Since I have been talking lately to a lot of confused teenage bodybuilders who are in the same predicament today that I was back when I started in bodybuilding, I decided to cover the subject of bodybuilding workouts for teens.
I remember back in May 1990 when I picked up my first bodybuilding magazine and saw the pictures of great bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lee Labrada, Shawn Ray and Lee Haney. I was mesmerized by how these guys looked and immediately I wanted to look like them; sooner rather than later. As a matter of fact, I set a goal of achieving that look in 3 years. I also remember saying to myself: “if 3 sets per exercise are good, then 6 sets will be even better and if most bodybuilders train 90 minutes a day, then I will train for three hours.” While that philosophy made perfect sense to me, and the work ethic is certainly commendable, if I would have known what I now know I would have made way more gains than I made back then and would certainly only have spent a fraction of the original time that I spent working out.
Though most teens believe that the longer they workout in the gym the more bodybuilding results they will get, in reality, bodybuilding workouts should not last more than 1 hour tops with 45 minutes being an even more optimal length. The reason for this is because after 45-60 minutes of intense training, testosterone levels begin to fall and cortisol levels begin to rise. Not a good scenario for those of us who would like to build muscle and lose some body fat. Therefore, the mission is to get in and out of the gym; so that means no socializing during workout time.
Thus, in order to maximize your results, you need to be able to hit each muscle efficiently during the alloted time, with perfect form and the right intensity. The bodybuilding workouts shown below will get you started on the right track.
Sample Bodybuilding Workout Routines For Teens
The bodybuilding workouts shown below will get you started on the right foot once you have gone through the beginning and intermediate phases of bodybuilding. For more information on those phases, please refer to my guide for getting started in bodybuilding.
Workout Notes:
Workout Frequency: You can do this workout 3 days on followed by one day off as I did during my teen years. If you need more time to recover from your workouts, you can train 2 days on and 1 day off picking up the next workout in the sequence on the following training day. Hardgainers do best by training Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday with weekends off.
Use Perfect Form: Make sure that you use perfect form on all exercises for maximum stimulation and injury prevention. Never sacrifice form in order to add more weight.
Keep It Fast Paced: Rest 60 seconds in between sets.
Workout (A): Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
Chest
Incline Bench Press (alternate with Incline Dumbbell Press every other workout) 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8 reps
Flat Dumbbell Press (Chest Dips every other workout) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Incline Flyes 3 sets of 12-15 reps (alternate with Flat Flyes every other workout)
Shoulders
Dumbbell Shoulder Press (alternate with Upright Rows every other workout) 3 sets of 12, 10, 8 reps
Lateral Raises (alternate with Military Press every other workout) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Bent Over Laterals (alternate with Rear Delt Machine) 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Triceps
Triceps Dips on Parallel Bars (alternate with Close Grip Bench Press every other workout) 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8 reps
Straight Bar Triceps Pushdowns (alternate with Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extensions every other workout) 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Workout (B): Thighs/Hamstrings/Abs
Quads
Squats (alternate with Wide Stance Squats) 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8 reps
Leg Press (alternate with Hack Squats) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Leg Extensions (alternate with One Legged Leg Extensions) 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Hamstrings
Standing Leg Curls (alternate with Lying Leg Curls w/ Toes Out) 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Lying Leg Curls w/ Toes In (alternate with Seated Leg Curls) 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Lunges (alternate with Step Ups) 3 sets of 12-15 reps
(Note: Press with your heels on lunges and step ups)
Abs
Hanging Leg Raises (alternate with Knee-Ins) 4 sets of 10-15 reps
Crunches on Exercise Ball (alternate with Bicycle Crunches) 4 sets of 10-15 reps
Workout (C): Back/Biceps/Calves
Back
Wide Grip Pull-ups to Front (alternate with Wide Grip Pull-ups to Back) 4 sets of 8-12 reps
(Note: Use Pull-up assist machine if unable to do without help)
Reverse Close Grip Chin-ups (alternate with T-Bar Rows) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
(Note: Use Pull-up assist machine if unable to do without help)
Low Pulley Rows (alternate with One Arm Rows every other workout) 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Biceps
Concentration Curls (alternate with Preacher Curls) 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Incline Curls (alternate with Incline Hammer Curls) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Hammer Curls (alternate with High Pulley Curls) 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Calves
Standing Calf Raises (alternate with Calf Press) 4 sets of 8-10 reps
Seated Calf Raises with Toes In (alternate with Seated Calf Raises with Toes Out) 4 sets of 15-20 reps
Alternatively, you can also use different workout splits like the two workout options below:
Option A
Workout (A): Thighs/Hamstrings/Abs
Workout (B): Chest/Back/Calves
Workout (C): Shoulders/Biceps/Triceps
Option B
Workout (A): Thighs/Hamstrings/Abs
Workout (B): Chest/Biceps/Triceps
Workout (C): Back/Shoulders/Calves
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