If you want to just pick a good workout routine and don't have time go through the explanation just scroll down to the bottom of the page. However I suggest you to go through this page to understand why we should follow a certain routine and how it should be arranged.
Workout routine implies what workouts, how many sets and repetitions and frequency of doing those workouts. As they say a good start is half the work, first choose an effective workout routine and then stick to that. I am not just going to show you some sample workout routines; I will also tell you the important factors to be considered for setting a workout plan.
Workout routine implies what workouts, how many sets and repetitions and frequency of doing those workouts. As they say a good start is half the work, first choose an effective workout routine and then stick to that. I am not just going to show you some sample workout routines; I will also tell you the important factors to be considered for setting a workout plan.
A wisely arranged weekly workout schedule will also ensure that you are not neglecting any of your body part. Exercising for your favorite muscle alone not only makes your body look odd but also makes your body prone to injuries.
Workout routine can vary depending upon your physical structure and your goal. The routine can be totally different depending upon your goal like whether you want to lose weight, gain weight, just stay fit or gain huge muscles.
Nevertheless I tried to generalize these goals and going to discuss about workout routines for losing extra body fat and getting a lean, muscular, healthy physique.
Don't overtrain your muscle!
Before I start talking about the workout routine I want you to first understand a very important concept called overtraining.Your muscles don't grow during workouts. Heavy workout session leads to breakdown of muscle tissue causing your muscles to get fatigued. Later on your muscle tissue recovery process happens during sleep and rest hours. You should provide sufficient rest time between every consecutive training session. Every time during the recovery process your muscle gets bigger and stronger than before to better handle future stresses. That's why it is absolutely necessary to include gap day in weekly workout program.
Not giving ample time for muscle to recover by doing daily workouts will lead to overtraining. As a result the muscle tissue won't get time to recover from the previous trauma and can get weaker and even smaller. Training the wrong muscle group in consecutive workout session can also lead to muscle overtraining preventing you from making improvements.
How many sets and repetitions?
Well, there are hardly something new to discuss on this. You would have heard some 3-5 sets with 10-12 repetitions. I also recommended that mostly while discussing the methods for most workouts. However in general keep the following point in mind.
If you are doing any workout in 3 sets increase the weight with every set and decrease the number of repetitions. For example suppose you are doing overhead dumbbell press , in first set perform the workout with pair of 15 pound dumbbells with 15 repetitions, in the second set pair of 20 pound dumbbells with 12 repetitions and last set with pair of 25 pound dumbbells and 10 repetitions.
Try something new with the sets and reps!
Are you fed up with same 3 sets of workouts? You can try for something new with the sets and repetitions. Always look for doing something new with your muscle, something that you never did to your muscle. Because whenever you do something new, something challenging then only your muscle tends to grow bigger and stronger than before. Below are some ideas to bring some changes into your workout routines.
- No hard-and-fast rule for following 3 sets with 10 reps.You can change it to 10 sets with 3 reps with little heavier weight with 30 seconds interval between each set for some change.
- Not only by changing the number of sets and repetition, you can change the same chore of 3 sets workout style doing one set quick and next set slowly.
- As you become comfortable with the current weight and can complete your sets easily increase the weight you are using. Alternatively you can try for increasing number of sets.
These are some examples I gave. You can think of changing your workout pattern with some innovative ideas. However don't change it too frequently.
Workout plan
So how should be the workout split? The only important point you need to keep in mind before arranging a workout routine that you are giving your muscle sufficient time to recover from the trauma every time it gets from a training session. It's always good to avoid exercising related muscle groups in consecutive training sessions even with one day gap in between. For example if Monday you are doing intense exercise for chest then even after having rest on Tuesday you should avoid doing triceps exercise on Wednesday. Because triceps works as auxiliary muscle when you workout for your chest muscles. Similarly biceps works as auxiliary muscle when you workout for your lat muscles.
You can keep chest and triceps (related muscle groups) in the same day since triceps will get worked while exercising for chest muscle. However this requires extra stamina and for a beginner it can be tough to perform triceps workout in the same day you are doing chest. Another option is to keep related muscle groups in your workout schedule with ample gap in between. For example see the workout split 2.
Here are some sample splits. These are just example workout split; you can obviously change it just keeping the aforesaid point in mind.
Split 1:
Monday : chest, triceps, abs Tuesday : Rest Wednesday : back, biceps, forearm Thursday : Rest Friday : leg, shoulder, abs Saturday, Sunday : Rest
Split 2:
Monday : chest, biceps, abs Tuesday : Rest Wednesday : leg, shoulder, forearm Thursday : Rest Friday : back, triceps, abs Saturday, Sunday : Rest
Split 3:
Monday : chest, triceps Tuesday : abs Wednesday : leg, biceps, forearm Thursday : abs Friday : shoulder, back Saturday : abs Sunday : Rest