9 Tips for drawing up a training plan

The easy access to endless information about training and eating makes it possible to discover a number of rules that are useful to follow. Many are already considered to be generally known, making it increasingly easier to draw up a training plan for yourself.

Here are 9 tips to keep in mind when composing a training plan:

1. Evaluate your physical condition

 Before you begin, it is important to become aware of your knowledge and experience in physical activity, and to know what your personal limitations are (injuries from the past, diseases that can cause complications, or complex exercises that you do not go well).

If you want to lose weight and size, measure yourself from the start phase so that you can later see how your development progresses.

2. Set a clear and measurable goal

 Choose specific goals. Instead of increasing the rather vague "cardiovascular capacity" you can, for example, aim to "climb 100 steps in less than 60 seconds", and instead of "losing weight" is "two clothing sizes off" a much more tangible goal. Do you want to develop muscle mass? Then choose, for example, "add 1 cm to the circumference of your arms". 

3. Also set a target date for your goal and the regularity with which you will train

 Setting a date helps to achieve a goal, but do not be too ambitious. Some goals require more time than others, and also mentally some goals may be more demanding. Ambition is important, but your health comes first.

If you do not want to undermine your goals, stay true to your weekly plan - in which you determine how much time you can spend on each workout and how many days a week you will train.

4. Choose the place where you will train and make a list of available materials and tools

Materials and tools

A problem that you may encounter in following a plan made by someone else is that not all the necessary tools may be available to you.

In the open air, at home or at the gym, everywhere you will find resources with which you can make a training plan interesting. Keep in mind where you will train and make a list of what you can use for your exercises. Then you are sure that you can actually do these exercises.

5. Choose the exercises that fit your goal, and especially exercises where you can practice your technique 

 Whichever exercise you choose, make sure that the execution technique is as perfect as possible.

• Lose weight : choose exercises in which you involve multiple joints and large muscle groups, and where you can increase the intensity. Examples are squats, pushups, burpees and plyometric exercises.
• Build muscle mass : go for compound exercises to stimulate a large muscle group, such as squats, overhead presses, bench presses and deadlifts.
• Muscle definition : choose exercises in which individual muscles are isolated, such as biceps curls, tricep extensions, calf raises and pec decks.

6. Keep the chosen exercises and your goal in mind when choosing a training method  

Strength training and weight loss training differ greatly from each other. Some exercises can, however, be used for both purposes. The difference is mainly in the method you follow. Bench presses and squats are useful in both cases, but a full body workout is more useful for people who want to improve their physical fitness than for someone who is preparing for a competition.

Also how much time you have plays a role: if you train a few days in a row, with a full body routine you can run the risk that your muscles will not get enough rest. Then it is better to divide your routine over for example two days.

7. Do your workout with the intensity level that suits your goals

 The training intensity can be adjusted by varying weights, the number of repetitions, the amount of rest you take and the execution time of the exercises.

With more weight and fewer repetitions you stimulate muscle strength and development. With more repetitions and faster versions, energy consumption is more likely to be promoted.

• If you want to lose weight, opt for interval training at high intensity (HIIT), to do more work in less time. 
• If you want to increase your strength, do exercises with a weight that comes close to your 1RM. This also leads to a longer rest period. 
• With hypertrophy training, the difference between the weights and the number of repetitions is not as extreme as with strength training. One option is to gradually go for more weight and fewer repetitions, set after set.

8. Keep under control how long you rest between the exercises and sets   

 It is more important to "feel" peace than to measure it. It can vary greatly per person how muscles regain strength. 
These are general guidelines for rest times:

• Strength training : the rest periods must be longer than the time in which you do exercises; 
• Hypertrophy or resistance training : the rest periods are about the same length as the time per set in which you do exercises; 
• Training for weight loss : the rest periods are preferably shorter than the time in which you do exercises.

9. Update your workout routine as often as necessary, but remember the training principles

 Workout plans are best adapted regularly. The body needs new, different stimuli to which the muscles can respond in a different way than they are used to.

If you come to a point where your workout is no longer challenging, you can adjust it with the principles of training in your mind. Because of "overloading" the challenge remains constant, and the workout keeps challenging you through adaptation.

Building a good training plan can be a complicated task.

If you have not been working for a long time, we recommend that you train under supervision in the first phase, until you feel that you are ready and have the confidence to continue alone.

Professional help is not to be underestimated. Not only can you reach your goals faster, but above all, this happens in a more effective and safer way.