Step-by-Step Guide to Designing Your Gym Workout Plan
1. Define your goals
What motivates you? What are your aspirations? Whether you embark on your fitness journey now or later, you'll soon recognize it as a lifelong commitment. Thus, it's crucial to establish both short-term and long-term objectives.
Long-term goals encompass achievements like completing a 10km marathon, mastering 10 pull-ups, or achieving 60 push-ups in one minute, among other aspirations. Starting goals might involve targets such as benching 40kg, squatting your body weight, or deadlifting your body weight, serving as foundational milestones to inform your short-term objectives.
Short-term goals may revolve around objectives like gaining muscle mass, reducing belly fat, preparing for a specific sport, or increasing overall activity levels. Given the broad nature of these concepts, it becomes imperative to refine them accordingly.
Furthermore, setting realistic and specific goals is essential. For instance, if you aim to gain muscle, you could establish a goal of gaining 1kg of muscle for 12 weeks. Such a goal is more attainable and practical compared to aiming for 5kg in just 3 months.
2. Choose your exercise split
With numerous split options available, determining the most suitable one for you can be perplexing. Your chosen split dictates your weekly workout frequency and the activities for each session. Let's briefly explore some common split options to provide you with a basic understanding.
5-day split
Five-day splits offer an opportunity for targeted strength gains and muscle building while minimizing body part fatigue.
Example workout structure:
Monday: Chest - Incorporate a variety of chest exercises into your routine
Tuesday: Back - Focus on back exercises like rows and pull-ups.
Wednesday: Shoulders - Engage in a dedicated shoulder workout to build strength and definition.
Thursday: Arms - Target your biceps and triceps with effective exercises.
Friday: Legs - Dedicate this day to leg workouts, including squats and deadlifts.
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
Push Pull Legs (PPL)
Push/pull/legs is a training split that includes pushing muscles (chest, shoulder, triceps), the pulling muscles the next (back, biceps), and lower body (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves’ w/ abs) on the next day. Integrate a comprehensive gym workout plan targeting these muscle groups. Add in rest days where needed, all try not to miss any days of training.
Example workout structure:
Monday: Chest, Shoulders and Triceps
Tuesday: Back, Biceps
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Chest, Shoulders and Triceps
Friday: Back, Biceps
Saturday: Legs
Sunday: Rest
Upper lower Split
Upper-lower training splits (2 days upper, 2 days lower) work out to 4 workouts in a 7-day training split.
Example workout structure:
Monday: Upper Body (Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps)
Tuesday: Lower Body (Quad Focus)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Upper Body (Back and Biceps)
Friday: Lower Body (Hamstring and Glute Focus)
Saturday/Sunday: Rest
3. Select your exercises
Crafting your program can be daunting due to the abundance of exercises available, often showcased on social media, which can overwhelm you. So, how do you find what truly suits your needs? When in doubt, simplicity is key. Each exercise in your program should serve a purpose directly linked to your initial goal. For instance, if your aim is muscle growth, relying solely on high-rep circuits might not be optimal. Think of exercises as the foundation of your fitness structure; they form the basis upon which you build. Therefore, they must be sturdy, representing the fundamental movement patterns essential for your progress.
Selecting the right exercises is crucial for creating an effective workout plan. Gym exercise selection plays a pivotal role in targeting your specific goals and addressing any weaknesses or imbalances you may have.
Push exercise
Push exercises include vertical and horizontal push movements. One goes straight up, and one goes in front of your body. For a vertical push exercise, this might mean a dumbbell shoulder press or a standing barbell shoulder press. For a horizontal push exercise, it could be a push-up or a bench press.
Pull exercise
Pulling follows a similar concept with a vertical pull and horizontal pull exercise. A vertical pull could include a pull-up or pull-down; a horizontal pull could be a single-arm dumbbell row or bent-over barbell row.
Squat pattern
The Squat pattern is pretty straightforward. You need to find a variation that works for you. A beginner could start with a bodyweight squat or a goblet squat, whereas an advanced lifter may use a barbell back squat.
Hinge pattern
The Hinge pattern trains your posterior chain and might include a movement like a Romanian deadlift with dumbbells or a deadlift.
Single leg movement
A Single-leg exercise focuses on unilateral training to help with stability and fixing imbalances. This could include a lunge or a Bulgarian split squat.
Carry
Carries are simple but effective. This will give you tons of core strength, they work almost every muscle in your body. A carry could include a farmer’s walk with dumbbells.
Core training
Core training variations include rotational movements, isometric holds, and weighted ab exercises to help grow the muscle.
Additionally, if you're looking to understand how to use gym machines effectively, consider checking out our blog post titled "A Beginner’s Guide to 5 Common Gym Machines” which provides valuable insights for beginners.
4. Plan your exercise sequence
Consider prioritizing compound exercises at the beginning of your workout when your energy levels are highest. Performing multiple sets of bicep curls and shoulder presses before attempting a bench press could potentially impact your performance. Therefore, it's advisable to start with the major lifts first.
Always align your exercise sequence with your specific goals. For instance, if you aim to develop broader shoulders, prioritize shoulder exercises at the start of your workout when your energy levels are at their peak. Additionally, keep in mind that this sequence can be adjusted to address any particular areas that require extra attention.
5. Determine Sets, Reps, and rest
Setting limits for sets is straightforward: aim for no more than 20 sets per muscle group each week. For instance, if you're following a Push-Pull-Legs (PPL) split, your Push working sets might resemble the following:
First push session:
3 sets of bench press
3 sets of incline dumbbell press
3 sets of machine flys
Second push session:
3 sets of incline bench press
3 sets of machine chest press
3 sets of cable flys
Below are the standard recommendations for reps and rest periods:
Strength: 1 - 6 reps, with 3 - 5 minutes rest between sets.
Hypertrophy: 8 - 12 reps, with 30 - 90 seconds rest between sets.
Endurance: 15 reps and above, with 30 seconds rest between sets.
It's crucial to understand that rep ranges serve as guidelines, not strict rules. For instance, if hypertrophy is your primary focus and you find yourself easily completing 14 reps of an exercise, the weight is likely too light. In such cases, increasing the weight until you're within the 8-rep range can be more beneficial. From there, aim to progressively increase the weight to continue challenging your muscles
6. Track your progress
Consistently challenging yourself to improve week by week is paramount. But what does progression entail?
Progression manifests in various forms: adding weight every week, increasing reps, reducing rest periods, or completing more sets. It's crucial to recognize that reps aren't graded on a pass-or-fail basis. For instance, if your target was 10 reps on pull-downs for Week 1 and you managed only 8 on your last set, achieving 9 on the subsequent week marks progress.
However, it's unrealistic to expect linear progression indefinitely. Notably, incremental weight increases can't be sustained indefinitely; otherwise, we'd all be lifting astronomical amounts. Progression isn't solely about lifting heavier; it can also involve enhancing your mind-muscle connection or refining your lifting technique. A helpful guideline is to reassess every 4 weeks.
If certain lifts show no signs of improvement, it might indicate they're not suitable for your current fitness level or body type. This recognition allows for adjustments, ensuring your training remains aligned with your capabilities and goals.
And remember, creating a well-rounded gym exercise plan and sticking to a consistent exercise routine are essential for achieving your fitness goals.
Summary
I want to emphasize that there's no one-size-fits-all program when it comes to fitness. However, by adhering to fundamental principles and guidelines, you can design a plan, execute it effectively, and make necessary adjustments to ensure it propels you toward your desired destination.
Now, you should grasp the significance of setting a goal and how it acts as a guiding compass for your programming decisions. Once you've determined your training frequency, it's essential to comprehend how to select your exercises and structure your training split accordingly.
Aligned with your goal, you now have clarity on the appropriate sets, reps, and rest intervals between sets.
Above all, you possess the means to enhance your strength and performance, with the ability to review your notes for analysis. These principles remain applicable regardless of the direction your programming and fitness journey may lead you. Upon achieving your goal, you have the opportunity to set a new one and embark on another cycle of growth and improvement.
And don't forget, if you're just starting, consider seeking guidance from a fitness personal trainer to help you create a gym workout plan for beginners and establish a consistent gym workout schedule that fits your lifestyle.
Still Unsure?
If you are still unsure even after reading our step-by-step guide to designing your gym workout plan, feel free to check out our personal training programmes for more professional and personalised guidance.
