How to Create the Best Workout Plan
How to Create the BEST Workout Plan
There is a lot to consider before coming up with the best workout schedule to help you reach your goals. If you’re one of those people who just want to follow something already pre-made at your fitness level, look no further… and check out The Refine YOU Workouts or The Refine YOU Program!
If you would like some help on how to get started answer the following questions FIRST.
The Refine You Program
Provides a customized nutrition plan and workouts with daily accountability to keep you on track.
What is your fitness level?
Be honest with yourself here. Are you currently exercising? Have you ever exercised before? For those who have no experience with exercise, it would not be realistic (or safe) to start out with high intensity workouts for long periods of time. Setting the right expectations for yourself is critical to your success. It will keep you safe, and will prevent frustration down the road. If you are not experienced, and jump into something that is too much for your body to handle, you can cause injury to your body and it will not do much for your self-esteem either.
What are your goals?
Write out why you want to exercise on a piece of paper.
Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to lose inches?
Do you want to get stronger? Do you want to build muscle?
Do you want to get in shape and improve your health?
If your goal is losing weight or losing fat, then you should consider your nutrition. They way you eat is much more important than exercise for losing weight. You can’t “work off” a bad diet. If you need help on this front, check out The Refine YOU Program or The Refine YOU Macro Plan which provides customized nutrition plans.
Setting your goal will help determine what time of workouts you will need and also help you keep your eye on the prize. There will always be an excuse to get out of a workout… your “why” needs to be stronger than your excuses!
When can you exercise?
What time of day is best for you?
How many days per week can you exercise?
How long will you stick to this goal?
Another time to be honest with yourself. Be realistic here. Don’t set yourself up for failure by setting a time, day or frequency that is unattainable for you. If you are not a early riser and problems waking up in the morning, then don’t schedule your workouts at 5am. Determine the time of day that is best for you to get the job done and determine how many days per week you can stick to. I recommend starting with 4 weeks. This frequency of exercise per week can increase with time and gets easier as you incorporate exercise as a habit. To begin with, you should set a goal that you will do no matter what. If you end up doing more, then that is a bonus! Write this down.
Example: “I will exercise at 7:30 am no less than 3 days per week for 4 weeks.”
If you have to change the time or day of your workout that is fine, but you should commit to doing this another time that week. As you incorporate exercise in your routine, you can increase the frequency of your workouts.
4. How long will you exercise?
Depending on your level of fitness, workouts can be anywhere form 20-90 minutes long. A good place to start for a beginner would be 20-30 minutes. For someone who is physically fit, this can be up to 90 minutes depending on what your schedule allows.
5. Where will you exercise?
Will you be doing your workouts at home? At the gym? Going to classes?
If you are planning on going to the gym or classes at a gym, you will need to work in the driving time. If you are planning on participating in classes at a gym, then you will need to work your schedule around those times. Again, be realistic with yourself and set yourself up for success.
If you plan to use a gym, is it in your budget? Is the gym or class convenient for you to attend?
If you plan to exercise at home, do you need any equipment?
You CAN get great workouts at home with minimal equipment. You can do body weight exercises, utilize the outdoors, and you can also purchase some equipment to provide more variety. For clients in The Refine YOU Program and The Refine YOU Workouts, all that is needed is 3 sets of dumbbells (light, medium, and heavy) and a chair or bench. Click Here to view some of my favorite products. You do not have to be dependent on a gym if it doesn’t work best for you. Make it easier for you to succeed!
After you have answered all of these questions, you have determined your starting workout schedule! You know why, how hard, when, where, and how often! Now to set your schedule! You have set a goal and now you need to put your workout days and times on your calendar. Next, you need to determine what to do for your workouts.
Here is something to keep in mind:
The ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control) recommendations state that:
All healthy adults aged 18–65 yr should participate in moderate intensity aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 30 min on five days per week, or vigorous intensity aerobic activity for a minimum of 20 min on three days per week.
Every adult should perform activities that maintain or increase muscular strength and endurance for a minimum of two days per week.
What does this mean? For the general healthy person, you should be exercising 30 minutes 5 days a week and getting your heart rate up and at least 2 of these days should be strength workouts. This is something to work toward.
What to do for Workouts
No matter your level of fitness, you should be doing strength workouts at least 2 days a week. These can be done at home or at a gym.
Beginners
If you are a beginner, 2 full body strength workouts. This means hitting all of the major muscle groups (listed below) at least once. The other workout days can be any aerobic activity that gets your heart rate up. You should be working hard enough so that you are sweating and breathing hard but able to speak in short sentences.
Strength: Start with 1-2 exercises per muscle group. Do 2 sets of 12-15 repetitions for each exercise. The goal is hitting each of the following muscle groups at least once.
Legs (Glutes, Quadriceps, and Hamstrings)
Chest
Shoulders
Back
Biceps
Triceps
Intermediate-Advanced
If you already exercising and physically fit you can do at least 3 strength days per week (lifting heavy) and dividing up muscle groups on strength days. The other workout days can be any aerobic-anaerobic activity that gets your heart rate up. You should be AT LEAST working hard enough so that you are sweating and breathing hard but able to speak in short sentences. For higher intensity workouts you can also incorporate interval training for 20-30 minutes (HIIT or Tabata). For higher intensity workouts, you will be working hard enough so that you can only speak a few words at a time.
Strength: You can do 3-4 exercises for each muscle group and do 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions for each exercise.
Here is an example:
Day 1-Chest/Triceps/Shoulders
Day 2-Back/Biceps/Core
Day 3-Legs/Core
For exercise ideas, you can visit Refine YOU’s YouTube Channel to choose exercises. These are divided into muscle groups in the “playlists.” For example, if you need 3 chest exercises, go to the chest exercises playlist and choose 3 exercises and view video demos of these exercises.
Keep in mind that no matter your level of fitness, you need at least 1-2 days of rest and recovery. However, this doesn’t mean do nothing active… you can still go for a walk, play outside with your kids, go for a bike ride, do some stretching and foam rolling, or do some yoga. On recovery days, just stay away from high intensity workouts or strength workouts to allow your body to recover and to prevent overuse injuries.
If this all seems overwhelming or you need guidance on what workouts would be best for you to help you reach your goals, or you need help with your nutrition, feel free to contact me or check out The Refine YOU Program. You will get a customized nutrition plan with workouts to give you the best bang for your effort and to help you be the Healthiest YOU Possible!
