There are literally thousands of different ways to design your ultimate fitness training program, especially if you want to learn how to make a workout plan for a certain man or woman.
If I asked any one person in the gym how they are setting up their workouts, they will give you a completely different answer than the person next to them.
The most common denominator to anyone’s ultimate fitness program is the goal they have implanted in the back of their mind, driving every aspect of their workouts.
If a person wants six pack abs, they are probably doing a ton of sit-ups. If someone wants to lose weight, they are probably spending hours on the treadmill.
The question you must ask yourself is, what do I want to achieve in the short term, and what do I want to achieve in the long term?
If you need to get shredded for your wedding in three months, you should be programming differently than if you are wanting to be in the next marathon or body building competition six months from now.
The problem is, most people in the gym do the same workout week after week, expecting different results, with no goal in mind.
When there is no goal, there is no ambition to get bigger, stronger or faster over the long term, and you become stagnant in your workouts.
If you expect the same results, as in you are doing it for the body maintenance general exercise provides, then you could be just fine doing the same workout over and over. But it might be better if you try to include a diverse, multi-functional set of exercises each day in the gym.
As for the one’s of us that want to achieve the highest level of fitness, we are going to need strict programming including a full complement of weights, cardio, stability, flexibility, and HIIT (high intensity interval training).
Fitness programming is a step-by-step process.
It takes daily motivation to be consistent, smart, strong willed, and intentional to get where you want to be.
Try these 10 steps to create and design your ultimate fitness training program.
10 Steps in Designing Your Ultimate Fitness Training Program
Step #1 Take Body & Fitness Measurements; Assess Health Concerns
The first step in learning how to make a workout plan for a male or female is to analyze your body and figure out where you stand on a health and fitness level.
You can do this yourself, but many health clubs will do this for you for free.
If you are not accustomed to exercising, you should first fill out a Par-Q form. This “physical activity questionnaire” will indicate whether your body is ready for exercise. If you have any hesitation, make sure to get a doctor’s blessing before you start any exercise program.
During a fitness assessment, the assessor will check your weight, body fat percentage, and will perform some circumference measurements upon request. You will be using a scale and tape measure to check weight and body circumferences. They will often use a hand-held analyzing device to measure body fat.
I recommend you request a skinfold caliper test, it’s far more accurate. Skinfold measurements are usually taken on the right side of the body. To do the test, simply pull a fold of skin away from the muscle. Use the skinfold calipers to take measurements at the triceps, pecs, subscapular, midaxilla, abdomen, suprailiac, and quads. Put the numbers into a body fat formula and check out your results. A good body composition calculator can be found here.
If you need some calipers of your own, grab the Slim Guide Skinfold Calipers. These will get the job done for you or your clients.
The next part of step 1 will be to measure your strength, flexibility, mobility and cardio capacity.
Some good strength tests include the typical pushup or sit-up test. You can also test strength maxes for any body part. Flexibility testing could include the sit and reach, shoulder flexibility, groin flexibility, or trunk rotation tests. The cardio tests you can perform include the 12-minute run test or VO2 max tests. If you’re an athlete, you can test your sprint speed, run duration, vertical jump, broad jump or agility in a shuttle drill, for example. Just make sure these are all done following a warmup.
Any testing you do should reflect what you want to ultimately achieve. Don’t forget to re-evaluate and re-test later down the road. I highly recommend you get these fitness and body measurements tested in some capacity to give you your baseline numbers.
Step #2 Set Your Goals
The second step to developing your ultimate fitness program is to set your goals. Think long and hard about this step. Really dig into what is driving you to do the things you do.
Once you figure out what you really love to do in the fitness and athletics world, write down 10 goals you want to achieve. Post them on your refrigerator, your office cubical, anywhere to remind you what it is that you are working towards.
Write down 5 short term goals and the time increments you want to achieve them in, and 5 long term, ultimate goals.
Maybe you want to lose 10 pounds this month, and maybe you want to be down to 16% body fat in 3 months.
You might also want to gain 3 inches in your biceps in 4 months, and you want to participate in a half marathon in 6 months. Your ultimate goal may be to win a triathlon someday.
These goals should always be on your mind. They should be the reason you do the things you do. They should drive you to get where you want to be. Your fitness and eating habits should naturally reflect what you are trying to achieve.
Do not skip this step, unless you like floating in the water without a paddle.
Check out my article 10 Ways to Crush your Fitness Goals in 2019 for more tips and tricks to optimize your fitness goals.
Step #3 Create a Fitness Schedule or Fitness Guide
Creating a fitness schedule or fitness guide can get a little tricky, but once you create it, you must stick to it to see results.
With fitness scheduling, there are some general principals you need to be aware of.
1. Only train one muscle group 2 – 3 times a week.
If you do more than that, you are either overworking or underworking your muscles. Muscles need time to rest and recover and if you are constantly working them, then you’re doing it wrong. Try something like back, biceps, quads and abs on Monday and Thursday. Then chest, shoulders, triceps, and hamstrings on Tuesday and Friday.
2. Pair strength workouts with flexibility or cardio training.
This will save you time, so you are not having to workout 7 days a week. This will also ensure that you get an added calorie burn. So, on Monday, you might do 30 minutes of strength and 30 minutes of yoga or 30 minutes of a cardio or a sprint workout. Throw in a swim workout during the week to give you some great cardio and joint mobility training. If you are efficient, you should be able to work your body 5 days a week, with 2 days of rest.
3. Only complete your fitness schedule 1 month at a time.
At the end of each month, evaluate your results. If you progressed in the right direction, challenge yourself a bit more. If you went backwards, re-evaluate what happened and try a different style. Don’t just settle for the first thing you come up with. Check your results over time and figure out what works best.
4. Stick to your schedule.
Keep a calendar of what you are supposed to do and journal what you actually did. You may lose up to half of the muscle mass you have put on if you do not workout for 2 weeks. This could set you back months. Unfortunately, it takes way more time to put on muscle than it is to lose it.
Step #4 Create a Diet Plan
A well-established diet can make or break you in the end.
If you’re not eating at least half your protein in body weight daily, it could take you forever to see improvement.
Check out the protein contents in the following foods:
- 3 ounces skinless, baked chicken => 26 grams protein
- 3 ounces of lean ground beef => 22 grams protein
- ½ cup low-fat cottage cheese => 14 grams protein
- 3 ounces grilled salmon => 21 grams protein
- 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt => 12 grams protein
Don’t forget a couple of whey protein shakes a day can quickly make up the protein you need when you can’t stomach the large amount of food.
Are you watching your sugar intake? Sugar can wreak havoc on your body.
Carbohydrates are going to be important to fuel your muscles.
Eat foods high in heart healthy fats, antioxidants, and energy boosting ingredients such as avacados, blueberries, walnuts, beans and eggs.
Check out my article 15 Super Healthy Superfoods for some more foods you should be eating on a daily basis.
Now take the healthy foods you love to eat and get your food prepping done over the weekend. Grab some portable glass containers and prepare the meals you are going to eat for the rest of the week. Don’t just prepare meals, prepare snacks, shakes and smoothies. This will help you stay on your eating schedule and avoid recessing for those cakes and cookies sitting in the work breakroom.
If you really want to get detailed, track your macros, aka your protein, fat, and carb intake.
The hardest thing about scheduling your diet is the people around you. When you get invited to go to lunch, dinner and out for drinks on the weekends, you must restrain yourself and keep to your plan. Whenever you allow something to get in the way of your goals, a small thing like lunch with friends everyday will build up, spiral out of control, and cause you to regress back to your starting point.
Step #5 Design Your Workouts
The bread and butter of learning how to make a workout plan for a man or woman is going to lie in how you design your workouts. This is going to depend highly on your goals.
Are you training for power, finesse, agility, or endurance?
Here are 6 basic rules to keep in mind when exercising:
1. Warmup before you do anything. If you are working out or stretching a cold muscle, you are far more likely to injure yourself. Give yourself at least a 5-minute heart pumping warmup before any exercise or stretching bout.
2. Lift heavy first then move to the accessory muscles. This will assure that your muscles are fully charged for the challenging lifts. You will have the most power and energy to complete the lifts safely.
3. Anything that restricts and does not let your joints move freely is likely bad for you and can be doing more harm than good. For example, most machines in a weight room force your limbs into one line of movement, restricting the motion you should actually be doing. Free weights, cables, bands, and anything that allow your joints to move freely are going to be your best bet.
4. Try different rep and set combinations. Start light with your warmups and get heavier. Try to choose a weight that allows you to max out your reps between the 8-12 rep range. The best way to develop lean muscle mass is to push or pull a weight until you can’t do so any longer.
5. Make sure your form is excellent in anything that you do. If not, your joints will wear over time and you are more likely to injure yourself. Practice with a light weight and get a professional to evaluate more complex movements.
6. Rest and recover between workouts. Muscles cannot grow without proper recovery. Hydrate and provide your body with excellent nutrition to ensure growth and development.
Want a great workout example? Visit my article The Best 8 Minute Fat Burning HIIT Workout at Home + 7 Bonus Tips for a great fat burning HIIT workout.
Step #6 Track Your Results
Record everything that you do and eat.
There is no way to tell how far you’ve come if you have no idea what you did in the past.
Grab a journal, make an excel sheet, download an app. Do something to track what you’ve done in the past and what you’ll be doing in the future.
Remember all those fitness and body measurements you took at the beginning? Do them again on a bi-monthly basis. Check and re-check. Make sure you are progressing in the right direction.
Be honest with yourself. When you lie on your log, the only one you are hurting is yourself and the fitness future you are looking for.
Step #7 Mix It Up
Why do so many people quit an exercise program?
After training hundreds of clients, the number one thing I’ve found that makes people give up and quit is boredom and lack of progression.
Luckily, I had very few clients ever quit on me. And that’s because I mixed up their workouts daily.
I could have given them a standard weight machine or dumbbell workout every time I came in, but where’s the fun in that?
You need to mix up your workouts. For one workout use dumbbells, the next try some suspension training, and the next use some gliders to create an unstable surface.
You can add chains or bands to all your lifts to add some resistance to the top of your exercises.
Try this great set of Serious Steel Assisted Powerlifting Bands. Made strong and long lasting.
There are so many ways to get the same workout in, but with different pieces of equipment.
If you vary your equipment and workouts, you’re bound to hit every muscle in the body one way or another.
You can also mix up your endurance training. Instead of jogging every time you work out, try a cycling class, go for a swim or do some sprint intervals.
Want some equipment recommendations? Check out my article Top 20 of the BEST Pieces of Functional Fitness Equipment for my favorite pieces of functional fitness equipment.
Step #8 Compete at the Highest Level
You’ve come this far. It’s time to put all your hard work to the test.
Jump into competition, whether it’s the Iron Man Competition or the Tough Mudder.
Testing yourself will let you know where you stand. Have you worked hard enough? Have you done enough in your workouts to beat the competition?
If your goal is just to be in better shape during your weekly season basketball game, then a little extra effort on your workouts and diet should payoff immensely. Most people typically don’t train for the sport they are playing. They just do typical lifts like everyone else.
I try to compete in everything that I do, and I love being in better shape than everyone else on the field or court. It makes the games easier and more fun.
Compete at the highest level, and don’t stop until you can’t go any higher.
Step #9 Analyze Your Results
You’ve reached a point where you either failed or accomplished your goal. Did it happen like you wanted it to?
When you finally reach the end, you need to go over your records and analyze what happened.
Did you get better, stay the same, or decline?
What could have or should have you done better?
Was it a roller coaster ride or straight progression?
At what points did you struggle? Did you break through plateaus?
These are questions you need to ask yourself in order to understand the next steps.
This is not the ending point. It’s just a new beginning, hopefully starting at a higher level than you were at the beginning of your journey.
Step #10 Rinse and Repeat
What do you do when you’ve completed something? You go back to the beginning and start again.
Take new fitness and body measurements, set new goals, create and design new fitness and eating plans, and pick the next competition.
You should now have a certain amount of experience. You should be bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter than before. Let this experience guide your decisions for the future.
Summary: 10 Steps in Designing Your Ultimate Fitness Training Program
The key to getting to where you want to go is to first develop a roadmap to your destination. The ones who prepare their route are going to get there 10 times faster than someone who wings it and has no idea what they are doing. Day after day I see countless people wandering aimlessly around the gym, wondering what they should do next, having no idea why they did what they just did. Don’t be that person. Set up your fitness program with the end in mind. Design, analyze, re-evaluate, and continue to progress. The only way you can fail in this approach is if you straight up quit.
Have you put together a fitness map for where you want to be? If not, how come? Let me know below!
