How to Create Your Own Strength Training Program
Huh? A personal trainer sharing how to design your own workout program? Yep! Let me start with a disclaimer: If you have never done strength training, my recommendation is to hire a personal trainer. This is an investment in YOU, and you don't need a ton of sessions with a trainer to learn proper form and technique, so it could be a worthwhile short-term investment that will pay off for the rest of your life. I offer in-person training, and you can learn about those options HERE. You could hire me as your virtual fitness coach to create a custom workout program for you that you can do at home or in your own gym, on your own time. Options for virtual coaching are HERE. You'll learn proper form for movements, and I'll take care of the programming for you. Again, if you are inexperienced with strength training, don't try it on your own, as you'll risk hurting yourself which is really a bummer when you're trying to get stronger.
If you've worked with a trainer before, or if you're experienced with strength training but aren't sure how to put together a comprehensive program for yourself, then this content is for you! I'll walk you through some of the basic tips for designing your own program. Let's jump into it...
First, ask yourself a few questions:
How much time do you want to commit to strength training? Decide how many days a week you can stay consistent.
What equipment do you have? Do you plan to workout in a large gym, or will you be using limited equipment at home?
What are your fitness goals? Do you want to generally get stronger? Do you want to be able to do a proper push-up or pull-up? Do you want to build your glutes?
These questions will help you navigate how to approach creating your own program. Keep in mind these tips I'm about to share are *general* and there could be a LOT of reasons why these suggestions would not apply to you.
First, let's tackle the frequency of strength training. My recommendation for *most* people is to do 3-4 days of a full-body workout. This is because you'll hit all muscle groups even if you skip a day here or there. Also, I like this approach because working the full body means you won't be overtaxing any single muscle group and you can then hit those muscles again a day or two later without over-stressing your body. If you like strength training more often, you could do 5-6 days of a split routine.
For those looking to strength train 2-4 days per week, let's review a sample day of a full-body workout.
FULL BODY: Complete 1 exercise for 3 sets, 10 reps for each of the following muscle groups:
Legs
Glutes
Back
Chest
Shoulders
Biceps
Triceps
Core
For those looking to strength train 5-6 days per week, here are two examples of how to split your workouts (there are many more options - I'm just sharing two of my favorites).
OPTION 1 - Upper/Lower Split: Complete 2-3 exercises for each muscle group for 3 sets, 10 reps each:
Upper body day:
Back
Chest
Shoulders
Biceps
Triceps
Core
Lower body day:
Quads
Hamstrings
Glutes
Calves
OPTION 2 - Body Part Split: Complete 3-4 exercises for each muscle group for 3 sets, 10 reps each:
Day 1: Back and Biceps
Day 2: Chest and Triceps
Day 3: Shoulders and Core
Day 4: Legs and Glutes
Day 5: Total Body
If you aren't sure which exercises to do for each muscle group, you can easily search YouTube using the search term "Exercises for [insert muscle group]" to get ideas. This is where your access to equipment will come in handy. For example, if you only have access to dumbbells, try searching something like "Glute exercises with dumbbells only."
For all of the above options, repeat the same weekly workouts for at least 4 weeks and then create a new phase with new movements and varied set/rep ranges. Try to increase volume over time (which is called "progressive overload" and is required to build muscle), which could mean heavier weights or adding sets/reps, or just focus on improving form.
Also consider your goals. If your goal is to be able to do a proper push-up, then be sure to integrate push-ups and push-up variations into your workout regularly. If you want to build your glutes, you may want to add in more exercises or sets for glutes specifically. This is where the "custom" part of programming matters.
If all of this sounds confusing or overwhelming, well, that's why personal trainers undergo a lot of training to learn how to program workouts! I'd be honored to create a workout program for you virtually or in-person, so feel free to reach out and let's get stronger together!
