So, you’ve arrived at the gym, or you’ve got your home gym kit out; you kind of know if you want to work on your legs or upper body or a bit of everything; you’re staring at the equipment in front of you, but you just don’t know where to start.
In this post I’m going to take you through 4 steps to structure your workout so that you make the most of your time at the gym.
Why should you structure your workout?
Surely if you fit everything in it doesn’t matter what order you do it in right? Wrong.
To get the most out of every exercise and to avoid injury, it’s important to make sure certain parts of your workout happen before others.
In addition, it can help make your workout more time efficient as you know exactly which bit of kit or which part of the gym you need next.
So here are my 4 simple steps to build a great workout:
1. Warm Up - 10-15 minutes
Predictable, I know, but so important and something people often miss if they are in a rush, or if they’re just not sure how to warm up properly. So what do you need to include in a good warm up?
· Stretch – the first thing you should do is some gentle, passive stretching. These stretches should focus on muscles that are overactive or ‘tight’ and on muscles that you are going to work in the rest of your session. Hold each stretch for 30s to encourage lengthening of the muscle.
· Light cardio – this is optional if you are doing a strength workout but recommended if it’s cold where you’re exercising. If you are doing a cardio workout then you should definitely include this before you go into anything more intense. Aim for 5-10 minutes to raise your heart rate but you should still be breathing comfortably and be able to hold a conversation.
2. Core/Balance/Plyometrics – 10-15 minutes
Often core exercises get left to the end of a workout when you’re already tired but, as you’ll know if you’ve read my Core Series blogs, this is not the place for such an important part of your training! These exercises also continue to warm up your body for more intense exercise. So, what to include?
· Core – I recommend including 3 core exercises in this section, each focusing on a different plane of motion. By this I mean one exercise where you are moving forwards and back or up and down, one moving side to side and one with some rotation. For some examples take a look at my blogs on core training here.
· Balance – Useful in everyday life, in sport and especially in skiing! Include one or two simple exercises involving balancing on one leg, or on two using an unstable surface such as a BOSU or balance board. For some ideas check out this Instagram post.
· Plyometrics – This is all about proper landing mechanics so that you reduce the risk of injury while jumping. Start with some simple two footed jumps on the spot and focus on landing as quietly as possible by bending through your ankles, knees and hips when you land. Make sure your knees point forwards over your toes and you don’t over-arch your low back or bend too far forwards from your hips. Use a mirror to check your landing position.
3. Main Session – 20-30 minutes
Now comes the bulk of your workout whether it’s cardio, strength or both. There are a few things to consider regarding what order you do your exercises in:
· Complexity – how many joints will move in the exercise? You want to make sure that you do the most complex movements first and leave simple exercises to the end when you are more tired. For example, a squat involves movement at your ankle, knee and hip joints whereas as calf-raise only requires your ankle joint to move. So, the squat should come before the calf-raise.
· Muscle Size – Ideally you want to work your bigger muscles first and leave the smaller ones to the end. So in an upper body workout, for example, exercises like Chest Presses and Rows (working your pectorals and latissimus dorsi muscles) should come before Biceps Curls or Triceps Dips.
· Goals – what do you want to achieve from your workouts? If you are doing a mixed workout including both strength and cardio training have a think about what your main fitness goal is. If your focus is to improve your cardio fitness then do the cardio exercise first, if you’re looking to increase strength then do the strength exercises first.
4. Cool Down - 10-15 minutes
Just like the warm up, the cool down is often neglected even though it’s super important for recovery and to maintain balance in your muscles. Here’s what you should include:
· Light cardio – again this is optional if you’ve been doing a strength workout but shouldn’t be missed after a cardio session. Spend 5 minutes at the end of your run/bike/row gradually slowing down or decreasing the resistance. This is important to avoid blood pooling in the lower limbs which can occur if you go from intense exercise to nothing very quickly.
· Stretching – Just like at the start you want to target any muscles that are often tight for you and stretch them for 30s to encourage lengthening. Also make sure you stretch the muscles that you have trained for at least 15s to promote them to return to their regular length.
That’s it! Easy, right? I hope you enjoy crafting some great workouts using these 4 easy steps!
If you’d still like a little more guidance, then please get in touch and I can create a bespoke workout programme based on your goals, equipment and lifestyle that you can easily access via an app anytime, anywhere!
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