How I Create Strength Training Plans
Posted: February 15, 2011 at 11:35 amLast night I gave myself a bit of a Valentine’s Day treat.
I created and started up my first rotation of my own strength training. I love lifting weights. It makes me feel strong and provides such a fun personal challenge. I’ll share what I did last night later on, but first – how I set up my workout plans. I have received some requests for sharing, so I figured I would do that first.
Please remember that I am not certified in any way. I have simply figured out a system that works well for me after years of my own experience. If new to weight training, I always suggest a walk through with a trainer if possible; taking a class like Bodypump to get guidance from an instructor; or finding some way to properly acquaint yourself with the moves completed in workouts (aka research and practice).
Now for my step-by-step to making my workout plans…
Step 1: Choose a Workout Split. This simply means I decide how I am going to break up my body parts for workout days each week. For example:
- 1 Upper Body day, 1 Lower Body day, 1 Full Body day
- 1 Push day (chest, quads, triceps – muscles that push), 1 Pull day (back, hams, biceps – muscles that pull), 1 Full Body day
- 2-3 Full Body Workout days
- 2 Upper Body days, 1-2 Lower Body days
- 2 Push days, 2 Pull days
- Bodypart (1 Chest, 1 Back, 1 Legs, 1 Arms/Shoulders) <—my least fave
Step 2: Lay Out a General Plan. Here I simply put my chosen workout split into a table or spreadsheet and list out which body parts I will work in each workout. If I chose the Push/Pull/Full Body split, I will have something that looks like this:
Push Workout | Pull Workout | Full Body Workout |
Hamstrings | Quads | Legs |
Chest | Back | Chest |
Hamstrings | Quads | Back |
Chest | Back | Legs |
Push Shoulder | Pull Shoulder | Shoulders |
Triceps | Biceps |
I always make certain to get 1-2 exercises for each major muscle group I plan to work (the legs/glutes, back, and chest). Then, I add in smaller moves such as shoulders, biceps, and triceps as time allows. The smaller muscles get worked during larger moves so I don’t focus on having a move for them every workout.
Step Three: Fill In the Moves. I have a handy spreadsheet document where I keep a list of all my favorite exercises broken down by body part. I have a column for leg exercises, a column for back, a column for chest, etc. Then, I just pick and choose exercises from that list to fill out my basic plan. So, the above may turn into something like this:
Push Workout | Pull Workout | Full Body Workout |
Deadlift | Leg Press | Walking Lunge |
Dumbbell Bench Press | Lat Pulldown | Incline Dumbbell Flyes |
Hamstring Curl | Leg Extension | Cable Row |
Pushups | Dumbbell Bent Over Row | Step-Ups |
Overhead Shoulder Press | Front Raise | Upright Shoulder Row |
Tricep Kickbacks | Dumbbell Bicep Curl |
Step Four: Plan out the sets and reps. 3 sets of 10 repetitions is the standard, which I start with. I will many times do some exercises in the workout with higher reps (15-20) and some with lower reps (6-8). Or I might do a different number of reps with each set (IE gradually increasing from 8 to 10 to 12 reps with each set). I just make sure to switch it up sometimes. My final plan using the same Push/Pull/Full example will then have a layout like this:
Push Workout | Pull Workout | Full Body Workout | |||
Deadlift | 4x8 | Leg Press | 4x8 | Walking Lunge | 3x10 |
Dumbbell Bench Press | 4x8 | Lat Pulldown | 4x8 | Incline Dumbbell Flyes | 3x10 |
Hamstring Curl | 2x20 | Leg Extension | 2x20 | Cable Row | 3x10 |
Pushups | 2x20 | Dumbbell Bent Over Row | 2x20 | Step-Ups | 3x10 |
Overhead Shoulder Press | 3x12 | Front Raise | 3x12 | Upright Shoulder Row | 3x10 |
Tricep Kickbacks | 3x12 | Dumbbell Bicep Curl | 3x12 |
Step 5: Add Variety. This is where I have fun. I can switch up the moves in the basic outline every week, every two weeks, or follow the same routine all month. I can sub out exercises easily if I feel like doing something different or a piece of equipment is occupied my entire workout. I can add in variety with different equipment, like stability balls. I plan on doing some of my favorites in the future with kettlebells or on TRX equipment. I can use supersets (two moves done back to back) or circuits (everything done back to back). I can do some plyometrics or abs in between sets. The options are endless!
Question of the Day – Do you enjoy planning workouts? Which kinds?
**Let me know if you have any additional questions and/or requests for expounding on any of these topics.
Tags: fitness, strength training
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