A Guide to Creating a Weekly Workout Plan

Exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, and a weekly exercise plan or schedule can be a great way to keep up and help you reach your fitness goals. Exercise also has many benefits for overall health and well-being.

When you create a weekly exercise routine, you can design a plan that provides structure and helps you stay motivated and consistent. Having a plan allows you to set realistic goals and track your progress, allowing you to see how far you’ve come and where you want to go. A routine not only helps you reach your goals, but it will also keep you from overexerting yourself and prevent burnout and fatigue. Wonder how to create an exercise routine tailored to your goals? Follow along!

How to create a weekly training plan

When exercise provides a variety of benefits, from improving sleep1 and cognitive performance to improve your mood2, no wonder you want to add it to your routine. But where do you start? Creating a training plan is the best way to follow a structured pattern to reach your goals, whether it’s running a 5K or building muscle mass and toning.

Set goals

Setting goals is a great way to ensure you’re making progress on your fitness journey. Before creating or starting your training plan, it’s important to set clear and realistic fitness goals. Ask yourself what your overall goal is. Is it to lose weight? Work the muscle? increase stamina? This will help you create a workable plan and decide what types of exercises you want to include in your exercise routine.

Find exercises that work for you

Finding the right exercises that work for you is one of the most important steps in creating your training plan. Depending on your goals, some forms of exercise may work better than others. Consider what kinds of activities and exercises you like to do, and make sure these activities fit into your overall plan.

If your goal is to lose weight, cardiovascular and aerobic exercises like walking, jogging, or swimming are great options. If you want to build muscle and strength, you’ll probably want to include weight lifting or bodyweight exercises. If you’re looking to lose weight and build muscle, consider mixing a few different forms of exercise into your routine.

If you’re just starting your fitness journey, be sure to focus on beginner workouts to get a steady start and work your way up.

create a schedule

Once you’ve set your goals and decided what types of exercises you want to include in your weekly fitness routine, it’s time to create the actual program.

Start by looking at your overall schedule (this includes work, school, family time, etc.) and make a list of the days you will spend exercising. Once you’ve established your days, decide how long each workout will last. Remember that it doesn’t always have to be one long or intense training session every day – something is better than nothing!

Now that you’ve set your schedule and chosen your exercise, it’s time to decide how these exercises will be split up between the set days. For example, you might want to spend one day doing cardio and the next day strength training. Ultimately, it comes down to what works best for you.

Try to mix up your exercises as much as possible to keep things fresh and avoid getting bored. Also, consider varying the intensity of your workouts on alternate days. This can help prevent injury and give your body time to recover.

Lastly, don’t forget to factor in rest days. Your body needs time to recover and recharge, so be sure to include a few days off from exercise.

Sample weekly training plan

Each routine will be different for each person based on their needs, abilities, current fitness level, and goals. If you’re looking for more guidance on creating a weekly training schedule, this is what yours might look like:

Monday/Day 1:

This day may consist of a warm-up, 30 minutes of cardiovascular or aerobic exercises such as walking, jogging, swimming, etc., and a cool-down and stretching.

Tuesday/Day 2:

This can consist of working out your upper body and core muscles. Upper body exercises include biceps curls, dumbbell bench press, triceps dips, chest press, overhead press, and planks. Exercises to work your core muscles can include bicycle crunches, dead bugs, Russian twists, side planks, and mountain climbers.

Wednesday/Day 3:

On day 3 you can focus on working out your lower body. These exercises will primarily target the glutes, quads, and hamstrings, but some can also work the abs and upper body muscles. Exercises to include for the lower body are squats, leg presses, hip thrusts, lunges, and deadlifts. There are many variations of some of these exercises, such as regular squats vs. Bulgarian split squats or using your body weight vs. a dumbbell or weight machine.

Thursday/Day 4:

Most likely, you want this day in your exercise program to be a rest day to allow your muscles to recover and avoid injury.

Friday/Day 5:

This day you can focus on a low-impact activity like yoga, Pilates, barre, or even swimming. This can help your muscles slowly come back to work after a day of rest.

Remember, this is just one way to set up your training plan. You can create changes where you see fit and how it aligns with your goals. Once you’ve decided on a schedule that works best for you, you’re ready to hit the gym and begin your journey!

Time to create your training plan

Creating a weekly training plan doesn’t have to be complicated or intimidating. With a little planning, you can create a schedule that works for you and helps you reach your goals. So take some time to create your own training plan, and then commit to making it happen!

You’re not sure where to start? We are here to help. With our supportive community and expert trainers in Chuze Fitness, we can help you create a training plan that will be effective in helping you improve and achieve your goals. Our fitness classes they are also a great way to stay active in a community. Find a location near you to get started.

Fountain:

Sleep Medicine. Effects of moderate aerobic exercise training in chronic primary insomnia. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22019457/

Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. The benefits of exercise for the clinically depressed. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC474733/

Health. This personal trainer-approved weekly workout schedule balances strength, cardio, and rest days. https://www.health.com/fitness/workout-schedule

Shape. This is what a perfectly balanced weekly training program looks like. https://www.shape.com/fitness/training-plans/perfectly-balanced-week-workouts

Reviewed by:

Ani is the vice president of fitness at Chuze Fitness, overseeing the group fitness and team training departments. She has had a career spanning over 25 years in club management, personal training, group exercises, and instructor training. Ani lives with her husband and son in San Diego, CA and she loves hot yoga, snowboarding and all things wellness.