Confused about how to build a workout plan that works? If you’re a beginner terms like reps, sets, and split routines, are probably intimidating so you bounce around from exercise to exercise without really knowing what to do. Building a workout plan can be easy if you follow the basic guidelines below that specify what to do and why.

Resistance Training Systems
Circuit Training 2-3x per week: performing one set of one exercise per body part with no rest in between then repeating the circuit for a total of 2-3 times. Great for time-crunched people and less confusing for beginners. Provides some cardiovascular benefits but very little strength gains and muscle building.
Full Body Workout 2-3x per week: performing several sets of one exercise per body part with rest intervals in between. Great for general fitness, provides some strength gains and muscle building.
Upper/Lower Body Split 1-2x per week: performing several sets of one or more exercises for upper body one day then lower body the next. Allows you more time with body parts so you can include several exercises per body part. This greatly increases strength gains, muscle building, and fitness level.
3 Day Split 1x per week for fitness 2x per week for fanatics and bodybuilders: Specific muscle groupings trained on different days ie. day one: back, triceps, abs, day two: chest, biceps, abs, day three: legs, shoulders. Allows you to use a variety of exercises for each body part which challenges your muscles more and results in greater strength and muscle gains. Remember that training one large body part and one small body part is more effective.
4-6 Day Split 1x per week: similar to 3 day split except you’re dividing your body parts further. A 6 day split would allow you to focus on one body part per day.

The Rep Continuum
The number of reps you should perform depends on your goals.
4 to 6 Reps for Strength & Power
8 to 12 Reps for Building Muscle
15 to 25 Reps for Endurance

Sets
Performing one of the rep groupings above would be considered one set. How many times to repeat also depends on your goals and requires rest intervals of 30-90 second in between depending on intensity.
1 to 2 Sets for General Health, Deconditioned Individuals, Beginners
3 to 4 Sets for Fitness, Building Muscle, Fat Burning, Intermediate to Advanced
5 to 6 Sets for Endurance, Fat Burning, Advanced Bodybuilders

Putting It Together
You’re a beginner, who wants to workout 4 times a week with minimum confusion and your goal is to build muscle and burn fat. An upper and lower body split, with 8-12 reps, and 3-4 sets would be your best option. Lets say 3 months from now you’re feeling pretty competent and want to advance; changing to a 4 day split with the same reps and sets would be the next step. Remember that in order to get results you must plan your workout.

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