Table of Contents
About Me………………………………………………………………………...pg. 1
Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………............pg. 3
Chapter 2: 10 Things I Wish I knew When I Started Lifting…pg. 4
Chapter 3: Diet and Nutrition……………………………………………pg. 7
Chapter 4: Training…………………………………………………………..pg. 17
Chapter 5: Supplements……………………………………………………pg. 25
Chapter 6: Conclusion………………………………………………………pg. 28
ABOUT ME
My name is Adam Pfau. At the time of writing this book, I am 27 years old. I began
working out at the end of 2005 and like a lot of you now, I had absolutely no idea what I was
doing. After years of frustration and experimentation, I started to figure things out and made
some decent progress. Although I never intended to compete in bodybuilding competitions, I
wound up competing in my first show in 2010, two more in 2011, and a fourth one in 2015
where I won the overall and a WNBF pro card. Now, I can call myself a professional natural
bodybuilder which is pretty cool. Despite this accomplishment, I’m just a guy who likes to live
the fitness lifestyle. I know how frustrating it is when you first get into this so my goal is to help
as many people as possible because it still feels like yesterday when I had absolutely no idea
what I was doing. I am not a certified trainer or dietician. Everything you read in this book is
strictly based on my own research and experimentation since 2005. Below you will see my
progress over the years from 2005 to present day.
Before beginning any new exercise or diet program, it is recommended that you seek medical advice from
your personal physician. This book is not intended to be a substitute for the advice of a licensed physician, nor is it
intended for the treatment or prevention of disease. Use of the information herein is at the sole risk of the reader.
Copyright. No Part of this eBook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without written permission from the author. Copyright © 2017 by Adam Pfau. All rights reserved.
1
2015- After winning the overall at
the WNBF Autumn Explosion and
earning a Pro Card.
2
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
I remember joining the gym at the end of 2005 and immediately became addicted.
Naturally, I wanted to maximize my progress so I tried to learn as much as possible in regards to
training, nutrition, and supplements. However, I was soon bombarded with a ton of conflicting
information. I read some articles telling me there were supplements I needed to take. There were
other articles saying those same supplements were useless. Some articles recommended full body
routines. Others recommended body part splits. There were some people who said I needed to go
on an all-out bulk to make any kind of progress. Other articles recommended a slower approach.
With so much conflicting information and people trying to sell me stuff, I had no clue what the
best approach was and who to believe.
This feeling is probably how a lot of you feel. Unfortunately for me, it took me several
years to weed through the misinformation and experiment with different methods to figure out
the truth. That is why I wrote this book. The point of this book is so you can bypass the
beginning stages that I went through where you feel completely lost and confused and don’t
know what to believe. If I had this when I started, I would have saved myself a lot of frustration
and been on my way to making progress a lot sooner.
This book is geared towards beginners. I define a beginner as someone who has been
working out for 0-12 months. However, you will probably find this beneficial even as an
intermediate lifter as well. If you come across anything in this book that you don’t understand or
you want clarification on, feel free to reach out to me via my Instagram @apfau or e-mail at
pfaufitness@gmail.com. Just tell me you purchased the book, reference the part you want some
clarification on, and I will be happy to help. This book is not meant to encompass every single
aspect of training and nutrition. Rather, it is supposed to be a huge initial stepping stone to get
you on your way to making gains without suffering that initial phase of confusion.
3
Chapter 2
10 Things I Wish I knew When I Started Lifting
When I first began working out, there were so many misconceptions that were either told
to me directly or I read on the internet. Below are ten things I wish I had known when I first
started working out. Had I known everything listed below, I would have saved myself a lot of
time and frustration.
Most of these 10 things are covered in more detail in the diet, training, or supplement
chapters. However, I thought a quick introduction would be useful.
1) You Cannot Gain Muscle and Lose Fat Simultaneously: Everyone’s goal is
to gain muscle and lose fat. Ideally, we would like to do it at the same time. However, as
a natural, this just won’t happen. You need to either be in a caloric surplus to gain muscle
or a caloric deficit to lose fat. There are some exceptional situations where it may be
possible to do both but in the majority of situations, if you try to do both you will wind up
not doing either and wasting a lot of time.
2) Whey Protein is Helpful but Not Mandatory: I used to believe that getting
protein from whey protein was far superior to food. I actually took a sip of whey in
between my sets at one point because I thought it would help me gain muscle. Whey
protein is not superior to food. It can be useful as a convenient and cheap source of
protein but if you are able to eat enough protein through food alone, it’s certainly not
necessary.
4
3) Gaining Weight Faster Doesn’t Yield More Muscle: It’s very easy to set a
target weight in mind and try to reach that weight as fast as possible. However, your body
is only going to add so much muscle per month. If you try to gain weight faster than your
body can add muscle, you’re going to add a significant amount of fat quickly which
you’ll need to cut later on. You may also get stretch marks which will never go away.
This is 2006 after roughly 10 months of
lifting in a caloric deficit. I weighed 140
pounds and was convinced I needed to
go on an all out bulk to build muscle.
This is 2007 after 6 months of bulking.
I tried to gain 1-2 pounds per week and
ended up gaining roughly 50 pounds.
Although I added muscle, the majority
of the weight added was fat. It took a
while to cut but it was a valuable lesson
learned of not to bulk too fast.
5
4) Meal Frequency and Timing is Irrelevant: You do not need to eat every 2-3
hours. You do not need to eat 6 small meals per day. You should eat as many or as few
meals as you prefer and the meal size is completely up to you. Your overall calories and
macronutrients for the day is what is most important.
5) You Can Still Get Fat Eating “Clean”: Just because all of the foods you eat are
healthy doesn’t mean you will gain pure muscle and no fat. If you eat too many calories
of any food you will gain fat. Eating healthy is good but you still need to watch the
overall calories and macronutrients because that is the primary dictator as to how much
weight you will gain or lose.
6) Don’t Listen to The Big Guy at The Gym: Everyone knows that guy at the gym
who looks great and seems to follow some bizarre training or nutrition protocols. The
truth is, there are some genetic freaks out there that make progress in spite of what they
do not because of what they do. If something seems too weird to be true, it probably is
and you should just listen and disregard it.
7) Fat Does Not Turn into Muscle: This is similar to number 1. It sounds perfect that
you could just convert your existing fat into muscle. However, this is physiologically
impossible. Fat cells do not turn into muscle cells. You need to lose fat and build muscle.
8) You Do Not Need a Post Workout Shake: You should generally eat some
protein and carbs within an hour after your workout. However, it does not need to be a
whey protein shake. Whey protein does absorb faster but that does not really matter. You
can have a shake if you want but you can also just eat a meal.
9) Body Part Splits Are Not Ideal: We have all seen videos of pros who dedicate a
workout to one single body part. However, hitting a body part only once per week is not
ideal. Body part splits might be fun but are certainly not the most effective way for
naturals to make progress.
10) You Will Never Be Satisfied: This is the sad truth. As you make progress, you will
always want to be bigger and leaner. Even when you reach the point where you thought
you would be satisfied, you will always want more. Also, motivation comes and goes.
You will have times where you are extremely motivated to hit the gym and stick to your
diet and other times where you are dreading the gym. That is normal. We all have our ups
and down. The key is to absolutely kill it when you’re highly motivated and try to just
push through when you’re not feeling it as much. Remember, this is a long term journey
and there will be peaks and valleys along the way.
6
Chapter 3
DIET AND NUTRITION
Intro
You have probably heard the phrase “abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym.”
Although this statement has a lot of truth to it, it really stands for the general proposition that
your physique is largely dependent on your diet. Simply put, you can follow the best routine in
the world and never skip a workout but if your diet is not in check, you will not get the results
you are hoping for.
As a beginner, you do not necessarily need to get too neurotic with tracking your diet.
However, in order to optimize your results, you do need to have at least a general awareness of
your caloric intake. Below, I will discuss how to figure out your targeted calories and
macronutrients. Afterwards, I will also discuss how to generally track your diet without being too
intense if you can’t or don’t want to strictly track your macros.
The Basics
You have probably heard of the term “calories in vs. calories out.” Basically, your overall
caloric intake is the single most determinative factor in deciding whether you are gaining weight,
losing weight, or maintaining your weight. If you’re eating more calories than your body needs
to maintain, you will gain weight. If you are eating fewer calories than your body needs to
maintain, you will lose weight. If you’re eating right around the amount of calories your body
requires to maintain its weight, well, you guessed it; you will maintain your weight. Although
this concept sounds simple, the application of this concept winds up being a bit difficult and is
usually the reason most people struggle with gaining muscle and/or losing fat.
Calories are composed of macronutrients or “macros” for short. There are three
macronutrients. They include: fat, protein, and carbs. Fat has 9 calories per gram, and both carbs
and protein have 4 calories per gram. Whenever you see how many calories a food has, those
calories come from carbs, fat, or protein.
Calculating Macros
Your personal caloric intake is highly individual. If you took two people with the same
height, weight, and body fat percentage, their required calories could still vary by several
hundred or even a thousand calories per day. This is because there are a countless number of
factors which go into figuring out your required calories such as: age, gender, height, weight,
body fat percentage, genetics, metabolism, activity level, and more. Someone who sits down at a
desk all day will probably need fewer calories than someone who works an active job. For this
7
reason, you should never blindly copy someone else’s caloric intake because you think you’re
similar to them.
Now, it is important to keep in mind that there is no perfect starting point in figuring out
your macros. However, there are plenty of wrong starting points. The below guidelines are a
good way to get started.
First, it is necessary to determine your maintenance amount of calories. This is the
amount of calories that if you consumed every day, your body weight would remain the same.
This is important because if you don’t know how much to eat in order to maintain your weight,
you certainly can’t know how many calories to eat in order to gain or lose weight.
To determine your maintenance amount of calories, multiply your body weight in pounds
by 16. This number is not going to be completely accurate for everyone but it’s a good starting
point and I’ll discuss how to fine tune this number below.
Now that we have an amount of calories to work with, I always start with protein. Protein
should be set between .8 and 1 gram per pound of body weight. If you’re lean, you can eat closer
to the higher end of this range and if you’re at a higher level of body fat; you can eat towards the
lower end. If you are very overweight, you could go as low as .7 grams per pound of body
weight. If you really enjoy high protein foods, there is nothing wrong with going a bit higher and
if you are not a big fan of high protein foods, you will be just fine at .8 grams per pound of body
weight.
Next, I like to figure out fat. Fat should be set between .4 and .7 grams per pound of body
weight. Generally, there is a minimum amount of fat you should eat but beyond a certain point; it
becomes personal preference as to whether you want to fill the rest of your calories with
additional fat or carbs. For example, you may find that you feel fine on low fat and benefit from
the higher carbs. However, you may find that you function more optimally on fewer carbs and
higher fat. This is where personal preference and experimentation comes into play.
Lastly, since there is only one macronutrient left, we fill the remaining calories with
carbs. The amount of carbs you eat will depend on how much protein and fat you ultimately
select. On the next page is an example to illustrate this and have it make sense.
8
Example:
Let’s say you are an 18 year old male who is 5’9 and 156 pounds.
To begin, you would take your body weight of 156 and multiply it
by 16 (156*16) which equals 2,496. For simplicity, we will say
that your maintenance amount of calories is 2,500.
First, we will figure out protein. Let’s say you are relatively lean
and enjoy protein so you select .9 grams per pound of body weight
which is right in the middle of the recommended range. You would
take your body weight of 156 pounds and multiply it by .9 (156*.9)
which gives you 140 grams of protein.
Second, we will figure out fat. Let’s say you want to be
conservative with fat so you select .4 grams per pound of body
weight which is at the bottom of the recommended range. You
would take your body weight of 156 pounds and multiply it by .4
(156*.4) which is 62 grams of fat.
Third, we fill in the gap with carbs. We take the 140 grams of
protein and multiply it by 4 (140*4) for a total of 560 calories. We
take the 62 grams of fat and multiply it by 9 (62*9) for a total of
558 calories. That gives us a total of 1,118 calories (560+558) so
far. We take our maintenance calories of 2,500 and subtract 1,118
from that number (2,500-1,118) which gives us 1,382 calories from
carbs. Since carbs have 4 calories per gram, we do 1,382 divided
by 4 (1,382/4) which gives us 345 grams of carbs.
Overall, this person would have a starting point of 2,500 calories
composed of 140 grams of protein, 62 grams of fat, and 345 grams
of carbs.
Composing Your Meals
I recommend composing your diet of as many healthy foods as possible. You should
compose your diet of somewhere between 3 and 6 meals. Create meals that you would enjoy but
are also healthy. Try to eat roughly two servings of fruits and vegetables a day and most of your
calories should be from whole, healthy foods. Below is a list of some foods you can consider,
although the list is certainly not inclusive of every food you could eat.
9
Carbs
Protein
Fat
Bread
Chicken
Avocado
Rice
Eggs
Nut Butters
Oats
Fish
Egg Yolks
Pasta
Cottage Cheese
Nuts
Vegetables
Milk
Oils
Fruits
Greek Yogurt
Flaxseed
Potatoes
Turkey
Cereal
Beef
Quinoa
Whey Protein
Tracking Your Diet
I recommend the app MyFitnessPal. You can download it to your phone and track all of
your meals on there. It makes it very simple to track your macros and swap different foods in and
out so that you don’t feel restricted to the same exact foods every day, although there is nothing
wrong with eating the same foods every day if you want.
Meal Timing and Meal Frequency
As long as you are hitting your overall macros and calories for the day, it does not matter
how many meals you eat or how often you eat. However, it is usually a good idea to consume
carbs and protein before your workout and within an hour after your workout. Other than that,
it’s personal preference if you prefer smaller, more frequent meals or larger, less frequent meals.
Fiber
Try to eat 10-12 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you eat.
Flexible Dieting
You may have heard of the terms flexible dieting, if it fits your macros, and IIFYM. All
three of these terms mean the same thing. In simple terms, it basically means that once you know
10
your ideal targeted macronutrient intake, you can hit those numbers with any foods of your
choice as long as certain caveats are met. Those caveats are making sure you still get enough
fiber and micronutrients. People often take this out of context and interpret it as being able to eat
only junk food to make progress. That’s not what flexible dieting means. Typically, I
recommend eating around 85% or more of your typical healthy foods such as the ones on the
chart listed up above and if you want, the remaining 15% can come from less typical foods.
Flexible dieting isn’t a fad diet or an excuse to eat junk. It’s a concept that recognizes people
who want to improve their physique also want to live a normal life and this allows you to eat like
a normal person without sacrificing results. Feel free to incorporate some less typical foods into
your macros but don’t go crazy.
Fine Tuning Your Maintenance Calories
Like I said previously, the number of calories you initially start with won’t be completely
accurate. Now that you have composed a diet with your target macros, it’s time to start following
it and making adjustments. I recommend leaving protein constant and only adjusting fat and
carbs to compose your caloric adjustments. So, once you start following the diet you made, it is
important to track your body weight first thing in the morning at least three times per week. If
you notice that you are losing weight, then you need to add some carbs and/or fat to maintain. If
you notice that you’re gaining weight, you need to eat a bit less carbs and/or fat to maintain. If
you are maintaining, then congratulations, you got lucky and found your maintenance pretty
quickly. If you’re not one of the lucky ones, each week add or subtract some carbs and/or fat
depending on what your body weight is doing until you are maintaining your weight.
This process could take a couple of weeks but once your weight remains constant for two
weeks, you have found your maintenance calories. Once you do find your maintenance calories,
it will be so much easier to effectively gain muscle and lose fat.
Deciding To Bulk or Cut
The term bulk refers to eating in a caloric surplus to gain muscle. The term cut means
eating in a caloric deficit to lose fat. I will go over how to do both below but before we get to
that, deciding which one to do is often a difficult decision.
If you are very overweight, you should be cutting regardless of how much muscle you
have. This would be someone 20% body fat and above. If you are very skinny, you have no
reason to cut and should eat in a caloric surplus to gain weight.
However, a lot of people fall in between. If this is you, either one could be an option for
you and it ultimately comes down to what you are comfortable with. If you already feel a bit fat
and uncomfortable, even with very little muscle, I recommend cutting a bit first. This is because
no matter how well your bulk goes, you will inevitably add some fat. If you’re starting out a bit
fatter than you’re already comfortable with, gaining more weight will probably make you feel
11
worse. There is nothing wrong with dropping a few pounds first, even if you have minimal
muscle, and then bulking slowly from there.
Everyone feels different at different levels of body fat. Some people might feel fine at
15% body fat and want to bulk whereas others might be 13% and want to cut a bit. This is where
you need to be honest with yourself and decide what to do. Remember, this isn’t a permanent
decision. You can always change your mind later.
If Your Goal is To Gain Muscle
Remember, gaining weight faster does not mean you are gaining more muscle. It usually
means you’re gaining a bunch of unnecessary fat that you’ll need to lose later on. For that
reason, I recommend trying to gain roughly 2 pounds per month which is half a pound per week.
To do that, you need to eat in a caloric surplus of roughly 300 calories per day. So, add 300
calories to the maintenance amount of calories that you have figured out from carbs, fat, or a
combination of both, and continue tracking your weight. If you see that you are gaining at a pace
faster than 2 pounds per month, reduce calories a bit. If you see you are gaining at a slower pace,
you can increase them a bit.
If Your Goal is To Lose Fat
Typically, you can lose fat much faster than you can gain muscle. I recommend trying to
lose between 1 and 2 pounds per week. To do that, you need to eat in a caloric deficit of between
500 and 1,000 calories per day. So, subtract 500 calories of carbs and/or fat from the
maintenance amount of calories that you figured out and continue to track your weight. If you
are losing weight at a pace faster than 1-2 pounds per week, you can eat a bit more. If you are
losing weight at a slower pace, then you can eat a bit less.
HELP! I Stalled!
You have to remember that your maintenance calories will be changing as you gain or
lose weight. For that reason, you will eventually hit a point where your weight starts maintaining.
This is your new maintenance calories. When this happens, you need to either add a bit more
calories until your weight continues increasing if you’re trying to gain weight or decrease
calories until your weight starts dropping if you’re trying to lose weight.
Cardio
Cardio serves two functions. It is good for your overall health and it is a tool to burn
calories. You can lose weight without any cardio. However, I always recommend at least a little
bit of cardio whether you are trying to gain weight or lose weight just for overall health. My
preferred method of cardio is moderate intensity but you could do low intensity or high intensity
as well or a combination of all three. When you’re gaining weight, I recommend a minimum of
2-3 times per week of around 200-300 calories burned. When cutting, it really comes down to
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preference. You can choose to do a little cardio but then you will need to eat a bit less to create a
caloric deficit. You could also choose to do more cardio which will allow your calories to be a
bit higher. You should do your cardio either after your workouts or on an off day. Don’t do
cardio before your workout unless it’s just a light warm up. Fasted cardio should also be avoided.
Tracking Less Seriously
The above is how to precisely figure out your macros. However, if you can’t or don’t
want to track macros too seriously, you can still make progress. Below will be how I recommend
what I would consider “loose tracking.”
Loose tracking of the foods you are eating, focusing on eating enough protein, is a less
intensive but still effective way to ensure you efficiently hit your goals.
The first few steps will be identical to the above steps but I will repeat those again.
First, like I said above, you need to find your maintenance amount of calories which you
can do by multiplying your body weight by 16. Remember, this is only a starting point.
Once you have a maintenance amount of calories to work with, let’s focus on protein.
The same protein recommendations apply as above. Protein should be set between .8 and 1 gram
per pound of body weight. If you’re lean, you can eat closer to the higher end of this range and if
you’re at a higher level of body fat; you can eat towards the lower end. If you are very
overweight, you could go as low as .7 grams per pound of body weight. If you really enjoy high
protein foods, there is nothing wrong with going a bit higher and if you are not a big fan of high
protein foods, you will be just fine at .8 grams per pound of body weight.
Although you should generally track protein, you do not necessarily need stress yourself
out and try to track every gram of fat and carb you eat. Instead, just try to compose your diet of
somewhere between 3 and 6 meals. Start with protein so you can make sure you’re getting
enough of it. From there, just try creating meals that you would enjoy but are also healthy. You
can use the chart that I included above for some examples of foods to eat. Once you have a diet
of several meals composed and you’re hitting your protein, it’s time to go through some trial and
error.
Like I said above, the number of calories you started with as your maintenance won’t be
completely accurate so before you try to gain weight or lose weight, it’s important to figure out
how much to eat in order to maintain. So, once you start following the diet you made, it is
important to track your body weight first thing in the morning at least three times per week. If
you notice that you are losing weight, then you need to add some more food to maintain. If you
notice that you’re gaining weight, you need to eat a bit less food to maintain. If you are
maintaining, then you found your maintenance pretty quickly. If you’re not one of the lucky
13
ones, each week add or subtract some food other than protein sources depending on what your
body weight is doing until you are maintaining your weight.
You’ll notice that I said to adjust food instead of calories and instead of macros. Since
you are not tracking calories precisely, when you make your adjustments, you will need to add or
remove carb and/or fat sources. For example, if you lose weight after one week and you have a
meal containing oats and another with brown rice, you can just add a bit more oats and rice to
those meals and see what happens to your weight the following week. You don’t need to have an
exact amount of calories to adjust but just add a little more and continue following the diet and
tracking your weight.
This process could take a couple of weeks but once you do find your maintenance
calories, it will be so much easier to effectively gain muscle and lose fat. Once you do find your
maintenance amount of calories, the process for how many calories to add or subtract depending
on your goals is the same as above.
Sample Diet Plan
I was not going to include a sample meal plan because I don’t want people to just blindly
follow this. However, I know that people like templates when it comes to diets. I want to stress
that below is just a sample meal plan. I do not recommend following this as the calories and
macronutrients are not customized for you. Further, there may be foods you do not like. There is
also no requirement to eat this amount of meals. I am simply including this as an example but I
highly recommend you follow my advice as to how to figure out your own macronutrients and
customize your own diet with your own foods. Okay, that was my disclaimer. Now, here is a
sample plan.
14
Protein Carbs Fat
Meal 1
Apple (125 g)
Whey Protein ( 1 scoop)
Large Whole Egg (2)
Quaker Oats (80 g raw)
Meal 2
Boneless Chicken Breast (4 oz cooked)
White Rice (80 g-pre cooked)
Broccoli (150 g)
0.5
24
12
10
34.7
7
4.2
17.6
3
0
54
0
66.1
10.5
Calories
0
1
10
6
1.3
0
0.6
72.4
117
138
310
150.5
292.4
64.2
Meal 3
Starkist Tuna in Olive Oil (1 container)
Nature's Own Whole Wheat Bread (2 slices)
Raw Almonds (20 g)
28
8
4.2
0
22
4.2
14
1
9.9
238
129
122.7
Meal 4
Whey Protein ( 1 scoop)
Nature's Own Whole Wheat Bread (2 slices)
Natural Peanut Butter (25 g)
Smuckers Sugar Free Strawberry jelly (17 g)
Raw Almonds (20 g)
24
8
5.5
0
4.2
3
1
22
1
4.7 12.5
5
0
4.2 9.9
117
129
153.3
20
122.7
Meal 5
Boneless Chicken Breast (3oz cooked)
White Rice (80 g-pre cooked)
Spinach (150 g raw)
Totals
26
7
4.5
0
66.1
6
1
0
0
113
292.4
42
211.8 288.4 69.2
2623.6
15
Totals
Protein Carbs Fat Calories
P
46.5
C
74.6
F
17
Cals
637.4
P
45.9
C
76.6
F
1.9
Cals
507.1
P
40.2
C
F
26.2 24.9
Cals
489.7
P
41.7
C
F
38.9 24.4
Cals
542
P
37.5
C
72.1
Cals
447.4
F
1
Summing Up











Diet is the most crucial element in achieving the physique you want.
Overall calories are the most determinative factor in whether you gain or lose weight.
Calories are made up of the three macronutrients: carbs, fat, and protein.
Before attempting to gain or lose weight, it’s important to find your maintenance calories.
Multiple your body weight by 16 to get your starting maintenance calories.
Protein should be set between .8 and 1 gram per pound of body weight.
Fat should be set between .4- and .7 grams per pound of body weight.
Carbs should make up the remaining balance of your calories.
If your goal is to gain muscle, you should aim for roughly 2 pounds per month.
If your goal is to lose fat, you should aim for roughly 1-2 pounds per week.
Flexible dieting allows you to substitute some non-typical foods as long as you still hit
your macros but don’t go overboard.
 If you don’t want to track too precisely, focus on protein and adjust the carb and/or fat
sources of your meals accordingly based on whether you want to gain or lose weight.
16
Chapter 4
TRAINING
Intro
Once you have your diet in check, the next aspect you should focus on is your workout
routine. If you follow a solid diet and routine, you will be covering roughly 95% of the relevant
factors in order to be on your way to your goal physique.
As a beginner, you should not try to design your own routine. There are many reputable
workout programs available online which have been run by thousands of beginners with great
results. For that reason, I recommend searching online for a routine, reading some reviews, and
selecting one that looks like it produces results and looks like a routine you would enjoy.
Beginners like to over complicate their workout program. There is no need to.
There are various styles of routines that you can do which I will discuss below. After, I
will discuss which I would personally recommend as a beginner. Then, I will recommend some
examples of a routine you should do as a beginner.
Four Types of Routines
1) Body Part Splits
A body part split routine is where you dedicate each workout to one or two specific body
parts. There are many variations but the most common is a 5 day split where there is a day for
chest, back, legs, arms, and shoulders. With body part splits, you only hit each muscle once per
week.
2) Full Body
A full body routine is where you hit your entire body in each workout. Unlike a body part
split, the typical full body routine is 3 days per week, essentially every other day. The main
focus is on compound movements. With full body workouts, you end up hitting each muscle
three times per week.
3) Upper/Lower Split
An upper/lower split is where you hit your upper body in one workout and lower body in
another workout. There are different variations but it’s most common for the routine to be 4 days
per week alternating between an upper body workout and lower body workout. Each muscle gets
hit twice per week.
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4) Push/Pull/Legs
Push/pull/legs is where you divide your workouts into push workouts, pull workouts, and
leg workouts. Push workouts focus on chest, shoulder, and tricep movements. Pull workouts
focus on back and bicep movements. Leg workouts focus only on your lower body. With
push/pull/legs, you are typically working out 6 days per week. You hit each workout
consecutively with a day off, and then hit another 3 workouts and repeat. You could do only 3
workouts per week but then that would be considered a variation of a body part split where you
combine body parts in each workout and hit everything once per week.
My Recommendation: Full Body Routine
As a beginner, I strongly recommend full body routines. A full body routine allows you
to learn and develop the correct movement patterns for the main, compound exercises such as
bench press, squats, deadlifts, rows, and others. These are the best exercises to build both size
and strength so as a beginner; you should be spending as much time as possible learning how to
do them correctly. You will be doing each of these exercises frequently, around 2-3 times per
week, which will be plenty of time to practice and improve.
Further, as a beginner, you’ve never trained before. This means that it doesn’t take much
to stimulate your muscles to grow. You don’t need to blast a muscle for an hour because you’ll
be sufficiently stimulating the muscle with only 1-2 exercises per session. Additionally, you will
be recovered and ready to hit those muscles again within 48 hours so it does not make sense to
wait a full week to hit those muscles again. Basically, it’s the most efficient way to gain both size
and strength.
Lastly, full body routines allow you to build a solid foundation of strength the quickest.
You will never see a very muscular guy who can only bench 135 pounds or max out on squats
with 185 pounds. To build muscle, you need to build your strength up to a certain point. By
performing the main compound movements multiple times per week, you will be able to build up
you strength the fastest.
The Other Routines
Body Part Split
A beginner really has no business doing body part splits. Unfortunately, a lot of
beginners, myself included, fall into the trap and this is usually where a lot of beginners start
their lifting journey. The body part split is not the most optimal because it essentially does the
opposite of what a full body routine does.
First, it focuses on isolation exercises and not compound movements. Although you still
would start off your workout with a compound movement, the bulk of the workout is more
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isolation work. Also, you will only be doing the compound exercise once per week. This is
simply too infrequent to get good at the lift.
Second, like I said in my full body recommendation, as a beginner it doesn’t take much to
stimulate your muscles to grow. You don’t need to blast a muscle for an hour because you’ll be
sufficiently stimulating the muscle with only 1-2 exercises per session. You’re essentially doing
a bunch of unnecessary exercises on a body part split. Moreover, your muscles will be recovered
after 1-2 days of working out but you will be waiting an entire week to work that muscle again.
You’re wasting valuable time where you could be further stimulating the muscle and allowing it
to grow.
Third, you will likely develop muscular imbalances. Let’s face it; we care more about our
chest and arms than we care about our back and legs. There will be a tendency to hit your
favorite body parts with more intensity and slack off on the ones you don’t care about as much.
Not only will muscular imbalances look silly, but it could actually lead to injury.
Upper/Lower Split
An upper/lower split is not a bad routine. However, I would save it for after you have
been lifting for at least a year or you notice your gains on your beginner routine have stalled. I
would consider it an intermediate routine. I’m a big proponent of upper/lower splits and have
nothing bad to say about them. I just believe a beginner will benefit more from even higher
frequency and a greater focus on compound lifts multiple times per week.
Push/Pull/Legs
Like with upper/lower splits, I have nothing bad to say about push/pull/legs. However, I
consider it an intermediate routine simply because you will be in the gym 6 days per week and
that is not necessary at all as a beginner. If you only hit one push/pull/leg workout per week
rather than two each, well, then you are essentially doing a 3 day body part split and everything I
said above about body part splits applies. You will only be a beginner once. You will be an
intermediate lifter for a long time. There is no need to rush to the intermediate routines when you
can progress just as well or better on a simpler routine.
Sample Routine
Like I previously said, there are many solid beginner workout programs out there. On the
next few pages, I will provide a sample full body routine that I would recommend for a beginner.
After, I will list some of the more well-known routines that you can also consider. I do not have
permission to share the specifics of those routines but I will provide the name so you can look
into it on your own. My recommendation is to look at as many of these as possible, read some
reviews, see which looks the most appealing, and just stick with it for a minimum of 6 months.
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WORKOUT A
Barbell Squats
5 sets
5 reps
Barbell Bench Press
5 sets
5 reps
Barbell Row
5 sets
5 reps
Barbell Shrugs
5 sets
5 reps
Skull Crushers
3 sets
8 reps
Barbell Curls
3 sets
8 reps
Ab Crunch Machine
3 sets
12 reps
Optional Additional Accessory
2 sets
10 reps
Optional Additional Accessory
2 sets
10 reps
WORKOUT B
Barbell Squats
5 sets
5 reps
Barbell Deadlifts
5 sets
5 reps
Standing Overhead Press
5 sets
5 reps
Lat Pulldowns
5 sets
8 reps
Tricep Pushdowns
3 sets
8 reps
Standing Dumbbell Curls
3 sets
8 reps
Leg Raises
3 sets
12 reps
Optional Additional Accessory
2 sets
10 reps
Optional Additional Accessory
2 sets
10 reps
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Notes:
1) The program is three days per week. You alternate between Workout A and Workout B.
It can be run Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Just make
sure there is a day off between the workouts.
2) Since you alternate between Workout A and B, on week 1 you will do Workout A twice
and on week 2 you’ll end up doing Workout B twice and so on.
3) The sets and reps do not include warm ups. Make sure you warm up however much you
need to feel ready and lift safely.
4) Your rest times should be somewhere between 3 and 5 minutes for the 5x5 exercises.
You want to rest long enough that you can complete your next set but not too long where
you cool down. On the other exercises, 1-2 minutes is more appropriate.
5) You should aim to add 5 pounds to your 5x5 lifts each week. On isolation exercises, it
will be more difficult to add weight so aim for about 5 pounds every 2-3 weeks.
6) You should not be lifting to complete failure. Leave 1-2 reps in the tank.
7) If you fail a set during a workout, repeat it the next workout. If you fail twice, decrease
the weight by 10%.
8) Each workout has 2 optional additional accessories. This is to allow you to focus on a
body part that you feel might not be getting hit enough with the main exercises. I would
recommend adding a calf exercise as one of the accessories. Another option is some
lateral raises or rear delt work for shoulders. It’s entirely up to you and it’s really to allow
some customization after the main workout.
9) If you can hold the weight on back exercises, try not to use straps. If your grip fails
before your back does, it’s ok to use them.
Other Recommended Beginner Workout Routines




Bill Starr 5x5
Mark Ripptoe’s Starting Strength
Macdow 5x5
Jason Blaha's Ice Cream Fitness 5x5
I don’t recommend any of these in any particular order. Like I said, I would look into all
of these, look at some reviews, and decide which looks the most appealing to you. The most
important part is sticking to whichever program you ultimately select for at least 6 months and
hitting the gym with intensity. Beginners like to hop from routine to routine but that is a quick
way to not make any progress. These programs work. Follow them as closely as possible, eat
correctly for your goals, and you will see progress.
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Sample Upper/Lower Split
I said that an upper/lower split is an intermediate routine. This is true and as a beginner, I
would not do an upper/lower split just yet. However, although this book is meant for beginners, I
wouldn’t feel right if I did not at least include a sample of an upper/lower split since I do
recommend them for intermediate lifters and you guys will be ready for it before you know it.
So, below is an example so you can see what exactly I mean by upper/lower split and how to set
it up.
DAY 1
LOWER STRENGTH
Squats
5 sets
4-6 reps
Deadlifts
4 sets
4-6 reps
Leg Press
4 sets
8-12 reps
Leg Curls
3 sets
8-10 reps
Seated Calf Raises
3 sets
8-10 reps
Weighted Crunches
3 sets
12-15 reps
DAY 2
UPPER STRENGTH
Flat Bench Press
5 sets
4-6 reps
Barbell Rows
3 sets
4-6 reps
Lat Pulldowns
3 sets
8-10 reps
Overhead Barbell Press
3 sets
4-6 reps
Barbell Curls
3 sets
6-8 reps
Skull Crushers
3 sets
6-8 reps
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DAY 3
LOWER HYPERTROPHY
Squats
4 sets
8-12 reps
Romanian Deadlifts
4 sets
10-12 reps
Leg Press
4 sets
12-15 reps
Standing Calf Raises
3 sets
12-15 reps
Leg Extensions
2 sets
12-15 reps
DAY 4
UPPER HYPERTROPHY
Incline Barbell Bench Press
3 sets
10-12 reps
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
3 sets
8-12 reps
One Arm Dumbbell Rows
3 sets
8-12 reps
Seated Cable Rows
3 sets
8-12 reps
Dumbbell Lateral Raises
3 sets
12-15 reps
Dumbbell Curls
3 sets
10-12 reps
Tricep Pushdowns
3 sets
10-12 reps
Notes:
1) The program is four days per week. It can be run 2 on 1 off, 2 on 2 off or you can do 2
on 1 off, 1 on 1 off, 1 on 1 off.
2) The sets and reps do not include warm ups. Make sure you warm up however much you
need to feel ready and lift safely.
3) For strength work outs, select a weight where you can hit the rep range with 1-2 reps left
in the tank. You will do 4 reps on week 1, then increase to 5 on week 2, increase to 6 on
week 3 and then on week 4 you will bump the weight up 5 pounds on your main lifts and
repeat. You will repeat the cycle 3 times before deloading. If you stall at any point, you
can just repeat the cycle again starting at 4 reps and try to increase next time. If you stall
again, lower the weight 10% and continue again.
4) On hypertrophy work outs, similar to the strength, start at the bottom of the rep range and
increase by 1 rep each week for 3 weeks before adding weight and starting over again.
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Leave 1-2 reps in the tank. It is much more difficult to increase strength in the higher rep
ranges so don't stress if you can't increase the weight after a cycle. You could repeat the
cycle like I discussed above. Feel free to superset certain exercises to save time like
bicep/tricep and chest/back movements.
5) Your rest times should be somewhere between 3 and 8 minutes on the strength days. You
want to rest long enough that you can complete your next set but not too long where you
cool down. On hypertrophy days, 1-3 minutes rest time is more appropriate.
6) You can add drop sets on hypertrophy days to certain exercises if you would like. Just
don't do it on every exercise and try to stop a rep short of failure.
7) After 12 weeks, you will deload. Just do the normal work outs but take 70% of the
normal weight you would normally do.
Like I said, this is just a sample recommended upper/lower split. However, I do not
recommend this for complete beginners.
Summing Up
 There are four main types of routines which include: body part splits, full body routines,
upper lower splits, and push/pull/legs.
 As a beginner, I strongly recommend full body routines as they are the most efficient way
to build both size and strength the fastest.
 You should look at all of the beginner routines that exist and select one based on reading
reviews and personal preference.
 Whichever routine you follow, stick with it for a minimum of 6 months.
 Once you maximize your gains on a beginner routine, you can look to a more
intermediate program such as an upper/lower split.
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Chapter 5
SUPPLEMENTS
Now that we got through diet and training, we have covered what I would estimate makes
up roughly 90-95% of what dictates your progress. The remaining 5-10% is…wait for
it…recovery. You weren’t expecting that in the supplement section were you? When I say
recovery, I mean getting enough sleep per night at somewhere between 7 and 9 hours.
So, if between diet, training, and recovery we are covering 100% of the factors that will
determine your overall progress, where do supplements come into play?
All weight lifters, especially beginners, think they need supplements to progress. I am
here to tell you that there is not a single supplement that you need that will make any worthwhile
difference in your results. I’ll often see someone not follow a solid routine, not follow a solid
diet, but ask me what the best supplement is. It’s sad really. If you aren’t doing anything right
when it comes to your dieting and training, the only difference supplements will make will be in
your bank account. If you have everything else in check, then there are certain supplements that
you could use if you choose to.
Since supplements really are insignificant, especially for beginners, I am not going to go
into much detail and this will be a much shorter chapter. However, below I will break
supplements into several categories: recommended, works but not necessary, and useless. As
with any supplement you decide to take, whichever section it may fall under, I advise you to do
your own research beforehand.
Recommended
1) Whey Protein: I actually consider whey protein more of a food than supplement. You
do not need to take whey protein. If you can eat enough protein with regular food then
that is fine. However, whey protein can be a cheap and convenient source of protein so I
always like to keep it in the house whether it is part of my everyday diet or not.
2) Multivitamin: If you’re eating a well-balanced diet, you probably do not need a multi
vitamin. However, I do like to take one as insurance to make sure I’m getting all of my
micronutrients.
3) Vitamin C: It’s good for your immune system and cheap enough. It is not necessary
but I’ll take any boost I can get to my immune system to make sure I don’t get sick.
4) Vitamin D: Similar to vitamin C, it is beneficial for your immune system, has some
other health benefits, and is cheap enough.
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5) Fish Oil: It helps reduce inflammation and has a bunch of other overall health benefits.
Like the rest of these, it is cheap enough to justify using.
Works But Not Necessary
1) Creatine Monohydrate: This is one of the most researched supplements out there
and definitely helps with both muscle and strength gains. I wouldn’t use it as a complete
beginner and I would wait until you are at least 18 before you use it. Although all
indications are that creatine is safe, it is important to realize the long term effects are not
quite known yet. However, all signs point to it being perfectly safe. If you decide to use
it, you do not need to load it.
2) Beta Alanine: Basically, without being scientific, it helps with endurance and lifting in
higher rep ranges. If you do a lot of cardio and lift in high rep ranges, it could prove
useful.
3) Citrulline Malate: Again, without being scientific, research has shown that it can
help reduce fatigue and allow you to do more volume. It can also help reduce muscle
soreness and helps give you a better pump.
4) BCAAs: If you’re eating enough protein, BCAAs won’t have much of a benefit. If
you’re in a caloric surplus, you won’t notice anything. If you’re in a caloric deficit, they
could potentially help a bit with maintaining muscle. If you’re cutting and have extra
money and want to try it, I wouldn’t stop you but don’t expect anything dramatic.
5) Pre-Workouts: Keep in mind that most pre-workouts include creatine, beta alanine,
and citrulline malate. However, most also contain some other ingredients, mainly
caffeine. I personally never use pre-workouts but if you feel you need the energy, you can
use one. You can also make your own by mixing the above ingredients together with
some caffeine or you can just drink coffee.
Useless
Anything not listed above is pretty much useless. In this category I would include
supplements such as testosterone boosters, fat burners, glutamine, CLA, and some others. I
consider them useless either because they have no benefit whatsoever or because their benefit is
so slight and incremental that it won’t have any effect on your progress whatsoever.
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Summing Up:
As you can see, the only supplements I truly recommend are health related. However,
before using any supplement, I recommend doing your own research. Remember, unless your
diet and training are already on point, supplements will not help at all.
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Chapter 6
CONCLUSION
I hope you guys found this book helpful. If you did, feel free to recommend it to others. I
would appreciate that. Like I said in the introduction, if you came across anything in this book
that you didn’t understand or you want clarification on, feel free to reach out to me via my
Instagram @apfau or e-mail at pfaufitness@gmail.com. Just tell me you purchased the book,
reference the part you want some clarification on, and I will be happy to help. This book was not
meant to encompass every single aspect of training and nutrition. Rather, it was supposed to be a
huge initial stepping stone to get you on your way to making gains without suffering that initial
phase of confusion. I hope it satisfied that purpose.
If you are interested in working with me one on one for online coaching and you
purchased this book, you will receive a discount on any plan you sign up for. Simply provide
proof of purchase in your initial inquiry.
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