The Best Work Out Plans

With hundreds of work out plans on the market, it can be difficult to choose one. The best workout plan is organized and logical and should be tailored to your goals, weaknesses, exercise history and age. You need to consider several factors when choosing the ideal work out plan for you. Consider working with a personal trainer if you are having difficulty choosing your best work out.

Goals

• Great workout plans are focused on getting results, which requires creating goals. A long term goal might be something general, like losing weight, gaining muscle, lowering blood pressure or jumping higher. Determine several smaller, short term goals and create them as milestones on the way to your main goal. Set specific dates to help meet those goals. For example, you might set a goal of losing two pounds per week for six weeks for a total weight loss of 12 lbs. Alternatively, a runner might aim to increase her total weekly mileage by 5 miles over a 4 week period.

Phases

• Workouts need to be periodized. Periodization is the division of a workout cycle into alternating phases based on the goal of your training. Potential phases include strength, power, endurance and hypertrophy. Each training needs to use a different set and repetition scheme that is appropriate to the goal of the phase. Phases may be as short as 3 weeks and as long as 8 weeks. Periodization helps prevent training plateaus and overtraining and allows athletes to peak their performance for a specific date or event.

Exercises

• Exercise selection and sequence is important for injury prevention and movement. Start your workout with basic exercises and progress to more advanced ones. Quality work out plans use exercise types that are specific to your goals. For example, a strength phase requires exercises that allow you to lift a maximal weight while an endurance program doesn't. Improving your cardiovascular health requires participating in cardiovascular exercise, not resistance training.

Rest

• Rest allows your body to recover from the damage caused by working out. Effective work out programs account for rest, with at least 48 hours between workouts. Look for programs that incorporate a rest or unloading. Insufficient rest increases your risk of injury and leads to overtraining syndrome.

Flexibility and Posture

• Flexibility and postural training are components of fitness that are often overlooked. Poor flexibility and posture can lead to injury and impair performance. Look for an exercise plan that provides a stretching and posture program.