How to learn programming?

Question

IT education

I am an experienced programmer.
My studies turned out to be long - 5 years as in a university
. But I studied thoroughly, as an engineer, studied the history of languages ​​and database theory ...
And my graduation project was terribly difficult.
It is clear that the main thing is the practice of many years.
But in the beginning, what is the best way to organize training?
How long does the theoretical stage usually take before practice?
How long does it take for an ordinary person to build up?
Is it normal to learn theory for the first year without complicated practice?
That is, not to do a "thesis project", but only to study languages ​​​​and perform small tasks in each lesson.
9 months, three lessons per week = 100 lessons.
Let's say we are talking about learning web programming - is 100 lessons a normal amount? or is it long?
That is, at the first stage, the student accumulates a critical mass of knowledge - and after that he makes his own educational project on his own.
As is usually the case in technical schools and universities, programmers
are not in courses, but in normal training programs
here or abroad