A lot of guys go to the gym and use whatever machines are available without really having a specific plan in mind. You should approach your workouts like most this in life – with a game plan to work smart and be victorious. Here is how to create a workout plan that will give you the best results.
Monitoring your daily diet and normal training is something you should do before participating in these steps because it may open your eyes to specific habits that you need to curb or training obstacles that you want to overcome.
If you want to start seeing more serious results, you will have to measure your progress. Aside from becoming more aware of what you are actually eating and doing, you will be able to see how far you’ve come when all is said and done. It may seem tedious at first, but like any good habit – you just need to make it a part of your routine.
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Step 1: Identify Your Goals
Do you want to get bigger? Leaner? Build endurance? Build strength? The first step in creating a fitness plan is to take a moment and decide on your goals.
As an example, let’s say that you are carrying a bit of weight around the middle and you wish to lose about 30 pounds for the summer. Identifying a goal will help you decide which exercises to do and will make it easy to monitor your progress on your way to achieving your goal. Even if you want to maintain your current physique, you still have a goal.
Step 2: Create the Plan
Now that your goal is sorted out, you will have to focus on which style of working out will help you reach those goals. Create a 7 day plan with 4 of those days being training days and the other 3 days being off days. A plan is only successful of you stick to it, so outlining exactly what you have to do each day will remind you what it takes to stay on the right path. If you’re unsure what exercises to do each day, follow these guidelines to keep you on the right path.
[box_light]Building Muscle: Aim for 3 different exercises and perform 3 sets of 8 reps. Pick a weight so that the final rep for each exercise should be very hard to finish – leaving you almost as muscle failure.
Trick of the Trade: This is going to be painful because the act of building muscle scientifically means that you are tearing muscle. After tearing the muscle, the recovery process (sleep) helps the muscle grow and fill in those tears with more muscle (protein).[/box_light]
[box_dark]Get Toned: Essentially, getting toned is all about burning fat. Being lean/ripped/toned simply means that your muscles are more visible and are not being hidden by excess fat. If this is your goal, aim for doing 12-15 reps while having little rest in between each set. For each session Aim for 3 different exercises per muscle group and perform 3 sets. Use lighter weight and end your session with some cardio or high intensity interval training.
Trick of the Trade: More reps with less weight and less of a rest period will keep your heart pumping and will make your body a fat burning furnace. By ending the session with some cardio or HIIT, you will be burning even more fat and calories after your muscles have done their share of the hard work and lifting. This phase is more about mental endurance than anything else. If you can “endure” the beating heart and sweat, you will come out victorious.[/box_dark]
[box_light]Build Strength: Building strength can be achieved by doing 5x5s. This means that you are doing 5 sets of 5 repetitions and you are really jacking up the weight here. Getting your busy used to heavier weights will force your muscles to adjust and inevitably be able to handle more weight (making you stronger). For optimal results, use compound exercises like pull ups, deadlifts, bench press. Be conservative with the weight if you do not have a spotter because when something is too heavy for you to lift, you don’t want to be under that weight if your muscles go to failure.
Trick of the Trade: While this always applies, it is especially true when building strength – make every rep count. Focus on your breathing and form and give it everything you have. If you can’t finish all 5 reps, that is totally fine and you should stop if you cannot keep proper form – after all, the goal here is to build your strength anyway.[/box_light]
3. Find a Supporting Diet
Diet and nutrition are, without question, one of the most important things to building the body you want. You need to find a meal plan that helps fuel your workouts and speed up recovery to really get the best results. Our favorite and easy to understand diets are the Transformassacre, the Rock Hard Challenge, and the Shortcut to Size. Check them out and see which best fit your goals.
4. Stay Committed
You have the game plan together now, so it is time to execute. In the beginning, the excitement of something new will keep you driven, but as the glamour wears off you need to surround yourself with motivation to keep you on the right path. Watch movies, listen to music, and look at pictures that remind you of your goal and who you want to become. Soon enough, you’ll see some early results and that will keep you dedicated as you become your own motivation to reach your potential and achieve your fitness goal.
5. Show Off
Don’t be cocky, but be conFITdent. Don’t brag about your new body, but show others what is possible if you work hard and work smart. You are one person, but showing the results of your hard work will inspire more people to do the same. After they make a change, they will inspire and empower even more people and so on. The results of hard work have a much wider reach than just the goals of the individual. You sweating your ass off and pushing yourself will get you in phenomenal shape and can essentially help dozens of others do the same by witnessing your dedication. Epic. Awesome. ConFITdent.