You may find it difficult to determine exactly what you need for your exercise plan. Okay! There are some specific exercises that you know you’ll likely include in your training in some form, and your goals (and time and energy constraints) will dictate much of the rest.
However, there are some factors that every training plan should include if you want to build muscle, improve your strength, and move better. men’s health Fitness Director Ebenezer Samuel, CSCS is here to help explain.
“This is a good way to make sure you’re filling holes in your software,” he says of these guidelines. “It will help you stay nice and strong and help you build the muscles you want.”
The Three Things Your Workout Program Needs
1 to 3 times a week
Samuel wants you to move fast at least once a week as part of your training plan. This not only means that you should pencil in a long running session every weekend; He wants this fast movement to be purposeful.
“What I want you to do is think about moving the weight urgently,” he says. “One of the first things you’re going to lose is the ability to detonate, so we have to work even harder to maintain that.”
Crucially, you won’t be able to put in the effort that Samuel wants for each actor. You will be more limited in your explosive moves than in other exercises. For this, he suggests starting your workout session one to three times a week with an explosive movement, such as a kettlebell swing, wide jump, or even a sprint.
For strength-based programs, you can deliver a blast by working in lower increments and focusing on gaining weight.
1 to 4 times a week
Samuel warns you not to take on any program that only challenges you to work with light weights and lots of reps. You won’t be able to build strength and muscle either without being heavy, so breaking plateaus and achieving your goals is essential. “We have to challenge ourselves with new loads that we’re not always ready to lift—that’s one of the key things about strength training,” he says. “And that’s missing if you’re only picking up 25-pound dumbbells, if you’re only working with your body weight, and if you’ve never gone beyond what you think you’re capable of.”
There are limits to this rule; You won’t be able to load up on every type of movement, especially isolation exercises like bicep curls. But you can (and should) do some basic exercises, like deadlifts, squats, rows, and more (most are compound exercises). Just make sure you’re smart when you’re heavy, and lower your repetitions (4 to 6, sometimes less).
every day
This may seem counterintuitive to the advice that came before – but the key here is balance, and not doing the exact same thing in every training session. According to Samuel, working with just your body weight gets you home the way you move. “We need to understand how things change when you only move your body weight.”
Samuel lists several examples of bodyweight-only movements, including push-ups, pull-ups, and chin-ups. All of these exercises rely on multiple muscle groups that work together to create full tension in the body, especially the core muscles. Once you take these principles into gear that uses gear, like pulling down and up, there’s less need for full-body coordination.
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