Choosing The Right Program

Choosing the right exercise programming for yourself may seem like an impossible task. Correctly selecting the movements to utilize in your workout routine plays an important role in successfully reaching your goals. Many people waste precious time performing exercise routines that are often counterproductive and actually impeding fitness progress.

Establish a goal in your mind to help focus your program on something tangible. Although any exercise is better than no exercise, you can really spin your wheels if you want to lose body fat and all you do is cardio or if you want to build muscle and you haven't graduated from using exercise bands. Changes occur in the body when it is pushed out of its comfort zone. Here are some simple tips for designing a productive program for yourself:

Body Fat Reduction
Reducing body fat largely comes down to the way you nourish your body and placing it in a caloric deficit. When it comes to exercise programming for fat loss, you want to burn the maximum number of calories possible in each workout session. This can be accomplished by resistance training three to four times a week (thirty-sixty minutes) utilizing a variety of multi-joint movements that recruit the major muscle groups of the body (legs, back, chest, shoulders). Cardio programming for fat loss should include short, intense bouts of interval training on non-lifting days or three times a week lasting anywhere from fifteen to twenty minutes.

Building Muscle
Building muscle mass also requires some important nutritional assistance because your body must be fed an adequate amount of calories to build muscle. Getting bigger really comes down to one training principle in the gym: Progressive Overload. Muscles grow when they are consistently required to perform more work and to move more weight over a period of time. This can be achieved by increasing the load (weight used) in your workout or by performing high repetitions and working at a high volume. In my experience as a trainer, I have found Push-Pull split routines with one day dedicated to Arms to be one of the most effective programs for building muscle everywhere. Keep your workout length to about an hour long as this will keep Cortisol from setting in and inhibiting your muscle growth. It is also important to WORK YOUR LEGS as they play a huge role in building size by releasing growth hormone and testosterone. Utilize high intensity interval training a few times a week to keep your heart in shape, keep your muscle building hormones high and to preserve the calories necessary to build size.

Sports or Recreational Performance
Improving competitive or recreational sports performance can be a tricky process as you typically have two goals in mind: improving performance and gaining, losing or maintaining weight. The truth of the matter is, performance comes first and body composition is a secondary concern. To successfully plan your performance program, choose exercises that are specifically applicable to your activity. All athletes - young and old, competitive or recreational, need to train FUNCTIONALLY. Use multi-joint movements, work in all three planes of motion and choose exercises that will increase strength, stability and power in the body. Ideally athletes should be functionally training three to four days a week in the weight room and combining that with sport specific speed, agility, quickness and skill work at least twice a week.

I hope this summary can help you better determine how you should be training based on the three most common goals I come across as a trainer. Feedback please!