When creating your own workout routine, you want to keep it simple, no need to overcomplicate things.
Why having a workout program is so important?
Having a workout program before going to the gym eliminates any time wasted. You never want to go to the gym and wander around trying to figure out what workout you are going to do. We all want to go to the gym to get in and get out, am I right!
The first thing to do is choose what slip you want to do.
Decide how many days you want to work out a week. You want to make sure you hit a different muscle group each day and include your rest day.
Here is a split you can do if you are just starting out:
- Day one – Legs and Glutes
- Day two – Chest and Tricep
- Day three- Back and Biceps
- Day five – Legs and Glutes
- Day six -Full body workout
If the goal is to build booty or shoulders, you will include two glute days or two shoulder days. But make sure you separate them, for example, if you do Legs and Glutes on Monday and then do them again on Thursdays. It gives the muscle enough days to rest.
Why is it so important to include rest days into your workout routine?
Your body needs to rest and so do your muscles in order to grow. You never want to over-train. Overtraining can cause you to have less strength in the gym may cause you to plateau or decrease your progress.
Now that you have decided on your splits; let’s write your program.
Here is how you will break down your movements
Compound Movements – you will select 2 -3 movements and do 6 to 8 reps
The reason you start with compound movements is that you have all your energy when you start.
What are compound movements- compound movement is when you hit two muscle groups at the same time. The heavier movements are helping you build your strength.
Isolated movement – select 2 movements and do 10 to 12 reps – here you are targeting one muscle group.
Machine movements – select 3 movements and do 15 to 20 reps – these would be your easier movements. You want to go all out and fatigue your muscle to finish your workout.
Compound movements
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Isolated movement
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Machine movements
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Challenge yourself and try out different workouts!
How much weight should you do?
When lifting weights you want to lift as heavy as you can to be able to complete your reps. For example, during your compound movements, you want to lift as heavy to only be able to complete the 6 or 8 reps, if you can complete 9 then increase your weights. That is how you know when it’s time to move up on weights.
The same goes for the other movements, you will decrease the weight a bit, but your will be increasing the reps. You still want to lift heavy enough to only complete the reps.
Rest in between sets
Resting between sets is so important because it allows your muscles to recover, a moment to catch your breath, and the ability to finish your workout.
How much time should you rest? A good amount to rest in between sets is 1 minute.
When should you add your cardio?
You want to do 2 or 4 days of cardio, depending on your goals. I would suggest doing your cardio after your strength training if you are trying to build your physique. A good amount to do is 20 minutes of any cardio of your choosing. You can do HIIT cardio high-intensity interval training to maximize your body fat loss.
Skip your cardio on leg day because cardio and leg workouts use the same amount of fuel which is your stored muscle glycogen.
Here is how you can add your cardio into your routine:
- Chest / tri day – cardio
- Shoulders/ abs – cardio
- Fully body workout – cardio
Remember to make this fun! Doing something you enjoy will help you stay consistent and motivated.
