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How to Create Your Own Workout Plan: A Guide for Beginners

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Let’s be honest: trainers are expensive. The good ones are worth their weight in gold, creating awesome changes in a short period of time, but a dedicated trainer is still beyond most people’s budget.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get the benefit of an intelligent, well-designed program . In this article, I’m going to teach you how to create your own. You’ll learn to think like a trainer and build an effective workout routine , one that gets you the results you want (without the need to spend thousands of dollars at the gym).

Below, you’ll find the five factors you’ll want to consider in building your plan , along with an example from the running world. Read on, and get some insight into what it takes to build your own program like a pro.

Jump to a section:

How to decide on work days and rest days

How to add active recovery days to your workout plan, how to create workout routines that reduce injury and help you train consistently, how to increase workout intensity over time, how to keep track and chart your progress, factor 1: consistency.

Consistency in training is the number one factor in getting results . You have to train often, and across a long period of time. Therefore, the first thing you need to consider: creating a program that will keep you in the game. The best workout routine in the world is useless if you don’t actually do it. Sidelined, whether for lack of progress, motivation, or a nagging injury, is a surefire way to miss your goals.

The Whole Life Challenge provides the structure to give you the consistency you need to follow through on any exercise plan. With daily accountability to the workouts you want to do, the WLC is just the thing you need to make consistency your middle name

This means we need to build a program that is do-able , with the right mixture of activity and rest.  There is a bit of art to this, but the first step is simple: write a general schedule. What are you going to do each day, Monday through Sunday?

Get a piece of paper, and write the days of the week along the side , then choose what you’ll do each day: workout or rest. To begin, plan to workout five days per week and rest two days. For most people, this is more than adequate for getting good results. Keep in mind that every workout day will not be a day of intense training or insane mileage: some days will involve hard training, others will involve only recovery or accessory work.  

There are many factors involved in deciding what happens on each day (which we’ll tackle further on in the article), but for now, just decide which days you’ll train and which you’ll rest. I like to do some sort of activity Tuesday through Saturday, leaving Sunday free to spend time with my wife, and Monday free to tackle the work that inevitably piles up on my desk over the previous week.  

Action Step 1 : Regardless of whether you like my schedule or prefer another one, grab your paper and:

• Pick the five days per week you’ll do some kind of training.
• Find a time of day that you’ll do that training and put it in your calendar.
• Make a pledge to yourself to do that training no matter what, knowing that consistency is the most important thing in creating a successful program.

Here’s what my program looks like after introducing Consistency :

Factor 2: Active Recovery

You’ve charted out five days for workouts and two days for rest.  

Next, you’ll want to pick two days for active recovery: one “workout” day and one “rest” day . Active recovery is meant to help you recover from your more intense training.

My favorite active recovery day pursuits:

• A long walk
• Yoga (at light intensity)
• Foam rolling and myofascial release
• Swimming (casual)

The point of these days is simple :  you want to keep moving, improve your range-of-motion, repair your muscles, and maintain a habit of activity. I’ll let you research each of the recovery activities listed above on your own (or better yet, try them all and see what you like), but here is my basic take:

A long walk burns energy, reduces stress , and gets your muscles and joints warm. It relieves soreness from previous workouts, and if combined with a light stretching, helps maintain your range-of-motion (your ability to move fully around any given joint). Swimming and yoga (of the correct, light intensity) accomplish much the same thing: you’ll improve your body’s dynamic abilities while staying active, and you’ll have fun to boot.

Your exercise requirement in the Whole Life Challenge is what you say it needs to be. You can fulfill your daily exercise commitment with easy movement or a workout at a relaxed pace, if that’s what your body needs. There’s no need to push yourself to the limits every day.

Foam rolling and myofascial release are keystones to recovery , and should sprinkled liberally throughout your program. Using external implements like rollers, lacrosse balls, and massage sticks, you’ll break down accumulated adhesions and scar tissue in your muscles, restoring their natural ability to lengthen and shorten without difficulty.

Myofascial release will help you avoid injury and maintain athletic ability . You can think of it like changing the oil in your car, making sure the tires are properly inflated, keeping the gas tank full: it’s the basic maintenance that keeps things running for a long, long time. While it will get its own day in my sample schedule, note that you should take ten to fifteen minutes before of after every workout to do some myofascial release. If this is your first exposure to the concept, go over to YouTube and search “foam rolling”. You’ll hit a trove of information on the topic.

Action Step 2 : Take your schedule, and choose one of your rest days and one of your five workout days for active recovery. Ideally, place active recovery days throughout the week, breaking up your more intense training days. Then, pick a few of the recovery activities that appeal to you, and pencil them in for the selected active recovery days.

Here’s what my program looks like after introducing Active Recovery:

Now, you’ve got a basic, seven-day schedule, and it’s time to choose activities for your workout days.

Factor 3: Variety

We want to avoid too many workouts that follow the same pattern. Rep schemes, times, miles, loads, and activities need to be altered regularly.  

Doing the same thing every day is an excellent way to induce mental burnout and bodily injury . Going through the same movements over and over, you’ll batter the same muscles, beat the same joints, and eventually you’ll break, the repetitive stress overcoming your ability to recover.

Therefore, we want to choose several different activities across workout days , choosing those that address our athletic deficiencies while building up our strengths.

A classic example of the problem : the unguided, novice distance runner. She starts running with one goal, going further. She does a mile every day for the first week, two miles every day the second week, and so on, repeating for months until joints hurt, range-of-motion is limited, and plantar fasciitis infects every step. She does the same thing at the same intensities, with predictable results: nagging injury.

She would be better off running three days a week, doing intense hill sprints and track work one day and a long, slow five-miler later in the week, and capping it off with a one-mile max effort, each intense running day preceded by an active recovery day or lighter work. She would build in some full-body strength training on her fourth training day to help make sure her muscles become strong enough to support the natural battering of frequent running.

This variety would build her speed (via the track day and the one-mile max effort), her endurance (via the long distance day), and her strength (via the lifting day), while the interspersed recovery days (swimming, yoga, and myofascial release) would keep her injury-free and able to train consistently. By contrast, running long and slow every day would build her endurance only while exposing her to injury.

Action Step 3 : Put sufficient variety in your workout days. Choose what specific activity you’ll do each day, along with the appropriate variation to help you avoid repetitive injury, reinforce your strengths, and build up your deficiencies.  

Here’s what our distance runner’s schedule would look like after introducing Variety :

Factor 4: Challenge

To make consistent progress, your hard workouts need to get harder over time .  This means you have to increase load, speed of completion, volume (or all three) as you make progress, upping the relative intensity of your workouts. If you fail to do this, you’ll inevitably plateau.  

Do not make things harder quickly. Rather, you should build in challenge slowly and gradually, making sure that you’re still recovering adequately from previous workouts. This balance is the number one hurdle to trainers everywhere: introducing challenge fast enough to create change without inducing injury or causing missed training days.  

Typically, you’ll want to train for four to six weeks at any given level of difficulty before trying to layer on more, and you’ll want to listen to your body. If you’re not recovering from your workouts well enough to tackle the next workout with intensity and focus, you’ve likely ramped up challenge too soon.

Adding challenge is an art, and takes a variety of forms. A linear program ramps up challenge in a straight line, and is typically most effective with beginners. A periodized program ramps challenge up in a more up-and-down fashion, building, then backing off, then building again, and is used with more advanced athletes.  

For the sake of example, we’ll use a linear program that ramps on a monthly basis, but realize that this is where you’ll want to do your research and evaluate your progress. Do you need to keep increasing challenge, back off, or spend longer at any given level of challenge?

Action Step 4 : Create a linear program across three months, building challenge in gradually across time.

Here’s what our distance runner’s schedule would look like after introducing Challenge :

As you can see, I added volume to most of the running workouts across time (and load to the weight lifting workout).  

Alternatively, our runner could keep the volume of the workouts the same across months and simply aim to run faster and complete her lifting sessions more quickly after each four-week training cycle, increasing speed of completion.   

Either is an acceptable way to increase challenge . Which you choose is largely a matter of preference for the novice, and need for the advance athlete—to choose a method, simply ask yourself which would better serve to build your athletic deficiencies. If you’re generally slow, you might consider going faster as your principal method of increasing challenge. If you’re already quick, but have a hard time maintaining speed, you’d choose to increase challenge by building volume.

Factor 5: Record Keeping

To program intelligently, you need to keep records. Your records should be both objective (recording times, loads, mileage, etc.) and subjective (recording how your body feels, mental state, recovery level).

Having these records at hand will allow you to see what’s working and what’s not, giving you clues as to how to alter the program for the next cycle. For instance, let’s take the program above.  

Imagine that runner’s log shows that during Month 1, her mile time got faster each week, as did her 200m splits.  During Month 2, her mile times slowed during week 6, as did her 200m splits:

What happened? It’s likely that we increased challenge too quickly, layering on too much volume too quickly. Remember, at the beginning of month 2, we added two extra 200m sprints, an additional mile to the long run, and a second medium-distance time trial.  She handled it okay during week 5, but then we saw decreased performance.  

We’ll want to make an alteration . We could revert to the Month 1 programming and see if we resume the streak of personal bests.  Alternatively, we could back off a portion of the Month 2 volume, going back to the Month 1 five-mile distance runs and three 200m sprints, but keeping the additional 1-mile time trial. We could even add in an additional rest day for a few weeks.

How would we know which course to take? Herein lies the art of training. We’d rely on experience and our subjective records for each day to pick the most likely solution, running a one-person experiment.  

We’d begin by examining our recorded thoughts and feelings for clues. For instance, if our runner reports feeling sluggish all week during Week 6, she may be suffering from accumulated fatigue, and she may decide to rest two or three days and then resume the Month 2 program.  If the poor performance continues, she would choose to decrease the volume back to Month 1 levels. If she sets new personal bests, she would carry on with the Month 2 program.

This is the benefit of record keeping. It gives us clues. Should we keep going with the program or back off? Are we getting continued progress, or have we stalled out?  

Action Step 5: Record your results and check them against your goal(s). Are you getting the result you want from your program? If not, what is the likely culprit, and how will you alter the program going forward?

Making It Happen

Designing your own program is within your capacity. Keep in mind that if you’ve never done it before, you’ll make some errors along the way, but know that this happens to even the most experienced coaches.  

Don’t let your lack of experience stop you from trying . The only way to get better at programming is to give it a shot.  

To help you avoid common mistakes, use these guidelines :

• Create consistency by keeping a regular weekly training schedule
• Include one full rest day and two active recovery days in your program each week.
• Use variety in your workouts to build multiple physical qualities, helping you avoid injury, reinforce strengths, and build weaknesses.
• Add challenge over time, adding volume, load, or speed gradually and sensibly to drive continued progress.
• Keep a record of your training, including objective and subjective measures, to better inform your future programming decisions.

When you begin programming, be cautious. The curse of the novice is to try for too much gain too quickly, training too often, layering on too much challenge, forgetting prudence in favor of excitement.  

To prevent a quick and painful end to your programming career, remember : you have your whole life to train, and the most important thing you can do on any given day is preserve your ability to train tomorrow. If you keep this mindset, you’ll inevitably make progress.

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Full-Body Workout Plan – Design Your Own + Sample Workouts

Written by Patrick Dale, PT, ex-Marine

Last Updated on 26 September, 2023 | 11:42 AM EDT

Ask most exercisers what the best way to organize your workouts is, and they’ll probably tell you to use a split routine. When you follow a split routine, each workout is dedicated to just a couple of muscle groups, with each one trained 1-2 times per week.

For example:

However, just because most people tend to gravitate toward split routines doesn’t mean you have to be one of them. In fact, for a lot of lifters, full-body workouts may be a better option.

Read more about split routines here .

In this article, we reveal the advantages and benefits of full-body workouts, explain how to write them, and provide you with several examples to try.

Full Body Workout Advantages and Benefits

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A lot of exercisers view full-body workouts as something that only beginners should do. In actuality, full-body workouts can be useful for beginner, intermediate, and even advanced exercisers when used properly. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger used full-body workouts to build his legendary physique, and you’d be hard-pushed to call HIM a beginner, right?!

So, before you dismiss full-body workouts, consider these advantages and benefits: 

1. Fewer workouts per week

Most split routines involve 4-6 workouts per week. With full-body training, you only need to hit the gym 2-3 times a week, making them a good option for time-pressed exercisers.

2. Increased training frequency per muscle group

A lot of split programs train major muscle groups just once a week. This may not be enough for optimal progress. With full-body workouts, you hit each major muscle group every time you work out, which may produce better results.

3. Burn more calories

Full-body workouts burn a lot of calories. While a leg or back and biceps workout uses a lot of energy, something like a shoulders and arms or arms and abs workout will not. If you want to lose fat and control your weight, full-body workouts may be your best choice.

4. More free time for other activities

Compared to something like a five or six-day training split, full-body workouts leave you more free time for other activities, such as cardio, playing sports, or just resting. If you want to work out with weights but also have interests outside the gym, full-body workouts may be the way to go.

5. A balanced training week even if you miss a workout

When you follow a split routine, especially one where you hit each muscle group just once per week, a missed workout will unbalance your entire training week. For example, if you miss your leg workout, it could mean that you don’t train your lower body for 14 days or more. With full-body workouts, if you miss one training session, you should still be able to train your major muscles 1-2 times that week, maintaining your progress.

Full Body Workout Routine Design Rules + Template

We’ve got a few sample workouts for you to try below, but you’ll probably get better results if you learn to write your own. That way, you can adapt this effective training system to match your needs and preferences.

Increase your chances of writing effective full-body workouts by following these program design rules:

1. Plan on training 2-3 days per week

Ideally, you should hit the gym 2-3 times per week on non-consecutive days, such a Monday , Wednesday, and Friday or Tuesday and Saturday . Training two days in a row is NOT recommended, as you won’t have time to recover between workouts.

2. Start your workout with the biggest/most demanding exercises

Full-body workouts can be tiring. Make the most of your energy by doing your most challenging exercises at the start and leaving easier exercises to the end. This usually means training legs first and core/arms last.

3. Focus on compound exercises

Unless you want your workout to last two hours or more, you need to build your full-body workouts around multi-joint compound exercises. This will save you time and energy. For example, you could do squats, or leg extensions, leg curls, hip abductions, hip adductions, hip thrusts, and lower back hyperextensions to train the same muscles. Compound exercises are MUCH more time-efficient!

4. One exercise per muscle group

You probably won’t have the time or energy to hit each muscle group with multiple exercises. Pick one compound exercise per major muscle group, choosing moves that deliver a lot of bang for their buck. The only real exception for this is the lower body.

For your legs, try and select a quad-dominant exercise (e.g., squats) and a hip dominant exercise (e.g., Romanian deadlifts) to work all your major leg muscles equally. You may also want to make one of your leg exercises unilateral (single-limbed).

5. Avoid overlapping exercises

Make sure you can put more effort into each exercise by avoiding overlaps. For example, if you did bench press followed by overhead presses, your shoulders and triceps would be tired, so you won’t be able to do justice to the second exercise. A better order would be something like bench presses followed by bent-over rows.

6. Train opposing muscle groups equally

Muscles are arranged in pairs on opposite sides of joints. For example, the biceps and triceps, quadriceps and hamstrings, anterior and posterior deltoids. Build a balanced physique by training opposing muscle groups equally. This usually means doing the same number of pushing exercises as pulling.

7. Core and arms last

While every compound exercise has an identifiable agonist or prime mover, most exercises also involve synergists and stabilizes. In pushing exercises, such as overhead presses and bench presses, the triceps are also involved, while pull-ups and rows also work your biceps. Most free weight leg exercises also train your core muscles.

Leave these synergists to the end of your workout to make sure you don’t fatigue them and impede your performance of your main compound exercises . In some instances, they may not need to be trained at all.

8. Adjust your reps, sets, and weights to match your training goal

Don’t just do the old standard of three sets of ten for your full-body workouts. Instead, adjust your rep scheme to reflect your training goal, i.e.:

• Strength/Power – 1-5 reps, 85%+ of your one-repetition maximum (1RM)
• Hypertrophy – 6-12 reps, 67-85% of your 1RM
• Endurance – 13-20 reps, 50-67% of your 1RM

You can also mix and match your set and rep scheme as you progress through your workout. For example, you might do three sets of 4-6 reps for the first three exercises, but just two sets of 6-12 reps for those coming later.

9. Create several full-body workouts and use them in rotation

Doing the same full-body workout over and over again will soon get old. Prevent boredom and plateaus by creating two or more full-body workouts and using them in rotation.

Workout Template

Here’s a fool-proof template to make designing full-body as easy as possible. Just slot your favorite exercises into this table, add your preferred set and rep scheme, and you’re ready to go!

* Because the biceps, triceps, and core muscles are trained indirectly during the various compound exercises, it’s not always necessary or beneficial to train them during a full-body workout. If you prefer, it may be better to do extra sets of the more productive compound exercises rather than train these smaller muscles in isolation.  

Full Body Gym Workouts

You now have all the information you need to create your very own full-body workouts. But, to save you the trouble, here is a selection of whole-body workouts to try. Each one uses slightly different training approaches to illustrate just how flexible full-body training can be. Just add your preferred set and rep scheme to ensure that your chosen workout will produce the results you want.

But, before you start any of these workouts, make sure you prepare your body and mind by warming up properly. Do 5-10 minutes of easy cardio followed by a few dynamic mobility and flexibility exercises. Also, do a couple of light sets of the main exercises in your chosen workout to ready yourself for lifting heavier weights.

1. Super-abbreviated full-body workout

This workout is ideal for when you are short on training time. While not perfectly balanced, all major muscles are trained reasonably equally over the course of the week. Each workout should take 40 minutes or less.

2. Barbell-only full-body workout

No bench or dumbbells? No problem! You can still get a great workout using nothing but a barbell.

3. Full-body strength and power workout

This workout uses both explosive lifts and strength exercises to improve athletic performance. If you play sports, this is the workout for you.

4. Full-body dumbbell workout

If you work out at home, it’s entirely possible that you only have a bench and dumbbells in your gym. This needn’t be a drawback, and you can have a very productive full-body workout with just a bench and dumbbells.

5. Home full-body workout routine

You can use full-body workouts at home as well as in a gym. You don’t need weights for this workout, but you will need somewhere to do pull-ups and body rows.

Full Body Workout Plan – Wrapping Up

Full-body workouts are not just for beginners. While split routines are arguably the best choice for bodybuilders, general exercisers and fitness enthusiasts may get better results from full-body workouts. Bodybuilders can use them too when they need a change of pace or just don’t have the time to work out six times a week.

The key to successful full-body training is following a well-designed workout. If you try and cram too many exercises into your workout, you probably won’t have the time or energy to complete it. Order matters too, and putting the wrong exercises next to one another could make your workout much less productive.

The good news is that writing full-body workouts is not all that difficult and should be a skill that most people can master. Use the guidelines, template, and examples in this article to start creating your very own full-body workouts.

If you have any questions or require further clarification on this article, please leave a comment below . Patrick is dedicated to addressing your queries promptly.

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Patrick Dale, PT, ex-Marine

Patrick Dale, PT, ex-Marine, is a Training Editor with 30 years of experience in Personal Training and Strength & Conditioning. A former British Royal Marine, gym owner, and fitness qualifications assessor, he is dedicated to delivering informative, reliable content. In addition, Patrick is an experienced writer who has authored three fitness and exercise books, dozens of e-books, thousands of articles, and several fitness videos. He’s not just an armchair fitness expert; Patrick practices what he preaches! He has competed at a high level in numerous sports, including rugby, triathlon, rock climbing, trampolining, powerlifting, and, most recently, stand up paddleboarding. When not lecturing, training, researching, or writing, Patrick is busy enjoying the sunny climate of Cyprus, where he has lived for the last 20-years.

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How to Create a Targeted Workout Plan for Every Fitness Goal

Table of contents, how to set your workout schedule, define your workout goal, pick the best muscle groups to work out together, set active recovery & rest periods, when to add cardio in your workout plan, track & measure your workout goals, erin stern's favorite supplements.

Designing a workout plan can be an intimidating challenge. But if you deconstruct the plan to fit your lifestyle, you can create a workout plan that fast tracks you to your personal goals.

Decide how many days you want to work out. It’s important to factor in all your obligations outside of the gym so you can be realistic with how many days per week you plan to commit to training. Anywhere from 3-6 days a week is standard for most people.

Usually if you’re only working out a few days a week, then your focus is on more compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and presses that utilize multiple muscle groups. Whereas if you’re able to go to the gym 5-6 times a week, you can dedicate entire days to working out one or two specific muscle groups.

When researchers have compared high frequency training to low frequency training, they’ve found that there’s not a significant difference between the two as long as volume was equated for strength or muscle building gains. [1,2]

In other words, high frequency or low frequency workout plans can work for your strength or muscle building goals if your weekly volume is enough. At least 10 sets per muscle group per week is a good starting point for most people trying to build muscle.[3]

For beginners, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends a training frequency of 2-3 days per week to start.[4] Some practical tips for designing a workout plan that fits your schedule

• Start with a goal: Decide what you want to achieve with your workout routine, whether it's to add muscle, burn fat, get stronger, or improve all-around fitness. This will help you choose the right exercises, frequency, and duration of workouts.
• Make a schedule: Choose a time of day that works best for you, make sure it’s a time slot that you can consistently commit to doing for several weeks. Once you settle on your time slots, mark these time blocks on your calendars so that you’re mindful of them.
• Be realistic: One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is trying to do too much too soon. Start with small steps and gradually build up your workouts as your levels of fitness increase. This could mean scheduling several micro activities of 10-15 minutes and building up longer workouts. Or doing a few workouts a week to start and gradually increasing more workout days into your routine.
• Listen to your body: Pay attention to how your body feels, not just when you’re working out but during other times of the day. Not every workout has to be high intensity, if you’re feeling fatigued, you can adjust the intensity of your workout. And similarly, if you find that your endurance increases as you exercise more, you can push yourself a little harder.
• Be consistent: Ultimately, one workout isn’t going to make or break your routine. Consistently sticking to the workout program you’ve designed will have positive effects that compound over time. You’ll want to build habits and a routine into your life as you create your workout routine that’ll help you consistently stick with it.

Pick a goal which you’d like to prioritize, such as building muscle, losing weight, increasing strength, or improving athletic ability. Once that has been identified, you can focus a workout plan around achieving this goal. This means building your sets, reps per set, and rest intervals around this goal. In general, for strength focused goals, you’ll benefit more from using relatively higher loads and lower reps. For muscle building goals, you can benefit from both high load/low rep and moderate load/high rep training.[5]

Weight loss focused goals will depend on your total energy expenditure, so the number of total calories you burn in a day will be most important. For weight loss focused goals, combining cardio and weightlifting into a workout plan can be effective in combination with a diet.[6] Tips for Choosing Your Workout Goals

• Set SMART Goals: These goals should be specific, measurable, actionable, and realistic. Instead of aiming for a vague goal like “being fit”, get more specific when creating your goals and listing things you can measure. They can be body composition focused like “losing 10 pounds in 5 months” or performance focused like “improve my running pace to sub 10 minutes by the end of the year”.
• Consider your current fitness level: Be mindful of where you’re currently at in terms of your physical fitness and commitment to exercising. This doesn’t mean you can’t set lofty long-term goals. Just your immediate goals should be something you can achieve at your current fitness levels. Focus on a balanced approach: Most people will benefit from taking a balanced approach to fitness. This means having goals that will have positive effects on your flexibility, strength, and cardiovascular fitness.
• Be realistic: Make sure the goals you choose are realistic and achievable within the time frame you pick. If your initial goals are too challenging, you’ll get discouraged and if they’re not challenging enough, you’ll quickly lose interest in your program.
• Make it personal: Make sure your goals reflect your personal interests. Whatever goals you choose should be aligned with something you feel passionate about enough to pursue consistently, even during times when your motivation may wane.
• Review and adjust: Regularly review and adjust your goals. By keeping track of your progress, you’re able to see how far you’ve come along, and you can adjust as you improve so that you’re always striving for improvement.

Choosing the best workout split will depend on how many days you can train and your specific fitness goal. Most basic workout programs follow one of the three following splits: 1) Total Body 2) Upper/Lower 3) Single Muscle group.[7]

Total Body programs f ocus training major muscle groups from the upper and lower body in the same workout. These types of programs are popular with field sport athletes and Olympic lifters because they predominately include compound movements like squats and power cleans which efficiently target multiple muscle groups.

Upper/Lower programs split workouts into upper body focused days and lower body focused days. These types of training programs are popular with strength athletes like powerlifters and some bodybuilders because it allows for a more targeted focus on specific muscle groups.

Single Muscle Group programs split workouts into dedicated days for specific muscle groups (ie leg days and chest days). This type of training is popular with many bodybuilders because workouts can be hyper focused on a singular muscle group.

In general, single muscle group programs require you to go to the gym more days so that each of the major muscle groups can have a dedicated workout day. While a reasonable total body program may be done with just 3 workouts in a week.

Make sure you rest enough between sets to support your goals. The National Strength & Conditioning Association’s general guidelines for rest are 30 seconds or less for muscular endurance training, 30-90 seconds for hypertrophy (muscle building) training, and 2-5 minutes for strength or power training.[8] These are general guidelines.

Both continuous endurance training and high intensity interval training can contribute to positive improvements in body composition and aerobic capacity.[9] Aerobic exercises are associated with beneficial metabolic and cardiovascular effects.[10]

So, if you’re interested in improving your overall fitness, you may benefit from adding cardio to your routine.

Research on concurrent training (combining strength and aerobic exercise in the same program) has found that strength, hypertrophy, and endurance focused athletes can do concurrent training programs without experiencing significant decrements, if the proper modalities are selected.[11] So, if your main goal is increasing strength, make sure your cardio workouts aren’t too long or frequent to prevent them from interfering with your strength goals.

Good training programs are unified in their principle to cause a stimulus to the body that causes it to adapt. Having benchmark goals that you aim to achieve by the end of a week, month, or months can help you track and measure the success of your training program.

Some common measures you can include to track progress with your program include being able to increase the total weight you can lift for a 1 rep maximum on an exercise, increasing the number of reps you can do with a weight that is a certain % of your 1 rep maximum, increasing the rep speed you can lift a set weight % of your 1 rep maximum for, shortening your rest periods between sets, or increasing the total amount of volume you can do in a workout.[12] Some common composition measures you can track include your body weight, BMI, body fat %, and waist circumference.

You can choose to track just one of these measures or multiple.

So now that you’ve identified your goal, and understand the factors to build your workout plan, it’s time to put it on the schedule! Here’s a few tried-and-true examples to get the ball moving.

Total Body Workout

Sunday – Workout 1 (Squat, Floor Press, Kettlebell Swing, Pull Ups) Monday - Rest or Active Recovery Tuesday - Workout 2 (Power Clean, Goblet Squat, Chest Flys, Dumbbell Rows) Wednesday - Rest or Active Recovery Thursday - Rest or Active Recovery Friday – Workout 3 (Lunges, Leg Curl, Bench Press, T-Bar Rows) Saturday - Rest or Active Recovery Sample Upper/Lower Split Program

Sunday – Lower Body Day Monday - Upper Body Day Tuesday – Rest or Active Recovery Wednesday – Lower Body Day Thursday - Upper Body Day Friday - Rest or Active Recovery Saturday - Rest or Active Recovery Sample Body Part Split Program

Sunday - Rest or Active Recovery Monday - Chest Tuesday - Back Wednesday - Rest or Active Recovery Thursday - Legs (Quads/Hamstrings) Friday - Shoulders/Calves Saturday - Arms/Abs

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[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30558493/ [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6081873/ [3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27433992/ [4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19204579/ [5] https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2017/12000/Strength_and_Hypertrophy_Adaptations_Between_Low_.31.aspx [6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3588901/ [7] https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2004/04000/Fundamentals_of_Resistance_Training__Progression.17.aspx [8] https://www.nsca.com/contentassets/8323553f698a466a98220b21d9eb9a65/foundationsoffitnessprogramming_201508.pdf [9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3737930/ [10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4933620/ [11] https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2012/08000/Concurrent_Training__A_Mta_Analysis_Examining.35.aspx [12] https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2004/04000/Fundamentals_of_Resistance_Training__Progression.17.aspx

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5 Fresh Ways to Build a Custom Workout or Generate Exercise Routines From Experts

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Wondering what workout to do today? These free apps let you create custom workout plans and generate exercise routines based on your needs and equipment.

Doing the same exercise routine every day can get boring quickly. Plus, you need to train different muscle groups, switching between them. Gym trainers are great at coming up with a Workout Of the Day (WOD) that keeps exercise interesting, but those need a membership. Instead, try one of these apps to generate workouts or create your own custom mashup of exercises for a free alternative.

1. Pumpd (Web): Create Custom Workouts Based on Goals, Equipment

The best sites come about when the creator faces a problem themselves and decides to fix it. Pumpd has a similar origin story, as maker Derek wanted a simple app to create custom workout programs that fit his needs for that day or week.

Tell the app your current weight, fitness level (beginner, intermediate, expert), and fitness goal (increase strength, improve endurance, lose fat, build muscle). Then select the equipment available to you during your workout. Finally, choose how many days in a week you can exercise.

Pumpd gives you a full workout plan for the week based on your input. Like a trainer, it'll exercise different parts of your body in each session. But here's the cool part. If you don't like any of the exercises mentioned, there's a button to cycle them out for another exercise that targets the same muscle groups. You can also click any exercise to see a YouTube video demonstration, or remove it entirely from the plan.

2. Treadapp (Web): Drag-and-Drop Exercises to Build Regular or Interval Workouts

Treadapp is one of the simplest online custom workout builders you'll see. Building a workout is as simple as dragging and dropping an exercise into the workout plan from the library. And if an exercise isn't available in the library, you can add it yourself by inserting a name, a YouTube link, and the core muscle group it targets.

Once you drag an exercise to the workout, you can add how many sets, reps, or seconds it needs. Treadapp also lets you group multiple exercises within the workout into a circuit, and then add sets for that circuit. It supports both interval training and regular training in case you want to switch between multiple types of workout plans.

Finished plans are stored in your workout library, which you can share as a link with anyone. People can access the link without an account too. The app is ideally built for trainers to create workout plans and share it with clients. But you can even use it as a layperson to make custom workouts for yourself, or to share with friends.

3. The WOD Generator (Web, Android, iOS): Fastest and Diverse WOD Generator

The WOD Generator is a fantastic free tool to quickly find the perfect WOD or circuit depending on your needs. The website offers over 10,000 WODs, and the mobile apps add a few more that you don't get online.

To start, pick the category of WOD you're looking for, among varieties like bodyweight, partner workouts, endurance, equipment, travel, EMOM, AMRAP, etc. Each section has a few more filters you can apply, like choosing equipment in the equipment WOD generator. Once you input your choices, generate a WOD. If you don't like what you see, keep telling the app to keep generating new ones till you find what you want.

The speed with which WOD Generator comes up with new WODs is key to the app. You can even switch between various types of workouts because of this. For example, you start with a partner workout to alternate exercises with your buddy, and then switch to a kettlebell WOD that you both try to hit together.

The WOD Generator also offers a few essential guides and resources for beginners. For example, if you don't know the EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute) philosophy, read their guide to understand it and implement it with their generator.

Download: The WOD Generator for Android | iOS (Free)

4. SmartWOD (Android, iOS): (Almost) Best Phone App for Custom Workouts

SmartWOD, maker of some of the best countdown timer apps for training , also makes the best free mobile app to create your own workouts. Unfortunately, it has one tiny issue: saving these workouts requires a premium account.

The app has two parts: an automatic WOD generator and a custom workout builder. The generator will keep showing new workouts randomly till you find something you like, mixing between exercise routines.

The custom builder lets you choose between AMRAP, Tabata, Time-based, and EMOM, and then offers further sub-categories to refine the type of workout you want. If you don't know these abbreviations, don't worry, SmartWOD has simple explanations available.

Then it's simply a matter of adding exercises to your workout plan. For each exercise, you can specify the time, rounds, reps, sets, and weights involved. The library features over 5,000 workouts and exercises, most of them with accompanying GIFs to demonstrate.

Once your workout is ready, you can share it with friends as a link or a screenshot. Start the workout to begin the session (with a free warmup as a choice). SmartWOD will offer audio cues to switch to the next exercise as needed.

But as mentioned before, the free version of the app doesn't let you save your workouts, which is a terrible shame. For that, you'll need to pay for the premium access, which also removes ads and unlocks all warmups. Try the app out for a few days, and if you like it, the premium version would be worth its cost.

Download: SmartWOD for Android | iOS (Free)

5. Open Source Treadmill and Training Plan (Web): Create Custom Workouts for Running

If your main source of exercise is walking or running, the apps above aren't the best way to create a heart-healthy cardio workout . But there are two other options to consider.

Open Source Treadmill is a web-based companion made for the popular Zwift exercise app. The app lets you create a running workout warmups, steady states, intervals, and cool downs. You can even mix in advanced commands like ramps and max effort. Once you've created the workout, export it as a Zwift file to use with the app. But if you're not a Zwift user, don't worry; you can convert it to other formats compatible with apps like Garmin, Strava, etc.

TrainingPlan.Run teaches you to improve from your current level to compete in a race or reach any other running goal. You need to give four criteria: your running goal, how many weeks you want to achieve it in, how many times a week you'll run, and how much you're running now. The app takes all these parameters to come up with a custom running workout, gradually improving you. Plus, you can export the data as a simple CSV file to use in any spreadsheet.

Use YouTube Videos to Make a Playlist

While these apps let you make custom workouts or generate exercise routines, they largely ignore the most extensive database of free workouts: YouTube. There are countless channels to get fit and stay fit, from little 30-second videos explaining an exercise to longer routines.

Specialized apps are great, but don't let them stifle you. If you prefer some YouTube creator, then use the video platform's built-in ability to make a playlist and create your own workout mix with it. It's free and unlimited, after all.

Program Design 101: How to Build Your Own Workout Program

Oct 25, 2023 | Strength & Conditioning

How are you navigating the world of fitness after years of being coached? Are you just winging it in the gym? Are you making any progress, or just spinning your wheels?

It’s easy to fall into fitness overwhelm without having a coach. In this blog, Jason Sayler outlines the basics for creating your own workout program based on your needs.

jason sayler

Change the Way You Train

Creating a basic workout plan.

It happens every year — athletes that have been in my program for 4-5 years graduate. They have been told what to do for their entire athletic career and suddenly they’re thrown out into the world on their own with have no idea what to do concerning their fitness. They are lost, confused, terrified of getting fat, and looking for guidance.

I politely think to myself, “You’ve got to be freaking kidding me! You have spent the past half-decade immersed in a solid (if I do say so myself) strength and conditioning program and you still don’t know what to do?” I think, “Maybe it is my fault. Maybe I didn’t give them the necessary tools required to venture out on their own into the terrifying world of personal fitness.”

Well, I plan to rectify my mistake today and give all of you athletes out there struggling to find their way, the necessary tools required to survive and stay healthy, happy and fit for the rest of your lives. I’m going to break down very simply how I design a strength and conditioning program.

Step 1: Determine Your Goals

Is your plan to just stay in shape as a retired athlete or are you in the offseason looking to come back stronger than ever and crush the competition? You’ll need to build you program around that. However, keep in mind that most athletes need basically the same things.

All athletes from swimmers to football players, from soccer moms to pro golfers will benefit from becoming more explosive, increasing their strength, improving their mobility, etc. Where they differ may be the intensities and volumes at which they train. So, match your training to your sport or goals as closely as possible. If your sport requires you to maximally exert yourself once and rest 5 minutes before you go again, you’ll want to match your training to those demands.

If your goal is to just stay fit, then you will probably want to spend most of your time somewhere in the middle of the volume and intensity spectrum. For general fitness I love incorporating circuit-style training or metabolic conditioning. These types of workouts aim to get as much work done as possible in the shortest amount of time. So if you’re pressed for time and want to kill an endless amount of birds with one stone, check out some programs in the TrainHeroic marketplace geared toward functional fitness.

Programs like this hit every element of your fitness and usually get you in and out of the gym in an hour.

Step 2: Select Your Movements

For the most part, fast/dynamic lifts or movements such as power cleans should be at the beginning of your training because they require the most technical focus and coordination. They also tend to recruit the most number of motor units and tax your system heavily.

If you are looking to get the most bang for your buck, it’s hard to beat the Olympic lifts. They can cover every single aspect of fitness you can think of. All you would need to do is change the volume or intensity to match your goals.

Full range of motion squats are a necessary part of any training regimen — back squats, front squats, split squats, using dumbbells, kettlebells, or any variation therein. Strong legs are the foundation of any athlete.

A lot of athletes depending on their sport can become quad dominant. This imbalance can lead to knee, hip and ankle injuries. So for your owns sake, include hamstring dominant exercises such as RDL’s or Glute-hams.

Do push and pull together — any pushing exercise such as bench press should be done with a pulling exercise such as a bent-over row. They do not necessarily have to be done on the same day, but just make sure you don’t overdo the bench press and create an imbalance that could lead to postural issues or injuries.

A strong core is very important if you want the power from your legs to translate into hitting a ball harder or jumping further. It doesn’t matter how strong my legs are if the muscles used to stabilize my spine are too week to transfer that energy to the upper body. I like static holds like planks. Check out this article for more excellent ideas: 4 Core Exercises for Noticeably Stronger Abs  

Step 3: Decide On Your Training Volume 

Training frequency is going to depend entirely on how much time you have to dedicate to working out. If you’ve got a family and a full-time job, you might not have two hours every day to train. 

Full body lifting sessions 2-3 times per week are the most effective. You can combine your conditioning work with the lifting or do it on separate days. That’s up to you and how much energy/time you have.

Always warmup properly. Do some machine or cardio work to raise your core temperature and prepare you for the work to come. Prime your movements. The more specific you can make it to what you will be doing during the training session, the better. This will improve your performance during the workout and prevent you from getting injured.

Running and endurance work is based on your needs. If the sport you play requires quite a bit of endurance, that might be something you want to focus on. If you’re playing your sport a lot, then your need for extra conditioning work will decrease. In general 2-4 days of conditioning per week should get it done.

There are some really great resources out there for programming assistance such as Mike’s Gym or Westside Barbell or CrossFit. With all of this said, if you still don’t know what to do because your strength coach in college didn’t prepare you correctly, or you just don’t feel like doing it all on your own, check out TrainHeroic’s marketplace for a program that fits you.

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How to Make a Workout Plan

Last Updated: July 4, 2024 References

This article was co-authored by Francisco Gomez and by wikiHow staff writer, Sophia Latorre . Francisco Gomez is the Head Coach at the FIT Potato Gym, a training gym established in 2001 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Francisco is a former competitive runner who helps endurance athletes train for major marathons like the Boston Marathon. Francisco specializes in Injury Rehab, Flexibility, Marathon Training, and Senior Fitness. He has a B.S. in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology & Running. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 419,017 times.

It can be difficult to find time for exercise due to other obligations. Don’t let a busy schedule stop you; exercise can be done in ten minute increments if you can’t set aside larger chunks of time. Once you find the time, you need only decide where and how you will work out. Alternate your routines and be mindful of what you’re eating and drinking as well.

Finding a Time and Place

Francisco Gomez

Know what times you have available and commit to those times. Write down the amount of time you have and what days you're planning on exercising. Share your schedule with your friends and family and put the schedule up on your wall. You're more likely to commit when you have accountability.

Learning the Basics

• If you’re comfortable with it, do this exercise while holding a couple of lightweight dumbbells in your hands.
• You can adjust your hand positioning in order to pull a resistance band and strengthen the same areas of your body. Turn your palms toward you while making fists and raise your arms straight up above your head. [9] X Research source

Choosing a Routine

• Find a trainer to help you get started. Many gyms offer personalized workout routines and a trainer to help keep you on track.

• Start with larger movements before moving on to smaller ones.
• Do isolation movements to strengthen a single body part.

Laila Ajani

Cardio can be fun. Find stimulating ways to make your treadmill workouts more engaging. Create a playlist of your favorite workout songs, watch a show or fitness class while you're on the machine, or try a dance routine from YouTube. To mix things up, switch between cardio machines like the treadmill, bike, rowing machine, and elliptical. Remember, you don't have to stick to traditional cardio exercises. You can also try fun activities like salsa dancing or playing a sport you enjoyed as a child.

• Leg exercises include: squats, lunges , wall sits , calf raises , and leg lifts .
• Arm exercises include: pushups , pullups , and curls .
• Core exercises include: planks, sit ups , and the superman flex.

Getting Started

It's normal to face challenges during workouts, especially if you're a beginner or have a unique body shape. Everyone has different fitness levels, so don't hesitate to adjust your workout depending on where you're at. If you're starting, it's a good idea to begin with simple exercises to learn the correct form before moving on to more challenging variations. Choosing exercises that suit your body helps you to achieve your fitness goals safely and effectively.

• Do 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps with light weight to start out. This builds muscle memory in the correct movement pattern and strengthens your tendons and ligaments without putting too much strain on them.

Eric Christensen, DPT

Boost healthy circulation after workouts. After an intense workout, use foam rolling, massage, light cycling, or compression boots to boost healthy circulation through your tight muscle tissue. Stimulating the muscle helps bring about faster recovery.

Supplementing Your Workout

Is It Better to Work Out in the Morning or the Evening?

Sample Workout Plans

Expert Q&A

• Talk to your doctor before beginning any exercise regimen to be sure you’re in good health. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/how-to-build-your-own-workout-routine/
• ↑ https://greatist.com/fitness/how-make-workout-plan-and-stick-it
• ↑ https://greatist.com/fitness/how-do-perfect-push
• ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3827/How-perfect-sit-ups.html
• ↑ https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/why-you-need-squats-in-your-workout-and-how-to-do-them-right/
• ↑ https://greatist.com/move/workout-plan-how-to-create-your-own-full-body-routine
• ↑ http://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/shoulder-exercises/videos/overhead-dumbbell-press
• ↑ https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workout-routines
• ↑ https://www.exercise.com/workout-plans
• ↑ https://legionathletics.com/how-much-cardio/
• ↑ http://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/workout-tips/4-essential-tips-build-perfect-workout-program
• ↑ https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-weight-growth/healthy-eating/meals-snacks.html

About This Article

To make a workout plan, start by looking at your schedule and finding some free time you can use to exercise. Next, determine what your goals are, such as muscle building or weight loss, and search online for an exercise regimen that fits those goals. In general, aim to do about 2 hours of cardio along with some weight training each week. Also, alternate the types of workouts you do each day to keep your workouts motivating and fun. For example, try a kickboxing class one day and swim laps the next. For tips from our Fitness reviewer on how to build your endurance when you first start working out, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Does the Perfect Workout Exist? 9 Steps to Find the Best Workout Plan (For You).

So you want to get in shape and start getting fit, but you’re not sure what the perfect workout is?

Not only that, but you want a workout program that you’ll ACTUALLY do?

Great. This is what we do, and we’re pretty dang good at it.

We create personalized workout programs for our Online Coaching Clients , and this guide walks you through the exact 9 steps we follow to create each program :

What's the perfect workout program for your goals? Let us build it for you!  

This may seem like a lot, but ALL of the steps are important!

In our step-by-step guide to picking the best workout plan and getting fit, we’ll cover:

• Step #1: What Are Your Workout Goals?
• Step #2: What Workout Is Best for Weight Loss?
• Step #3: Finding a Workout Routine You Enjoy.
• Step #4: What Is the Best Workout Routine? (An Introduction to Strength Training).
• Step #5: Creating a Strength Training Workout Plan.
• Step #6: Focus Your Workout Plan on Specific Goals.
• Step #7: Have Healthy Expectations for Your Workout Plan.
• Step #8: How Do I Pick a Sustainable Workout Routine? (Exercise with Others)
• Step #9: Tracking the Results of Your Workout Plan.

Let’s jump right into #1!

You’re reading this guide, which means you likely have SOME goals around getting fit.

Those goals will likely fall into one of three categories:

• Feel great and look good naked – You want to lose weight (and/or build muscle ) and feel comfortable in your own skin.
• Get Healthy –  Your doctor told you that you need to change your ways or you’ll die an early death. Yikes.
• Be Happy – You are on the hunt for an exercise program that you don’t hate.

I like to refer to these three goals as the Triforce of Awesome .

Because I’m a dork, and because you’ll remember it.

Happy, healthy, look good naked.

(There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good naked, by the way. It’s why I started training all those years ago!)

MY goal for you is to have you satisfy all three conditions to become healthy, happy, and look damn good.

It starts by identifying why you’re here in the first place.

Because let’s be honest:

This journey is gonna be tough.

You don’t just want to “lose weight” and “get fit.”

You want to “lose weight” and “get fit” so that you can “start dating again after a messy breakup.”

Or because “your dad passed away from health issues at a young age and you want to be around for many more decades to raise your children.”

The more specific and DEEP you can get with your reasoning, the more likely you’ll be to push through when you’re struggling to stay consistent!

I also want you to be realistic about how much time you think you can dedicate to this journey:

• 3 days a week for 30 minutes?
• 5 days for 15 minutes each day?
• Only on weekends?

That’s cool – just be up-front with yourself.

Here’s how to put it all together:

PART A – IDENTIFY A GOAL THAT YOU’RE FOCUSED ON:

• “I want to lose 50 pounds.”
• “I want to build 30 pounds of muscle.”
• “I want to fit into my favorite dresses I haven’t been able to wear for years.”

PART B – WRITE DOWN WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN YOU ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS:

• What is your “Big Why?” “I’ll lose this weight and I can start dating again!”
• What would getting in shape mean to you? “A better life not full of pain.”
• Who are you doing this for? Your family? Yourself? Your wife?

PART C – BE REALISTIC WITH HOW OFTEN YOU CAN TRAIN:

• “I’m a broke college kid with lots of time. I can train 4 days per week no problem for an hour.” Great!
• “I’m a single mom working two jobs, so I can train once per week at a gym and the rest will have to happen at home.” Amazing!
• “I’m a Robot with unlimited energy and I have been sent to conquer earth.” Ruh-roh. Email me.

Be specific with your answers above.

STEP #1 TAKEAWAY: Pick your goals, pick your “Big Why”

We’re going to pick goals that work for us, and then build on top of that foundation.

Have you written down your goals yet?:

• “My goal is to lose/gain X amount of weight by X date.”
• “My Big Why is I want to start dating again/my wife to look at me like she used to/be an inspiration to my family.”
• “My plan is to train once per week and then find time elsewhere.”

We make EVERY coaching client in our online coaching program pick their Big Why too.

It’s what keeps us on target when life gets too busy and we want to quit!

Now that we have a foundation, we can start to build on top of that. Like Fornite. #UnnecessaryButTopicalNerdReference

You can lose all the weight you need to lose without doing a single minute of “exercise.”

I shit you not.

(What a funny expression by the way, it makes me happy every time I use it.)

If your ONLY goal is weight loss in any way, then exercise is not necessary.

No treadmills. No gym memberships. No bootcamps.

No feeling bad about yourself training in public.

No hating exercise .

“Steve, you sorcerer, what madness is this?” You exclaim!

When it comes to weight loss, how you eat will be responsible for 90+% of your success or failure.

If you are only trying to lose weight , ALL of your effort can go into fixing your nutrition.

As we say here in the Nerd Fitness Rebellion, “You can’t outrun your fork.”

Yes, this means if you can’t lose weight , you are eating too many calories compared to how many calories you burn every day . I can almost guarantee it’s not your metabolism or genetics.

It’s because you eat too much food.

I’ve covered nutrition and weight loss EXTENSIVELY here on Nerd Fitness, so read these to help determine the best eating strategies for you:

• The beginner’s guide to healthy eating
• How to determine the perfect diet for you
• The beginner’s guide to Intermittent Fasting

As we have laid out in our Start Eating Healthy Guide , if you are trying to lose weight it comes down to making slightly better choices, slightly more frequently:

Story time! Nerd Fitness Rebel Tim was told he couldn’t exercise due to an injury. He joined our NF Academy (now a part of Nerd Fitness Prime ), and focused on the 3 things he could control:

• He fixed his nutrition.
• He adjusted his mindset.
• He built the habit of short walks .

6 months and 50+ pounds of weight loss later, Tim is a changed man! You can read his whole story by clicking on the image below:

So yes, exercise burns calories and will help you get fit. 

(If you’re curious: strength training is the calorie-burning victor when it comes to efficient weight loss.) 

Exercise of any kind will also make your heart stronger and you will FEEL better.

But maybe most importantly, exercise reminds us that we’re trying to be healthier.

Which means exercise can also remind us to make better food choices.

Just instead of doing this: “Well I exercised today so I can eat 5000 calories!”

Instead, do this: “Well I exercised today, so I’m going to stick with my eating strategy so I don’t backslide!”

STEP #2 TAKEAWAY: Pick a food strategy you can stick with!

Pick a strategy that speaks your language, and that results in you consuming fewer calories.

Nutrition is the most important thing , so your time is best spent understanding this stuff!

If you are trying to lose more weight or build more muscle FASTER, your nutrition needs to be even MORE dialed in.

Here’s how to start eating healthy :

• Learn how many calories you actually need on a daily basis.
• Start tracking how many calories you eat, education for the win!
• Eat fewer calories than you burn each day.
• Cut back on liquid calories, especially sugary beverages.
• Eat mostly real food : meat, veggies, fruit, nuts.
• Track your progress and see how your body changes.

If you are a noob on nutrition, check out our free 10-level Nutritional System that simplifies the entire process! It’s free when you sign up in the box below:

• Follow our 10-level nutrition system at your own pace
• What you need to know about weight loss and healthy eating
• 3 Simple rules we follow every day to stay on target
• Step #3: Finding a Workout Routine You Enjoy

If your goal is to look good enough and feel good about yourself, there’s only ONE solution when it comes to the perfect workout program:

Any exercise you actually enjoy and will do regularly.

Exercise is only a 10% piece of the “ how to get in shape ” formula, which means if your goal is “look pretty good, feel pretty good,” ANY exercise is a bonus.

And that means you might as well ENJOY what you are spending your time on!

Here are some suggestions for fun exercise you can do :

Running , cycling, powerlifting , yoga , parkour , gymnastics , weight training , LARPing, capoeira, jazzercise, swing dancing, Beat Saber, walking , hiking , geocache, Pokémon GO, hashing, ballet, CrossFit , bootcamps, martial arts, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Ninja Warrior, Dance Dance Revolution, aerial silks, acro yoga, and anything else you can think of.

This is me giving you permission to attend Jazzercise classes regularly, if you enjoy them.

This is me also giving you permission to never run on a treadmill ever again, unless you actually enjoy running on a treadmill.

Don’t suffer through a particular type of exercise if you hate it .

There are plenty of ways to get your heart racing and your body moving.

Think of it this way: You’re always a work in progress.

You never get to “be done.”

So suffering unnecessarily to reach a goal just so you can lose some weight, and then stopping won’t work.

Here’s another phrase to internalize:

“Temporary changes create temporary results.”

Stop trying to get to the finish line as quickly as possible – that’s why you failed in the past.

Instead…

STEP #3 TAKEAWAY: Do an activity that you enjoy. Do it frequently.

Write down a list of “exercise” activities you love. Write down a list of “exercise” you hate.  And then do things on the first list frequently, and don’t ever do things on the second list!

You don’t need to suffer.

Nutrition is 90% of the battle, so if you want to lose weight, get healthier, and be happier, pick a form of exercise that you actually enjoy.

Don’t worry about how many calories it burns.

Instead, keep the focus on your nutrition and THEN do fun exercise.

To answer your next questions:

“But Steve I don’t like exercise.” You haven’t tried enough things! I too hate “exercise ,” so I ONLY do things I enjoy. Here are 40 fun exercises to try.

“I have always wanted to try (activity) but I’m afraid to try it.”   Use 20 Seconds of Courage  – it works. I promise 🙂

“Steve I have very specific physique goals and I’m willing to suffer a bit to hit those goals.” Sounds good. You’re going to want to focus on calorie restriction, strength training, and moving more. Keep reading.

• Step #4: What Is the Best Workout Routine? (An Introduction to Strength Training)

Okay, now we’re getting down to the good stuff: 

Yup, eating better can help you lose weight.

Yup, any exercise is better than no exercise.

HOWEVER, if you want to keep yourself injury-free, build a physique you’re proud of (aka that “fit toned” look that everybody is after), AND get better at whatever fun activities you picked in Step #3,…

There’s a component that needs to be incorporated into your life:

Strength training .  

There are so many benefits to strength training , it’s ridiculous.

100% of people, no matter their age, gender, or size should be doing SOME kind of strength training in some capacity.

And please don’t worry – you will NOT get too bulky – unless that’s what you want .

Here are 4 reasons why strength training makes every part of life better and will help you get in shape :

• Your body is forced to burn extra calories to rebuild muscle. This ‘afterburner’ effect of increased calorie burning lasts for 24-48 hours, which means 30 minutes of strength training will burn significantly more calories than 30 minutes of steady cardio. Efficiency ftw .
• You teach your muscles to become more resilient and “ antifragile .” From giving your kids a piggyback ride to playing frisbee to carrying groceries to walking up stairs, strength training makes you safer when doing everything.
• Strength training will make you better at any activity you picked in the above section for fun exercise. Yes, even THAT activity. Let’s just say your significant other wants you to strength train.
• Strength training builds the physique you want. It’s the best way to lose weight , it’s how to build muscle, and how to keep the muscle you have while burning the fat on top of the muscle.

So hopefully at this point, you’re all:

“ Steve you sly devil, I am INTRIGUED. But strength training doesn’t seem fun, and gyms intimidate me. ”

We cover this extensively in our “ Beginner’s guide to strength training ,” but I’ll cover it here too:

When I say “strength training,” I simply mean “moving your body in a way that your muscles must respond by getting stronger:”

Your muscles are introduced to outside stimuli (you pick up your kid, you do push-ups, you carry groceries, you do a squat, etc.), and they get “broken down” through use.

Over the next few days, they rebuild themselves stronger to prepare for more stimulus (a greater challenge).

By building up strength over time, it allows you to become more functionally strong and avoid situations like Mr. Potato Head here:

“Strength training” can take place in a gym or at your home, with your body’s weight or with free weights, in a box or with a fox. The ways to strength train are endless.

HATE gyms? You never have to go into one. Ever. Christina lost 50 lbs without a gym .

AFRAID of weight training?  You can train with just your body weight !

WANT to learn how to train in a gym? Check out our 6-level gym workout guide .

NOT SURE how to strength train and want guidance? Check out our online coaching program !

This does not need to be overcomplicated!

Start with two basic movements that you can do literally right now, even in your cubicle:

• Desk Push-Ups : 3 sets of 8
• Bodyweight Squats : 3 sets of 8

Boom, look at that! You just did strength training.

I promise you: get stronger with push-ups, squats, and learn how to do a pull-up , and you will be in better shape, and look better, than ever before.

So how do you get stronger ? Simple: “ progressive overload .” 

This might sound complicated, but it just means increasing the challenge by a tiny amount with each workout so your body has to work harder and adapt more each time.

And then one day, you’ll look in the mirror and say: “WHOA I HAVE MUSCLES WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN!?”

Coach Jim breaks down 8 different strategies for progressive overload in this video:

I have one final person I want to address: “But Steve, you nincompoop, I hate strength training.”

That’s not a nice name to call me, but fair enough!

Consider getting bit by a radioactive spider or finding a super-serum.

Otherwise, these five alternatives might pique your interest:

• Aerial silks.
• Gymnastics and Parkour .
• Handstands .
• Hiking with your kids.

STEP #4 TAKEAWAY: Start strength training today.

Pick a workout that doesn’t intimidate you and give it a shot! You can start TODAY.

• Brand new to strength training? No Gym? Do our Beginner Bodyweight Workout .
• Have a gym membership and want to train there? Read our “ how to train in a commerical gym !”
• Excited to try barbells and dumbbells?  Check out our Strength 101 serious.

You don’t HAVE to strength train, you GET to strength train.

Every time you work out, do ONE more repetition, one more push-up, or lift ONE pound heavier than last time.

What’s the best way to do more than last time?

Write down what you do ! Keep it simple. Write down your sets, reps, and weights. And then do one better next time.

If you’re wondering how many reps and sets you should start with, Coach Jim answers that right here:

• Step #5: Creating a Strength Training Workout Plan

Alright alright, you read the previous section, and you’re thinking:

• “Steve I heard training individual body parts like a bodybuilder is the best for muscle building.”
• “What about Stronglifts 5×5 or Starting Strength or CrossFit ?”
• “I hear I should ONLY do free weights, and machines are the devil!”

My thoughts: I don’t care HOW you strength train when you get started, or which beginning strength training program you pick:

If you want to follow a bodybuilder routine that uses lots of machines and isolation exercises, great!

If you want to train your left bicep and right butt muscle on Tuesdays and right tricep and left shoulder on Wednesdays and so on, go for it!

If you want to follow a workout DVD or follow bootcamp style stuff on YouTube, great.

Whatever gets you manipulating your body and learning the fundamentals of strength training , I’m for it.

As long as you’re enjoying it and getting results, keep doing what you’re doing.

And if you want a Beginner Strength Routine to follow, that’s cool too.

Here are the foundational philosophies we teach our online coaching clients :

#1 You’ll be healthier and see more well-rounded results  training with free weights and bodyweight exercises compared to machines.

Machines can be used when you’re rehabbing an injury or there’s no other options (you’re at a hotel gym, for example).

If you only want to train with machines? You do you. Here’s how to switch from machines to weights .

#2 Full compound movements will help you get strong and healthy in the most efficient manner:

• Barbell squats
• Bodyweight dips
• Overhead presses
• Bodyweight rows

Your body is a complex machine that uses all of your muscles in unison when you do physical activity.

Thus, it’s safer and more efficient to train with compound movements instead of isolated movements.

Here are 15 Circuit Training Routines that use these exercises.

#3 Keep it simple. If you make progress every week by picking up more weight or doing more reps , your body WILL transform like Optimus Prime.

But like, into a better version of you, not a robot:

#4 Barbell squats and deadlifts can change your life, like they changed Coach Staci:

#5 If you have more fun with a bodybuilder-style workout, or you like boot camp classes instead of weight training, that’s great!

If you’re healthy and happy and getting results, stick with it.

#6  Muscle confusion is totally not a thing.

STEP #5 TAKEAWAY : Pick A Strength Training Program! 

Here’s how to level up your strength training:

• Read our Strength 101 series , and learn to do squats, deadlifts, and presses.
• Afraid to train in a gym? Read this gym guide and follow the beginner gym workouts (or here’s how to build your own ).
• Pick a program:  Learn about the best strength training routines and exercises .
• Want form checks, guidance, and a custom workout each morning? Get a coach !

What’s that? You want to BUILD your own workout program?

Great! Here’s how to build your own workout routine .

If you want us to do the heavy lifting for you (HEYO), we have a killer online coaching program where we build the exact workout for you, including nutritional guidance, support, and accountability.

• Step #6: Focus Your Workout Plan on Specific Goals

Okay, now we’re getting down to the secret sauce that has transformed thousands upon thousands of lives at Nerd Fitness.

Don’t worry our secret sauce is low calorie, low carb, and keto-friendly. 

Here’s the scenario: you have a goal of losing 50 pounds, and after eating better and moving more…you actually start to lose some weight!

I’m so proud of you.

In fact, I just called your mom to tell her what a swell person you are. Nice lady.

Anyways, things are going well until you start to approach your goal weight (woo!) and encounter a divergent path:

• Path A: “I’m about to reach my goal weight! I can be done soon!”
• Path B: “I’m approaching my goal weight. What is my new body capable of?”

People who pick Path A always backslide and usually put the weight back on over the next few months and years. This is why most people are doomed to fail at losing weight permanently:

Temporary action = temporary results.

Now let’s talk about Path B? It’s the reason our coaching clients keep the weight off and continue to transform.

Consistent effort + progressive challenge = permanent improvement.

People on Path B ask themselves, “Now that I’ve lost this weight, what am I capable of? Let’s train for that!”

This is a distinct mental shift.

Exercise is no longer a means to an end.

There is no end.

Just like…

We encourage our Rebels to shift from weight loss goals to physical challenges (Like Double Dare , but with less Gak):

• “I’ve always wanted to do a  handstand , let’s start training to get better at those.”
• “I’ve always want to do train with gymnastic rings ! Let’s try that!”
• “I’ve always wanted to run a 5k , I will adjust my routine to become a stronger runner .”
• “I want to try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I will sign up for a class!”
• “I’m gonna sign up for Swing Dancing so I can crush the dance floor at the next wedding I attend.”

WHY THIS WORKS:  By training to get better at a particular activity, you are triggering the same processes in your brain that makes us hooked on progressing in video games:

It’s why we say, “just one more level!” or “I bet I can do one more rep!” or “I can climb this new path that’s tougher than any path I’ve attempted before!”

STEP #6 TAKEAWAY: Shift from weight loss goals to physical challenges.

As you start to get in shape, updating your mindset can be a HUGE game-changer.

You spent all this work building a new body – take it out for a test drive and find out what you’re capable of!

Counterintuitively, the less you worry about your weight and the more you worry about your performance, the more likely you’ll be to build a body you’re proud of, that’s functional, and that you can keep, permanently.

As they say, “Appearance is a consequence of fitness.” 

If you want to dig more into skills and advanced physique stuff, read our post here: “ The ultimate guide to building any physique .”

Pick a skill, pick somebody farther along (more fit) than you to model yourself after, and adjust your training and nutrition to get better at that skill.

When you get better and better at these physical skills, your physique will start to improve as a side effect.

• Step #7: Have Healthy Expectations for Your Workout Plan

As we’re talking about physique and physical goals, I want to address something that is a major challenge for many people:

“Steve, I want to lose some weight, build some muscle, and also build up more endurance. I want to get strong and run a marathon but also look like a model.

Oh and get a six-pack. But I don’t want to be too bulky.

Can I do this in 6 weeks please?”

Here’s the truth: your body can only do so many things at once, and the three goals above will pull your body in three completely separate directions. 

If you’re not sure what are realistic goals, I have answers for you on BOTH questions (click each to learn more):

• “ How fast can I get fit and lose weight ?” 1-2 pounds per week of weight loss is a safe pace. Could be more or less depending on your starting weight, how you eat, and how you train.
• “ How fast can I build muscle naturally ?” 1-2 pounds of muscle gain per month is possible under optimal conditions for most. This could be more or less depending on your level of experience, how you eat, and how you train.
• “Can I do both at the same time?” As we point out in our article on “ gaining muscle and losing weight at the same time ,” it IS possible – but requires you to be really dialed in with eating enough protein , maintaining a slight calorie deficit, and heavy strength training .

Are those numbers in line with your expectations?  Do you wish you could get in shape faster ?

Of course you do. So do I!

For example, it took me 7 months of focused effort to lose 22 pounds safely and sustainably .

Surprisingly, by changing our timeline to be more realistic, we can make better progress than at any point in the past:

KEY TAKEAWAY #7 : Have realistic expectations!

Have the right expectations, and put your focus on the process.

You’ll get there when you get there – so just focus on what you can do today.

If you’re not sure if you should build muscle first or lose weight first, here’s my humble advice:

• Eat a SLIGHT caloric deficit. Strength train and move a lot.
• Eat enough protein and train heavy to lose fat and keep your muscle .
• Do this until you get down to a low enough body fat percentage (10-11% for men, 17-18% for women).
• Now, increase your caloric intake slightly. Build strength and muscle until you’re at your desired size.
• Decide now if you want to reintroduce cardio, cut more fat, or keep getting bigger.

I love sharing stories on Nerd Fitness of REAL people, with real struggles, that found the perfect program that fit THEIR lifestyle, like Christina above . 

These are not people with superior genetics. They’re not on steroids, nor are they choking down supplements ( Most supplements are a waste of money ).

The success stories in our community work full-time jobs, have kids, friends, and nerdy hobbies.

Some are single moms .

But they found a workout program that works for their life situation:

Some of them are powerlifters .

Some of them train at home with no equipment .

Some of them run 5ks .

As you are starting to get yourself into better shape , who you associate with is almost as important as how you train.

Sounds ludicrous (did I just make you yell, “Luda!”?), but it can be the difference between long term success and long term floundering. And not the cute kind.

They say you are an average of the 5 people you associate most with.

Think about your roommates, significant other, friends, and coworkers:

Are they people who have succeeded in the way you want to succeed, support you on your journey, can answer questions you might have, and make you want to continue being better?

Or are they people who ask you to skip your workouts, make fun of you for waking up early to train on a Saturday morning, and enable you rather than support you?

The more time you can spend with Group A people, the more likely you’ll be to stay on target and make progress.

As you are getting better at a skill, do whatever you can to hang out with people who are good at that skill!

• Like running and want to get better at running ? Join or start a running group!
• Want to take powerlifting more seriously? Hire a personal trainer or join a powerlifting club.
• Want to be better at handstands ? Try joining an adult gymnast class!
• Want to look like CrossFit athletes ? Great! Join the cult! I kid, CFers, you’re good in my book 🙂

If you don’t have people in your life that are making you better, consider hiring a coach or instructor or joining a class to help you push yourself even farther and stay accountable!

And I’m not telling you to fire your friends, but you might need to make sacrifices like Katniss until you’re better equipped to stand up for your new healthy lifestyle when they want you to come back to the dark side!

Nerd Fitness helps people with workouts and eating better, sure.

But I believe we get permanent results for people because we do our best to foster the most supportive community on the internet.

Many of our success stories have 1-on-1 instruction from our Online Coaching Program , while some come from our self-paced courses in NF Prime .

And others? They read the free articles on Nerd Fitness and helped themselves stay on target!

It comes down to learning from and interacting people who are just like you, or who are people that you want to be like when you “grow up” (get in shape)!

Click on each image to learn their full story:

STACI THE POWERLIFTER:

ANTHONY THE IT PROFESSIONAL:

And me?  I started with karate as a kid. Then cross country running in high school. Then bodybuilder style training in college. Then it was bodyweight training.

And now? Powerlifting and gymnastics! It’s how I went from Steve Rogers to Captain America , and then leaned out .

STEP #8 TAKEAWAY : Surround yourself with people that push you to be better.

You need people in your life that are pushing you to be better.

If you don’t have those people already, consider joining a club or class in your community. You might just make new lifelong friends!

And if you want to be at the top of your game in a particular skill or activity, you might need to hire a trainer , coach, or an online personal trainer that knows your situation specifically.

In addition to our paid private communities , we ALSO have a free Message Board community that is thriving!

We’d love to have you be part of OUR online community!

Step 9: Tracking the Results of Your Workout Plan

“Thanks Steve, but that was a lot. What do I do now?”

Let me recap Steps #1-#8:

Depending on where you’re at in life, and how much weight you need to lose, you might be satisfied with just Steps 1, 2, and 3 for the next few years.

That’s awesome!

And if you’re ready to do more than that, we’re here for ya too.

If you’re looking for me to actually tell you what to do, I would suggest the following:

Here’s a strategy optimized for effortless awesomeness, happiness, and look-good nakedness :

• Strength train twice per week: squats, pushups, and pull-ups.
• Do fun activity 1-2x per week.
• Walk when you can.
• Focus on your nutrition.

I would start there, and then do two things after 30 days:

#1) Track your compliance to see if you actually did the workouts!

Did you go for walks, strength train twice per week, and do a fun activity? You can track this on your calendar or in a notebook.

• Yes? Great! Move on to question 2.
• No? Great! You learned you tried to do too much. Do less and repeat for another 30 days.

#2) Measure if you got closer to your goal weight/skills/physique?

Are you healthier, happier, and more confident?

• Yes? Great! Keep doing what you’re doing!
• No? Great! That strategy didn’t work. Track your food intake, adjust your diet. Repeat.

“Steve that’s still not specific enough. I want you to tell me, for my exact situation, what to do every single day to reach my goals. Oh and hold me accountable. K thanks.”

I’m not clairvoyant or omniscient (…yet), so in the meantime, you can check out our really fun  1-on-1 Online Coaching Program .

Your Coach (a member of Team NF we’ll match you with based on your needs) will get to know you, your goals, and your challenges, and develop a workout plan that’s specific to not only your body type, but also to your schedule and life.

Click the image below to schedule a free call to see if we’re a good fit for each other!

I don’t care whatever path you pick, be it our coaching, NF Prime , or if you just read the free stuff on Nerd Fitness and never buy anything!

I just want to help you get results, feel better about yourself, and stop struggling to make exercise consistent.

So let’s hear it. Where are you on your path to finding your perfect workout program!?

Tell me what your goals are. I’d love to hear about what you’re working on.

Which step are you on? Stuck on Level 3? What are the activities you LOVE/HATE?

What program are you following? Do you have a question on what to pick?

What have you found works for you, and what DIDN’T work for you?

Leave a comment and share your story with your fellow rebels!

PS:  If you want a blueprint for your own “perfect workout” – one that customizes to your own experience level – check out NF Journey.

Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

Try your free trial right here:

photo sources: Reiterlied Biking on the Lake , Reiterlied To The Lofoten Islands and Back Again 8/16 – Hooray for the blue sea! , clement127 Amazing playground: bicycles and football , clement127 Eurobasket 2015 , Legozilla treadmill , themofoit:  Stormtrooper Pushups ,  beach , road split , egg , runner

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How to Make a Workout Plan from Scratch

Any goal requires a road map — and any fitness goal requires a training program. A good workout plan contains all the right elements to you set you up for success. Creating your own workout program from scratch can feel overwhelming, so we've broken it down into easy-to-follow steps.

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The art and science of writing exercise programs is called program design. It's one of the most important skills coaches and trainers must master, because programs provide blueprints for helping clients and athletes get to where they want to go.

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There are many factors that go into writing a great program, and getting good at it takes practice. I've been training clients in person and online for nine years, and I continue to refine my program design systems all the time.

Below are eight steps you can use to create fun and effective 4-to-6-week workout programs for yourself. I provide insight and advice from two certified personal trainers, as well as insight from my own program design system.

This process might take you up to an hour the first time you try it, but in time you will become so efficient that you can write a program in 15 minutes or less.

If all of this sounds more in-depth than you want to go, there are apps that take the guesswork out of the process for you, including:

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1. Get Clear On Your Goals

You need to identify your main training goal before you start writing your program. Different goals require you to manipulate different variables at the gym, and it's important to know what those are so you can direct your efforts in the right direction. Nobody wants to put in months of hard work only to find out they didn't end up where they wanted to go.

Leann Hatler, CPT , suggests taking a personal inventory before you set out to write a training program for yourself.

"Consider what you are looking to achieve, what your timeline is to get there, what skills you already have to move toward your goal as well as what you need to do differently to make progress possible," she says. All of this information can help you make better programming decisions.

We'll cover writing workout plans for these four common training goals:

• Get stronger
• Build muscle
• Improve your endurance
• Lose body fat

Some of these goals play well together. Others compete with each other, making it difficult to see big progress toward both during the same training program. (It's absolutely possible to get stronger and build muscle at the same time, but it's tough to both build serious strength ‌ and ‌ serious endurance concurrently.)

Don't stress if you want to improve multiple aspects of your fitness. There's an important training concept called periodization that says you can organize your training in such a way that you develop multiple physical qualities over the course of a year. This means that so long as you train consistently, you can ultimately achieve many different goals.

Start by picking one main training goal to target for a 3-to-4-month training block. Other qualities will be maintained while you focus on your main goal. You'll use multiple 4-to-6-week training programs that build upon each other over the course of a single block of training. Once you complete this block, you can choose a different goal for the next 3 to 4 months.

Related Reading

Muscular Strength, Power and Endurance: What's the Difference?

2. Determine Training Frequency and Split

Training frequency refers to how often you train each week. It's important to determine training frequency early in the program design process because it helps you organize your workouts. How often you train depends on how much free time you can devote to the gym as well as your prior training experience.

Decide how many workouts you're going to do each week and what you'll be targeting in each workout. Keep in mind that you will repeat each workout four to six times as you work through this training phase.

Why four to six times? This seems to be the sweet spot for most trainees to reap the full benefits of a workout program. "If you change things up too often, you won't get better or stronger, but if you stick to the same things the same way for too long you are no longer stressing the system as much and won't create further adaptation," says Wesley Showalter, CSCS .

Beginners need to lift weights twice per week at a bare minimum in order to see progress. More experienced trainees can maintain their results with just two lifting workouts, but three or more workouts may be necessary if they are actively trying to get stronger or build muscle.

Some intermediate and advanced trainees can lift weights as often as five to six times per week, so long as they are managing other life stressors and prioritizing recovery outside the gym. If you train with a high frequency, it's best not to train large muscle groups such as your legs, back and chest on consecutive days.

But more training is not necessarily better. You can't force progress in the gym, and trying to expedite your results can leave you feeling burnt out and frustrated.

"Be realistic with how often you are going to train," Showalter says. "I often see people who try to do too much too fast in the gym all the time. They beat themselves up for not hitting expectations, then quit." It's much better to set the bar a little bit lower and consistently hit all your planned workouts than to set the bar too high and constantly fall short.

Once you've decided how many days you want to lift weights each week, it's time to pick a training split. Training splits dictate which movements and/or muscles you plan to train during each individual workout.

Here are a few possible training splits you could select depending on how many days per week you plan to train.

How to Set Up Training Splits

Beginners and people who train less frequently should stick with full-body workouts to make the most of their workouts. I don't recommend using a body part split unless you are an experienced trainee whose main goal is building muscle.

3. Pick Your Set and Rep Ranges

Picking sets and reps is the most important step in designing a training program. That's because sets and reps dictate your volume and intensity, which are the two variables that ultimately have the most impact on your results at the gym.

Volume refers to the total amount of work you're performing. You need more volume if you want to build muscle or improve your endurance. Intensity refers to how heavy you are training. You need more intensity if you want to get stronger.

Volume and intensity are inversely related. This means that when you are training with more volume (ie. more sets and reps), you won't be able to use as much load and vice versa. It's important to keep this in mind when selecting sets and reps so you design a program that is in line with your goals.

Aim to perform at least 10 sets per muscle or movement pattern (eg. squat, hip hinge, upper body push, upper body pull) each week. Keep in mind that this will be divided up across multiple workouts and there will be some muscle overlap with different exercises.

For example, you don't need to do 10 sets of tricep isolation exercises if you also did several sets of bench press or overhead press. Depending on how many days you train per week, you will likely do 3 to 5 sets per exercise per workout.

Building serious strength requires you to lift heavy loads, so you'll need to do sets with fewer reps. "Keep the reps low (1 to 6) and the intensity (weight/load) high with long rest periods between heavy sets when training for strength," Showalter says.

Most of your strength training should occur in the 3 to 6 rep range. Every once in a while you can perform heavy sets of 1 or 2 reps, but don't do this every single week as it can be hard on your body.

Building muscle is different than building strength. You don't need to go quite as heavy so you can perform sets in a variety of rep ranges and still see results. Many coaches suggest performing primarily sets in the 6 to 12 rep range for hypertrophy. Just know that you can actually perform sets with many different rep ranges and still build muscle so long as you perform at least 10 sets per muscle group each week.

If your goal is to improve muscular endurance , you need to perform some longer sets. Showalter suggests performing lots of sets in the 12 to 15 rep range. Stick with 2 to 4 sets per exercise when you're using high reps.

Occasionally, you can push yourself with sets as high as 25 to 30 continuous reps. I don't recommend going any higher because the loads you'll need to use will be too light to elicit changes in your body.

How Reps and Sets Should You Do?

What About Fat Loss?

Despite what you might have heard, there is actually no specific training plan for fat loss. "Ultimately a big part of fat loss comes down to your nutrition," Showalter says. He says factors outside the gym such as creating a caloric deficit, increasing your step count, getting enough sleep and managing stress play the deciding role in whether or not you lose body fat.

I suggest building a training program around either strength or hypertrophy if your main goal is fat loss. These approaches help you hold onto muscle as you lose body fat, keeping your metabolism healthy and giving you the lean, athletic look that many people desire when they diet.

If you only have a little bit of time to exercise in service of your fat loss goal, prioritize lifting weights and try to increase your daily step count outside the gym. If you have more time, you can also add in one to two sessions of higher-intensity intervals and/or moderate-intensity, steady-state cardio .

Some extra cardio can help manage stress levels and boost your calorie burn. But it's important not to overdo it, as too much cardio causes many people to experience big increases in appetite, which make it harder to stick with a diet.

4. Make an Equipment Inventory

Before you insert specific exercises into your program, you need to know what tools you're working with. Access to equipment will vary widely depending on if you're training at home, at a big box commercial gym or at a small boutique gym with unconventional equipment.

Showalter suggests making a list of what equipment you have access to and where it's located. He also recommends making a note of the busiest times at your gym. Most gyms tend to be more crowded before and after work, and you may have more competition for different pieces of equipment during those times. If you're forced to train at busy times, you'll need to know what alternatives you can use when necessary.

Folks who train at home have less competition for equipment but might be limited in other ways. For example, you won't be able to go as heavy if you don't have a lot of weights at home. You'll need to drive intensity in other ways, such as doing harder exercises or changing your lifting tempo. Wherever you're training, it's important to get to know your equipment and how to use it effectively.

The Best and Worst Machines to Use at the Gym, According to Trainers

The 6 Best Gym Equipment Brands Worth the Investment

Here's Exactly How to Get Started Working Out at the Gym

5. select exercises.

Once you've decided on a goal, picked a training split, established your sets and reps and made an inventory of your equipment, it's finally time to plug in exercises. Many people make the mistake of starting here when creating programs, but it's much more efficient to get the other variables squared away first.

Picking exercises can be daunting, as there are seemingly endless options and many criteria to consider. Try not to get overwhelmed, and take solace in the fact that this isn't actually the most important part of the program design process. You can see results using many different exercises so long as you use the right amount of load and volume.

There are six important criteria you can use to help you select exercises.

• Train all the major movement patterns each week.
• Prioritize compound exercises over isolation exercises.
• Pick exercises that feel good on your joints and allow you to use a full range of motion.
• Pick exercises that match your skill levels.
• Pick exercises that align with your goals.
• Don't put too many exercises in one workout.

How to Choose Exercises

6. Address Any Mobility Challenges

Many people come to the weight room with aches and pains. While you don't need to let minor issues get in the way of exercise, it is important to make sure you're setting yourself up to move well both in and out of the gym.

" Mobility training is like flossing — people don't enjoy it, but you need to stay on top of it to reap the benefits," Showalter says.

Regularly performing dynamic stretches and drills can improve your mobility and connection with your body. "Adding in mobility to your warm-up as well as after sets of your exercises as active recovery is a great way to be efficient with your training," Showalter says. He suggests picking drills that target stiff or problematic areas; some common offenders include the shoulders, thoracic spine and hips.

You can sprinkle these exercises throughout your workouts to save time and make sure you don't skip them altogether. For example, if you are performing a superset of squats and chin-ups, you could add a third exercise to work on your hip or shoulder mobility .

7. Consider Cardio

Writing cardio or conditioning programs can be even more complex than writing strength-training programs, and is beyond the scope of this article. The goods news is that most people who just want to look and feel better don't need the same level of conditioning technicality as a professional athlete preparing for a race, game or fight.

Here are a few simple ways to build cardio into your workout program:

• ‌ Add additional cardio days. ‌ You can perform a cardio workout on a day when you're not lifting weights if you have extra time for the gym.
• ‌ Replace one or two lifting days with cardio days. ‌ If you are training three days or more, you could replace lifting days with cardio days. Make sure you're still lifting at least twice per week.
• ‌ Add high-intensity conditioning to the end of a lifting workout. ‌ Finishers are short bursts of intense cardio that you perform at the end of a workout. This is a great strategy to maintain or build your cardio fitness without adding tons of extra training time.
• ‌ Perform more cardio outside the gym. ‌ Look for ways to make your daily life more active or take up active hobbies. Could you walk, ruck or bike your commute instead of driving or taking the train? Can you play pickup sports with your friends or join a martial arts class? There are nearly endless possible opportunities to get moving.

8. Build In Progression Over 4 to 6 Weeks

The principle of progressive overload states that you need to take on greater challenges over time if you want to continue seeing progress at the gym.

A big reason why using a structured program is so much more effective than doing random workouts is that it gives you a framework from which to progress. You don't want to change your entire training program each week, but you do want to manipulate certain variables to increase the difficulty and push yourself.

"Over the course of the training phase you could do things such as lower the reps and increase the weight or vice versa, aim to shorten rest periods or aim to get more reps on an exercise with the same weight," Showlater says. "Stick with the same exercise but aim to add more stress on the system by doing it slightly faster, heavier, with more rep or with less rest."

Here is a list of possible ways to progress:

• Add more weight
• Add more reps
• Perform more sets
• Take less rest between sets
• Improve your form
• Perform an exercise more explosively
• Improve your mind-muscle connection (most relevant for hypertrophy)

If you're training with minimal equipment or limited weights, you may need to get a little more creative. Here are some options that might work if you've exhausted the list above:

• Slow an exercise down
• Add pauses to an exercise
• Perform 1.5 reps (Two examples: A 1.5 rep squat requires you to squat all the way down, stand up halfway, squat all the way down again before standing up all the way. A 1.5 rep seated row requires you to pull your elbows all the way back to your sides, extend your arms forward halfway, pull all the way back again before extending your arms fully.)
• Progress to a more challenging variation of the exercise

Regardless of how you choose to progress, it's a good idea to track what you're doing from week to week. Track your exercises, sets, reps, weight and any other relevant data electronically or using pen and paper. You'll need this information when it's time to write your next training program and it keeps you motivated to work hard from week to week.

Need More Info on Where to Start?

What Weight Dumbbells Should I Use? Tips for Beginners

11 Exercises That Are a Waste of Time for Beginners — and What to Do Instead

How Many Times a Week Should I Train My Legs?

Once you've completed four to six weeks of training, it's time to write your next program. Look over your recent training data. Assess what went well and what was challenging. Consider whether you can still maintain the same training frequency over the next four to six weeks. Then, use the same process outlined in this article to create your next program. Soon, you'll have workout planning down to an art.

The Personal Trainer's Complete Workout Plan

Personal Trainer Software

As a personal trainer, helping clients achieve their goals and improve their lifestyles is at the heart of what you do.

However, working long hours and trying to meet demanding schedules can lead to burnout if you're not careful.

Last week, we discussed the importance of efficient workout planning to stay effective and avoid confusion or fatigue.

Developing a comprehensive personal trainer's workout plan is crucial to build on that foundation. This plan will help you and your clients stay on track by tailoring exercises to individual needs and adjusting fitness strategies as necessary.

Here's how to create a complete workout plan that ensures success for both you and your clients.

Step 1. Understand Client Fitness Goals

The first step in creating an effective workout plan is understanding your clients' fitness goals. In this section, we'll discuss how you can help your clients identify their goals, the type of goals they might have, and a few examples you might encounter as a personal trainer.

#1. Goal Setting

Setting clear, well-defined goals creates a roadmap that guides your clients toward their ultimate fitness success. Here's how to set goals for clients :

• Start with the 'why'. Understand why your client is seeking your coaching services. Is it about feeling more confident, improving health, or preparing for a specific event? When you know the 'why', you can personalize their goals so they'll be more impactful and easier to commit to
• Then, use the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) method to shape clear and trackable goals. For instance, instead of a vague goal like "get fit", specify "run a half marathon in under 2 hours".
• Then, break down all the goals you come up with. Usually, clients start with high ambitions, and more often, this can cause demotivation when it takes longer than expected to hit their targets. If the goal is to lose weight, setting a monthly weight loss target is more achievable than a lump sum goal at the end of the year.
• Goals must also fit into the client's current lifestyle and time constraints. You'll want to understand your clients' daily routine, job demands, family responsibilities, and any other factors that could influence their ability to commit to a fitness program.
• Also, consider your client's health and fitness before committing to a goal. Ask about any medical limitations or needs that must be accommodated within the training program. In addition, understand the client's history with fitness, including what has or hasn't worked for them in the past, to guide the goal-setting process.

#2. Goal Types

When setting fitness goals with clients, categorize them into two main types: short-term and long-term goals.

Each plays a vital role in a client's fitness journey by providing specific targets and motivations.

Short-Term Goals

Short-term goals are immediate, specific, and achievable within a brief timeframe, typically a few weeks to a few months. They keep clients motivated and engaged with quick wins and measurable progress. 

For example, a short-term goal could be to lose five pounds in one month or to improve a 5km run time by 30 seconds in six weeks. 

The key here is to set realistic goals, given the client's current fitness level and lifestyle. Also, ensure they align with the broader long-term aspirations​.

Long-Term Goals

Long-term goals are broader and aim at sustained progress over a longer period, with timelines of several months to a year or more.

They are generally more ambitious and may involve significant body composition, strength, endurance, or overall health changes. 

Examples include losing 20 pounds in six months, running a half or full marathon, or achieving a specific body weight or muscle mass. 

When setting long-term goals, consider the client's overall aspirations, potential lifestyle changes, and the cumulative effect of short-term achievements.

#3. Examples of Client Goals

Examples of client goals in personal training vary depending on their preferences and fitness levels. However, they generally fall into a few categories focused on specific outcomes:

• Weight management : Many clients set weight loss or gain goals depending on their health and aesthetic desires.
• Strength and muscle gain : This could be as specific as increasing the weight lifted on a particular exercise, being able to do one pull-up, or as broad as enhancing overall body strength.
• Improving cardiovascular fitness : These goals can include running a certain distance within a specific time or increasing stamina for better overall health.
• Flexibility and mobility are especially relevant for aging populations or those recovering from injuries. Clients may want to improve flexibility, mobility, and quality of life or reduce pain during daily activities.
• General fitness : Some clients may have broader goals, such as enhancing overall health and wellness by combining strength, endurance, flexibility, and proper nutrition.

Step 2. Conduct Fitness Assessments

Here's how to evaluate a client's current fitness level and identify potential limitations to tailor the best workout plan:

Initial Assessment Protocols

Initiating your client's journey starts with conducting a thorough initial assessment .

To create an effective workout plan, start by evaluating your client's current fitness level with these common initial assessments:

• Personal and Medical History (PAR-Q)
• Body Composition Analysis
• Postural Assessment
• Lifestyle and Nutrition Questionnaire

They help you understand your client's baseline so you can tailor a training program that aligns with their fitness goals and current health.

Benchmark Tests

Benchmark tests are essential for measuring initial capabilities across various fitness domains. Standard tests include:

• Push-ups for upper body strength.
• Sit-and-reach for flexibility.
• A timed step test for cardiovascular endurance.

These benchmarks help track progress and adjust training programs as needed.

Recording and Analyzing Data

For your personal trainer workout plan to work, you must record and analyze assessment data accurately. This will allow you to track your clients' progress and adjust their workout plans when necessary. 

You can utilize personal trainer software to maintain detailed records of each session, including their performance on benchmark tests.

This data is invaluable; it allows you to make informed decisions when continually adapting the training program to meet evolving fitness needs.

Step 3. Design a Tailored Workout Plan

Ready to finally build your first personal trainer workout plan? It involves integrating various exercises to cover all aspects of fitness. Let's take a look at what you want to include.

Resistance Training

Strength training builds muscle, increases bone density, and improves metabolic rate.

So, assess your client's current fitness level and training history to inform the selection of appropriate exercises, weights, repetitions, and sets. 

When training complete beginners, you can start with basic compound movements like squats and push-ups, focusing on form and gradual progression.

For more advanced clients, incorporate higher-intensity routines and concentrate on specific muscle groups to encourage hypertrophy or strength gains.

For example, your weekly personal trainer workout plan could look like this:

• Monday: Upper body strength (e.g., bench press, pull-ups, shoulder press) – 3 sets of 8-10 reps.
• Thursday: Lower body strength (e.g., squats, deadlifts, lunges) – 3 sets of 8-10 reps.
• Saturday: Full body circuit with lighter weights and higher reps to promote muscular endurance.

The key is to increase the weight or resistance progressively . Doing so will continuously challenge the muscles and promote growth.

Cardiovascular Exercise

In your workout plan, include cardiovascular training to help your clients improve heart health, lose weight, and enhance endurance. You want to tailor the exercises to their fitness and needs.

 For example, you can come up with something like this:

• Tuesday: Interval training on a treadmill or exercise bike for 10-15 minutes, alternating between high and low intensity.
• Friday: Steady-state cardio like a 45-minute run or cycle at a moderate pace.
• Sunday: Optional light activity like swimming or a brisk walk for active recovery.

Flexibility and Mobility

Adding flexibility and mobility exercises to the personal trainer's workout plan can enhance overall movement efficiency and reduce injury risk.

Design thorough warm-ups to prepare your client's body for the day's workout and a long enough cool-down so their heart rate can return to baseline.

Here's a plan you can consider:

• Daily warm-up: 10 minutes of dynamic stretches (e.g., leg swings and arm circles) and mobility exercises.
• Post-workout cool-down: 5-10 minutes of static stretching (e.g., quadriceps stretch, hamstring stretch, and calf stretch). Focus the cool-down on muscles exercised that day.

You could also add yoga or Pilates once or twice a week to enhance flexibility and core strength.

Rest and Recovery

Sufficient rest and recovery are essential to prevent overtraining and allow muscles to repair and grow.

So, ensure your personal trainer workout routine includes at least one or multiple rest days for clients, depending on their experience level.

Looking at the example workout plan above, you'll notice that no workout is scheduled for Wednesdays. The client can do one or both of the following:

• Complete rest day or very light activity like gentle yoga to help with muscle recovery and flexibility.
• Regular use of techniques such as foam rolling and deep-tissue massage to aid in muscle recovery and injury prevention.

Remember to monitor how each client's body reacts to the training plan. This way, you can adjust the exercises or add extra time for rest to prevent overtraining.

Step 4. Customize Workout Schedules for Clients

When customizing workout schedules for your personal training clients, consider their unique needs, preferences, and time constraints.

Here's a comprehensive approach you can take:

• Understand client availability and preferences : Discuss when your clients can work out and what activities they prefer to ensure the workout plan fits seamlessly into their daily routine for better adherence.​
• Set clear, tailored goals: Each client's fitness goal should shape their workout schedule. For muscle gain, include strength training with progressive overload. Combine HIIT with steady-state cardio and strength training for general fitness, balance cardio, strength training, and flexibility workouts for weight loss.
• Incorporate variety and modulation: To keep the workouts engaging, include a mix of strength training, cardiovascular exercises, and flexibility sessions. Tailoring these sessions to the days when your client feels most energetic or has more time can also optimize their effectiveness.
• Adjust for time efficiency : For clients with tight schedules, consider time-efficient workout modalities like high-intensity interval training (HIIT), circuit training, or Tabata . These methods maximize results while they fit conveniently into a busy day​.
• Emphasize progression and adaptability : Ensure the workout plan evolves as your client progresses. You can increase the intensity of the workouts, diversify the types of exercises, or adjust the duration of sessions based on their improving fitness level​.
• Monitor and adjust regularly : Regular check-ins are crucial to assess progress and adjust the workout schedule. Doing so helps your client achieve their desired fitness goals and maintains motivation by refreshing the routine.

Step 5. Integrate Nutrition and Hydration Advice

One way to help your clients improve their lifestyles is by creating a holistic personal trainer workout plan that targets not only their fitness but also what they consume and when. Here's what you can do:

Get Relevant Education and Certification

While personal trainers are not licensed to prescribe diets or treat medical conditions with diet, you can educate clients about healthy eating habits and general wellness. 

You can pursue a fitness nutrition certification to enhance your credibility and knowledge base.

This way, you can also attract different types of clients, including ones who only need nutrition and weight loss advice .

Basic Nutritional Guidance

You can provide general advice on healthy eating habits that support your clients' fitness goals. For example, discussing the importance of protein in muscle repair or the role of hydration in physical performance is beneficial. 

It's crucial to base this guidance on established nutritional principles, so avoid giving specific dietary recommendations unless you're qualified to do so​.

Use of Tools and Resources

Utilize resources like the Dietary Guidelines for Americans or MyPlate to inform your discussions. Such resources provide a solid foundation for understanding balanced diets and can be a great starting point for client education​.

Client-Centred Approach

Tailor your nutritional advice to fit each client's lifestyle, preferences, and goals. This might involve suggesting meal timing around workouts or discussing how to make healthier food choices. Always keep the advice general unless you have the specific credentials to offer detailed meal plans​.

Collaboration with Dietitians

Collaborate with registered dietitians if your client needs more detailed dietary advice or has specific health issues. Doing so will ensure your client receives safe, accurate, and personalized nutrition counselling while you stay within your scope of practice as a trainer​.

Step 6. Keeping Clients Motivated

Your second biggest job as a personal trainer is keeping your clients motivated. So, as you create a solid personal trainer workout plan, use these tips to encourage your clients to keep putting in time - especially when they face setbacks and unavoidable delays: 

• Customize the workout plans to fit clients' unique preferences, abilities, and goals.
• Work with your clients to set SMART goals . For starters, break long-term goals into smaller, manageable milestones to maintain motivation - clients will feel a sense of accomplishment as they progress. Also, ensure you celebrate these achievements to boost their morale and encourage persistence​.
• Build trust and open communication . Clients should feel heard and supported. This relationship is foundational to keeping them motivated, as they will be more committed when they feel connected and understood by their trainer​.
• Leverage training apps and social media to keep clients engaged. Apps can help track their progress and facilitate communication outside of sessions. Also, use social media content to inspire clients, share fitness tips, or celebrate client successes.
• Create a community , possibly online, where clients can share their progress and challenges. This can foster a sense of accountability and support among members, keeping each other motivated.

Help clients understand the 'why' behind each exercise and the benefits of their workouts. Educating them about the importance of nutrition and overall wellness can motivate them to make healthier choices supporting their fitness goals​.

There you have it! You can now create a personal trainer workout plan that works for you and your clients. 

We've covered the basics above, from setting achievable goals, designing personalized routines, and integrating essential nutrition advice to motivating your clients. 

Remember to use the best personal trainer software, especially as your client base grows. We recommend starting a free trial with PT Distinction to see how the software can centralize all your client plans and sessions.

Try PT Distinction today and take your coaching to the next level!

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A 7-Day Workout Routine To Help Meet Your Fitness Goals

Erin is a freelance journalist who primarily covers topics related to health and wellness, maternal mental health and parenting. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, Huffington Post, Baby Center, Romper and more.

Grace Wade is an associate editor for Health.com. While her work covers a wide range of science and health topics, she has a particular interest in nutrition, mental healthcare, the wellness industry, and the relationship between the environmental and public health. Prior to Health, Grace was an associate editor at Insider where she spent the majority of her time trying to hack Google's algorithm. She is also a fact-checker and contributor for Popular Science. When she's not working, Grace can typically be found exploring Brooklyn or hiking mountains with her film camera. Grace holds a dual degree in journalism and science in human cultures from Northwestern University with a concentration in environment, science, and society.

The Sample Workout Schedule

Monday: cardio, tuesday: lower body, wednesday: upper body and core, thursday: active rest and recovery, friday: lower body with a focus on glutes, saturday: upper body, sunday: rest and recovery day.

• Workouts and Nutrition

A well-balanced workout schedule can help you reap the benefits of physical activity, such as boosting your mood and helping with sleep. The key to an effective workout plan is to challenge your body and engage your mind by adding various cardio, full-body, stretching, and weightlifting exercises.

Though general physical activity recommendations for adults include aerobic exercises and strength training, your workout routine also depends on your fitness goals. Read on for a sample weekly workout schedule by Jacklyn Romano, CPT , a certified physical therapist based in New Jersey, and Sharon Gam, PhD , a certified personal trainer and health coach.

Ivan Gener / Stocksy

Romano and Gam designed this seven-day workout plan to help you develop a regular exercise routine. Here's what each day of the schedule entails:

• Tuesday: Lower body
• Wednesday: Upper body and core
• Thursday: Active rest and recovery
• Friday: Lower body with a focus on glutes
• Saturday: Upper body
• Sunday: Rest and recovery

The CDC has recommended that adults aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. This amount of time equals a minimum of 30 minutes per day, five days per week. The second part of the recommendation is to add two days of muscle-strengthening activities to the week.

Warming Up and Cooling Down

Spend five to 10 minutes warming up before each workout to prevent injury. Try doing dynamic stretches—such as butt kicks and high knees—to get the blood flowing to your muscles and move your joints. End your workout with a cool down by stretching your muscles or taking a slow walk to safely bring your heart rate back to normal.

Upper/Lower Splits

You'll do four muscle-strengthening sessions in this sample workout plan:   two upper-body and two lower-body days per week.   Stick to the same exercises for each of those workouts, gradually boosting the weights and reps as you grow stronger.

Progressive Overload

Romano recommended progressive overload , or doing the same exercises but challenging yourself with heavier weights or more reps. Start with 10 reps for three sets, with a minute of rest between each set for each exercise.

Different variables—like your age or physical activity level—can affect how many reps you do and the weight you use as a beginner. The key is to increase your weight if an exercise feels too easy so you can challenge your muscles.

Some people may go straight into exercise without stretching before or after. Flexibility is key, however, for maintaining the range of motion in your joints and preventing injuries.

Hold each of the following stretches for 30 seconds and then repeat on the opposite side:

• Calf stretch: Steady yourself against a wall, flexing your right foot upward so your toes rest against the wall. Move closer to the wall until you feel a stretch.
• Hamstring stretch: Lie down on the floor next to a wall. Raise your right leg, resting your heel against the wall. Straighten your leg until you feel a stretch.
• Hip flexor stretch: Place a towel under your left knee, kneeling on the floor. Place your right foot in front of you, bending your right knee. Shift your hips forward until you feel a stretch, placing your weight onto your right leg.
• Shoulder stretch: Hold your right arm over your chest with your left arm.
• Quad stretch: Steady yourself by holding on to a wall or the back of a chair. Grab your right ankle, pulling your heel up and back to your butt. Keep your knees pressed together.

Aim for at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity , such as biking, jogging, running, and walking. During moderate-intensity exercise, you'll be able to hold a conversation while exercising. Vigorous intensity, in contrast, means that you can only say a few words without pausing.

You can also measure exercise intensity with maximum and target heart rates. A good rule of thumb for finding your maximum heart rate is subtracting your age from 220. Your target heart rate for moderate exercise falls between 50 and 70% of your maximum rate. In comparison, your target heart rate for vigorous exercise falls between 70 and 85% of your maximum rate.

Steady-state cardio (endurance workouts) improve the stamina of your heart and lungs and reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Your body learns to move oxygen and nutrients into your muscles more efficiently while transporting waste out. As a result, those exercises will become easier over time, so you'll want to increase your pace gradually.

With four compound lifts, your first muscle-strengthening session of the week will target your lower body, including your hamstrings, glutes, and quads. Compound lifts are exercises that use multiple muscle groups. A deadlift, for example, works your lower body and your arm and core muscles.

Do 10 reps for three sets, with a minute of rest between each set, of the following exercises:

• Deadlifts:  Place your feet shoulder-width apart, push your butt back, bend your knees slightly, and bend forward, keeping your back straight. Grasp a barbell or pair of dumbbells with your hands. Lift the weights by driving your hips forward while keeping your back flat. Slowly lower the weights back to the floor.
• Hip thrusts:  Sit on the ground with your shoulders on a bench or stable chair behind you. Keep your feet planted on the ground, and then push your hips up. Squeeze your glutes until your knees are at a 90-degree angle. Lower your hips back to the ground.
• Lunges:  Stand in a split stance, so one foot is a few feet in front of the other. Keep your torso straight, and then bend your knees until your back knee is a few inches from the floor and your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Push through your heels to return to the starting position. Repeat this move on the opposite sides.
• Squats:  Lower yourself like you are sitting in a chair. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and your feet flat on the floor. Push back up to standing.

Make sure to perfect your form before adding weights to avoid injury. Add just enough weight so your last couple of reps leave your muscles burning and your heart pumping.

Your legs, which are likely feeling sore, will get a break since you'll be focusing on your arms today. You'll target your biceps, triceps, and chest muscles with these moves:

• Bicep curl:  Hold a dumbbell in each hand or grasp a barbell with both hands. Let your elbows rest at your sides with your forearms extended out parallel to the floor. Bend your elbows to bring the weight to your shoulders and then return to the start position.
• Chest press:  Lie back on a bench with your feet flat on the floor, holding a dumbbell in each hand or a barbell in both. Keep your arms perpendicular to your body and palms facing forward. Extend your elbows, pushing the weight up. Lower the weight to return to the starting position.
• Tricep dip:  Sit on a chair or bench and then grip the edge next to your hips. Slide your butt off the chair and lower yourself so your elbows are bent at a 45- or 90-degree angle. Push yourself back to the starting position.

Perform 10 reps of each exercise for three sets with one minute of rest in between each set. Finish this session with a quick core circuit. Pick some of your core moves—such as crunches, planks, and Russian twists—and do each one for 30 seconds with 10–15 seconds off. Repeat the exercises until you hit 10–15 minutes.

Give your body a chance to recover and recharge. Muscle-strengthening activities create tiny microtears in your muscle fibers, leaving your muscles achy and sore . That may sound alarming, but it actually means your muscles will grow back stronger than before. Not allowing your muscles to recover heightens your injury risk and prevents your muscles from strengthening.

You may get some form of movement in, even on off days, if you are not too sore or tired. Active rest might include walking and stretching, which relieves post-workout muscle tightness.

This lower body session will focus on your glutes. Warm up your glutes with five resistance band exercises, such as bridges, clamshells, and squats, for three rounds.

You'll move on to weighted exercises once you activate your glutes. Romano recommended doing 10 reps for three sets of hinge movements, including deadlifts, hip thrusts, and single-legged hip thrusts. Those exercises target your glutes and hamstrings.

Focus on your back and shoulders for your final workout of the week. You'll want to fire up your muscles before jumping into the weights. Try doing three sets of 10 reps each of push-ups and pull-ups. You can modify with incline push-ups and assisted pull-ups until you build more strength.

You'll then complete five weighted exercises for 10 reps and three sets. Those exercises include:

• Dumbbell single-arm row:  Place one hand under your shoulder, arm straight, on a bench. Rest your corresponding knee on the bench, keeping your other leg out to the side and your foot flat on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in your other hand, rowing your elbow up to your side until it's parallel to the floor. Lower and repeat on the other side.
• Lat pull down:  Grab the bar of a cable machine with your palms facing away and shoulder-width apart. Make sure you are seated on a bench or kneeling on the floor. Pull the bar down to your chest before returning slowly to the starting position.
• Lateral raise:  Standing or sitting with a dumbbell in each hand and arms at your sides, engage your core and slowly lift the weights out to the side until your arms are parallel to the floor. Slowly return to the starting position.
• Reverse fly:  With your feet shoulder-width apart, bend slightly at your waist, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Raise both arms out to the side, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Return to the starting position.
• Shoulder press:  Either seated or standing, hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height. Keep your palms facing away and elbows bent at a 90-degree angle. Press the weights up until your arms are straight and the weights touch overhead. Slowly lower to the starting position.

Celebrate your week of hard work by giving your body time to recover. Try yoga or stretching to prevent your muscles from getting too stiff and sore.

It's also OK to take a complete rest day. Both active and relaxed days off have a place in your weekly routine, whether that's reading a book on the couch or watching television. What matters most is that you pay attention to your body and how you feel.

It can be difficult to stick with a regular workout routine. Here are some ways to make physical activity a consistent habit:

• Invite your friends: Make a plan to meet up with a friend to work out together, which can keep you accountable.
• Make exercise fun: The best way to stick to a workout plan is to find something you enjoy. This sample weekly workout schedule can be a good starting point for how to vary your workouts, but incorporate your favorite activities.
• Schedule your workouts: Block out about 30–45 minutes during the day so you know you'll always have time to exercise.
• Track your progress: Start a journal in which you write down how far you bike, jog, or walk or how much weight you lift. Seeing your progress can be motivation to keep moving forward.
• Try a workout class: Sign up for a Pilates or Zumba class in your area to try something new.

Workouts and Nutrition 

A regular workout routine, in addition to a balanced diet, is essential to overall health. Eating a nutrient-rich diet helps lower your risk of several chronic illnesses, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Make sure that you get enough carbs, healthy fats, and protein to satisfy your appetite and keep you energized.

Here are some tips for a balanced diet:

• Choose low-fat or nonfat dairy products
• Consume a variety of fruits , vegetables, and whole grains
• Drink plenty of water
• Ensure you eat enough calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and other essential nutrients
• Limit your added sugar, alcohol, salt, and saturated fat intakes
• Opt for lean meats, poultry , and fish over red meat

A Quick Review

Try following this sample seven-day workout plan to make exercise a consistent habit. It provides a schedule with options that balance various types of physical activity with warm-ups, cool-downs, and rest. Inviting your friends, making working out fun, and trying a workout class can help you stick to a regular workout routine.

Keep in mind, though, that your workout routine will depend on your goals. It's important to focus on a balanced diet, too, so your body is fueled with healthy nutrients. As you progress, make adjustments to this schedule to help you better achieve those goals.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Benefits of physical activity .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What counts as physical activity for adults .

American Heart Association. Set your fitness goals .

MedlinePlus. Warming up and cooling down .

American Council on Exercise. The ACE workout builder for split routines .

Afonso J, Olivares-Jabalera J, Andrade R. Time to move from mandatory stretching? We need to differentiate "can I?" from "do I have to?"   Front Physiol . 2021;12:714166. doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.714166

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How to measure physical activity intensity .

American Heart Association. Target heart rates chart .

American Heart Association. Endurance exercise (aerobic) .

American College of Sports Medicine. A road map to effective muscle recovery .

MedlinePlus. Benefits of exercise .

MedlinePlus. Nutrition .

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The University of Chicago The Law School

Summer experiences: ally swartzberg, ’25, summer associate, proskauer rose llp.

Ally Swartzberg, ’26, followed her interest in sports law to New York City this summer where she worked as a summer associate for Proskauer Rose LLP , a law firm that focuses on legal work in the sports industry. During her summer experience, Ally got to tackle projects for professional sports organizations and expand her network in the industry she plans to work in after she graduates.

How did you connect with this summer opportunity?

During my 1L Property Law course, Professor Strahilevitz cold called me. He asked me who owns a home run baseball. After that cold call, Professor Strahilevitz realized I was interested in sports and asked if I wanted to pursue a legal career in the sports industry. I said yes, and he connected me with one of his former law school classmates who is a sports industry “heavy hitter” and a partner at Proskauer.

How does your experience connect with what you currently envision doing with your law degree?

Proskauer is one of the most highly regarded law firms specifically for legal work in the sports industry. This summer, I was able to work on projects for professional sports leagues like Major League Soccer and the National Football League and to attend events like the NBA Draft. Proskauer alumni are also in general counsels’ offices across professional sports teams and leagues, and I was able to do things like attend a Yankees game with two of the Yankees’ attorneys. By working at Proskauer, I have gained a really strong network in my preferred industry as well as directly relevant work experience.

Please describe a “typical” day at work.

I would usually get to work between 8:30 and 9:30 am depending on what I had on my calendar. Some mornings, I would have breakfast or coffee with an attorney before spending a few hours working on my assignments. Some days I would be reading and comparing contract provisions, other days I was helping with a closing checklist or doing specific research for a client. I would usually have lunch around noon and some days I would have a small group meeting or a check-in with one of my mentors. I typically finished work around 5:30 pm and oftentimes we would have an event beginning at 6 pm.

What is something you learned or experienced that was surprising or particularly compelling during this summer position?

I had the opportunity to participate in a pro bono project alongside three other summer associates and a handful of Proskauer corporate attorneys. Each summer associate was paired with an associate and assigned a city and a team of eighth graders to mentor through a mock NBA expansion proposal. Each team then had to present why their city should be the site of the next NBA expansion team and answer questions from a panel of judges. This experience of mentoring young people with the same dreams I once had made me realize how close I am to finally becoming a lawyer, and that was really impactful. Also, my team won, so that was fun.

What are a couple of your key takeaways from the experience so far?

Only working for ten weeks, especially if you have to move, can throw off your routine like crazy. If you are the kind of person who likes to exercise regularly or enjoys cooking, make the effort to prioritize finding a gym and a good grocery store that are close to your apartment. You will feel so much more grounded. Also, we don’t know anything yet about how to actually be a lawyer, but we are smart, capable people. It’s humbling to be “new” at something, but trust in yourself and your ability to learn and do well.

What advice would you offer another law student contemplating working in a similar position next summer?

Be open to mentorship and new experiences while also being vocal about your goals and interests. Not every assignment you get will be the most exciting, but every assignment is an opportunity to meet more attorneys, establish a positive reputation for yourself, and learn more about how to be a good associate. I really think having the attitude of “I’m happy to do whatever needs doing” is important. At the same time, don’t be shy to vocalize your interests or to reach out to lawyers who do the work you hope to do.

How are you spending your free time this summer?

I cofounded and codirected a youth football program called the Big North Takeover, so I have spent a lot of time this summer planning, executing, and doing follow-ups with our coaches and participants. We had seven NFL players, two NFL scouts, and five D1 players coach roughly eighty high school athletes, so it was a big lift. Otherwise, I plan to travel (I’m currently in Florida), take some much-needed rest, and spend some time in the Jersey Shore with my family.

What are you most looking forward to in returning to UChicago Law this fall?

I’m really looking forward to the fall in Chicago and seeing so many of my friends I haven’t seen since leaving for New York this summer. At the law school, I am looking forward to being a student director of the Corporate Lab Clinic and to seeing what cool topics our new staffers come up with for the Business Law Review. Really, though, I’m counting down to graduation.