A fitness training program doesn’t have to be complicated to deliver results. Over the years I’ve watched beginners drown in elaborate splits, when four simple rules would get them progressing much faster. Here are those four rules: basic exercises, frequency, balance and duration.
Why a fitness training program starts with basic exercises
Every workout should start with 2 – 3 heavy basic exercises. They’re the same old familiar faces: squat, bench press, bent-over barbell or dumbbell rows, standing presses, barbell clean, stiff-leg deadlift, close-grip bench press, parallel-bar dips, pull-ups, leg press.
Always start your workout with one or two such exercises. Only then move on to isolation movements with a lighter training load. Honestly, if many of these basic exercises are missing from your program, something is wrong. Ignoring them simply wastes your potential for progress. As a general rule, focus on 2 – 3 intense exercises you progress on in each workout, and treat everything else as extra.
Four training sessions a week is enough
If you do things right, you don’t need to train more than 4 times a week. If you push hard enough, the weights go up and progression is in place, then 4 strength workouts a week are completely sufficient for progress. If you’re one of those who think “more is better”, it’s worth revisiting these principles.
Most credible programs recommended for beginners and intermediates call for 2 – 4 training sessions a week. Of course, we’re not talking here about experienced elite-level competitive athletes — their rules of the game are different.
Give your workouts some “pain”, eat enough, get your sleep. Do that 3 – 4 times a week and you’ve done enough for strength and muscle mass to grow at maximum speed. Beginners do respond positively to higher frequency and recover faster, but going beyond that limit (3 – 4 x per week) doesn’t guarantee faster progress. The simple truth: you need more rest than you think.
The principle of a balanced fitness training program
You rarely see a beginner who follows a truly balanced program. What does that even mean? It means choosing exercises with the body as a whole in mind — whether you train the full body at once or use a split, what matters is that every muscle group gets its share.
Most lifters, for example, train chest and pressing clearly too much. Meanwhile the shoulders and back get too little attention. Typically the chest gets 3 – 5 basic exercises, while the shoulders get perhaps a single one — and often that’s a Smith machine press, which loads the already overworked front of the shoulders.
In such unbalanced programs the back usually gets a very modest training load. Typically it’s a couple of comfortable behind-the-neck pulls and a bit of the “tractor” row — and that’s it. And we haven’t even gotten to the ab mania and biceps craze yet.
Keep your program balanced. I try to give the chest, back and shoulders the same training volume. Don’t overload the smaller muscles — there’s simply no need. And don’t forget your legs.
75 minutes is enough
I’m not claiming that workouts longer than 75 minutes are automatically catabolic — that’s not the point. The point is that workouts that drag on past 75 minutes tend to lack real effort and are therefore inefficient.
If you can’t get through a workout in 1 hour and 15 minutes, you’re probably not pushing hard enough or you’re resting too long between sets. A third possibility: you’ve simply planned too much work for one session.
Of course there are exceptions, and this isn’t a rule set in stone. But in many cases it holds. When building your program, plan the basic exercises first. Once the heavy compound exercises are in place, spend the remaining time (up to 75 minutes on average) on supporting isolation exercises. Keeping your workout within 60 – 75 minutes forces you to prioritize and teaches you to avoid pointless dragging things out.
Summary
- If you plan your workouts properly, you don’t need more than 4 workouts a week.
- Keep your workouts within 75 minutes on average.
- Do 2 – 3 heavy basic exercises in each workout.
- Balance your program — every muscle group should get its share.
FAQ: fitness training programs
Are 4 workouts a week too many for a beginner?
No. 3 – 4 workouts a week is the ideal range for most beginners and intermediates. Fewer may leave your potential for progress unused, while more may hinder recovery.
Why exactly 75 minutes?
It isn’t a number set in stone. The 60 – 75 minute limit is a practical tool that forces you to focus on what matters and avoid dragging out your workout for no good reason.
What is a basic exercise?
A movement that engages several joints and muscle groups at once — squat, deadlift, bench press, pull-ups, etc. A single one gives much more stimulus than an isolation variation.
Author: Janar Rückenberg (translation)
Source:Turg.Fitness.ee
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