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16
You may want to design your own personal program
specifically geared to your goals and lifestyle.
Designing a program is easy, as long as you follow
the guidelines below.
Understand fitness and its components: Improperly
designed programs can be dangerous. Take some
time to review this manual as well as other fitness
guides.
Know your current fitness level: Before you start
any fitness program you should consult a physician
who will help you determine your current abilities.
Identify your goals: Goals are critical to choosing
and designing an exercise program that fits and
enhances your lifestyle, but so is strategy. It’s
important not to rush the process and try to
accomplish too much too soon. That will lead to
setbacks and discouragement. Instead, set a series
of smaller achievable goals.
Select complementary exercises: Be sure to pair
exercises that address compound joint movements
and single joint movements. In addition, select
exercises that address complementary muscle
groups.
Put first things first: During each session, first work
muscle groups that need the most training.
Remember your cardiovascular component: Any
fitness program must contain a cardiovascular
fitness component to be complete. So complement
your resistance training with aerobic exercise such
as walking, running, or bicycling.
Training variables: When designing your own
program there are several variables that, when
mixed properly, will equal the right fitness formula
for you. In order to find out the best formula, you
must experiment with several combinations of
variables.
The variables are as follows:
• Training Frequency: The number of times you
train per week. We recommend daily activity
but not daily training of the same muscle
group.
• Training Intensity: The amount of resistance
used during your repetition.
• Training Volume: The number of repetitions
and sets performed.
• Rest intervals: The time you rest between
sets and the time you rest between workouts.
Once you’ve established a base of fitness, follow
these basic principles:
• Isolate muscle groups: Focus work on specific
muscle groups.
• Progressive Loading: The gradual systematic
increase of repetitions, resistance and
exercise period.
Design Your Own Program
Define Your Goals
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