How to Design Your Own Workout Plan: A Guide to Fitness Freedom

 

 Welcome! Today we're going to learn how to design workout programs.

  Having an effective workout program is extremely important towards achieving your fitness goals. You can't just have a goal and expect to achieve it if you don't have a clear and detailed plan. Without it, you're probably wasting your time and effort. Here's what we need to know: There isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. That's because we're all different, so creating an exercise program varies based on your age, goal, fitness level, lifestyle, and more. Even with tons of workout videos out there, you still need to have the knowledge to know why you're doing this workout rather than just blindly following it.

So what I'll be sharing with you today are the foundations for starting a simple yet effective workout program. It might sound daunting, but once you know the basics and build from there, it isn't difficult; in fact, it is a lot of fun. I'm going to try to keep it really simple and break it down into five steps.

1 Consistency

  

Consistency is the number one factor  that will get you results you have to  train frequently across a long period of  time so let's get it right from the  beginning this is a long-term commitment  that needs discipline  there are no shortcuts in getting the  results you want hence the first step is  to assess your lifestyle and create a  personalized program that will be  consistent for you  ask yourself these questions  how many days in a week can I dedicate  to exercising  how long can each workout session be  what time of the day suits my schedule  grab a pen and paper and write it down  for instance I like to work out five  days in a week and have two rest days my  workout days will be Monday Tuesday  Thursday Friday and Saturday my rest  days will be Wednesday and Sunday  for each session it'll be an hour long, and I like to get it done first thing in  the morning before I start my day  be specific and realistic because we  want this to be a doable plan  not something which you'll give yourself  excuses down the road  if you can dedicate one hour every day  that's great but if you're tied down to  work and family commitments and can only  spare 20 to 30 minutes a day that's  absolutely fine as well working out for  a longer period of time doesn't  necessarily equate to better or quicker  results rather it's about how consistent  and efficient your workout is in order  to achieve results  I've known of so many success stories  from people who can only spare 20 to 30  minutes a day doing the fear workouts  but because they were consistent they  saw results  another common question I get asked  often is when is the best time to  work out  the simple answer is there is no such  thing as the best time to work out  the best time is when it's most  convenient for you and fits your  schedule that way you're more likely to  stick to your routine instead of having  reasons not to train so if morning is  best for you then stick to the morning  if evening works better than keep your  workout to the evening once you have  figured out your training schedule make  a commitment to yourself and complete  the training no matter what  know that consistency is the most  important thing in creating a successful  program.

2 What workouts should I do?

  Next part to figure out is what workouts should I do there are so many workout videos out there, but you have no idea where to start and what to do for beginners it's important to know that you have to perform total body workouts focusing on all major muscles in order to burn fat and increase lean muscle mass I've said this too many times but allow me to say it once more we cannot spot reduce fat typically there are two types of training strength training or cardio of course there are also workouts which combines both such as hit interval and circuit type training these types of trainings are the most efficient way to burn fat and to tone up in a short period of time let's look at the difference between strength versus cardio strength training or weight lifting are exercises aimed at improving your strength and to build lean muscles strength training is important because the more lean muscles you have the higher your metabolic rate will be that means your body will be burning fat more efficiently even when you're at rest. Cardio or aerobics are exercises that are intense enough to increase your breathing and heart rate at a continuous and consistent pace  cardio exercises are important to build  stamina to burn calories and excess fat  from the body which should you be focusing on that  really depends on your goal if your goal  is to lose weight then you need a  combination of both cardio and strength  training if your goal is to gain weight  then you need to incorporate a lot more  strength training into your program and  only perform cardio occasionally so  let's say my goal is to lose weight and  add more muscle tone  based on my workout days I'll split it  into 2 days of strength training 2 days  of heat conditioning workouts and 1 day  of low intensity or steady paced cardio  for example  Monday can be lower body strength  training Tuesday will be total body heat  and conditioning workout Thursday upper  body strength training  Friday total body heat and conditioning  workout and Saturday can be bar yoga  Pilates brisk walking swimming or hiking.

3 Workout volume

The third factor is to figure out your  workout volume how many reps and sets to  do how heavy to lift and how long to  rest in between exercises  these are mainly for strength training  I've received quite a number of  questions asking if 2 kilos are enough or  if 5 kilos are enough I can't give you a  straight answer because it comes down to  your own strength and goals  let's get to the basics of understanding  sets and reps  sets refer to repeating the same  exercise a certain number of rounds for  instance performing 10 squats in one set, and you may want to repeat it for  another two more sets with rest in  between sets for absolute beginners I  would suggest that you start with two  sets and as you progress increase to  three or four sets per exercise  repetitions or reps refers to the number  of times you perform an exercise during  a set so for instance it can be 10 reps  of squats how many reps should you  perform varies depending on your goal  and fitness level to give you a training  baseline 12 to 20 reps or more is  primarily to build muscular endurance  and size endurance means to train your  muscles to perform a certain move for an  extended period of time  doing high reps means you'll be lifting  lighter loads and because we want to  improve endurance that means shorter  rest between sets 30 to 60 seconds  6 to 12 reps is hypertrophy training  hypertrophy is an increase in growth of  muscle cells achieved through weight  lifting  this training is for all of you who want  to tone up and improve muscle definition  because you're lifting heavier with  lower reps the rest time between sets  will be about 60 to 90 seconds  less than six reps is to build super  dense muscle strength and power because  the wraps are lower that means you're  going to be lifting a lot heavier  weights focusing all your effort into  those few reps you'll also need longer  to recover and the rest time between  sets is about 3 to 5 minutes long hence  depending on your training goal you will  need to adjust the weight accordingly  for example if you're training for  hypertrophy, and you can perform up to 20  reps then the weights are too light you  have to increase the load  you also have to adjust the weight  according to the body parts you're  training your leg muscles are a lot  bigger hence you can lift a lot heavier  compared to your shoulder muscles you  can't just stick to one weight and  perform the entire body and remember  proper form is extremely important in  order for you to engage the right  muscles and to avoid injuries every rep  should be a quality rep  now that you have a solid workout  program, and you're consistent with it.

4 progression

The next important factor is progression  to keep improving and seeing results  your workouts need to get harder over  time you can't just stick to a beginner  workout which you've been doing for the  past two months and wonder why am I not  seeing results if you fail to progress  in your training that's when you'll hit  a plateau saying that however do not  make things harder too quickly I do  understand that some of us can get  really impatient and want to lift  heavier within the next few sessions it  takes time to build strength and  endurance  progress slowly and gradually this way  you will still create change but without  the risk of injuries which may cause you  to miss even more training days as a  rule of thumb you want to train for four  to six weeks at any given level of  difficulty before adding more challenge  to your training progression  can be increasing the work load that  means lifting heavier weights or  increasing your running speed  increasing workout volume whether it's  more reps sets or intervals increasing  the workout time  reducing rest time or introducing  tougher moves there's no one straight  answer to how you can progress in your  workout but the longer you train and  understand your body you will start to  make adjustments to your training in  order to challenge yourself and to also  keep things fun fresh and not so  monotonous that way you will look  forward to your training sessions.  

5 keeping track

We often take this for granted but  keeping track of your workout sessions  are extremely important  it's the only way where you can look  back review each session track your  progress and even celebrate your  successes along the way have a fitness  journal and keep track of every single  workout  your record should be both objective and  subjective  record the exercises weights  sets  reps workout duration and rest time  record how your body feels  recovery level and mental state having  these records will allow you to see what  works what's not working so that over  time you can create a training program  that's effective and efficient for you,  it really does take time to figure out  your own body you can't just create a  training program and know that this will  work immediately  you need to consistently adapt and make  changes along the way besides that  having a record is also a great way to  keep you accountable to your goals for  instance you'll know if you manage to  fit in five days of workout as planned  this information is key to show you  results and to keep you going now that  you know the foundation of building a  solid workout program I want you to put  this into action and try it out for  yourself to get you through your fitness  journey.

Also,  do not forget that nutrition and  diet are still 80 percent of the results  to see permanent changes, it is a  combination of having an effective  training program, eating a well-balanced  diet that fits in with your goal, and  getting enough rest daily. If you enjoyed  this article, and if you find this article to be  useful, then share  it with your friends. Let me know in the comments  if you've ever tried this or are thinking about trying it. I'd love to  hear about your experiences  thank you so much for reading, and stay  healthy, my friends.