Getting back to the gym and I have a few stupid questions. I tried to go 5 days a week, and I just can't do it. So this time im going to start with 3 days and see if I can't bump it up. Since my plan is to start wit 3 days, should I upper and lower on the same day? I was always told not to, but I don't remember why so I'm sure it's not a profound reason. Secondly, I was always told not to work out right before bed time, but that is the easiest time to fit into my schedule. Any reason for it?

How you design your workout splits really depends on your goals.

I will do a full body workout, 3 days a week.

But if you’re goals are more in regards to building muscle along the lines of a body builder type then that won’t work for you.

But if you haven’t been to the gym in a long time, your split doesn’t matter too much.

If your goals are more geared towards body building/ looking good then a good split could be

Workout 1: Chest, Shoulders and Triceps
Workout 2: Back and Biceps
Workout 3: Legs

As far as working out before bed it’s not ideal because you usually don’t want to take a pre workout because then you can’t sleep and and you can’t refuel an hour after workout because you’re asleep. Plus it winds people up. I know I can’t sleep too well if I go to the gym late in evening and also by then my energy is sapped.

But working out before bed is 1000 times better than not working out at all

Being a gym noob you need to find a pre made program instead of just doing your own thing. Starting Strength or strong lifts gives you a great strength platform to grow on and IMO is what every new lifter should be doing for the first few months.

Working out any time of the day is fine, everyone has a personal preference but getting it in is what's most important. If you're lifting right before bed I'd shy away from stim based pre-workout sups.

You're way overcomplicating it, and all this crap about supplements and all that crap is BS. You don't need it and you never did. If you have to get juiced or dump a bunch of supplements to get a workout in, you're doing it wrong. It's a crutch. You can't buy yourself into fitness.


Weights: full body, start lightweight, but get three sets of 10 reps of all the muscle groups. Three days a week, one day apart. Starting heavy, or jumping into heavy lifting, is only going to injure you.
Cardio: target heart rate not to exceed 150, start with what you can do, even if that's walking 10 steps.  Three days a week, one day apart, on the days you aren't doing weights. Goal here is to get to at least 30 minutes keeping your heart rate at 150, and it if exceeds 150, SLOW DOWN.


This leaves you one day a week to fully recover, and you're going six days a week but cardio and weights each get a day off all week long.
Start light and easy. I literally started with 5 pound weights and walking one lap of the track. I ended up outlifting everyone in the gym and running two miles under 8 minutes a piece.

The key: you have only one goal: do better than you did the day prior. You did 20 minutes on the elliptical? Next time, you maybe do 20 minutes, 30 seconds. Maybe you increase the resistance 1%. Maybe you do twenty minutes but jump on a bike for 2 minutes after.
Maybe you bench 10 reps 3 times, next time you 11-10-10. Maybe you're hitting 12-12-12, so you bump the weight 5 pounds and reset to 10-10-10.

If you feel beat after the gym, you're taking on too much, when you should feel elated, fulfilled, and relaxed after the gym. The goal is to do better than you did last time. That's all, and it's a goal you can achieve every. single. time. Unrealistic goals are what kill most people trying to gym up.

What are you trying to accomplish?  Stronglifts and cardio is pretty much fool proof.

Yup.  Stonglifts is a good starting point regardless of goals IMO.

Absolutely best thing you can do is use an established program. Buy one if need be- we pay people to do things for us all the time we don't know how to do- why should programming workouts be any different?

3x a week full body programs are great. I switched to one a few years ago and I wished I had done it a long time ago. Lots of research show the old "bro splits" aren't as effective for natural lifters and that muscle protein synthesis takes 24-48 hrs. Meaning you can trigger muscle building multiple times per week. You don't need to "destroy" a muscle and let it rest for a week. It also forces you to regulate and spread out volume, which keeps muscle soreness down in my experience.

What are your goals? Mainly strength- starting strength or stronglifts. Hypertrophy? I used the Athlean X Beast program. has three different levels depending on your training experience.

Starting strength or strong lifts is the correct answer for you.  Regardless what you’re long term goals are starting with one of those two programs is the best thing to do.  

Just remember, doing one push up a day is better than doing none.  Push too hard, burn out and quit.

This! I just had to take off 7 weeks from the gym thanks to a new dog and surgery. I started back with Stronglifts 5x5 and it started me all over again like a noob. I love it. Helps me get my form and mechanics back on track. 5x5 is every other day and you can do up to 20 minutes of cardio after your lifting session. Get the app.

Full body is a great way to start getting your work capacity back up.

Looking into Greyskull LP. It has intelligent progression, and room for add ons, so you can add more when you can do more.

I just did the same thing after taking 8 weeks off.  I wouldn't say I love it, but it works.  I can't wait to stall out so I can move on.

Doing the Phraks version of Greyskull LP right now. I like it way more than Stronglifts, although I don't regret doing Stronglifts first.

If its 3x a week, i'd go for a full body routine concentrating on basic movements that utilize multiple body parts --    

as in -- the pulldowns you do for your back also work your biceps
   -- use the trap bar for your deadlifts, and this combines the squat muscles also - and you can still throw in a shrug at the top
   -- so many different chest exercises, but just starting out with flat or incline bench with dumbbells , - or dips if your gym has a dip asist machine (if you need it )

But start slow for the first few weeks until muscle memory from your prior training starts to kick in


And if you can fall asleep after training, more power to ya --  for me, morning time is my time though as i get a rush of endorphins from a workout and cant go to sleep --- but there's really not a wrong time

There's a good reason for all the Stronglifts and Starting Strength recommendations. They're not the most glamorous but they work. Don't over think this, just do one of those and get started.

A three day full body split would work, as would bro splits (chest/tri, back/bi, shoulders/legs).  SS or SL5x5 would be good too.  

You will be invigorated from the workout so right before bedtime may not be the best time.

Your workout should be tailored to your fitness goals.

If your goal is to add muscle and look better, use a BB routine. Full body workout MWF or TTS.

Depending on the gym, they might have routines setup in an App. that tracks your progress and has each exercise for set goals.
I use Anytime Fitness and use their Apps.

I switched to a new schedule and leave work at Midnight. It took me about three months to get back into a routine.
After lifting, there is no way I could sleep. I have to do it early as I can. I love having 24/7 gym access.  Every study I have ever read says to exercise before breakfast for best results.