How to Structure your workout
06.03.2023
Written by Molly Roper
We know stepping into the gym for the first time can be overwhelming… so much equipment, so many different options… How do I know what to do?
At Phase 1 we want you to feel confident in the gym. We also want to empower you with the knowledge to feel comfortable to train on your own when you need to, and understanding the basic principles of gym programming is going to help you get the most out of each workout.
Let’s get all the ifs and buts out of the way first:
There is no one-size-fits-all perfect workout!
The type of workout you do will depend mostly on your GOALS, as well as your experience, fitness, available time, injuries and many other personal factors
Having a structured program, that progresses from week to week, is going to get you to your goals MUCH faster than ‘winging it’!
So here I’m going to lay out the principles of building your basic gym program, what to start with and how to progress.
BUILD YOUR OWN FULL BODY TRAINING PROGRAM
What to choose?
If you have a particular area of focus, eg. leg strength, you can choose to do an extra exercise for that area.
For beginners, machine-based exercises are a great place to start.
For intermediate to advanced - free weights, barbells, functional training equipment, and more complex exercises involving single side and balance components can be used.
Pick one of each Strength exercises:
Upper Body Pull (Eg. Seated row, TRX row, lat pulldown, pull ups)
Upper Body Push (Eg. Push ups, bench press, overhead press)
Squat variation (Eg. Goblet squat, back squat, lunges, leg press, hack squat, leg extension/curl machine)
Hinge variation (Eg. Deadlift, hip thrust, KB swings)
Core (Eg. Dead bugs, plank variations, Pallof press, crunches
How many and how heavy?
The reps and sets of each exercise will depend on your goal.
Want to build muscle? Work with moderate weights for 10-15 reps.
Want to get stronger? Work with heavier weights for 3-6 reps.
Want to keep it simple? 3 sets of 10 is easy to remember, and time efficient!
How often?
You want to aim for a strength training session at least 2 times per week.
PROGRESSION
This is the super important part of strength training that often gets missed or not properly executed. The basic principle is that you want to increase ONE component of your strength training each week.
Take your bench press for example. If you’re doing 3 sets of 10 with 8kg DBs, next week you could increase to 9kgs.
OR, next week you could keep the weight the same, but increase to 3 sets of 11 reps. It doesn’t seem like much, but if you continue this increase over 6 weeks, you’ll gradually build that strength! What you don’t want to do is increase your reps as well as your weight. Slow and steady increase of one factor at a time will enable you to hone your technique and decrease risk of injury.
Here is where tracking your progress becomes really important - you need to record what weight/reps you do each session, so that you can be sure to gradually increase.
The good news is, as a Phase 1 member, you don’t have to do this all on your own! You have access to our amazing team who are here to help you design a gym program that is tailored to you and your goals.
You can book a program consultation with us to get some guidance, or if you’d like more help with technique and execution (with an extra side of motivation!) you can book in a PT session.
CARDIO OPTIONS
Add cardio intervals in between your strength sets, eg. 1 min high-intensity row between each set of squats
Start or finish your session with 10-20mins of moderate intensity steady-state cardio
Don’t like running or cardio machines? Use weights and bodyweight exercises for high-intensity intervals! (join our HI-FT classes for this kind of workout!)
If you enjoy cardio, you could do it as its own workout on a separate day to your strength training
