Basic Beginner Routine: Free Beginner Workout Plan

The Basic Beginner Routine is the starter barbell program on The Fitness Wiki, where the r/Fitness wiki moved. It takes turns between two short workouts, one with rows, bench press and squats and one with chin-ups, overhead press and deadlifts. Each lift gets three sets of five reps with the last set taken further, and the weight goes up a little every time you do the lift.

Who the routine is for

The wiki writes the routine for people who are new to barbell training, and it calls it a “training wheels” routine. Its main aim is a gym habit, with few lifts to learn and short sessions on three days a week. It also wants new lifters to count progress in reps as well as weight, which is why the last set of each lift is open-ended.

The wiki suggests running the routine for three months at most and then moving to a fuller program, and the last section of this page covers the two programs it names for that step.

How the routine works

Workout A and Workout B alternate, with a full rest day between lifting days, which usually means Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Workout A is barbell rows, bench press and squats, and Workout B is chin-ups, overhead press and deadlifts. All six lifts are three sets of five, and the last set of each one is taken as far as it goes, stopping with one or two reps left.

Rest runs 2 to 3 minutes between sets and up to 5 minutes between lifts. The routine also asks for two cardio days a week, one easy and one hard, on whatever days suit you.

How the weights go up on the wiki

The wiki adds 2.5 lb (about 1.1 kg) to the bench press, overhead press, row and chin-up each time you do the lift. The squat and deadlift get 5 lb (about 2.3 kg). More than 10 reps on the last set adds 5 or 10 lb instead. Fewer than 15 reps across a lift’s three sets brings a 10 percent cut next time, and the wiki suggests using those lighter sessions to set new rep records.

Here is how that plays out on a squat at 50 kg. Sets of 5, 5 and 6 add the usual 5 lb, and sets of 5, 5 and 12 earn the bigger jump. Sets of 5, 4 and 4 total 13 reps, so the next squat session starts 10 percent lighter, at 45 kg.

What Kinoku works out for you

Kinoku’s template tracks the same six lifts and builds Workout A and Workout B as two routines. You enter a one-rep max for each barbell lift, and the first working weight is 80 percent of it, rounded to the nearest 2.5 kg. The chin-up starts with no added weight, and a barbell field left blank starts on the empty 20 kg bar, close to the wiki’s advice to work up from the bar.

Whenever every set of a lift reaches five reps, that lift moves up for next time. The bench press, overhead press and row go up 2.5 kg, the chin-up takes 2.5 kg more added weight, and the squat and deadlift go up 5 kg. Each lift counts its own missed sessions, and the third in a row takes 10 percent off, rounded to the nearest 2.5 kg.

Where the app’s version differs

The deadlift is the clearest change. The wiki lists three sets of five or more for the deadlift, and Kinoku plans a single set of five or more, as its Greyskull-style plan does.

The jumps are about twice the wiki’s, because Kinoku adds 2.5 kg and 5 kg where the wiki adds 2.5 lb and 5 lb. Choosing Smaller under Weight jumps in Program settings halves them to 1.25 kg and 2.5 kg, and the cut after three missed sessions then rounds to the nearest 1.25 kg. Kinoku also leaves out the bigger jump that the wiki gives for more than 10 reps on the last set.

The cut for a bad session comes later in the app. The wiki takes 10 percent off after a single session under 15 reps, while Kinoku waits for three missed sessions in a row. In Kinoku, a session counts as missed when any set ends below five reps.

The two cardio days are not in Kinoku’s plan, which holds only the lifting days. You can log them on the free days as a run with GPS or as a workout of your own.

After three months

The wiki suggests Cody Lefever’s GZCLP (a program that sorts lifts into three tiers) or Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 for Beginners when the three months are up. Kinoku has a GZCLP template, and its 5/3/1 template is 5/3/1 Boring But Big, a different variant from the beginner version. The old r/Fitness wiki page for Phrak’s Greyskull variant now points to this routine, and Kinoku runs both as separate templates.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an app that runs the r/Fitness Basic Beginner Routine for me?

Kinoku has it as a free template on Android. It builds Workout A and Workout B, plans a first weight at 80 percent of the one rep max you enter, and adds weight to a lift once every set reaches five reps. Each lift counts its own misses, and a third missed session in a row takes 10 percent off that lift.

What if I cannot do a chin-up yet?

The wiki lists negatives, a lat pulldown machine, a bodyweight progression from r/bodyweightfitness, and bands or an assisted machine. Kinoku's routine keeps the chin-up and starts it at body weight, and it plans weights only for the chin-up itself.

How do I pick my starting weights?

The wiki starts from the empty bar and adds 10 to 20 lb a set until the bar slows or your form slips. In Kinoku, a one-rep max becomes a first working weight at 80 percent of it. A field left blank starts that lift on the empty 20 kg bar.

What happens when I miss reps in Kinoku?

The weight stays where it was for the next session of that lift. Each lift keeps its own count of missed sessions, and the third miss in a row takes 10 percent off, rounded to the nearest 2.5 kg. The wiki cuts sooner, after a single session under 15 reps.

How is it different from Phrak's Greyskull variant?

Both use three sets of five with a last set taken further, and both list the same weight jumps. The Basic Beginner Routine keeps each workout fixed, so rows and bench press always come with squats. It also lists three sets of deadlifts and two cardio days a week, which Phrak's variant does not.