When it comes to working out in the gym, one of the most common problem people face is the planning of their own workout program. Though there are no best way or wrong way to it, there are certainly some key points to take into consideration when planning.
In this article, we will be discussing about some of the major factors to take note of when planning an effective workout program. Do note that this article will not dive too deep into various exercises.
Article Summary
An effective workout plan should cover all 3 key components of physical fitness which are Strength, Cardiovascular and Flexibility training, to allow holistic fitness and musculoskeletal development.
You should plan for rest to allow muscles to recover and grow and try not to work the same muscle group on consecutive days.
Strength training comprises Power, Strength and Endurance aspect and should be done in the same sequence if you plan to do them all in one workout.
Cardiovascular training can be done before and/or after strength training, preferably not in between.
Flexibility training should be done at the first and last part of your training program.
The sequence of training should look something like that: Dynamic Stretching > Strength Training > Cardio > Static Stretching.
What should I know before I start planning a program?
There are basically 3 key components when it comes to physical fitness – Strength, Cardiovascular and Flexibility Training. Your workout plan should include all 3 components to allow holistic fitness and musculoskeletal development.
When we talk about Strength Training, we are talking about building muscles through resisted exercises. And depending on our training objective and program, we gear these muscles towards having different properties like power, strength, endurance and size. Some of the equipment commonly used to train this aspect of your fitness are:
Dumbbells
Barbells
Plate Loaded Machines
Bodyweight
For Cardiovascular Training, it aims to improve the efficiency of your lungs and heart functions, in other words, improving your stamina. You can train this aspect of your body by doing exercises that can sustain an increased heartrate for a period of time (> 10 minutes to reap of the benefit of cardiovascular training). Some of the equipment commonly used to train this aspect of your fitness are:
Treadmill
Elliptical
Stair Master
Stationary Bicycle / Recumbent Bicycle
Bodyweight
As for Flexibility Training, it helps to improve or/and maintain your body’s healthy range of motion. This allows you to perform your exercises with more effective use of your muscles and improves your performance. Not to mention that prolonged use of muscle will result in tightness leading to many common problems such as poor posture, frequent muscle soreness, body aches and joint pain as well as the decrease in mobility and stability. So it is important to keep your muscle length healthy through doing stretches before and after a workout. There are generally 2 kinds of stretches which will be elaborated more further on in the article.
Dynamic Stretching
Passive/Static Stretching
So how should I start planning my workout?
A holistic workout plan comprises of the above 3 components. Here are some of the consideration before you start:
Strength Training
The 2 most important thing to note are:
To ensure that muscles have sufficient time to rest, preferably between 24 to 48 hours and
It is highly recommended not to work the same muscle group on consecutive days.
With these 2 points in mind, you should consider at least 1 or 2 days off from the gym to allow a complete rest for the body. Also, when planning to work out on consecutive days, you should properly split the muscle groups up for training to avoid overlaps, preventing the muscles to recover and under-perform. Below are 3 common ways to split your workout routine over a week. Notice that the muscle groups do not overlap with one another and that ample rest days are always included within the week.
Full Body Workout Plan
Mon – Full Body Workout (All muscle group)
Tue – Rest Day
Wed – Full Body Workout
Thu – Rest Day
Fri – Full Body Workout
Sat – Rest Day
Sun – Rest Day
Push Pull Workout Plan
Mon – Pushing Muscle Group (Chest, Triceps, Shoulders)
Tue – Rest Day
Wed – Pulling Muscle Group (Back, Biceps)
Thu – Rest Day
Friday – Legs Muscle Group
Sat – Rest Day
Sun – Rest Day
Agonist Antagonist Workout Plan (Advance)
Mon – Chest and Back Muscle Group
Tue – Rest Day
Wed – Biceps and Triceps Muscle Group
Thu – Rest Day
Friday – Shoulders Muscle Group
Sat – Rest Day
Sun – Legs Muscle Group
Strength Training
There are generally 3 types of training goal one can achieve during resisted exercises – Power, Strength and Endurance. Depending on the different weight, repetitions, sets, rest time and movement tempo used, you can customize your training to achieve different type of development of the muscles.
However, if you wish to train holistically, touching on the 3 different types of training goal during your workout, here’s something you should take note of. Ideally, the sequence of training should begin with Power > Strength > Endurance as the first requires greater amount of energy and greater muscle fibre recruitment as compared to the latter two. More explanation with regards to this training sequence will be further elaborated in another article.
Cardiovascular Training
Cardiovascular training, more specifically steady-state cardio, is recommended to be done either before or after your strength training depending on your training objective.
For the formal, it helps to elevate your heart rate for a longer period of time throughout your training, thus increasing the amount of calories burnt. However, it is important to watch the intensity during this process as it might drain off your energy and hinder your performance when it comes strength training.
As for the latter, due to how the energy system is being used for anaerobic and aerobic exercises, it may help to burn more fats for energy during the cardio process after an intense strength training workout.
Flexibility Training
As mentioned, there are 2 kinds of stretching type – Passive/Static and Dynamic. Do note that the sequence for flexibility training should be the first and last part of your training, meaning only before you start your cardio and strength training as well as after.
Static stretches are stretches in which you hold the stretch for a period of time to lengthen the muscle as well as to get back its range of motion. This kind of stretching should only be done after a workout session when your muscles are shortened due to repeated contraction and should be returned back to their original length to avoid future muscle imbalance, decrease in mobility and other possible injuries. It is not recommended to do static stretches before a work out due to the temporary increase in the muscle’s range of motion that could disrupt the brain motor action of how an exercise should be done, otherwise known as the engram.
Dynamic stretches on the other hand does not require the stretch to be held for a period of time. This type of stretching is recommended to be done before a workout and can also be done after. It helps to “wake” the muscle up, releasing the tension within it. Due to the shorter duration in which these stretches are performed, a good balance between blood flow, increase body temperature and slight increase in range of motion is achieved safely for loading. At the same time, these stretches are usually accompanied by movement in which helps to increase your mobility.
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