Having Trouble Developing a Well-Rounded Fitness Program?

Hey everyone,

Recently one of our readers asked an important question: "So here's the deal. I joined a 'no frills' gym. Great cardio and strength training equipment and lots of other stuff (free weights, medicine balls, bench presses, etc.) but what do I do with it all!! It's somewhat overwhelming and I have no idea where to start. Any pointers on how to begin to put together a workout schedule/plan? How much cardio, how much strength training? How often should workouts be changed? What exercises should I be doing? How often should I work the same muscle groups etc. There are so many different workouts on the internet, it's hard to know how to put together a well rounded fitness program. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!"

First of all, you are not alone!  Many beginners and experienced exercisers struggle with developing a program for themselves. 

Ask yourself a few questions:

1. What are your goals?  Are you training for a specific event (e.g. marathon) or just trying to improve your overall fitness?  
2. What is your level of fitness right now? Are you a couch-potato or are you already in good shape and just looking to refine your program?
3. Do you have restrictions based on medical conditions or injuries? Always consult your physician before starting a new exercise routine to ensure it is safe for you.
4. What activities do you enjoy doing? For example, if you absolutely hate running, it will be difficult to motivate yourself to do this activity over time.  Perhaps you should try other types of cardiovascular conditioning such as swimming or biking.
5. How many days per week are you planning to exercise?  Set a realistic goal - we aim to exercise about 4 days per week, however realize some weeks we can only fit in 3 workouts and some weeks we have time for 5!

There is no correct answer on how many days to strength train vs. cardio - you need to find what works for you. We generally do more strength training then specific cardiovascular activities, however many of our strength workouts include a cardio component (i.e. Tabata training, FGB workouts). It can be hard to find the time to fit everything in - you may need to change your schedule a bit each week to fit everything in.  It can also be nice to supplement with things like yoga to increase your flexibility.

On your cardio training days, your best bang for your buck is with interval training - use activities like running swimming, biking and add in interval sprints (a certain distance or time that you go "all-out" followed by steady-state activity.

On your strength training days, you can either do full-body workouts or divide into upper and lower body.  We prefer upper/lower body splits which makes it easier to do workouts 2 days in a row. As mentioned above, you can try to work in a conditioning component to your workouts by taking less rest between exercises, super-setting exercises or doing a fast-paced workout.

Spend your time wisely by doing basic foundational exercises to target your big muscle groups - in doing this, you will also work your smaller muscle groups as well.

Examples of some exercises and the muscles they target:

• Quads - squats, lunges
• Hamstrings - deadlifts
• Glutes - lunges, hip thrusts
• Back - pullups, rows
• Chest - bench press, incline press, pushups
• Shoulders - overhead press, handstand pushups

If you're doing an upper or lower body workout, choose 1-2 exercises to target each large muscle group.  If you're doing a full body workout, consider trying 1 exercise for most muscle groups.  Vary exercises you do to keep your muscles guessing and keep you motivated.

Other Tips to keep motivated include:

• Choose exercises you enjoy
• Be realistic in your goals - don't expect major body transformations overnight
• Find a buddy to exercise with - we always try to exercise together to cheer the other person on!
• Use your children or pets as a good reason to exercise - get out for a family walk or jog!

We hope you find this useful as a place to start formulating your exercise plan.  Stay tuned as we post more beginner workouts to get you moving!!

-Tannys & Alex