54 reviews for Novice Bodybuilding Program (by Eric Helms)
The Novice Bodybuilding Program is a four-day a week program based on the principles from the Muscle and Strength Pyramid: Training book by Dr. Eric Helms, Andy Morgan, and Andrea Valdez. We highly recommend reading the book to learn evidence-based training and nutrition.
This beginner bodybuilding program has exercises to ensure all muscle groups are adequately trained to help you build a well rounded physique. There are two ‘strength’ days and two ‘volume’ days. Strength development complements the accumulation of training volume and aids hypertrophy.
Read below for full program guidelines.
Rachel N.
Woman, 415 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
I’ve been able to increase my strength pretty well and it’s easy to follow. I swapped cable row for barbell row and swapped one of the pull ups for lat pull downs
Bailey Sorrow
Man3 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Good starting point to build your own programs to. That is what Dr. Helms intended when he wrote these.
Ashley S.
Non-binary, 193 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Beginner-friendly, inclusive, easy to add in alternative exercises, and easy to follow instructions
The S.
Man, 443 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Keep reps low and use as strength block
Jose M.
Man, 445 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
3dmj rocks
Виктор семенов
Man, 2711 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Added some lateral raises and biceps triceps
LW
Man, 267 weeks complete
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Great program! Gave me some direction, and helped me get in and out of the gym without wasted time. I used to train calisthenics, so I thought I knew how to work out. I started out a little too aggressively and got injured, which slowed progress. After that, I kept in mind that the weight I could lift for 5 reps was way more than the weight I SAFELY lift as I built my form. My advice to anyone who has not lifted would be to start the exercises with negligible weight to work on form and many more reps than recommended (ex- deadlifting the bar x20) Then begin to work up with recommended weight increases, decreasing reps to make it possible until you reach recommended reps. Worst case scenario, your gains arrive a few weeks later. But you get to guarantee your progress. I know for me, it was a mistake to go too fast. Some ideas: My gym has a Smith machine (squat bar on a track). For standing calf raises, I put a barbell weight on the floor below the bar, stood on the edge, and did my raises with the bar across my back. Maybe a little less holistic but it let me weigh it more than with dumbbells I can't even lift! I violated rest time (horrible, I know) and did supersets with as opposite muscle groups as I could (chest fly/rows, leg extension/leg curl, tricep push/bicep curl). I'm sure this had a small effect on my gains, but I still got great results and could keep workouts to 45 minutes.
Nolen X K Chapman
Man, 193 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
As expected strength gains
Less than expected muscle gains
I love this program especially as a beginner, it's very easy to understand
Kevin Castro
Man, 307 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
This program is straight to the point and great for someone who has a busy life or is strapped for time. I made slight changes to the program by swapping 1 or 2 exercises with similar ones that targeted the same muscle. This is the strongest that I have gotten without getting hurt. (And I still lifting more each week)
Miguel Singian
241 week complete
2 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
There's a hidden practicality to this program--the strength days are doable at a single squat rack home gym. It's perfect for me because that means I can do the volume days at the gym after work, then the strength days on the weekend at home!