Creating a Good Workout Program

What does a good workout program look like?

This is a question we don’t get often but we wish we did. Why? Because it’s important to look at the big picture of your exercise program, rather than getting super focused on one specific muscle group, or 1 specific goal. 

Creating a safe, challenging and successful workout program can be quick and easy, help you prevent injuries and help you feel better today and in the long term. 

To get started, we like to ask 3 things when creating a Workout Program: 

1. What are your goals and why do you want to feel stronger, healthier? 

2. What are your past injuries, conditions and current pain or struggles?

3. How can you realistically fit in 150 minutes (30 minutes x 5 days) of exercise every week?

From there we look at 4 areas to ensure that we’re not missing anything when it comes to your overall health and wellness: 

1. Strength Training 

2. Flexibility and Mobility 

3. Stamina and Endurance 

4. Rest and Recovery 

For most of our clients, even with different goals and conditions, we suggest: at least 2 days of strength training per week, 2 days of cardio, and at least 1 day of flexibility/mobility training. Rest and recovery are important every day, but can be especially focused on during your 2 days off. 

Now, obviously within each of those categories there are a lot of options and it’s important to incorporate a lot of variety with each workout and each week. 

Variety with: exercises, equipment, types of strength training (weights, bands, medicine balls, TRX, etc), tempo (how fast/slow you move your body during exercises), both slow steady cardio and HIIT (high intensity interval training), and different types of stretching and mobility work (for example, there are so many different types of yoga and they are all beneficial). 

And what about rest and recovery? That can include foam rolling, ball rolling, stretching, icing/heating, baths, sauna, cold plunge, and simple things like easy walks, playing with your kids or dog, taking a nap! 

The important thing is to try to include ALL of this in your weekly workout program. Strength, cardio, flexibility and recovery are beneficial and together they can help you feel stronger, help you stay healthy, and help prevent injuries and conditions. 

If you have questions or need help creating a custom workout program that works for you just email us and we’d love to help! 

Email CTS!