When you head into the gym, do you have a programme? Do you know exactly what exercises you are going to do, how many sets and reps you’re going to perform, what weights you’ll be using? No? Why not! If you were cooking a meal you’d have a recipe to follow or if you were travelling around a new country you’d have a map. Hell, if you want to catch a train you’d most likely plan your journey using a timetable so why not plan your workouts?
Training without a programme is like starting a business without a business plan – you might succeed but, if you do, it’ll be down to dumb luck rather than skill. Training is hard enough – all those hours of sweating and straining when you could be relaxing watching TV at home. If you are going to make the effort to turn up and workout out, surely you want to get the most from your workouts?!
Training plans and programmes can range from simple whole body workouts to split routines to complex periodised plans that progressively work towards a specific goal. To write a plan, you first need to decide on your training goals…
Muscular endurance
Hypertrophy (bodybuilding)
Strength
Power
Each of the training objectives has an associated training method that will lead you toward your goals – this is because of something called the SAID principle. SAID stands for Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands and basically means that when it comes to training, your body adapts to what you do. Want strength? Lift heavy! Want power? Lift fast! Want endurance? Do high reps! Want hypertrophy? Use plenty of volume! Each training goal has a specific rep scheme attached to it and whilst these rep schemes aren’t set in stone, they are a good place to start.
Endurance – 15-20 reps with 30 to 60 second rests between sets
Hypertrophy (bodybuilding) – 6 to 12 reps with 60 to 90 second rests between sets
Strength – 1-5 reps with 3-5 minute rests between sets
Power – 1-5 reps (performed at maximum speed) with 3-5 minute rests between sets
Volume (the number of sets and exercises performed per workout) is dependent on your training history and fitness level and advanced trainees are likely to perform more sets and exercises per workout than a beginner.
Planning your workout week
You have a number of choices when it comes to planning your week and because there are so many, you’ll often hear about how one method is better than another. The truth is they all work and it’s really a matter of personal preference. Chances are, the one that you like best slots nicely into your lifestyle and works well based on the number of days a week you can train and how long you have to work out. Periodically it’s worth trying other weekly training plans for variety but we’ll talk more about that in the next part.
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