Fitness Magazine

Creating Your Workout Plan

By Tatiannalovingfit @lovingfit

Apr 22, 2012 by

Workout Plan

Photo Credit

 

Hi everyone,

I’ve been getting so many questions about how to create a workout plan and I decided to set up different variations of workout plans for every level of fitness, you can customize them to suit your own needs, because everyone of us is on a different level of fitness.

Before you can figure out a plan for your self, decide which day of the week you want your workout week to begin with.  From there count 6 weeks, that is going to be your training cycle.  Every 6 weeks you will take 5 days off.  The schedule can look different every week depending on how much time you have, but also try to stick to a similar schedule as much as you can because our body likes consistency.

 

I’m going to start with very beginners to more progressed workout plans.

 

Beginner Level 1

Beginner level one is considered who has not exercised in a very long time. 1- 4 years or not at all.  If you are a complete beginner then what I would recommend is start of with walking every day for 30 minutes, 5 days a week.  You can also begin some very light stretching for 15 minutes every other day.  After about 2 weeks you can begin doing bodyweight workouts only.  Beginner at this level should avoid any type of interval training.

 

Beginner Level 2

You can first start out with regular circuits at your own pace.  You can use Full Body Workout Section from the site to pick your workout, but if the workout was set up to be interval training then you do the same exercises modified for time as a circuit.   I explain all the modification for beginners in every video. Beginner at this level should avoid any type of interval training.

As a beginner on of your first goals is to strengthen your core and set your fitness foundation.  It is also the stage where you have to learn the proper exercise form, because good habits are made from the beginning.  Practice each exercise before you try it in a routine.

Remember what I always repeat over and over again – Proper Exercise Form Is Always More Important Than Speed and Quality Over Quantity when it comes to Repetitions. 

Simple Rules : Use mirrors, keep your core tight, keep your back straight, keep your body in  line, watch for the hump on top of your back especially on the push-ups, mountain climbers and planks and make your body flow through the exercise and each movement, don’t just move – MOVE IT!

 

How To Strengthen Your Core

At this stage you can already begin to do regular planks, try holding a plank for 20-30 seconds,  2-3 times before the workout.  While standing in a plank keep your core completely pulled inn and your back straight ( without the hump on your back ).  With time you will be able to increase the length of your plank holds.  I have a video where I illustrate different plank variations, as you get more progressed you can start changing your planks so your body keeps progressing and developing into a stronger core.

 

A Beginners Workout Week Plan 1

 

  • Monday – Warm-Up + Full Body Workout + Light Cardio 10 minutes + Light Stretching
  • Tuesday – Compete day off
  • Wednesday – Warm-up + Full Body Workout + Light Cardio 10 min + Light Stretching
  • Thursday – Complete Day Off
  • Friday – Warm-Up + Full Body Workout + Light Cardio 10 min + Total Body Stretching
  • Saturday – Complete Day Off
  • Sunday – Active Rest ( walking and staying active )

 

 A Beginners Workout Week Plan 2

 

This workout plan should be only used when you are crunched for time or just busy this particular week. The days can be adjusted to your own personal needs.

 

  • Monday – Warm-Up + Full Body Workout – + 15 min Cardio + Light Stretching
  • Tuesday – Active Rest
  • Wednesday – Active Rest
  • Thursday – Warm-Up + Full Body Workout + 15 min of Cardio + Light stretching
  • Friday – Day Off
  • Saturday – Total Body Stretching - 20 min
  • Sunday – Day Off

 

 Intermediate Workout Plan

 

If you are at the intermediate level you should of already strengthen your core with planks as well as learned the proper exercise form.  You are able to add interval trainings to your workout plan 1-2 times per week, but not more.  Our body takes much longer time to recover from interval training so we need to give our body that rest.

You can also begin to use split workout routines, upper body and lower body days.  At this time you can begin to use equipment and weights as well.  Make sure that if you are adding weight, it fits your fitness level.

 

Intermediate Workout Plan 1

 

This plan with 4 workout days will get you the best results

 

  • Monday – Warm-Up + Lower Body Workout + 10-15 minutes of Light Cardio + Light Stretching
  • Tuesday – Warm-Up + Upper Body Workout + 10-15 minutes of Light Cardio + Light Stretching
  • Wednesday – Complete Day Off
  • Thursday – Warm-Up + Lower Body Workout + 10-15 minutes of Light Cardio + Light Stretching
  • Friday – Warm-Up + Lower Body Workout + 10-15 minutes of Light Cardio + Light Stretching
  • Saturday – Total Body Stretching 
  • Sunday – Here you can do 2 things:  If you are trying to loose a little bit of weight, then you will do an Active Rest or a Light Cardio day.  If you are just trying to stay in shape then this will be your day off.

 

 Intermediate Workout Plan 2

 

This plan is where you can maintain your results and you can use this plan when you are short for time.  The dates can be changed to fit your own schedule.

 

  • Monday – Warm- Up + Lower Body Workout + 10-15 minutes of Light Cardio + Light Stretching
  • Tuesday – Warm-up + Upper Body Workout + 10-15 minutes of Light Cardio + Light Stretching
  • Wednesday – Complete Day Off
  • Thursday – Complete Day Off
  • Friday – Warm-Up + Full Body Workout + 15 Minutes of Cardio + Light Stretching
  • Saturday – Full Body Stretching
  • Sunday – Light Cardio

 

If you want to develop more defined abs you can choose to add an ab workout to 2 of your training days. 

 

Advanced Workout Plan

 

Advanced level is where you are able to get through all routines and every rep in proper form without stopping during the workout.   It’s not always possible to go through every workout without stopping for  a second to catch a breather, but your form at this level should be impeccable.

You can also keep strengthening your core with different plank variations before and after your workout.

 

  • Monday – Warm-Up + Lower Body Workout Without Modifications + Abs +Light Stretching ( Only add cardio if you are trying to loose body fat )
  • Tuesday – Warm-up + 5 sets of planks 1 minute each – Upper Body Routine + Light Stretching
  • Wednesday – Total Body Stretching 15-20 minutes
  • Thursday – Warm-Up + Lower Body Workout + Abs + Light Stretching ( Cardio only f you are trying to lean out ).
  • Friday – Warm-Up + Upper Body Workout + Planks + Light Stretching
  • Saturday – Day Off and some light stretching
  • Sunday – Day Off

 

Advanced Workout Plan 2

 

This plan can be used if you are low on time on a certain week, but still want to get some training inn.

 

  • Monday – Warm-Up + Full Body Workout + Abs + Light Stretching ( You can add cardio if you are trying to lean out )
  • Tuesday – Active Rest
  • Wednesday – Active Rest
  • Thursday – Light Cardio If Possible
  • Friday – Warm-Up + Full Body Workout + Abs + Light Stretching ( Cardio Only if you are trying to lean out )
  • Saturday – Total Body Stretching
  • Sunday – Active Rest

 

One thing that I would like for you to know and it’s one of the most important things in proper training is rest time.  You are not a robot, you need a break if you want your body to develop without getting burned out.  As I stated earlier every 6 weeks I recommend you take 4-5 days off from training and fully rest. I have an article about what I do during my recovery week. This will help you prevent overtraining, regain strength and motivation.  Know your limits, where you can push your self and where you need a break.  I’ve written an article ” How To Train For Best Results ” definitely give that a looksie

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Remember once you reached your goals you can even cut down to working out only 3 times a week, and that is a perfect plan if you want to just maintain your current results.

I would like for you to know that being fit doesn’t mean you always have to be on a diet or working out at high intensity all the time.  We should always alternate high  intensity trainings and low intensity days.  It’s the same principle when it comes to nutrition, we work hard so it’s ok to indulge once in a while and just relax.

 

PS – I wanted to take another day off to completely recover cause I was pretty sick yesterday, so we decided not to film today.  But we are filming tomorrow for sure, and it’s going to be a super fun Upper Body Bodyweight Only and Equipment Free Routine

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