How to Create Your Own Effective Workout Plan

If you’ve ever wondered how to make your own workout plan, you’ve come to the right place.

I’m going to break down, step by step, how to make your own workout plan that you can fit into your lifestyle in order to get stronger, build muscle, and boost your metabolism. 

Ready?

Grab your favorite drink and let’s dive in.

How to Make Your Own Workout Plan: Focus on Strength Training

When learning how to make your own workout plan, the main focus is going to be on strength training.

I promise it’s not only big barley dudes, with hairy chests and beards, lifting a bunch of weight. 

Or jacked guys and girls walking on stage in front of a bunch of judges. 

That’s true for about 1% of people who lift weights.

The other 99% of people are just like YOU and I.

They are the average everyday person who works a full time job, has kids, and just wants to be stronger, leaner, more confident, and healthier.

They want to be able to play with their kids and grandkids.

They want to be able to move around without pain and stiffness.

And of course the most important one… they want to look good naked.

So while building muscle and getting stronger is AMAZING… so are all of the other things that actually affect you all day everyday.

There’s plenty of other benefits strength training has to offer as well:

• Improved bone density. Your bones literally get stronger and more durable.
• Boosted metabolism. You burn more calories during the day just by having more muscle, which means you can eat more and stay lean.
• Improve your cardiovascular health and reduce blood pressure from a healthier heart and blood vessels.
• Improved insulin sensitivity. The more muscle you have, the better your body is at processing sugar, which in turn, reduces your blood sugar.
• Reduced risk of injury. You can move around more easily, pick up things more easily, and have less aches and pains.
• Improved mood. You’ll be happier and more confident.
• Improved sleep. Strength training can actually lead to better quality of sleep which makes life easier.

Strength Training is Different than your Typical Exercise

Strength training is not your typical cardio workout where you focus on sweating and getting your heart rate up.

The amount you sweat and heart rate doesn’t determine if you’re making progress or not. 

If you want to sweat, crank the heat up. And if you want to get your heart rate up, watch a scary movie.

It’s not a yoga class that calms your inner soul.

While this can be a great stress reliever, it won’t change your body the way you want it to.

It’s not a boot camp class where you’re getting yelled at and constantly scolded to burn as many calories as possible.

The amount of calories you burn doesn’t determine if you’re making progress or not.

Believe it or not, you don’t even burn many calories from exercise. 

If you burned a lot of calories, why do so many people still struggle with weight loss even while going to calorie burn classes?

That’s because you think you’re burning 500 calories, which is more likely 200 calories.

And then you outdo that calorie burn with 1 piece of pizza or a cocktail at the bar that night.

This is why fat loss is best done via nutrition and eating less food.

What determines your progress is two things:

1. Going to the gym on a consistent basis.

2. Improving at the skill of strength training and progressive overload over time.

These are objective measures that will determine whether or not you’re making progress when making your own workout plan.

So… What is Strength Training?

Strength training is a form of exercise where you lift weights with the intent to get stronger and build muscle.

The goal is to challenge your muscles, joints, and ligaments in order to “force” them to grow and get stronger.

And when this happens, you grow bigger and more defined muscles. The bigger your muscles are, the more lean and toned you look.

Plus, people know you lift. There’s a certain level of respect you get when you lift weights.

So, switch your mindset about strength training right now.

Don’t think of it as exercise to burn calories.

Or an exercise that only bodybuilders and powerlifters do.

Think of it as a way to get stronger physically and mentally, improve your health, your mobility, your joint and bone health, and your stability and mobility in everyday life.

Strength training is the fountain of youth. 

And it’ll change your whole outlook on life.

Just look at my amazing clients who’ve fallen in love with strength training.

How to Strength Train

It’s pretty much as simple as placing resistance against your muscles.

That resistance can be your body weight, bands, dumbbells, barbells, or even carrying your kid in their car seat to the car (if you know you know).

So as long as you have your body, you have enough weight to start out with.

Think of exercises like bodyweight squats, pushups, invert rows, etc…

Which will build a great foundation of strength and muscle.

That being said, eventually you’ll want to get heavier weights so you can challenge your muscles more over time and continue to get those gains.

More on this below.

How to Make Your Own Workout Plan:

Here’s the interesting thing that no one in the fitness industry will tell you…

EVERY workout plan works. 

The problem is that not every human works.

If you workout, you’re going to get results – regardless of which program you follow.

And guess what?

If you don’t workout, you’re not going to get results.

The best workout program in the world done at a 30% clip won’t top the worst workout program done at a 80-90% clip.

That’s a fact.

Now, can there be better programs than others?

Of course! 

I’m going to show you a sample program down below because I’m very confident in my ability to write good programs.

It’s actually one of my favorite things about being a coach.

But, if you don’t stick with it, then it doesn’t matter. 

Because 95% of your results are going to come from you being consistent with your workouts.

So, before you consider how to make your own workout plan, promise me and yourself you’ll stop jumping from program to program and stick with this one for at least 3 months.

Because 3 months is just enough time to start seeing results.

Deal?

Now, you won’t look like Arnold in his prime or even a beach supermodel (if those are a thing?).

But, you will see SOME noticeable differences. 

And imagine if you keep piling on those 3 months over, and over, and over, and over again.

Well, after a few years you’re going to be unrecognizable.

And now you’re going to be the person that people say has lucky genetics, when in reality, you just worked your ass off for years. 

1. Start With Compound Movements

Compound movements are your big movements that work multiple joints and muscles at once.

They account for 80% of your progress since you’ll be using all of your body’s muscle with them.

And therefore, they’re the ones that’ll use the most energy since you’re using a lot of muscles and can lift the most weight with them.

So you want to get these done at the beginning of your workout.

Some common compound movements include:

• Barbell Squats
• Barbell Deadlifts
• Barbell Bench Presses
• BarbellOverhead Presses
• Chin Ups
• Barbell Bent Over Rows

Notice how these are mostly barbell movements? That’s because you can lift max weight with a barbell.

So compound movements are great for building strength.

Aim for 3-5 sets of 3-6 reps.

Choose 1-2 of these exercises to start your workout with.

2. Next, Add Some Accessory Movements

These are still big movements, but they compliment your compound movements by working smaller muscle groups and help you build up certain weaknesses.

For example, let’s think of a bench press for one second. 

With a barbell, it may be hard to fully target your chest. So, maybe you throw in a dumbbell bench press so you can better target your chest in a way a barbell can’t since dumbbells give you more range of motion and wiggle room to move your elbows around.

So, these movements will typically be used with dumbbells and cables.

Think of movements like:

• Squats: Split Squats, Lunges, Goblet squats
• Deadlift: RDL’s, Single leg RDL, Hip Thrusts
• Bench Press: DB Bench Presses, Incline DB Bench Press, Chest Fly, Push Ups
• Rows: DB Bent Over Row, 1 Arm DB Row, Chest Supported DB Row, Cable Row
• Shoulder Press: DB Shoulder Press, 1 Arm Shoulder Press, Landmine Shoulder Press
• Chin Up: Lat Pull Downs, Inverted Row, Hollow Body Hold

The bulk of your workout will include these.

This will be in the 6-12 rep range for building strength AND muscle.

Aim for 2-4 of these movements.

3. Lastly, Finish With Some Isolation Movements

These are what you typically think of when working out.

Isolation movements work one muscle at a time by iso-lating it.

So, if there’s a certain muscle you want to build up, you’ll include isolation exercises for that muscle at the end of your workout.

They’re a way to add in extra volume without totally fatiguing yourself.

For example…

If you want to build bigger biceps, you’ll do bicep curls.

If you want to work more quads, you’ll do more leg extensions.

Here’s a few more examples:

• Bicep Curls 
• Tricep Extensions
• Side Delt Lateral Raises 
• Rear Delt Flys
• Leg Extensions
• Leg Curls 

Typically, this will be a little higher in reps since you won’t be able to handle as much weight.

Aim for a range of 8-15 reps. 

Choose 1-3 exercises based on the muscle group you’re trying to build.

How to Make Your Own Workout Plan: Terms You Need to Know

When diving into how to make your own workout plan, there’s some common gym language that you need to know so you can read and follow the program.

Here’s a few components:

• Reps: The number of times you perform an exercise.
• Set: The amount of reps you perform before resting. (Ex: 2 sets of 8 reps)
• Rest: The amount of time you rest in between each set. This is important so your muscles can recover and you can lift with a high enough intensity to progress.
• Weight: The amount of resistance you’re using for that exercise. This can be from a band, cable, machine, or free weight such as a dumbbell, kettlebell, and barbell.
• Supersets: A super set is doing exercises back to back vs one at a time. So rather than doing 3 sets of a bench press and then 3 sets of a row… you’d do a bench press and go right into a row which would be 1 set. This’ll help you save some time in the gym. 

How to Make Your Own Workout Plan: Sample Program

When learning how to make your own workout plan, there’s a ton of directions you can go depending on your goal. 

You could do a chin up specialization program in order to get your first chin up.

You could do a squat and deadlift specialization program to get a stronger squat and deadlift.

You could do a hypertrophy program where you focus mainly on isolation exercises to build muscle.

Literally, the possibilities are endless.

So for the sake of this article, I’m going to give you a program that will help you get started on the right path.

This workout program will be for you whether you’re a complete beginner who has zero experience lifting weights. 

Or, maybe you’re more of a seasoned lifter who’s never followed a legit strength training program before.

This program will help you get stronger, more defined, and help you feel more confident throughout the day.

Plus, it’s a good amount of practice so you can get good and comfortable with strength training.

This is going to be a 3 day program consisting of an Upper/Lower/Full Body split.

The equipment you’ll need is your body weight and dumbbells. 

If you’re brand new, you can get away with bodyweight and very light weight but if you want all of the things I mentioned above, I’d highly recommend you join a gym or buy home equipment for yourself. 

Day 1: Lower Body

Day 2: Upper Body

Day 3: Full Body 

How to Make Your Own Workout Plan: Common Questions & Answers

Now that you have your program, let’s go over some common questions to help you get through the program so you can get the best results.

“How Heavy Should I Lift”?

Here’s the thing…

If you’re a straight up beginner, you’ll gain muscle and strength just by looking at the weights. 

Not really but that would be cool.

In all seriousness, your body is going to be hypersensitive to lifting weights because it’s something that it’s not used to.

And when your body is not used to something, it’ll go into hyper drive to adapt or get better at that thing.

This is where the term newbie gains comes from. 

So when you’re new, the gains come at a rapid pace. 

Enjoy them!

Now, you’re probably like what does this have to do with how heavy I lift?

If you’re brand new, you can start with bodyweight and you’ll make progress. 

If you’re more advanced, progress is slower and a lot harder to come by.

Therefore, you’re going to have to focus on lifting close to failure.

Failure is when you can’t do anymore reps, even if someone was about to drop you into a volcano pit. (kinda weird but it’s the first thing I thought of).

So, you want to go 1-3 reps shy of that.

But there is one thing that’s true for BOTH of these…

And that is maintaining good form and lifting with a controlled tempo.

First, because you don’t want to get hurt – that’s the main reason,

But also to make sure you’re working the proper muscles. 

So if you’re new, your MAIN job is to make sure you get your ass to the gym (or home gym) and workout. 

Your next job is to PRACTICE your form and technique because it’s going to become very important later on. 

If you have good technique early on, it’ll allow you to make more progress later on and reduce the chances of those nagging injuries.

I don’t want to see you swinging the weight up and down and using momentum or half repping shit.

That’s cheating. And cheaters never win long term.

This’ll take practice. 

It’ll take repetition to know what it feels like.

It’s going to be tough.

It’s going to be uncomfortable. 

But no one ever said lifting heavy to build muscle and strength would tickle.

So, make sure you’re lifting a heavy enough weight to where those last few reps are challenging and slowing down a bit.

But don’t do it at the expense of form.

How Many Exercises?

Too many random exercises lead to random results.

I see some programs that have 20 exercises programmed and take 2 hours in the gym.

Nobody has time for that and nobody needs that. 

If you’re a beginner, doing less exercises with more sets will be better because you’ll get more practice.

Remember, strength training is a skill and to get great at the skill, you have to practice that skill.

Do you think Tom Brady shot 3 pointers to get good at throwing touchdowns? No, he practiced throwing the football everyday because that was what he needed to improve.

So, here’s a general guideline on how many exercises to focus on:

• 4-6 exercises on your lower body days.
• 5-10 on your upper body days.
• 5-10 on your full body days.

How Many Sets and Reps Should You Do?

Generally speaking, 2-4 sets around 6-12 reps per exercise is going to be the best range for building muscle and strength. 

Now, there will be times where you go under 6 reps in order to focus on more strength. 

And there will be times you go above 12 to focus on more muscular endurance.

But most of your work will be in that 6-12 rep range.

Why?

Well, there’s a few reasons.

First, more reps = more practice. 

Remember from before where I said if you’re new, you want more practice? Well there you go.

Second, 6-12 reps is the best muscle building rep range according to research.

So, 6-12 reps will be the meat of your program while the potatoes will be some strength and muscular endurance type work.

Now in terms of sets, if you’re a beginner, you don’t need as much volume to grow.

Honestly starting with 5 sets per muscle group is going to be perfect.

But, as you progress and gain experience, 10-20 sets per muscle group is going to be your best bet to gain muscle and strength.

How Many Days Should I Workout? 

Anywhere from 2-4 days is a great frequency in order to get the proper volume and recovery in.

Even though 1 day a week is better than nothing, it’s not going to be enough to make progress because that’s not enough volume to grow muscle and strength.

At the beginning, sure. But as you gain experience you’re going to have to bump it up.

I recommend starting with 2-3 days if you’re brand new.

And stick with 3-4 days if you’re more advanced.

Anything above that isn’t really necessary unless you want to go to the gym for 5 days because you love it so much.

Here’s how I split it up based on the number of days:

• 2 Days: Full Body 1 / Full Body 2
• 3 Days: Full Body or Upper/Lower/Full Body
• 4 Days: Upper/Lower/Upper 2/Lower 2
• 5 Days: Upper/Lower/Pick a Body Part or Push/Pull/Legs/Push/Pull

This allows you to work each muscle group twice a week (which has been shown to be the best to build muscle), while also being able to rest and recover in between workouts.

“Why Can’t I Lift Everyday?”

Two things happen to your muscles when you strength train.

First, they get broken down in the gym.

Think of taking apart a lego set.

Second, they build back up into bigger and stronger muscles IF you worked out hard enough for them to grow.

Think of building that lego set backup but a little bigger next time.

This is done on your rest days.

So if you worked out every day, your muscles would never have time to build back into bigger muscles because they’d be constantly broken down.

So, in order to have the time for them to build back bigger, you need to recover.

A good rule of thumb is to rest 48 hours in between muscle groups so that they can fully recover for the next lift.

How Do I Know if I’m Making Progress?

There are a ton of ways to progress.

I’d argue going to the gym consistently is the most important form of progress. 

Because progress isn’t possible without the workouts.

So make sure you get that down first.

Now, how can you progress in your workout?

Well, first is your form.

As you practice, you’ll get better at doing those movements…

And the better you get, the better you are at connecting to those muscles which will lead to more weight and more progress.

Second is lifting more weight and reps over time.

This can be lifting more weight with the same number of reps.

Or, lifting the same weight for more reps.

By doing both of these, you’ll get stronger and build more muscle.

If you’re only lifting the same weight and reps, your body has no reason to change because it’s comfortable.

You have to make your muscles uncomfortable.

And the simplest way to do this is to progress in weight and reps over time.

I have a whole article on progressive overload if you’re interested in learning more about this topic.

When Should I Switch Programs?

There’s a balance here.

You can do the same program for too long to the point where it doesn’t work well anymore.

And you can do a program for barely any time and barely see results.

As usual, the answer is somewhere in the middle.

You want to give the program enough time so that your body can begin to change from it.

But you don’t want to give it too long to where your body gets so used to it, that it won’t change anymore.

So for most clients, we tend to stick with each program for around 4-8 weeks.

This will allow you to learn the movements, get really good at them, and progressive overload.

And the amount of time will depend on how much you like change.

For me? 4 weeks is plenty.

For others? Some LOVE sticking with the same program for 8 weeks. 

That’s up to you.

“Do I need to Warm Up?”

Some people will say you don’t need to warm up at all while others will say you should spend 1 hour warming up.

Listen, you don’t need a crazy long warmup but you 100% should be warming up. 

I think 5-10 minutes is perfect.

This will get your central nervous system, joints, and muscles warmed up and ready for the workout ahead so that you can perform the best without getting hurt.

Things like mobility exercises, stretching, and even walking for a few minutes to get blood flowing through your body are all great options before you start your workout.

But there’s also warmups littered within your workouts as well.

These are the sets that you use to get ready for your working sets – which are the sets you’re pushing hard on.

But…

You need to get your joints, muscles, and central nervous system ready for those specific movements as well.

So, spend 1-3 warmup sets on each exercise to…

First, practice the movement so you feel comfortable doing it.

Second, to get everything warmed up.

As a general rule, the heavier the weight you lift, the more warm up sets you need.

Think of these as your practice sets. You practice the movement so that when you get to the real sets, you’re ready to go hard.

-Bob

Ps. If you want a 1:1 program that is tailored specifically for you, your goals, and lifestyle, so you can build muscle, get stronger, and build your confidence, all while having all of the guesswork taken out for you… fill out the form HERE and we’ll see if we’d be a good fit for coaching.