How To Create A Workout Plan

Creating A Workout Plan

Creating a workout plan can be really intimidating especially with so many popular workout plans out there it can be very hard knowing where to start!

First let’s begin with what are you currently doing for your workout?

Are you seeing results?

Is it safe, do you feel healthier?
Are you still making forward progress?

If you answered yes to all of those questions, I would recommend keep doing what you are doing.

If you answered no, let’s dive in a little deeper.

Which Exercises Are Right For me?

Try and keep things simple and relate back to your goals which we talked about earlier.

Make sure you are also keeping your workouts balanced while hitting all the major muscle groups in your body.

See this quick example showing sample exercise you can use to hit your major muscles:

Legs (quads) – squats, lunges (note squats will hit the majority of muscles in your legs)

Legs (glutes & hamstrings) – Deadlits, Glute bridge, glute ham raise

Push (chest, shoulders, & Triceps) – bench press, shoulder press, tricep pull downs

Pull ( back, biceps) Pull ups, rows, bicep curls

Abs – plank

You can use a combination of the exercises above to form a full body workout hitting all of your major muscle groups or focus on different movements and muscle groups each day making sure to hit everything during the week.

When you get confident you can start adding in different types of movements.

Periodization

If you do the exact same workout all the time all year round your body will get bored and you will not see results. It is important to periodically switch up your routine in order to keep seeing results.

There are numerous factors you can switch up including:

Workout intensity
Rest time between sets
The amount of sets

Individual Exercises

Another thing to note is your muscles are not actually being built during your workout, they are getting broken down in the gym. When you are resting is when you muscles recover and re-build stronger. So it is also very important to allow your body to rest

How Many Sets Should I Do?

Like most answers it depends.

If you are starting out I would recommend between 3-5 sets per exercise. You will learn how your body responds and you can change up your workout as you go.

How Many Repetitions Should I Do?

I bet you guessed the answer – it depends.

If you are new to working out I would recommend using lighter weights and getting in more reps to learn the different movement patterns.

Here are some general rules which can help you decide.

Some general rules:

Reps in the 1-5 range – typically build strength
Reps in the 6-12 range usually geared more towards strength and hypertrophy (building muscle)
Reps in the 12+ range build muscular endurance.

Also remember to create a healthy and sustainable diet to supplement your training!

How Long Should I Wait Between Sets?

You are probably getting tired of this answer – but it depends

Again here are some basic guidelines which can help you decide:

1-4 Reps (training for strength and power): Rest between 3 to 5 minutes
5-7 Reps (training for strength): Rest for 2 to 3 minutes
8-12 Reps (training for size/muscle): Rest for 1 to 2 minutes

13 Reps+ (lifting for endurance): Rest for 1 minute or less

Tailor the rest time to your workout, sometimes you might find you need more rest time or you can get away with less. Play around with the rest time and find what works best for you.

Try not to overthink this, your body will often tell you when it’s ready.

How Much Weight Should I Lift?

Try and pick a weight which is challenging, while ensuring you will still have energy for your next sets afterwards. If the weight is too easy go up and if it’s too heavy than reduce it. Cater your weight to your goals and rep ranges.

You should start to see how this coming together now.

How Long Should I Exercise?

Starting out I would recommend 45 – 60 minutes. There are always exceptions; for example you are doing a 30 minute class or a powerlifter prepping for competition taking slow rest time hitting around the 2 hour workout time mark.

Track, Track and Track

As we talked about before make sure you are tracking everything. you can use a journal or a fitness application. This is a great way to also hold yourself accountable!

Sample Workout Structure

Warm up – 10 minutes , bike , treadmill, rower etc
Pick exercises covering major muscle groups – quads, butt and hamstrings, push, pull, and core.