subject: Workout Plans - Critical Things You Should Know About [print this page] Let's face it: Your next workout schedule is just as good as your memory. If you don't take the time to write down your workout plan, it stands a great deal of being forgotten or ignored. This is even more true if your trainer just handed you a workout plan to follow. It doesn't become your own. If you want your workout plan to work for you, then you should take part in formulating it. For starters, you've got to determine why you want to workout in the first place. They type of workout plan you follow will hinge on what the purpose is of your workout. Do you want to lose weight or add muscle? Or perhaps you might want to do both.
If you want to focus on losing weight, your workout plan could comprise of 30-minute cardiovascular exercise schedules. You might want to try brisk walking for Monday, treadmill exercises for Tuesday, jogging Wednesday, swimming for Thursday and an aerobic workout on Friday. Always make sure that you include a 10 minute warm up exercise and another 10 minutes of cool down stretching exercise after the workout. Be consistent and regular in following your cardiovascular workout plan and there should be visible results in as fast as two weeks if you couple it with a healthy diet plan as well.
If you want to build muscle mass, then strength training would be an appropriate workout plan for you. You can begin with bodyweight exercises like push ups, pull ups and crunches. When you begin to use weights, make sure that you add in increments. Plan your workouts so that you do no more than 40 minutes per single session and do them only thrice a week. Your muscles need time to rest after each exercise to form new connections which result in bulking you up. To work on your upper body, you might want to include lat pulldowns,, cable curls and shoulder presses, bench dips and tricep pulldowns. If you want to tone your abs incorporate crunches and ball rollouts in your workout plan. To train your lower body, you can include such exercises as ball squats, lunges and leg presses. As you become more experienced in your workout, you might want to focus on certain muscle groups such as the chest and triceps, back and biceps and shoulders and legs.
If you have money, then the number and kind of exercises and equipment you use for your workout shouldn't be a problem. But for those who are tight on the budget, you might want to formulate a workout plan that enables you to lose weight even with the most minimal of expense. Capitalize on bodyweight routines. Work with a trainer where possible since he or she will be able to correct any mistakes you have in your form and technique, especially where lifting weights is concerned.
In the end effective workout plans are those that meet your personal criteria based on the type of workouts you need. To make the most of any workout plan, it's best if you create them yourself. That way, you feel responsible for it and will do all you can in your power to stick with your routine.
