Best Weight Training Schedule

In this article, I explain how to develop the best weight training schedule for you. There are so many factors to take into account when trying to organize your workout schedule, so I'll just give you some guidelines to follow so that you can structure it yourself. Please keep in mind that having a good weekly plan to follow is just as important as the exercises that you will be performing. This article definitely complements the weight training programs that I've posted.

Number of Training Days

Establish a realistic number of training days per week that you can allow yourself. You should have a clear idea of the minimum number of days you'll be available for training. In my case, I often make training a priority, and so I allow myself at least 4 (but it's usually 5-6) training days per week. But I'll understand if you're too busy, or if training is a simple passtime, and you don't plan on being in the gym that often. Nevertheless, you still want results... and so at least be sure to spread out the days you will be working out as evenly as possible in your weight training schedule.

Proper Headlines

Avoid confusion by setting the proper headlines on your weekly training schedule. Occasionally, it's understandable that you may miss a day of training. What's important however is to not skip the actual workout. For example, if you normally work your chest on Mondays but on one particular Monday you can't do so, just move the chest workout to Tuesday or the next calendar day that you're available for training. To avoid confusion, when writing out your training schedule instead of using 'Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday' as headlines... Use 'Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and so on'. Consistent results depends more on working all of the muscle groups evenly. Following this guideline will ensure that you don't skip any workouts, so that none of your body parts will become weak points.

Include Every Body Part

Include every major and minor muscle group as well as cardio. Most people in the gym (who are looking to build muscle) choose not to include minor muscle groups or cardio in their written weekly schedule. As a result, they'll be very strict when it comes to training the major muscle groups {Chest, Biceps, Back, Triceps, Legs, Shoulders [Traps + Delts]} but are sloppy with the rest of the body. Minor muscle groups like Forearms, Calves, Abs & Obliques, and Lower Back... will be neglected, and they will become weak points. Cardiovascular training, which is essential primarily for working the heart, has incredible side benefits of fat-burning and increasing blood flow to the muscles. But if you don't see all of these elements on your written weekly schedule... most probably you'll sometimes avoid them or even forget about them at times. If you're serious about getting in shape, then I suggest you add them to your program and to your weekly training schedule.

Don't Overdo It

Don't try to do too much. When writing out your weight training schedule, you should not include more than two major muscle groups plus one minor muscle group (or cardio) as part of that particular training day. There are many, for example, who will work out their legs, shoulders, back, and chest... all in the same day. When I hear someone mention this, I immediately think to myself that they'll probably only do 1 or 2 exercises for each muscle group... but NO! They do a complete, 3-5 exercise traditional bodybuilding workout for each. That's way too much training, let alone a waste of time. What happens with most people that do this is that they will burn their muscles out, and often get sick (or worse, injured). Focus is one of the keys to consistent results. So what I suggest, if for example you can only be in the gym for 2 or 3 days per week, is to make a note on your weight training schedule to work certain muscle groups on every second day 1, or day 2, or day 3, etc. For some gym-goers, working some or all muscle groups only once every two weeks or so actually produces great results. Remember, only you can right out the perfect weight training schedule for you... because nothing is written in stone.