How to create your own gym workout program

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2014-03-13

I often receive questions like: "Help me create my own workouts." I have a somewhat negative attitude towards such self-activity, but I understand that it has been, is, and will be. Because not everyone can afford a trainer. There are also people who fundamentally want to do everything themselves. And there are gyms where there simply isn't a single trainer. Or there isn't a single competent trainer (which is not that rare).

In general, regardless of the situation, creating your personal plan is quite feasible for anyone with at least a few months of training experience behind them. But if you are a complete novice, it will be much more difficult for you. After all, you don't even know which muscles are worked by each exercise.

Therefore, I recommend that such people use ready-made programs from this site. And for everyone else who wants to play the "self-coach" game, let's start gradually. And the first thing you need to do is:

I. Determine your main training goal

There are 5 main goals that gym workouts can pursue:

• Increase muscle mass and strength;
• Weight loss;
• Increase strength (without changing body weight);
• Definition (without changing body weight);
• Maintain achieved shape.

In each of these directions, you can further highlight or focus on specific body parts. But these are already nuances. In general, you should choose only one goal for yourself. You can't pursue multiple goals simultaneously (for example, decrease legs while increasing arms). You will simply be chasing two hares and catch neither.

II. Determine the number of workouts per week

The number of workouts is determined by your goal and your capabilities (the availability of free time, money, and energy). If you just want to maintain your shape, then 2 workouts a week are sufficient. If you want to increase mass and/or strength, then it is advisable to have at least 3 workouts (although I know cases where people grew excellently with just 2 workouts). And when it comes to weight loss or definition, there should be at least 3 workouts. Ideally, 4 to 5.

But whatever the case, people usually have to consider their available free time. Just don't deceive yourself. Assess your capabilities soberly and figure out how often you will be able to visit the gym. After all, if you create a plan for 4 workouts a week but only go 2 to 3 times, you will have to redo the plan again.

III. Determine the method of performing exercises

Personally, I distinguish 6 methods of performing exercises:

• Split (suitable for increasing strength and/or mass);
• Single set method (suitable for increasing strength and/or mass);
• Supersets (suitable for increasing mass, weight loss, and definition);
• Alternating supersets (suitable for increasing mass, weight loss, and definition);
• Circuit (suitable for weight loss);
• Combined (suitable for weight loss and definition).

Each method is suitable for one, two, or even three goals and is absolutely not suitable for the others. However, for each goal, there are 2-3 suitable methods. For instance, weight loss can be achieved through supersets, circuit training, and combined workouts. However, gaining mass can be done through either split training or supersets. As for strength (without mass gain), only the split method is suitable.

IV. Determine your set of exercises

Write down all the exercises you want to perform in your workouts. It's better to sort them by muscle groups right away. If you lack experience, you might encounter problems due to basic ignorance of anatomy and biomechanics. As a hint, you can refer to the article: What exercises are considered basic. Or use the MENU – EXERCISES, where they are sorted by body parts.

The number of exercises can vary widely depending on your goals and the number of workouts. For example, if you train twice a week using a combined method to maintain shape, 10 basic exercises (5 per workout) will suffice. However, if you are actively losing weight with supersets and training five times a week, the number of exercises can be 40 or even more.

V. Distribute exercises across workouts

After writing down all the exercises, you need to distribute them across workouts. How to distribute them depends on your goal.

For mass and/or strength gain – 1-3 muscle groups per workout (depending on the number of workouts). No more than that. This means you shouldn't try to train all muscles in each workout. As a tip, you can read: How to divide muscle groups when training for mass.

Weight loss – on the contrary, all muscles are trained a little bit in each workout. Your task here is to load the entire body and expend as much energy as possible.

Relief – it is possible to divide based on either the mass gain method or the weight loss method. It depends on the training execution method, the specifics of your body, and the focus of your diet.

Maintenance of shape – well, here any option can work. Depending on how you achieved this shape: through weight loss or mass gain.

VI. Determine the order of exercises

Next, you need to specify the order of exercises, which also plays an important role. Especially when gaining mass. When losing weight, it's less critical, but it's still not worth neglecting this step.

For mass and/or strength gain – you can set exercises in blocks of 2-3 exercises for one muscle group. Alternatively, you can alternate between antagonist muscles (biceps – triceps, chest – back, etc.). In any case, by the end of the workout, you should maximally fatigue the muscles you have planned for today.

Weight loss – here a "block" is unnecessary and can even be harmful. You need to alternate upper and lower body. You can alternate antagonists, but definitely not in blocks. The load should shift from one muscle group to another throughout the entire workout. Only by doing so can you load the whole body.

Relief – you can work both in blocks and alternate antagonist muscles. In some cases, alternating upper-lower works. But in my opinion, this is not the best option for achieving relief.

Maintenance of achieved form – any option. Again, it depends on how you reached this shape.

VII. Determine the number of sets and repetitions

This is a very important parameter. It directly affects the intensity of your workouts. The heavier the weight and the fewer repetitions, the lower the intensity and the less energy you expend. Usually, I distribute the sets (considering warm-up) and repetitions as follows:

For mass gain – 3-5 sets of 6-12 repetitions for basic exercises. And 3-4 sets of 10-15 repetitions for accessory exercises.

For strength increase - 4-5 sets of 2-6 repetitions for basic exercises. And 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions for accessory exercises.

Weight loss – 2-4 sets of 12-20 repetitions everywhere.

Relief – 2-4 sets of 12-15 repetitions everywhere.

Maintenance of achieved form – 3-4 sets. The number of repetitions depends on your previous goal.

VIII. Plan the weight changes for equipment during workouts

And the last step is to determine how your weights and number of repetitions will change from workout to workout. In the case of maintaining shape, achieving relief, or losing weight, this is not as critical (although it still matters). However, if you want to increase muscle mass or strength, this is a very important parameter. Unfortunately, here everything is so individual and unpredictable that I cannot give any specific advice without knowing the person.

Read the articles: Principles of adjusting the weights of equipment during gym training and How to adjust the number of repetitions throughout a training program. There you will grasp the basic principles of how this all works.

Conclusion

Yes, as you have seen for yourself, creating a workout plan is a very complicated process with many nuances and different options. Over my life, I have created more than 1000 workout programs. Although this is a very rough number. However, I never create a plan for a person until I have personally trained them for at least a month without a program. Only after 1-2 months do I have a clearer idea of what will work best for a particular person.

If you have trained for at least a few months, you also have some idea of what suits you best and what you want to do with your body moving forward. So, thoughtfully and in the order I just described, create your next workout program.