Putting Together The Ideal Workout Plan
Everyone’s exercise needs are different and, therefore, knowing how to put the perfect workout plan together is not always easy. The last thing you want to do is waste 30 minutes per day on a routine that is not effective for achieving your goals. But, without spending a fortune on a personal trainer, how are you supposed to know what to incorporate into your routine? Below, we have put together some top tips to help you get started.
Define your goal
Before you can put together the perfect workout plan, you need to define your goal. What do you hope to achieve from this plan? Do you want to lose weight? Are you looking to gain size? Perhaps you want to boost your strength? You can set a primary goal and secondary goals if you wish, but make sure all secondary goals support the main objective. Once you have goals in mind, you then have the basis for which you can choose different exercises and reps. This will ensure you are focused and on the right path.
Keep your program balanced
All great workout plans are balanced. They focus on symmetry, ensuring nothing is too weak or too strong, and that all areas of the body are getting a workout. You should not neglect anything otherwise problems can arise. For example, if your hamstrings are a lot weaker than your quads, you could experience pain at the knee joint due to an uneven pull. If your chest is a lot stronger than your back, for instance, your shoulders will pull forward, resulting in a bad posture and causing injury. So, make sure that there is a back exercise for every chest exercise, and so on. Also, ensure there is a balance between the right and left sides of your body by targeting each arm or leg separately.
Determine your format
How long will you have to dedicate to working out each day? Let’s say you have an hour. You then need to break this up. For example, you could do five minutes of warming up, 40 minutes of working out, ten minutes of specialised training for a specific goal, and five minutes of cooling down.
What exercises to include
The best thing to do if you are just starting off with working out is a full body routine. This means you should ensure there is at least one exercise for your core, your pull muscles, your push muscles, your hamstrings and butt, and your quads. Exercises for your core include jumping knee tucks, exercise ball crunches, and planks. For your pull muscles, dumbbell rows, pull ups, and chin ups are good. For your push muscles, push ups, bench press, and overhead press are effective. For your butt and hamstring, try step-ups, deadlifts, and hip raises. Finally, for your quads, box jumps, lunges, and squats are a great place to start. It is important to add some variety to your workout to keep it interesting. You will soon get bored if you do the same thing every day.
Change the number of reps you do every few weeks
One of the most important parts of your workout program is your repetitions. This is, of course, the number of times you do a certain stretch or exercise. Your repetitions control everything from how your muscles look and develop, to your size gains, to your strength. Let’s take a look at what each range of rep does:
1 – 3 reps is for maximal strength
4 – 6 reps is for strength
8 – 12 reps is for size gains
Over 15 reps is for endurance
If you always do more than 15 reps per session, for example, you will have thin muscles with improved endurance. However, you will miss out on explosive power and maximum strength. This is why it is important to change reps every month. For example, you could do six reps of one exercise for the first month, 15 reps for the second month, and then eight reps for the third month.
The right order of exercises
When putting together a workout plan, you will need to decide what exercises you are going to do first, what you are going to finish off with, and so on. You should always do the most important exercises first. What we mean by this is the exercises that are going to hit the most muscles – the ones that demand a lot of focus and strength. This includes the likes of deadlifts and heavy squats. They use a lot of muscle mass and energy. You will compromise your technique and rob yourself of muscle growth and strength if you put these exercises towards the end of the plan. The last exercises on your workout plan should be those that only focus on individual muscles.
Choose the right exercise combinations
This is one of the more difficult aspects of putting your own workout together. Nevertheless, it is something that will come together over time. It is all about monitoring interactions between exercises and appropriate workloads, and following safe techniques. Exercises that you should never combine include those that can cause cramping in another area that you have worked on, two exercises that heavily tax the same joint, and exercises working similar muscle groups when a high-technique or heavy lift is used. Also, do not combine exercises that will both dramatically elevate blood pressure. Instead, combine exercises with different force vectors, as well as combining low-technique and high-technique lifts, exercises targeting similar muscle groups for hypertrophy goals, and exercises targeting dissimilar muscle groups.
Don’t forget about supplements and eating right
Nutrition is a critical component when it comes to your workouts. You don’t want to undo all of your hard work. You can also get supplements, which are going to help you to achieve more from your workouts.
Don’t forget about team sports
Team sports are also critical when you want to get fit! A lot of people overlook this. Cricket is a good team sport to get involved in. If there is one piece of equipment that each and every cricket player requires, it is a bat! You cannot expect to play cricket without a bat. Nevertheless, do not make the mistake that many people do by thinking that all bats are the same. A lot of people simply purchase the first or the cheapest cricket bat they lay their eyes on. However, if you do not consider your purchase carefully then your bat is going to have a negative effect on your overall performance. This is the last thing you want to happen. Thus, keep on reading to discover how to narrow down your search effectively when shopping for the best cricket bats for sale.
Size
The first thing you should consider is the size of the bat. It is so important to be able to use the bat comfortably if you want to excel when playing cricket. In general, you will have two options at your disposal. These are as follows – long-handled (LH) bats and short handled (SH) bats. The latter is suited to individuals that are under 6 ft. 3. If you are taller than 6 ft. 3 you should go for an LH bat. You will be able to find more specific bat size guideline charts online if you require further assistance.
Material
The next factor that has to be carefully considered is the material of the bat. Most people decide to purchase a bat that has been created using willow. However, you have two types of willow to choose from, English willow and Kashmir willow. The latter is the cheapest of both options, which is why a lot of people end up buying Kashmir willow cricket bats. This is not advised. Kashmir is far too hard and the material is of a much lower quality. English willow is far better. The softer timber ensures that you can find that elusive sweet spot you desire when playing this sport. You could also go for a carbon fibre or titanium bat as well.
Weight
Weight is the next point that needs to be thought about. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to selecting a bat’s weight. You simply need to find a balance – discover what works for you. After all, if you go for a bat that is too light, you are really going to struggle to generate enough power when you strike the ball. On the other hand, if your bat is too heavy, how are you going to swing it effectively? Find what works for you.
So there you have it; some top tips to help you get started with putting the perfect workout plan together. If you follow the advice mentioned above, you should have no trouble putting together an exercise program that is effective and delivers real results. It is all about focusing on your goals, keeping things interesting, maintaining symmetry, and targeting all areas of your body. Good luck with your new routine!
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