Ever feel like you walk into the gym, and it is a jungle of machines, dumbbells, kettlebells.
All staring at you, and you have no idea what is the most optimal way to use all of these things to get you the results you want.
It doesn’t matter if your goal is to lose fat, build muscle, or get stronger.
You want to make sure the time you spend in the gym, is spent well.
You want to make sure what you are doing is actually going to get you closer to your goal.
It can be very overwhelming in many different ways.
Maybe you are a beginner and you have NO idea what to do.
Or maybe you have been working out a little here and there, but never really had any structure to your workouts. Never had a plan.
Today I am going to make sure, by the end of this article, you are confident in building your own strength training program.
You are going to be sure to have a structured plan you can take into the gym, put into action, and start seeing results.
Before I show you exactly how to do that, I must cover some initial “rules to train by” if you will.
I would get out a pen and paper (because I am old school), and take some notes.
This article will be filled with information. Let’s press on, shall we? (Get it, press, like bench press?.. Alright fine moving along).
Strength Training “Rules”
Now, are these rules ones you MUST follow EVERY TIME?
No, but they certainly are some very good guidelines I love to follow, and have my online coaching clients follow, when it comes to strength training.
Stick To The Basics
This is one I see butchered and drug through the mud So. Many. Times.
Especially in a world of instagram workouts, internet phenoms, and just the feeling that more is better.
There always has to be some crazy exercise. Like doing a triple axle backflip off a bosu ball into a pistol squat with a bicep curl..
But you don’t even know how to squat properly first!?
No no I won’t get started.
For real though, the basics are there for a reason. They have been around forever a reason.
They work. Plain and simple.
You don’t need a ton of different exercises. You don’t need to do difficult movements atop of unstable surfaces.
There is no place for doing exercises under conditions that are susceptible to any type of major injury or cause you to repeatedly break down form because you are so exhausted.
I know, that isn’t the sexiest thing to hear. I know the basics may seem boring at times, but please please trust me when I say, they are THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WHEN IT COMES TO WORKOUT PROGRAMMING.
Later in this article I will lay out exactly what I consider the basics, and how you can use them in your workouts.
You Don’t Need To Sweat To Have An Effective Workout
This one, again, is one I unfortunately see often times from not just general population, but trainers and coaches alike.
I am here to tell you, you don’t need to sweat or be out of breath, to have an effective workout.
Try this for me. Go outside right now and run down the street as fast as you can.
Or chase your dog or kid around the house a few times.
You’ll undoubtedly get sweaty, and be out of breath.
So, is that what you would classify as a good workout?
I would hope not.. and if you do, just go ahead and exit out of this page now because the rest won’t be down your alley.
Sweating and being out of breath has NOTHING to do with having an effective work out.
Can you sweat and have a good workout? Sure.
But I am 6’4 255 lbs male. I sweat peeling an orange.
I know ladies who are 4’10, completely kick ass in their workouts, and don’t sweat a drop.
Using someones sweat glands to determine the effectiveness of a workout is ludicrous.
Your workouts should be based around if you are getting stronger, doing more reps, getting better endurance.
And let me tell you something else, if you know a coach or trainer who’s SOLE purpose is to beat you down and make you sweat / be out of breath..
That is not a trainer, that is a monkey. Because a monkey can do that to you. Find a new coach.
Leave Your Ego At The Door
Listen, we all have somewhat of an ego.
And we don’t want to admit we are bad at something, or we don’t know how to do something.
If there is one thing I can tell you if you are looking to get into working out, or stay healthy, is please leave your ego at the door.
It is okay to admit you don’t know how to do something. It is okay to perfect form.
It is okay to seek out help from someone who does know how to do it, and learn from them.
If there was one thing I am glad I made the switch from in my early teens, it was taking the step back to understand the movements I was doing.
Learn how to squat. Learn how to deadlift or row. Lessen the weight a bit, and understand what was going on.
Not only did this eventually help my gainzz, but it also helped my injuries.
I encourage you to do the same, and if you want help, please feel free to reach out to me.
Movement Patterns, Not Muscles
People often are quick to do isolation exercise to work their biceps, or glutes.
But fail to realize that total body compound lifts will work those same muscles, with a heavier load, and multiple other muscles at the same time.
Thus maximizing not only the muscle they wanted to work, but 4 other during the process.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a bicep curl thrown in, and I will program specific glute movements if a lady would like her tush a bit bigger.
But they should in no way shape or form make up the majority of any smart training program.
I would program a bent over row, or deadlift, before I would a bicep curl or a glute kick back.
These movement patterns are going to work those same muscles with much more efficiency.
You will also probably realize these movements will also leave you needing not much *if any* extra work.
So, what are these movement patterns I am talking about? Glad you asked. Keep reading below, and seriously get a notepad out to get some notes.
Understanding Movement Patterns
Let’s talk movements, shall we?
But not just any movements. Movements that are going to make up your exercises in your training program, for your goal.
You have to have a system in place to be able to create programs, as opposed to just picking random exercises.
And understand what muscles those movements are working, and how they affect the other things you will do later in the workout.
Let’s cover the 5 fundamental movement patters, with some individual sections for each.
Upper Body Push
An upper body push movement, can be divided into two sub categories, horizontal push and vertical push.
Horizontal Upper Body Push includes variations of bench press, push ups, and all similar exercises. Mainly ways you are pressing in a horizontal motion.
Vertical Upper Body Push includes all variations of shoulder press, push press, and all similar exercises. Mainly ways you are pressing in a vertical motion.
Upper Body Pull
An upper body pull can be divided into two sub categories, horizontal pull and vertical pull.
Horizontal Upper Body Pull includes variations of bent over row, inverted row, and all other similar exercises. Mainly ways you are pulling in a horizontal motion.
Vertical Upper Body Pull includes variations of chin up, lat pull down, and all other similar exercises. Mainly ways you are pulling in a vertical motion.
Lower Body Push
These movements typically refer to lower body exercises that cause you to recruit more quads than hamstrings, usually causing a “pushing” motion rather than a “pulling” motion.
Examples include all variations of the squat, lunge, step up, and hip thrust.
Lower Body Pull
These movements typically refer to lower body exercises that cause you to recruit more hamstrings than quads, usually causing a “pulling” motion rather than a “pushing” motion.
Examples include all variations the deadlift, good morning, kettlebell swing, and cable pull through.
Trunk
These movements typically refer to all these including the “core”. Everyone you talk to will have a different definition of the core, but I am referring to not just your abs. Also the muscles that stabilize your hips, stabilize your spine, and play a role in upper body stabilization. So much more than the 6 pack bro.
Examples can include all variations of plank, sit ups, Russian twists, pallof press, deadbugs, etc.
Understanding The Daily Workout Make Up
Here is where some people get caught up when it comes to what is the most optimal way to program a daily routine.
This is what you actually will be composing your daily sessions of, throughout a weekly basis.
There is no one “right” way, only a right way for you. Learn about the four main ones below.
Full Body
These training sessions typically tend to be longer, and obviously hit the entire body in one session, rather than splitting it up.
This split is incredibly great for beginners, and people who are uber busy and just can’t make it to the gym that much during the week.
I would not tend to program a full body any more than 4x a week, MAX. 2-4x a week for these full body session typically will do best. Again, this is for beginners, or people who don’t wanna spend a lot of the time in the gym, but still get an effective workout.
Upper / Lower
Yes, as it sounds like, this split just divides the training days up into an upper body day and a lower body day. Generally, 2 upper body days, and 2 lower body days, for a total of 4 days total per week, is what is used best here.
This is something that I program a ton for people who can make it to the gym 4x a week. It allows for proper frequency, exercise selection, volume, among many other things.
Push Pull Legs
This split is one that divides the days into 3 separate days, one of upper body pulling, one of upper body pulling, and one of legs, including both pushing and pulling motions.
This split is generally combined with 1 full body day, or 1 upper body + lower body day. So a total of upper body + lower body + Push + Pull + Legs. Or just 6 days a week of Push, Pull, Legs. This can be a total of 5-6x per week.
Yea, a lot of math there. Personally, unless you are towards the advanced level, I would not worry about this one.
Body Part Split
This split is one that is popular amongst the body building world. This splits days up into certain body parts, one day for chest, one day for back, one day for legs, etc..
Personally, even after living and studying the body building world for a while, I see no real reason to use this split for any general population individual, or even body builder for that matter. This split should be reserved for top level bodybuilders who need the extra isolation work to win Mr. Olympias.
Understanding Training Days Per Week
Touched on briefly in the split session above, this is where you figure out how many days a week you are training.
This is also where you decide what split you are using.
As a general rule, I like to hit both upper and lower body at least 2 days a week. Depending on the client, that can go up to 3 or 4 in some cases. But remember, more is not always better.
2-3x Days Training Per Week
For people who only have a small amount of time in the gym, full body tends to do best for this.
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3 Day Full Body Split
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Day 1
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Full Body
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Day 2
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Full Body
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Day 3
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Full Body
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However, there is more than one way to skin a cat (whatever that means anyway).
I also love this split to get more of a feel for the muscles, and split things up a bit nicer.
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3 Day Upper, Lower, Full Body Split
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Day 1
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Lower Body
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Day 2
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Upper Body
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Day 3
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Full Body
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This split allows you to split up into an upper and lower body day. I use this to have people focus on an area a bit more as opposed to switching back and forth between upper and lower body in one session.
Takeaway: There is no one RIGHT way to do it. Some people like full body better, some people like splitting it up. The one thing I would advise is try not to do all 3 days back to back to back. If you HAVE to, that is one thing, but if you have a choice, get some rest between days.
4x Days Training Per Week
This training schedule allows you endless possibilities when it comes to splits. This is great for the average gym goer to the intermediate / advanced trainee.
A standard upper lower split can be used here, like we talked about earlier.
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4 Day Upper Lower
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Day 1
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Lower Body
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Day 2
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Upper Body
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Day 3
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Lower Body
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Day 4
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Upper Body
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This is also a great way to get different stimulus to the body as well, because you have two chances to get at it.
Below is a bit more advanced way to look at the 4 upper / lower days you have.
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4 Day Upper Lower
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Day 1
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Lower Body STRENGTH
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Day 2
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Upper Body STRENGTH
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Day 3
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Lower Body HYPERTROPHY
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Day 4
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Upper Body HYPERTROPHY
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This is great because you can focus one day on getting stronger, and one day on more muscle building. **Hypertrophy is just a big word for muscle building**.
Takeaway: Training 4x per week is amazing for the general gym goer, the intermediate to advanced trainee, or someone looking to build strength and also build muscle. There are so many ways to slice this cake, try it and see what works for you.
5x Days Training Per Week
Honestly, unless you are more towards the end of intermediate / advanced, this probably is unnecessary for most.
That being said, let’s look at ways to program a 5x a week training program.
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5 Day Upper Lower Push Pull Legs
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Day 1
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Upper Body
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Day 2
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Lower Body
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Day 3
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Push
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Day 4
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Pull
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Day 5
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Legs
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Like we said earlier, you can combine an upper, lower, with a push pull legs routine, to get you to 5x a week. This hits all muscle groups 2x, and can allow for optimal recovery while still hitting a higher frequency.
Takeaway: Again, unless you are more towards the advanced side, you probably won’t have to worry too much about this one. Recovery starts to become HUGE here, and if you are not eating, sleeping, and recovering properly, things WILL start to break down.
Number Of Exercises Per Training Day
Now we get into what you are ACTUALLY doing during your training day. I know, a lot to get here right?
That just goes to show you how much goes into actually making an individualized training program. If you want me to help you with yours, click HERE.
Moving forward, I am going to exclude 2x a week, and anything over 4x a week as far as training splits. I have just seen as a coach, the vast majority of people don’t need more than 4x a week, and if you can’t get to the gym more than 2 days, we need to have a conversation on that.
Before we dive into what the days exercises are going to consist of, we need to first talk about what types of exercises will exist.
- Strength Focused Exercises
Strength exercise are full body, compound movements like squat, bench, deadlifts, that challenge you with a relatively lower rep range.
But, it is not so much the exercise that is strength focused, though that does play a role, it is the weight and reps you choose to do with it that is “strength focused”.
Generally speaking, these movements tend to be no more than 6-8 reps, with 8 being on the high end.
2. Hypertrophy Based Exercises
Hypertrophy focused exercises can be full body, compound movements OR isolation exercises.
The main difference between a strength focused exercise and a hypertrophy, is A. The load you are using and B. The point at which the exercise becomes difficult.
You are focused on working and fatiguing the muscle, rather than gaining strength.
This is where having a mind muscle connection comes in, and where finding the right weight that isn’t tooo heavy, but not toooo light comes in.
Generally, these exercises tend to be in repetitions from 7-15 to achieve this stimulus.
So, How Many Exercises Per Day?
Well, it depends. There is no one real answer, it would depend on how many days a week you are training, what your focus is that day, what your goal is, to name a few.
But, I will give general guidelines you can follow.
Strength focused exercises
Goal: Build Strength, full body compound movement
How Many Per Day: 1-2 exercises per day
Sets and Reps: 3-5 sets, 3-8 reps
Rest Period: 90-180 seconds
Examples include: All variations of the squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press, rows, and chin ups.
Hypertrophy Focused Exercises
Goal: Hypertrophy focused, work and fatigue muscle
How Many Per Day: 2-6 exercises per day
Sets and Reps: 2-4 sets, 8-15 reps
Rest Period: 45-90 seconds
Examples include: All Variations of the squat, split squat, push up, shoulder press, tricep extension, bicep curl, face pull, Romanian Deadlift, lunges, etc.
Tying It All Together, Sample Workout Plans
Alright, so now we get down to actually putting this all together to see what it looks like in an actual program.
Remember that notebook I told you about earlier? That bitch should be full by now, but hopefully you saved some room for this.
Sample Upper / Lower Body Training Days
Upper Body
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Upper Body Day
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Sets x Reps
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Rest Period
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1. Bench Press
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4×6
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120 seconds
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2. Barbell bent over Row
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3×8
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120 seconds
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3a. 1 arm shoulder press
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3×10
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3b. Assisted chin up
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3×8
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90 seconds
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4a. Push Up
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2×10
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75 seconds
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4b. Cable Face Pull
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2×12
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5. Plank
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2×40 sec hold
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45 seconds
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** If an exercise is labeled with a and b, that indicates a superset, where exercises are completed back to back.
So, let’s dissect this day.
The first exercise is a strength focused, compound movement in the bench press.
The second exercise is another strength focused, compound movement in the barbell bent over row.
The third and 4th exercises are still somewhat compound, they still provide a pretty good full body stimulus, but they are more hypertrophy focused in their rep ranges.
The 5th and 6th exercises are a bit less intense, less load due to being later in the workout, and wanting to be smart about injuries, effort, etc. They still work the muscles and provide a stimulus.
Then the trunk at the end to finish off the day.
Lower Body
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Lower Body Day
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Sets x Reps
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Rest Period
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1. Barbell Front Squat
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4×5
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120 seconds
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2. Deadlift
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3×6
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180 seconds
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3a. Single Leg RDL
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3×10
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3b. Split Squat
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3×8
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90 seconds
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4a. Leg Extension Machine
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2×12-15
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4b. Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl
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2×12
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4c. Side Med Ball Slam
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2×8/ea side
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90 seconds
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Again with the dissecting.
The first two movements of the day are full body, strength based compound movements. They have a lower rep range, and higher rest period from what we talked about above.
The 3rd and 4th are still full body exercises, just a bit less load, a bit less intensity, and getting more focused on muscle building.
The last circuit for the day is focused on isolation of muscles, lower loading, and working on the trunk.
The Final Word
Woo, I know that was a lot.
There is a lot to consider, a lot to think about. I urge you to go back and read over some parts, to make sure you fully grasp them.
Seriously, take notes.
I would NOT worry about getting the perfect routine, the perfect split, the perfect this or that.
The truth it, it will all be trial and error. It will be testing things and seeing what works and what doesn’t, for YOU and YOUR life.
Your schedule, your goals.
If you want to workout 4x a week, go back and look at the 4x week options. Look at how to structure the split. Pick what strength and hypertrophy exercises you want to put into your routine.
And then just go try it.
There is no ONE RIGHT way to program and design your workouts… Rather try things, see what sticks for you, and then narrow down later.
I know this is a lot of information, I know you may be like whaaaattttt…
If that is you, I implore you, please reach out to me for help. Leave a comment below, or email me @ coacheric@ericrobertsfitness.com .
Or if you would think coaching might be a better option for you rather than trying on your own, click HERE to fill out the form to see if we are a good fit together.
I hope this article helped, and again, please reach out for help. I wrote this whole damn thing for free, so you know I want to help.
Look forward to hearing from you. Talk soon. -E.
