How To Build A Killer Workout Program

The best part about the internet- there are endless free resources for fitness. The bad thing about the internet- there are endless free resources for fitness. There are a lot of amazing pieces on fitness and health and working out and losing weight and what to eat and what not to eat and supplements and water and sleep and rest and gyms and cardio and everything. Guess what- all that stuff is confusing SO I have created the only how-to workout builder guide that you will ever need.

I first need to preface this, this is a generic program and will help a lot of people but if you want or need a customized plan, please scroll down one post to see my rates for CUSTOMIZED plan options. Also, this is based on research that I have conducted as well as leveraging the knowledge for what has worked for me over the years- everyone is different so always listen to your body.

Step 1- Determine Your Fitness Goals

Your goals need to be specific, measurable, and timely. Your goal also needs to have actionable items that you can follow to hit your goal.

Bad Goal: I want to lose weight by going to the gym.

Good Goal: I am currently 25% body fat. I want to lose 1% of body fat each week until I am 18% body fat, this should take me 6-10 weeks (taking a plateau into account and a plan adjustment). I will achieve this goal by hiring a meal prep coach to write a customized nutrition plan for me, I will prep all of my meals, I will lift 5 times a week and I will do cardio 3-4 times a week until I hit my goal. Additionally, I will drink at least 1 gallon of water a day and take all of my supplements recommended each day.

Step 2- Take Measurements

In order to know what works and what doesn’t, you need to measure. You need to measure a lot. And you need to measure two times a month.

Measurements to take:

Weight

Body Fat Percentage

Neck (in inches):

Chest (in inches):

Biceps (in inches):

Waist (in inches):

Hips (in inches):

Thighs (in inches):

Calves (in inches):

Make sure to measure everything RELAXED and RECORD all numbers into an excel spreadsheet for tracking. Create columns for check in 1, 2, 3, etc

Step 2.5- Determine if what you are doing right now is working or not. If it is working- then just keep doing it and make sure you are measuring. If it is not working, keep reading.

Step 3- Make A Workout Plan

If you know that you want to lift 5 times a week, you know how many days you have to work with for your lifting plan. I highly recommend focusing on muscle groups in groups of 1 or 2 to truly focus on ripping the muscle fibers and then allowing enough rest days in between lifting that same group again for the fibers to repair bigger and stronger. If you have a general goal such as to lose body fat, then follow a program like this:

Day 1- Shoulders

Day 2- Legs

Day 3- Back

Day 4- Chest and Abs

Day 5- Arms and Glutes

Day 6- Rest

Day 7- Rest

Cardio would need to be done 4 times to hit your goal and that can either be done at the same time as lifting (make sure you do cardio second), do fasted cardio, and/or do cardio on rest days.

If you want to grow your shoulders, for example, follow a program like this:

Day 1- Shoulders

Day 2- Legs

Day 3- Back and Arms

Day 4- Shoulders

Day 5- Chest and Abs

Day 6- Rest

Day 7- Rest

Step 4- Determine the exercises and the sets/reps

KISS- keep it simple stupid

Yes, I post some kinda crazy workouts on instagram (@sarah_bowmar) that a lot of people have never seen before but I HAVE BEEN LIFTING FOR YEARS AND SO HAS MY HUSBAND, WE HAVE AN ARSENAL OF WORKOUTS. If you are new to lifting, stick to the below:

Quads- Squats, Lunges, Box Jumps

Glutes and Hamstrings- Hip Raises, Deadlifts, Good Mornings, Step Ups

Push (chest, shoulders, and triceps)- overhead press, bench press, dumbbell press on incline, push ups, dips

Pull (back, biceps, and forearms)- chin ups, pull up, inverse body weight rows, dumbbell rows

Core- plans, mountain climbers, hanging leg raises

For sets, I recommend doing 3-5 sets per exercise. Keep your toal workout numbers of sets for all exercises 15-25 set range AKA pick 4-5 exercises of 4 sets = 16 - 20 sets for your whole workout.

For reps, if you are looking to burn fat while building muscle (everyone’s dream), keep your reps per set to the 8-15 range. If you can do more than 15 without much of a challenge, it’s not difficult enough for you.

Step 5- MEASURE

Measure every 2 weeks. If you notice things aren’t working- change them. Never try to fix something that isn’t broken.

TOTAL TIME

You should not be lifting anymore than 45-55 minutes per day (there is another blog post about why this is lower in the my blog- just keep scrolling)

Again, this is a GENERAL PLAN. If you need a customized plan, please check my consultation rates below! zs