Quite often as a PT I hear from people that they don’t really know what to do when they go to the gym and aren’t sure if what they’re doing is right or right for them. This is a perfectly understandable problem and one that can make people demotivated as they see other gym members doing all these fancy looking workouts and seem to know exact what they’re doing.
Well never fear, because your trusty neighbourhood trainer is here to help you all out and teach you how you can make your very own workouts suited to you.
Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail
Before you plan any workout you need to make sure you have a good understanding of your goal and why you are going to do this workout. Every PT session I deliver is designed with that person’s specific goal and needs in mind to make it as appropriate for them and you can do the same for yourself too!
Okay so you’ve got your goal, now let’s look at planning the workout. This is the tough part because there are so many different things that you can do depending on your goal and experience. Consider the following points:
How much time you have to workout
The amount of time you have can really dictate what you can do. If you have all the time in the world then there’s no restriction on what you can do. If you’re short on time, then things might have to change.
If you’re short on time, look to superset (Do 2 exercises straight after each other with no rest), keep your rest periods short and incorporate High Intensity Interval Cardio into your workouts (Where you do short bursts of very intense cardio with short rests)
What you enjoy
If you don’t enjoy your workouts then you’re much less likely to stick to any sort of regular routine and will most probably give up. If you’re doing exercises that you enjoy and feel a good benefit from then most of the time you’re on the right track.
Think about what you’ve done before
Have a think about what exercise you’ve done over the past week/few days and try to do something different to what you’ve already done. Hitting different muscle groups and using different movements is a great basis to setting your workouts.
Is it right for you
Think about what you’re doing and if it’s right for you and your goals. If you’re unsure then ask one of the trainers in your gym or there is a plethora of information online that can point you in the right direction.
Ideas
Here are some general workout ideas that you can use and adapt based on what you like and need:
Full Body Muscle Building Workout
4 x 8 Bench Press
4 x 8 Squats (Can be Back Squat, Front Squat, Landmine Squat etc)
4 x 12 Lat Pulldown Machine
3 x 15 Reverse Lunges
3 x 15 Seated Lateral Raises
3 x 20 Dumbbell Hammer Curls
3 x 20 Tricep Dips
General Fitness Workout
10 x Press Ups, 10 x TRX Row, 10 x Box Jumps
12 x Walking Lunges each leg, 15 x Dumbbell Shoulder Press, 15 x Kettlebell Swing
15 x Goblet Squats, 10 x Hip Thrusts, 10 x Crunches, 10 x Leg Raises
Rower – 100m, 60 seconds rest x 5
Need more help with planning your workouts? Unsure what to do when you go to the gym? Email adam@adamcmorris.com for details on Personal Training and Training Programmes!
Adam C. Morris - Fitness Coach 