The Tyro Sets

          For your first month, we are going to work you through the Tyro Sets. Here is a sneaky little inside hint. “Tyro” by definition means “a beginner or novice” but your average person is not going to know that word. And, “I am doing my Tyro Sets” sounds infinitely cooler than “I am doing my Beginner Sets” or “I am doing my I Don’t Know What The Heck I Am Doing Sets.”

          So, for Tyro, I recommend 3 workouts a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Obviously adapt this to your schedule if you have to but by staggering your days, you get a nice amount of rest in between workouts to help you recover. Trust me, after your first workout, you are going to be thinking to yourself, Was that it? That wasn’t so hard. Pain comes in the morning after your muscles have been inert as you are sleeping. That is when you are going to really want that recovery time.

          There are two different workouts that I want you to perform, Tyro A and Tyro B. By doing three workouts a week and alternating the workouts, in Week 1, you will perform Tyro A twice (Monday & Friday), then in Week 2, you will perform the Tyro B twice (Monday & Friday). You want to rotate this schedule for 4 weeks and then see where you are at and if you are ready to advance to the next level.

Warming Up

           I recommend warming up with a series of stretches and some cardio. This makes sure your muscles know it is time to go to work. You don’t need a marathon. Five minutes at a brisk pace is enough to get your body kick-started.  You can perform exercises at a dramatically reduced weight to let you warmed up but don’t count these towards your track.
           Get loose. Get limber. Get warm and then it is time to get to work!

TYRO A

          TYRO A is pretty simplistic. Perform your Barbell Squats to begin. If you are uncertain on how to squat, I highly recommend Layne Norton’s Squat Tutorial. It is be the single most comprehensive and informative video I have found on proper squat technique. I recommend doing squats to start because legs are longer and stronger but performing the exercises will drain your fuel tank faster than most. The goal is to perform between 8 to 10 reps but your starting form is crucial. Your form has to be right in order for you to lift properly and prevent injury. It is perfectly acceptable to just lift the bar to get started or if you are uncomfortable squatting with a bar on your shoulders, you can do dumbbell squats where you are simply squatting with two dumbbells held at your sides or held up high with the back of the dumbbell head resting against your shoulders. Just make sure your form is proper. You will perform 3 sets of squats at 8 to 10 reps.

          Once you have completed a set of squats, let’s go ahead and perform a Standing Calf Raise for 10 to 12 reps to complete the circuit. You already have the bar on your shoulders (or in hand if you are doing dumbbells). It is one more way to work your legs and economize your time. You can start out by just lifting from a flat plain but eventually you want to work up to elevating the balls of your feet (say on a 10 lb. plate).  

          For Circuit 2, we will move onto the Bench Press. Again, your form is crucial on this one and there is no shame in asking a trainer for help. The bench press offers you an opportunity to “press” or push the weight off your chest. You are going to perform 3 sets with a weight that you can comfortably perform 8 to 10 times. Again, the amount lifted is not the issue. You want it to be tough but you don’t want to have to compromise your form in order to achieve the lift. Again, if the bar is too much weight, you can use dumbbells. Just do some form of a press. At this stage of the game, you want to be developing that press movement and mastering your form.

          As you just got done pushing the weight, now let’s counterbalance that with a nice row to work your middle back. I personally recommend a Seated Cable Row but you might be more comfortable doing something like a Bent Over Dumbbell Row with both left and right hands. You just want something that is going to get that middle back stretched out and working to counterbalance the push you just did with the bench press.

          Next you want to choose an exercise that works the triceps. Remember, curls are for the girls; “tri”s are for the guys. Girls notice that bicep muscle first but men note your triceps. There are dozens to choose from but as we are just getting started, choose one that works best for you. I recommend a Triceps Press Down using a cable station and an Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extension. Triceps are very complicated but let’s not overthink things, just choose an exercise that you like and then rip out your sets. The triceps have three “heads.” Extensions work the inside. Press-Downs work the outside.  

          Finally, complete some sort of ab routine, doing 1 to 2 sets of an ab exercise where you get 10 to 12 reps. You will be doing ab work with every exercise.

          So, this exercise got you pumping with legs, chest, back, arms and abs. It is pretty decent start. The building blocks have begun to be put together.  

 

TYRO B

           TYRO B builds on the same circuit formula as Workout A. The first exercise to perform is the Deadlift. This is the mother of all exercises because it works so much with one single lift. You want to perform this first while your energy levels are high. Please, do your research on this one. The best video tutorial I have found is How To Deadlift: Layne Norton’s Complete Guide. Don’t try to deadlift a Honda Civic to start. Remember, we are developing form.

           We don’t want to neglect your calves so alternate to a Seated Dumbbell Calf Raise. This is a simple exercise but it is very important. I think you will be surprised at the weight that you can perform with this one, even just starting out.

           Circuit 2 targets your shoulders and your lats. You want an exercise where you are working your shoulders in an overhead press. This can be performed with dumbbells, a barbell, or (if necessary) a machine. You just want that nice overhead push of the weight. Since we are just starting out, I recommend a Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press.

           Your next exercise counterbalances that overhead push by performing a Lat Pulldown on one of the cable stations. There are a variety of grips that you can choose from but choose one grip and stick with it through all three sets. Obviously the ultimate lat exercise is the Pull-Up but if you are like me, you are a long way from being able to perform the 8 reps you need for hypertrophy. For now, settle for Lat Pulldowns.

           Workout A worked your triceps, so now let’s work the biceps with a few sets of curls. I personally recommend Hammer Curls. Your hands are at a neutral position (you palms are facing your hips) and I find this to be a more comfortable curl. Later you will advance to barbell curls, EZ-Bar curls, and curls of all kinds. And if you don’t like the Hammer Curls, choose something else. Just perform an exercise that works out your biceps.

           Round out the workout with a Dumbbell Shrug that works your trapezius muscles. Later you will be doing these with dumbbells, a barbell, or even kettlebells. For now, you just want a nice shrug.

           Finally, finish out with some ab work and call the B Workout finished.  

The Four Week Track

          If you are feeling ambitious, you can always head up to the gym on Tuesdays and Thursday and put in some solid cardio time. It elevates your heartbeat. You are burning calories. It is not a bad thing to get some cardio in. But you are going to want rest time to let your muscles heal up, especially when you are first starting out.

          While this doesn’t seem like a lot on paper, that soreness is going to catch up with you big time. But like rampaging alcoholics, sometimes a little hair of the dog that bit you is helpful. Getting your muscles warm and loosened up through cardio will help ease that soreness. If you are really lucky, you have a spouse or partner that is willing to give you a rub down after your workouts or on off days.

          My recommendation is to perform this rotation for 4 weeks. Track your progress including how much weight you are lifting and how many reps you get. This will be important for when you are analyzing your progress and you start planning to go to the next level. If you want to run it for another four weeks, that is absolutely fine.

 

 Tyro Sets: In Conclusion

          I know what you are thinking when you get done reading through my Tyro Sets. “Really, Ryan? That’s it?” Look, you are not going to be Schwarzenegger overnight and the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. It may not seem like much right now but these exercises are the building blocks that any successful workout is built around. Squats, deadlifts, bench press, lat pulldowns (which will later become chin-ups) are four key exercises that every routine has to have. So let’s start with these basic building blocks and build upon a solid foundation. 

          As long as you stick to the formula, the exercises that you perform are open-ended. For example, Workout B calls for a Lateral Pulldown. You can do wide grip, close grip, inverted grip, v-bar grip, single arm pulldowns, shotgun rows… all of which are going to attack your muscles at different angles.  But you have to understand the basic building blocks. You have to finger paint before you can air brush a masterpiece. And reading through all the various lat pulldowns that are available can leave you confused.

          I do recommend sticking with the same grip through all three sets. However, if you did a wide-grip lat pulldown on Monday, you can switch things up and do a V-Bar Grip on Friday. It is still a lat pulldown but changing the grip changes everything.

          This goes for almost all of your exercises in the formula. Bench Press? Why not try a Dumbbell Bench Press (which affords you a greater range of motion), an incline barbell press (works the top of the pec muscles), or an incline dumbbell press with a hammer grip? There is a wide variety of options that attack the same muscle group but in a different way.   

          The trick is that you do want to keep things fresh. Your body is going to adapt quickly and you will have to find new ways to counter that adaptation. And don’t worry, as you begin to progress, your workout split is going to be very different and as you develop a “chest” routine, you are going to implement all these different exercises that you are experimenting with now.

          But you don’t want to get overwhelmed to start.

 

The Drunken Giraffe/Hippo Hybrid

          There is a theory that you must perform an exercise 10,000 times to truly master it. While I hope that this theory is wrong, I will warn you that when you first get started… Well, no bones about it. You are going to hate yourself. Whether this is your first time in the gym or if you have been away for a while, you are going to have to physically train your body to perform the exercises you want to perform.

          There are going to moments when you get on that treadmill where you are going to seem awkward and feel like your limbs are suddenly too long for your body. You clearly know how to walk but do it on a motorized track and all the sudden your coordination goes out the window.

          Performing things like a Trap Bar Deadlift is going to feel weird because you are going to want to go up on the balls of your feet when you squat. That is just physiological. Ove time, you will learn to stick your butt out and drive through your heels. But those growing pains are going to be awkward and you are going to feel like a drunken giraffe as you flail about trying to get everything figured out. And if you are overweight and your body is screaming at you, inside, you are going to feel like some weird Dr. Moreau hybrid of the drunken giraffe that was mated with a hippopotamus.

          So, heed these words of encouragement.

          First, you stepped through the door. That puts you better than half the people out there. Even if you fail, fall, or flail about in this endeavor (and it will happen), you are at least trying. And the man who says “I failed” is ten times greater than the man who said, “What if?”

          No one walks in knowing how to do this. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Michael Jordan. Tiger Woods. Serena Williams. Brett Farve. Ronda Rousey. There was a moment where all these guys and girls took up their weapons of sport. You better believe that first session was not graceful or fluid. So you will get there but it is going to take considerable time. How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

          But there is an advantage that you have that cloaks you from embarrassment. You wear it and you don’t even realize it and the secret is this: No one cares.  Chances are most people are in the gym because they have deep seeded self-esteem issues to begin with. This plays to your advantage because those people are typically so wrapped up in their own routine and their own work that they don’t have time nor the inclination to worry about you.

          I will say that most people in the gym are competitive but it is a different type of competition. I am not trying to out-lift the guy sitting next to me. I am just trying to be better than the person I was yesterday. So, in that regard, yes, the fires of my passion are stoked like the dwarven forges or Erabor. It burns so hot that it can melt gold.  But I am competing with myself; not the guy next to me.

          The only time I step in with someone is to offer advice to keep them from getting hurt.  

          As I said, if you talk to people who are serious about changing their life and their appearance in the gym, you don’t have to dig too deeply before you realize that we all have self-esteem issues. But my success does not hamper someone else’s. There are more than enough seats at the table and most people are more than happy to offer a helping hand up so that you can sit down and eat.

          There will always be a few lunkheads who are going to want to strut around like they are cocks of the walk but pay them no mind. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So get to steppin’.