Workout: Design

Designing Workouts If you are brand new to working out, I suggest finding a knowledgeable friend or enlist a trainer to "show you the ropes". It's important to start slow and take your time to learn various exercises and proper form. Once you are comfortable with your gym and the equipment available, you can progress on to customizing your own workouts. When creating your own workout routines there are several things to consider. Goal You need to have an overall goal that you are shooting for and train accordingly to help achieve that goal. No one style of training is superior to another but there are types of workouts that are better suited towards specific goals. Your goal does not have to be specific however. "To keep in shape" is as good a goal as something like "lose 10 lbs". Goals can also change over time. As your goals change, be sure to step back and examine your current training routine. Make adjustments as needed to suit your new goal. Time Working out takes time! Due to work, family, school or a number of other reasons, you may not have as much free time to workout. Be realistic about how much actual time you will devote to your routine. Do not set yourself up for failure by creating a 6 day routine that you don't have time to complete. Figure out how many days you can actually make it to the gym and design your routine around that schedule. If possible, make your routine flexible enough to handle unexpected life events interrupting your schedule. Treat the gym as an important meeting, make it a priority! Also remember that the more time you put in, the better your results will be. Capability Take into account your age, current health and any existing injuries or limitations when creating a workout. Use this as a guide to setup the appropriate amount of rest days between workouts. Also avoid any exercises that may aggravate nagging injuries. Look for stretches and physical therapy exercises you can do to bolster or strengthen your weak areas. You may have naturally stronger or weaker muscle groups. For weaker groups, be sure to add in some extra sets/reps to get them caught up. Do not completely ignore your strong areas but try to use compound exercises to strengthen the surrounding, supporting muscles to that group simultaneously. As you grow stronger, you can decrease the amount of rest between workouts and also in between sets. Constantly test your ability and "push the envelope" if you want to continue to see growth. Body Type Everyone is different and therefore may respond differently to training. There are three basic bodybuilding types: Ectomorph, Mesomorph & Endomorph. (Read Here) It's important to figure out which one you lean toward and train to suit your frame. This will also affect how much cardio you need and your dietary habits. Inspiration Once you figure out your body type, it may be helpful to find a person who represents your goal. Ensure that this person is of a similar body type so you can maintain a realistic expectation. Study your chosen person and try to emulate their training and dietary methods. If your goal role model is a professional bodybuilder/model/etc, do not attempt to use their exact routine right off the bat. Pros usually have years of experience working out and often have extreme discipline when it comes to supplements and diet. A person off the street may not be able to deal with a strenuous routine. What you can do is take pieces of their routine and apply it to your own workout as needed. I like going to Cut And Jacked and browsing their listing of workouts from pros. I take bits and pieces from there to form my own routines. It is also useful for switching up your workouts from time to time so your body keeps guessing.

Split vs Full Body There are two basic types of workout routines: Full Body and Split. Depending on your goals and the time you have available to workout, one may be better than the other. Again, no one method is "better" than another. It's all about finding out what works best for your body and your schedule. Split Split workouts break the body into individual muscle groups that are trained during different workout sessions. It's up to you how far you want to break down the groups. In the next section we will give some examples of different splits. This style is best for "molding" your body as you can focus on specific areas. It also is the best for building muscle as you can devote an entire session to exhausting a muscle group. This style is not best for burning calories as it's usually doesn't include rapid movements. Skipping a workout also means that a particular muscle group gets ignored during a week. This usually must be made up and shouldn't happen often. If you want to build muscle and have ample time to devote individual areas, use this style of training. Full Body Full body workouts encompass the entire body as one big muscle group. You do several exercises for both upper and lower body during one session. The good thing about this type of workout is that if you happen to skip a day, you are not leaving out a muscle group like you would with Split training. If you are just starting out or only have time to workout intermittently, this is a good way to go. It also is great for folks who are focused on cardio or running events. By keeping the intensity up and decreasing the amount of rest between sets, you can maximize calories burned and burn a lot of fat. This makes it ideal for those trying to lose weight. If you are into building specific muscle groups or bodybuilding in general, you should stick to split training. There are pros who have made tremendous progress doing variable full body workouts but for the average person, there is a big risk of injury and overtraining.

Example Workouts Female, 4 Day Split This is a routine that my girlfriend is currently doing. It is a split style routine that has two basic groups: upper & lower body. During the upper sessions, muscle groups are broken down even further. Chest and back (push & pull) are the focus of the first upper body session. Biceps, triceps & shoulders are worked with the second upper body session. The first lower body session is primarily muscle building while the second session is plyometric/isometric. It is a great routine for women looking to build overall strength and shape their legs. Cardio is thrown in whenever you have free time. Your days off are variable but ideally you probably want to throw in a day off between Day 2 & 3. Day 1: Chest/Back Lat Pulldowns Cable Rows Bent Over Rows Pull Ups Delt Flys Back Extensions Chest Press (two angles) Chest Fly Push Ups Abs (two exercises) Day 2: Heavy Leg Hack Squats Leg Curls Leg Press Leg Extensions Deadlifts Calf Press Glute Kicks Static Lunge Squats Abs (two exercises) Day 3: Arms/Shoulders Cable Curls Dumbbell Curls Crucifix Curls Shoulder Raise Shoulder Press Dips Tricep Cable Pulldown Skullcrushers Abs (two exercises) Day 4: Plyo Leg Hip Adduction Hip Abduction Calf Press Walking Lunges High Knees Box/Squat Jumps Wall Sit Stairmaster Abs (two exercises) Full Body Here is an example full body workout. Two variations are described below that cover the same muscle groups but provide different methods of working these groups. You can alternate between the two or optionally add more variations. Full body workouts are intense so I would recommend at least a one days rest in between sessions. Keep the intensity up & the amount of rest in between exercises/sets low. Routine A Back: Seated Cable Rows Chest: Dumbbell Press Shoulder: Upright Rows Legs: Leg Press Biceps: Preacher Curls Triceps: Dips Calves: Standing Calf Raises Abs: Hanging Leg Raises Routine B Back: Pull-ups Chest: Barbell Press Shoulder: Shoulder Press Legs: Squats Biceps: Dumbbell Curls Triceps: Dumbbell Extensions Calves: Seated Calf Raises Abs: Cable Crunches Male, 5 Day Split This is my current routine. It is a 5 day split but the Shoulder/Traps day is optional for me. If I have to drop a day or need extra rest, I skip Day 5 and throw a few of those exercises onto other days. My shoulders and traps get a lot of work on back day so it's not as if they are being neglected. This style routine is good for folks who have at least four days a week to devote for bodybuilding and want to build muscle. Day 1: Back Deadlifts Standing Front Pulldowns Lat Pulldowns (wide & close) Shoulder Press Cable Rows (nuetral & over) Pull Ups Abs (two exercises) Day 2: Chest Incline Press Standing Cable Fly Flat Bench Press Seated Machine Fly Decline Press Push Ups Rear Delt Fly Abs (two exercises) Day 3: Arms Overhead Triceps Extension Standing Hammer Curls Standing Rope Pulldowns Seated Dumbbell Curls Cable Tricep Extensions Dips Forearm Curls Abs (two exercises) Day 4: Legs Squats Static Lunges Standing Calf Raises Leg Curls Hack Squats Seated Calf Raises Leg Press Abs (two exercises) Day 5: Shoulder/Traps Lateral Raises Shoulder Press Dumbbell Front Raises Shrugs Upright Rows Rear Delts Abs (two exercises)   Male, 3 Day Split This was an old routine I used to use when I was in college. I was working full-time and had a full load of classes so my time was limited. I was busy all week and just wanted to try and maintain a reasonable shape. It still manages to touch every muscle group & you just throw in extra cardio whenever you have the time. I would do this Mon/Wed/Fri. If you wanted to, you could add in cardio on Tues/Thurs to turn this into a 5 day split. Day 1: Chest/Triceps Machine Chest Fly Tricep Pushdowns Incline Bench Press Overhead Dumbbell Extension Lying Dumbbell Chest Press Reverse Cable Pulldowns Abs (two exercises) Day 2: Legs Squats Standing Calf Raises Leg Curls Hack Squat Machine Hip Adduction/Abduction Leg Press Abs (two exercises) Day 3: Back/Biceps/Shoulders Deadlifts Cable Rope Curls Lat Pulldowns Front/Lateral Raises Seated Preacher Curls T-Bar Bent Over Rows Concentration Curls Shoulder Press Pull Ups / Chin Ups Abs (two exercises)

Lift Safe & Lift Heavy!!!