A Beginner’s Guide for Creating Your Own Exercise Plan

Now that I have become a personal trainer and have dealt with many clients, I have realized that most people are lost when it comes to where to start when it comes to resistance training. So, I thought I would write a little about what it takes to put a workout plan together.

The first thing to consider when putting together a workout plan is what are the parts of the body you need to train. There are nine main body parts that should be trained each week. Those body parts are the shoulders, back, biceps, chest, triceps, core muscles, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves.

You may notice that I don’t include the glutes as one of the major body parts. What I’ve noticed is that women, especially, spend an abundance of time exercising their glutes in the gym so they can build a larger posterior. I don’t agree with their exaggerated exercise of this body part. I come from an era when the focus was on symmetry when it came to bodybuilding. Making one area larger to accentuate it above the rest of the body does not promote the ideal of a symmetrical or balanced approach.

When putting together a workout, you must include each one of these body parts I mentioned. When starting out, you must get used to moving each body part.

The best way to start resistance training is to do a full body workout to get used to exercising the body.

The Components of a Workout

These are the key components of a full-body workout. First, you need to work out each body part for two to three sets. For the core, I suggest you start with two exercises. That would mean you start with a minimum of 20 to 30 sets per workout.

When it comes to repetitions per set, I always instruct others to stay within 8-12 reps per set to build your body. The important key with reps is how much effort you exert. Of course, you need to have enough strength to at least lift the weight you are using for 8 reps. But you should also be using enough weight that you cannot be able to go past 12 reps.

If you are able to go past 12 reps and keep going, then the weight isn’t sufficient to actually work the muscle and cause growth. Too often, you see people in the gym going through the motions of exercising, but not really accomplishing anything.

Also, I need to add that those 8–12 reps must be done in good form. If you have to use momentum to do the reps, then the weight is too heavy. To ensure that you are doing the reps properly, slow down the speed of the reps. In my training, I constantly have to tell people to slow down, this is not a race. Take at least a second or two to raise the weight and up to three seconds to lower the weight. Controlling the weight is important. Do not just swing it up and down because that leads to momentum and not your muscles moving the weight. You may have to lower the amount of weight being used to do it this way, but you will build muscle this way.

The Exercises of a Beginning Workout

Now, in choosing exercises for a workout, it is best to start with foundational exercises and go from there. These are primary exercises that directly affect the areas that need to be worked. If you stick with it long enough, you will find that there is an abundance of exercises you can do, but for the beginning, stick with the basics.

Now, if you are going to a gym, you can find machines to do the job. Machines are good for beginners, because they tend to keep you in the right position when doing the exercise, making it safer for the beginner. At the gym, look for machines like these below.

Shoulders – Shoulder Press Machine

Chest – Chest Press Machine

Triceps – Cable Triceps Pushdowns

Back – Machine Rows

Biceps – Cable Curls

Core – Ab Crunch Machine and Torso Twist Machine

Quadriceps – Leg Extension Machine

Hamstrings – Leg Curl Machine

Calves – Calf Machine

If you prefer to work out at home, the exercises below can be done at home with a bench and a simple dumbbell and barbell set.

Shoulders – Seated Shoulder Press

Chest – Bench Press

Triceps – Lying Triceps Extensions

Back – Dumbbell Rows

Biceps – Dumbbell Curls

Core – Tuck Crunches and Oblique Crunches

Quadriceps – Goblet Squats

Hamstrings – Romanian Deadlifts

Calves – Calf Raises

To do these exercises properly, go to YouTube and search the exercises. It doesn’t take long.

Frequency of Your Workout

Starting out, do this workout three days a week. Always make sure that you have a rest day between the workouts. Since you’re a beginner, your muscles will not be used to being worked out. If you are following the 8-12 rep rule, I described earlier, then you will be working the muscles hard enough that they will need the time to recuperate.

When you exercise a muscle properly, what occurs in the muscle is called micro-tears, small microscopic rips in the muscle. It takes about 48 hours for these micro-tears to heal, then they will be ready to work out again.

If you work out the same muscles on continuous days, you will not be allowing the muscle to recover. You will not see results of all your hard work, and more than that, you will slowly overwork the muscle and burnout.

As with anything that is worthwhile, it takes time and patience. You may not see any change after one week or even one month, but over time, if you are consistent with your exercise, you will see a change for the good.

Do this beginner's workout for two or three months. At that point, it will be time to mix things up. I will follow this article with one that will help you move forward after this.

Fuel up for Success

One last piece of advice that I want to give you is make sure you are giving your muscles the fuel they need to grow. If you want larger muscles or a toned body, you need to make sure you feed your body with sufficient protein.

The government’s recommendation for daily intake of protein is around 46 grams a day for women and 56 grams a day for men. The problem with this recommendation is it is only the bare essential amount of protein that the body needs to exist. You cannot grow muscle with that amount of protein. Some studies have shown that athletes need between 1.2 -2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For bodybuilders, that level goes up to 1.6-2.0 grams/kg.

For me, since I don’t consider myself an athlete, and those I train are not athletes, just individuals who want to be in shape, I recommend increasing one’s intake to between 1.2-1.6 grams per kilogram of weight. That is enough to see an increase in muscle and tone for most average lifters.

For example, a person who is 190 pounds, the calculation would look like this:

190 pounds divided by 2.205=86.2 kilograms

86.2 kilograms times 1.2 grams of protein=103 grams

86.2 kilograms times 1.6 grams of protein=138 grams

Therefore, a 190-pound person would need between 103 and 138 grams of protein daily to fuel their workouts and grow muscle.

Hopefully, this article has helped you with a little insight in how to begin your own exercise program. It may seem overwhelming when you start something new like lifting weights, but don’t get discouraged. What you are trying to do will help you in more ways than you can imagine at this time. Keep up the good work.