. This is the king of hamstring exercises. It is vital that you do not ignore your hamstrings. Focusing on them now will put you ahead of the game later on.

Another type of deadlifts is the standard powerlifting version. I choose to have you start with a higher rep range so you can concentrate on your form, as it is vital for these two deadlift exercises.

Because you are now doing a four-day split, you can concentrate on two muscle groups per exercise instead of three. This will allow you the keep your intensity level high for each muscle group. This routine should lead to greater gains in strength and mass growth. Of course, in order for the training routine to work, your diet must be well structured.

Supplement/Diet Plan

Hopefully you are getting more accustomed to a meal schedule. Now we are going to implement a solid pre and post workout meal setup. For the protein source, use whey protein. Optimum Nutrition's 100% Whey is probably the most economical choice at this time. Next, we are going to add simple sugar to the mix, dextrose. Dextrose is a high glycemic carb that will deliver glucose and amino acids to your muscle cells. For more information on this, check out my past article.

15 Minutes Before Workout:

• 1 Serving Whey
• 30 Grams Dextrose

Post Workout:

• 1 Serving Whey
• 30 Grams Dextrose
• Note: Gatorade powder contains dextrose and is available at about all grocery stores. This makes it a great and convenient choice for dextrose.

Post-Workout Meal:

Consume meal one hour after post-workout shake.

Daily Totals:

• Protein: 1 gram/lb
• Carbs: 2 grams/lb
• Fat: 0.4 grams/lb

Along with your whey protein and multivitamin, we are going to add some essential fatty acids. This will be in the form of flax seed oil. For more information on flax seed, check out my article on it.

Suggested Use:

• Take ½ a tablespoon of flax seed oil at breakfast and ½ a tablespoon with you last meal of the day.

Conclusion

This routine and diet will deliver some good results. Follow it for the next 3 months.

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