Strength and endurance training are critical components of an effective overall men’s fitness plan and provide a variety of benefits. Building muscle strength enhances your overall fitness level, reducing body fat, increasing your metabolism and improving your ability to perform a wide range of tasks. This particular installment from our series on Strength Training Workouts will be focused on the importance of having a good training schedule.
It is very interesting that most people recognize the importance of schedules in their daily lives. Whether it’s for business, academics, socially, or just carting their kids off to soccer and baseball, everyone seems to live by a schedule. That’s why it’s such a curious thing that so few people actually use a schedule for their physical fitness training, particularly given that just about everyone you speak to seems to be suffering from the same issue: a lack of time.
There are a great many fantastic workouts and a wide variety of scheduling options freely available through trainers, on the web, and so forth. What’s right for any individual is simply a function of their own objectives, capabilities, time and level of commitment. In the sphere of strength training workouts there are programs that are very intense strength training workouts, that alternate from day to day, focusing on different muscle groups, and then there are slightly less strength focused workouts that alternate days between some sort of a strength program, usually a full body workout, and some sort of cardiovascular activity, such as running or aerobics.
Here’s a very basic example of the latter:
Mondays – Full Body Strength Workout:
o Dumbbell curls
o Dumbbell hammer curls
o Tricep cable extensions
o Tricep dumbbell extensions
o Flat Bench Press
o Incline Bench Press
o Flies
o Rows
o Military Presses
o Pull Downs
o Dips
o Leg Press
o Leg lifts
Tuesday – Run for at least 30 minutes
Wednesday – Full body strength workout
Thursday – Run 30 minutes. Cross-train for 30 to 60 minutes (basketball, softball, lacrosse, etc.)
Friday – Off day
Saturday – Full body strength workout + 30 minutes of cardio (class, running, cycling, etc.)
Sunday – 30 minute run or 60 minutes of cycling
Notice how in this case, your heavy cardio day on Thursday is followed up by an off-day. Also notable is that Saturday is a strength and cardio day. You should pick a day of the week where you have a bit more time for this double workout (usually a day you don’t have to go to work).
This is really just an example, and you can mix it up however you see fit. The point that really needs emphasis here though is the importance of simply having a plan. So many people just show up at the gym, which in and of itself deserves credit; however they randomly jump from exercise to exercise without any real rhyme or reason. The best fitness advice I have ever heard was this:
HAVE A PLAN AND TRY YOUR VERY BEST TO STICK TO IT
This seems a fine way to end this particular installment on Strength Training Workouts. Have a plan, post it somewhere you see it every day, perhaps the refrigerator, and go out of your way to stay on track. As always, be sure to consult a physician before engaging in any physical fitness routine.
Enjoy the path to fitness!
