Which exercises should you do? And on what days? How often?
In this article, I’m gonna break down the basic components of a lifting program. You’re probably surprised and totally didn’t already know that by the title.
Building a routine
The first step is to build a simple routine to follow and stay consistent with.
A workout routine, or split, just refers to what exercises or muscle groups you’re hitting on which days.
Common examples:
- Upper body / Lower body split
- Full body done 2-3x per week
- Push / Pull / Legs split (they can be arranged however)
- Body part split (hitting one muscle group per day)
- Powerlifting split (focusing on bench, squat, and deadlift 2-3x per week)
Splits can also be arranged more specifically based on certain goals. But again for this article, we’ll stick to the basics.
How many days per week?
This can also be dependent on goals, and what kind of routine you’re following, but generally speaking, you’d want to train the upper and lower body 1-3x per week, having at least a day or two in between sessions where you’re hitting the same muscle groups.
For strength goals, you’d want to hit certain lifts at least 1-2x per week, and for muscle growth (hypertrophy), you’d want to hit certain muscle groups at least twice per week.
Which exercises?
The main exercises you perform should be compound exercises. Ones that use multiple muscle groups and joint actions.
Isolation exercises, such as bicep curls, can be added as well but shouldn’t be the bulk of your workout. The reason is because if we were to only focus on isolation exercises, we wouldn’t really train the most important and large muscle groups, which could lead to imbalances and a variety of issues such as poor posture or a bad back. Compound exercises make sure the biggest and largest muscle groups and joint actions are trained, along with the smaller muscles as well.
And it doesn’t need to be over-complicated. You don’t have to do 10 different exercises and hit every angle and yada yada. Instead, focus on basic movement patterns.
A squat, a hip-hinge (bending at the waist), lifting something over our head, pulling on or pushing something, etc.
These are some of the basic movements of the human body that all together utilize all of the muscles in our body. Especially the biggest and strongest ones. And that’s why we have muscles, to be able to efficiently perform these movements. That being said, focusing on exercises that mimic these basic movement patterns is the real key to building a true foundation of muscle and strength.
Upper body movements:
- Vertical push
- Vertical pull
- Horizontal push
- Horizontal pull
Corresponding exercises:
- Overhead or shoulder press
- Pulldown, pull-up, chin-up, etc.
- Chest press, push-up
- Rows
Lower body movements:
- Squat or lunge pattern
- Hip-hinge variations
Corresponding exercises:
- Squats, leg press, lunges, bulgarian split squats
- Deadlift, RDL, single-leg hip thrust
You can choose exercises and arrange them based on your specific goals. For example, if you want to improve your bench or squat strength, on the days you hit those lifts you would want to place them at the beginning of your workout.
What a basic plan could look like
Full body split, 2x per week:
Day 1: Monday
- Leg press – 3-5 sets
- Incline dumbbell press – 3-5 sets
- Seated cable row – 3-5 sets
- 1-2 isolation exercises
Day 2: Thursday
- Single leg RDL – 3-5 sets
- Flat dumbbell press – 3-5 sets
- Dumbbell row – 3-5 sets
- 1-2 isolation exercises
Upper / Lower, 2x per week:
Day 1: Upper 1
- Benchpress – 3-5 sets
- Lat pulldown – 3-5 sets
- Shoulder press – 3 sets
- 1-2 isolation exercises
Day 2: Lower 1
- Squats – 3-5 sets
- Lunges – 3 sets
- Leg extensions – 3 sets
- Calve extensions – 3 sets
Day 3: Upper 2
- Dumbbell row – 3-5 sets
- Incline dumbbell press – 3-5 sets
- Shoulder lateral raises – 3-4 sets
- Bicep curls – 2-3 sets
- Tricep extensions or dips – 2-3 sets
Day 4: Lower 2
- Single-leg RDL – 3-5 sets
- Leg press – 3-5 sets
- Hip thrusts – 3 sets
- Leg curls – 2-3 sets
Following a plan
Once you have your workout routine down, track your progress. This is one of the best ways to ensure you’ll stick with it. Take pictures, write down your lifts, weights, sets and reps, all that jazz.
Switch things up if you need to at least every 1-3 months, depending on where you’re at and the progress you’re making.
Summary
Creating a great lifting program doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming.
Lifting 2-4 days per week is really all it takes for most people. Performing anywhere from 3 to 5 exercises per workout.
Focus mostly on compound exercises that will help train all of the important muscle groups, and help to improve your performance, balance, posture, etc.
Build your routine, stay consistent, and track your progress. You’ll be surprised by what you can accomplish in just a few months!
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