Green Arrow Year One Workout: 7-Week Beginner Plan

Every hero needs a beginning. Inspired by Oliver Queen’s transformation from castaway to Green Arrow, this seven-week foundation programme builds strength, conditioning, movement quality and athletic confidence from the ground up.

📖 Introduction

Before the hood, the trick arrows and the legend, there was simply Oliver Queen. Stranded far from home and stripped of the wealth and comfort that had defined his life, survival forced him to become stronger, fitter, tougher and more capable.

Year One takes the same approach to training. This is the foundation programme: seven weeks of building strength, movement quality, conditioning and athletic confidence from the ground up. You don’t need to arrive as Green Arrow. This is where you start becoming him.

📋 About the Workout

Year One is where the journey begins. Designed for beginners and those returning after a long break, it builds the foundations Green Arrow’s later abilities depend upon: full-body strength, movement control, conditioning and basic athleticism.

The emphasis isn’t on lifting huge weights or destroying yourself with conditioning. It’s on learning to squat, hinge, push, pull, carry, run and move well, then gradually increasing the challenge as your ability improves.

⚙️🛠️ Breakdown

You’ll train four days each week, with three full-body strength sessions forming the backbone of the programme and one lighter day devoted to movement and conditioning. Two days are reserved for complete rest, leaving one additional day for recovery or easy activity.

Across the week you’ll encounter compound strength exercises, bodyweight movements, loaded carries, core work, basic athletic drills and short conditioning finishers. The result is a broad introduction to athletic training rather than a conventional bodybuilding split.

Click on links below for full breakdown.

💪 What You'll Build

Year One establishes the physical foundations needed for more demanding training. Across seven weeks, the programme is designed to develop:

Full-body strength through fundamental push, pull, squat, hinge and carry patterns.
Movement quality through controlled repetitions and progressive exercise variations.
Core strength and stability for better control during lifting and athletic movement.
Basic cardiovascular fitness through short finishers and light conditioning.
Bodyweight competency through push-ups, rows, hangs and assisted pulling work.
Training tolerance by gradually introducing regular, structured exercise.

🏋️ Equipment

The programme uses common gym equipment including barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, a bench, pull-up bar, cable machine and box or step. A suspension trainer is useful but optional, while conditioning can be performed with a rowing machine, Assault Bike or skipping rope.

Most exercises can be substituted if particular equipment isn’t available.

⚖️ Choosing Your Weight

Start conservatively. Choose a weight that allows you to complete every prescribed repetition with controlled, technically sound movement, while feeling that you could still perform around 2–3 good repetitions at the end of each set.

For new exercises, begin lighter than you think you need and increase gradually. If you comfortably complete every set with good technique, add a small amount of weight the next time the exercise appears.

Suggested effort: RPE 6–7/10.
You should be working, but never grinding.

🔢 Sets, Reps & Rest

Unless a workout specifies otherwise:

Strength: 3 × 6–10
Bodyweight: 3 sets to technical failure or prescribed reps
Carries: 3 rounds
Core: 3 sets
Conditioning: 5–10 minutes

Allow around 90–120 seconds between compound lifts, 60–90 seconds for assistance work and 30–60 seconds for core exercises.

🎯 Your Anchor Point

Quality comes first. Every repetition should be controlled and technically sound. You’re building the movement patterns that everything else in this guide will eventually depend upon.

If technique begins to fail, reduce the weight, lower the repetitions or use an easier variation.

Precision before progression.

💪 The Circuits

Work through Year One week by week, completing the sessions in order and following the prescribed training and recovery days. Each stage builds on the last, so start with Week 1 and progress steadily through the full seven weeks. Use the week links to navigate between sections and pick up where you left off.

Take it one session at a time, keep your technique sharp and give yourself time to improve. Good luck. Your Year One starts here. 🏹

🗓️ Week 1

Day 1

Goblet Squat: 8 x reps.
Push-Ups (or Incline Push-Ups): 8 x reps.
Inverted Row): 8 x reps.
Romanian Deadlift (DB or KB): 8 x reps.
Farmer Carry: 30 x metres.
Front Plank: 30 x seconds.
Jump Rope: 5 x minutes.

Day 2

Rest

Day 3

Reverse Lunge: 8 x reps each leg.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 8 x reps.
Assisted Pull-Ups (or Lat Pulldown): 6 x reps.
Kettlebell Swing: 12 x reps.
Dead Hang: 20 x seconds.
Hanging Knee Raises: 8 x reps.
Rowing Machine: 5 x minutes.

Day 4

Light Training

Easy Run: 20 x minutes

Yoga / Mobility: 20–30 x minutes

Day 5

Bulgarian Split Squat: 6 x reps each leg.
Dumbbell Floor Press: 8 x reps.
One-Arm Dumbbell Row: 8 x reps each arm.
Bear Crawl: 20 x metres.
Farmer Carry: 30 x metres.
Pallof Press: 8 x reps each side.
Shuttle Runs and Sled Push: 5 x minutes. 30 metres (32yds) sprint/30 metres (32yds) sled push.

Day 6

Rest

Day 7

Rest