How to Build a Workout Routine for Your Fitness Goals

Fitness Goals

Before we pull up our joggers and lace up our shoes or start grabbing the heaviest dumbbells on the rack, let us figure out what your ideal fit self looks and feels like. Your fitness goals can be varied, and they will determine what kind of workout you do and how often you should do it.

Here are some common fitness goals that can help you understand or give an idea about yours:

• Fat loss: Prioritise a mix of cardio and strength training with a calorie-controlled diet.
• Muscle gain: Focus on resistance and weight training with progressive overload. This can be supported by high high-protein diet.
• Improved endurance: Engage in intense cardio like running, cycling or swimming and increase the duration or speed over time.
• Better flexibility: Try yoga, pilates, stretching, or mobility work to improve your joint health and reduce the risk of injury.
• General wellness: Combine some movement like a brisk walk with some light weight training and functional fitness in your routine, and maintain a nutritious diet to keep your health up to the mark.

Being specific about what getting fit means to you can help you form an actionable plan to achieve your goal sooner.

Do You Need a Workout Routine?

The short answer is YES! A longer one is us helping you devise a workout routine. If you have a goal, just staying active is not enough. A routine provides structure and consistency.

Here is why you need a workout routine:

• It keeps you accountable
• It helps you track your progress
• Stops you from overtraining and getting injured
• It brings some clarity
• You break down your goals into actionable
• This gives you a fair shot at your fitness goals

Without a plan, you might either undertrain some muscle groups, skip some important workouts or even skip your rest days or neglect a part of the workout that could be more relevant to your goals. A workout routine ensures that your effort is targeted towards your objective.

How to Build a Workout Routine

Creating a routine is not about picking a template from an influencer and following it. Your plan needs to be customised. Here are a few ways in which you can customise your workout routine to fit your goals:

1. Assess your current fitness level:

Knowing your capabilities and limits is necessary to start on the right note. By overestimating your fitness, you increase the risk of injuries. This also helps you set realistic expectations and timelines.

2. Set a clear goal:

Your workout routine should bring you closer to your fitness goals. Take a moment to go through the goals we spoke about earlier and pick one for yourself.

3. Decide on possibilities:

Answer these questions. 

• How many days can you dedicate to working out per week?
• How much time do you think you can work out for during each session?
• What time works out the best for you?

Based on these, you can understand what you can do for your fitness routine

4. Divide the workouts:

Depending on how many days a week you can dedicate to working out, you can figure out what needs to be done.

• 3 days/week: full body session every alternate day
• 4 days/week: divide your training into 2 days for the upper body and 2 for the lower body
• 5 to 6 days/week: Push-pull-leg could be the right approach for you, or you can try muscle-group specific training.

5. Choose your type of training:

• Strength training
• Cardio
• HIIT
• Yoga

Pick from these or spread them across the week.

6. Progressive overload:

It is important to improve yourself and push limits.

7. Ideal workout routine:

• Monday: Cardio
• Tuesday: Strength training
• Wednesday: HIIT
• Thursday: Legs
• Friday: Core training
• Saturday: Yoga
• Sunday: Rest day

Beginner Workout Routine

If you are just a beginner, then it is normal to feel overwhelmed. You do not need fancy equipment or gym access. You need a well-planned workout routine. Here is an example of a 3-day full-body workout plan to help you get started

Day 1: Strength training

• 10 squats
• 8 knee push-ups
• 10 glute bridges
• 20-seconds plank

Go for 3 rounds of this circuit and remember to take breaks in between.

Day 2: Cardio and Core

• 20 minutes of brisk walking
• 10 crunches
• 15 mountain climbers
• 1 minute of side planks.

Repeat this circuit twice, and remember to warm up and cool down after the training

Day 3: Full body mobility or yoga flow

• Cat-cow stretch
• Downward dog
• Child’s pose
• Standing forward fold
• Seated twists

Each pose should be held for 30 seconds, and repeat this flow twice.

Tips for Beginners

If you are new to the fitness habit, do not be overwhelmed. Follow these tips to stay safe and make the most out of your training:

• Start with 2 to 3 days per week to build the habit of showing up
• Do not compare your progress to others
• Focus on form
• Stay consistent
• Protein up by drinking a shaker bottle full of protein before or after a workout
• Stay hydrated