By Derek Bye | B.S. Exercise Science, ACSM-CPT
One of the biggest issues that people face in the gym is deciding how to structure their workout. In this post I’m going to outline the best way to structure your workout so you can get the most out of you’re time in the gym.
A good exercise routine can be broken down into 3 sections.
1. Warm-up
2. Exercise (strength, bodybuilding, cardio, plyo, or whatever else you may be working on)
3. Cool down
1. Warm-up – The warm up is an essential aspect to any training routine. The purpose of a warm-up is to literally warm the body up and supply blood-flow to the working tissue. A dynamic warm-up will also help to loosen up the muscles and tendons prior to exercise.
Warm-up part one: Spend a couple minutes doing some moderate-intensity cardio exercise to get the heart rate up. This could be anything from jogging on a treadmill, jump-roping, or simply doing jumping jacks.
Warm-up part two: Dynamic stretching should be done following the first part of your warm-up. Dynamic stretching, as opposed to static stretching, involves movements that are similar to what you’re going to be training that day. For example if you’re about to squat, you might practice some body weight lunges or lateral lunges to help get your muscles to fire and ready to move.
DO NOT perform static stretching pre-exercise. In rare cases, static stretching is appropriate before exercise but it can actually result in a reduced force production for a given muscle (it will make you temporarily weaker).
2. Exercise – Once again, exercise can be further broken down into subcategories depending on what you plan on training during that particular day. The “order of operations” for your training is as follows.
1. Plyometric/power – Plyometric, or power training, should always be done before any other strength or prolonged cardio is done. Simply put, it just isn’t smart to try and do box jumps after doing 4 sets of heavy squats.
2. Strength/bodybuilding – I’m going to break this down into further subcategories because this is where much of the confusion lies for a lot of trainees.
1. Heavy compound exercise(s)
The first weight training exercise you perform should always be a heavy compound movement. They should address the basic movement patterns and can be paired according to however you’d like to structure your program. Heavier compound exercises are typically performed anywhere from 1-8 repetitions.
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-overhead press (shoulder press)
-horizontal press (chest press)
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-vertical pull (pull-ups/lat-pulldown)
-horizontal pull (row)
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-knee dominant (squat)
-hip dominant (deadlift)
2. Accessory exercise(s)
Accessory exercises are used to compliment your main lift(s) for the day. They are performed at a higher rep-range, typically around 8-12 repetitions. An example of a accessory exercise you you might use is a face-pull. You can also include some core stabilization exercises.
3. Isolation exercise(s)
Isolation exercises should be completed towards the end of your workout if your goal is to build muscle or strengthen specific muscles that may be weak. An isolation exercise only works 1 muscle at a time and would include something like a bicep curl, tricep extension, or a quadriceps extension.
3. Cardiovascular training
Cardio training is best suited for the end of your workout. And no, this isn’t because I hate cardio. This is simply because it wouldn’t make sense to do prolonged cardio and pre-exhaust the muscles you plan on training that day. By putting cardio at the end of our workout, we can make sure that we can get our fullest potential during weight training while still being able to capture the benefits of cardiovascular training at the end.
Cool down: The cool down, which is probably the most ignored aspect of most people’s training program, is always good to include because it will help with the recovery process. During this time, it IS a good idea to do some static stretching and some foam rolling. This will help you recover from an intense workout and may help reduce soreness.
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