18-30 Years Old

Before we begin:

If you haven’t already done it, I highly recommend that before you continue reading this page, you first check out my article on “A Beginners Guide to Bodybuilding“.

The 18-30 years old age range

There’s a reason to why nearly all of the most extreme physical and mentally demanding sport athletes such as F1 Drivers and American Football players are 18-30 years old.

At this age your body is working at its peak performance. Even if your current physique and fitness level are not being reflective of such yet, you have the potential within you to achieve some amazing feats a lot more easily than others. At this age, your body and mind can be taken to their maximum level. For example, brain processing power peaks at age 18, strength peaks at age 25 and bone mass density peaks at age 30.

Therefore, the routine within this article has been specifically developed in accordance with your age and although it will intensive, it will not leave you overtrained like most mainstream websites’ routines. You can read my own personal experience with one of them back when I had just started bodybuilding when I was 14 years old here.

With that out of the way and since these program series have been designed to go straight to the point, let’s do just that.

Beginner’s Straight-to-the-Point Workout Routine (18-30 Years Old)

Monday

Exercise	Sets+Reps	Target Muscles	Notes
Dumbbell Fly/Standing Cable Fly	3×10	Direct: Chest Indirect: Arms, Triceps, Shoulders	Great warm-up exercise
Bench Press	3×5	Direct: Chest Indirect: Triceps, Shoulders	Go heavy but not crazy
Dumbbell Fly/Standing Incline Cable Fly	3×10-12	Direct: Chest Indirect: Arms, Triceps, Shoulders	Amazing exercise for quickly developing muscle memory
Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise	3×10-12	Direct: Shoulders Indirect: Arms	–
Tricep Bar Pushdown	3×10-12	Direct: Triceps	Easier on elbow joints when compared to rope pushdowns
Standing Tricep Overhead Extension	3×10-12	Direct: Triceps	Careful with form
Dumbbell/Barbell/Weight Plate Shrugs	3×10-12	Direct: Traps Indirect: Back	Focus on holding the stretch, don’t let go off the tension

Tuesday

Exercise	Sets+Reps	Target Muscles	Notes
Pull-ups	3×10-12	Direct: Back Indirect: Arms	Warm-up
Dumbbell/Barbell Row	3×10-12	Direct: Back Indirect: Arms, Shoulders	Careful with form
Seated Back Row	3×6-8	Direct: Back Indirect: Arms	Go heavy but not crazy
Standing/Seated Dumbbell Back Fly	3×10	Direct: Back Indirect: Shoulders	Be sure that form is correct and that you are hitting the back muscles, rather than shoulders
Face-pulls	3×12	Direct: Rear Deltoids Indirect: Back	Definitely do not go heavy on these. Focus on perfect form instead.
Dumbbell Hammer Curls	3×10-12	Direct: Biceps Indirect: Forearms	Great exercise for building up your forearms
Incline Bench Single Arm Preacher Curls	3×10-12	Direct: Biceps Indirect: Forearms	Great when compared to other bicep exercises as it avoids putting pressure on the elbow joint.

Wednesday

Exercise	Sets+Reps	Target Muscles	Notes
Leg Extensions	3×10-12	Direct: Quads	–
Leg Curl	3×10-12	Direct: Hamstrings Indirect: Calfs	–
Leg Press	3×6-10	Direct: Glutes Indirect: Overall Legs	Go heavy but not too crazy
Squats	3×8-10	Direct: Glutes, Hamstrings, Quads	You should be pretty tired at this point so try to go a bit heavy but within reason
Dumbbell/Weight Plate Standing Calf Rises	3×12	Direct: Calfs	Slow motion and focus on holding the stretch at the top

Thursday – (optional but recommended)

Exercise	Sets+Reps
Hanging Leg Raise (switching to hanging knee raise if too difficult)	3×15
Ab Crunch (if machine available) or Normal Ab Crunch	3×10-15
Leg Raises	3×10-15
Plank (aim for a 30 seconds hold)	3

Friday

Exercise	Sets+Reps	Target Muscles	Notes
Squats	3×10-12	Direct: Quads	–
Bench Press	3×10-12	Direct: Chest Indirect: Arms, Shoulders	–
Barbell Shoulders Press	3×8	Direct: Shoulders Indirect: Arms, Back, Traps	Careful with form
Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise	3×10	Direct: Shoulders Indirect: Arms	–
Shrugs	3×8-10	Direct: Traps Indirect: Back	–

Saturday – Rest Day

Sunday – Rest Day