What Exercises Are Best For Me?

Do you ever wonder if you're doing the right thing in the gym?

"Should I be performing compound exercises, isolation exercises, full-body workouts, upper & lower splits, push & pull splits, what sets, reps and tempo will be best for me?"

Are you confused about where you should start? 

The above questions depend on your experience and your current knowledge of training. 

How I design a programme for my clients depends entirely on this.

How I design a plan for someone with a few years lifting experience is completely different from how I would programme a complete beginner's workout.

I would programme a male something completely different from a female. 

Most females are looking to lose fat, tone up their legs and arms, whilst lifting their bums.

Most males want to build a bigger chest and an impressive set of arms.

Both of these goals require specific exercises, splits, sets, and reps to get the right results. 

If you are a beginner I would design you a workout based on full-body splits as this is the best way to burn calories and reduce the amount of aching after training sessions.

A beginner's body is in an untrained state, this means less stability, less confidence with weights, less control when it comes to muscle activation, and longer recovery time.

A beginner's workout would consist of mostly compound exercises, taking advantage of machine stability, and some isolation work on muscles that they find hard to activate. 

I would have them perform no more than 3 sets per exercise to reduce too much muscle damage that they can't walk the next day. I favour higher reps ranges around the 15 repetition mark to help practice movements, technique and muscle activation. 

I would also only give them 3 workouts per week with a rest day in-between.

A more experienced lifter could handle more frequency, volume and, intensity, which would have more stability and greater control of muscle activation. This would result in more sets in the range of 4-5 as they're recovery would be greater and their muscles would need higher volume. Their rep ranges would be lower as they've had more practice with technique, more control, and muscle activation so they can lift heavier weights. 

Their split would also be different depending on their goals I would have them perform either an upper, lower split, or a push, pull, split.

There are many different variables when it comes to creating the right plan for you but some things do stay the same.

Firstly don't waste your time on fancy exercises, other than looking pretty cool or like a show-off depending on how you look at it they are utterly pointless and do not get the results you want. The basics are the key to great results. 

Secondly, technique and form matter the most, if you can't control the weight and you have to use some momentum you arent going to get very good results. Your muscles have to be in control and they must be made to struggle if you want to see improvements.

Thirdly and fourthly, you must train hard but allow adequate rest. You have to get uncomfortable with being uncomfortable as your body needs some level of discomfort to change. If your body doesn't see any need to adapt and grow then it won't. however, if you don't allow adequate recovery your results will also suffer.

In the gym we are effectively breaking down and tearing muscle tissue, the repair and growth don't come in until we start resting and recovering. For this to happen you must allow muscles enough time to recover before training them again and you also must have a good amount of protein, carbs, and calories, with a good amount of sleep.

Failure to adhere to any of these will impact your results and keep you from achieving the best possible ones. 

Do you need help with your training programme? Get in touch for a free personal training consultation or send me an email to find out more about online coaching.