HOW TO: WRITE YOUR OWN WORKOUT PROGRAM

In a world that sells quick fixes and one-size-fits-all solutions, the true secret to lasting fitness is often lost: personalization.

Welcome to a guide designed for the woman who’s ready to take the reins of her health journey. No more guessing games, no more unsustainable diets, and definitely no more workouts that feel like a chore. Together, we'll explore how to weave fitness seamlessly into your life, making room for progress, enjoyment, and everything in between.

STEP 1: FREQUENCY

When creating a workout, we need to start with what is doable. If we aren’t wanting or able to workout 5X a week, then we probably shouldn’t be programming a 5X a week workout plan.

Example:

I currently workout 4X per week. This is what is doable and enjoyable for me, while also allowing time for everything else i need to get done each day. It also keeps the enjoyment factor in tact, never feeling like working out is something i ‘have’ to do.

Monday, tuesday, thursday, + Saturday are my lifting days.

STEP 2: MUSCLE GROUPS

You have goals & muscle groups that are important to you - those should be considered when designing a workout program for your goals.

Example:

My goals right now are to build bigger delts (shoulders), glutes, and hamstrings. These are prioritized on all 4 of my workout days.

Mondays: shoulder, back, + chest

Tuesdays: glute + hamstring

Thursdays: shoulder + back

Saturdays: glutes, quads, calves + delts

STEP 3: EXERCISES

Once you’ve decided which muscle groups you are hoping to prioritize, you can designate specific exercises in order to elicit effective progress.

Example:

with my goal of recomposition, a balance of both lengthened (ex: leg press or rdl) + shortened-biased (ex: glute bridges) exercises are both included into each workout day.

Monday: db chest press, lat pulldown, cable chest press, cable lat row, cable bicep curls

Tuesday: hamstring-bias rdl, glute-bias leg press, glute max cable press down, calf raises, lying hamstring curls

Thursday: cable lateral raises, t-bar row, rear delt pull-arounds, wide grip upper back pulldown, chest supported y-raises

Saturday: hack squat, front delt db press, glute med kickback, leg extensions, and front delt raises

STEP 4: SETS, REPS & MORE!

Lower reps / higher weight doesn’t necessarily mean you are targeting strength, and higher reps / lower weight doesn’t necessarily mean that you are toning. Your sets, reps, tempo, RIR/RPE, and rest times will all impact on what kind of progress you will or will not see.

Example:

My current workout program has rep ranges from 6-14, 4-6 sets, slow eccentric tempo, and rest times anywhere from :15 - 2:00 long. All of these together typically are going to have a large impact on how your body responds to your workouts.

STEP 5: ACTIVE RECOVERY

Let’s say you are working out through resistance training 4X a week - are you wondering what to do with the other 3 days? These are great times to implement active recovery or full on rest days to ensure that all of your workouts are beneficial to you and your goals.

Example:

With 4 days of workouts, i have 3 days to play with for active recover and rest days. Currently i am doing 2 active recovery days (~30 min on the stair master) and 1 full rest day where i just prioritize my steps / movement. These are also a great time in the week to try new workout classes or something new!

In summary,

Obviously there is a lot that goes into a quality training program that effectively and efficiently gets you closer to your goals, while avoiding unnecessary stress and burnout.

If you want a workout program to follow that aligns with your goals - click the link below to get access to 1:1 support and a program designed so you don’t have to waste any more time guessing at what might work for you.

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