Training plan for men. What to follow? We have a procedure and a sample workout for you

Today, training plans are easy to find with a few clicks on the internet, but you have to pay for them and many times they are not even individualized. With this article we would like to give you an idea of what a training plan should look like plan for men, whether for complete beginners or slightly advanced exercisers. We will show you how to build a workout according to your time possibilities, level of advancement or available equipment.

What criteria influence the construction of your plan?

When building a plan, we first need to understand what our capabilities are. For example, not everyone can go to the gym five times a week, whether through work, family or other activities. Below we will discuss the most important sub-aspects that influence the final training plan.

Time options

One of the biggest "constraints" is the individual time capabilities of the exerciser. Even if you don't have the opportunity to exercise regularly, it is a good idea to go whenever you have the opportunity. Movement, in short, is a core part of our health, so it's a good idea to make some time for it despite the time constraints. However, there is a way for everyone that is manageable and not just a "necessary" ordeal. It is enough to exercise even twice a week to make an effective plan. In the event that you work out 2-3 times a week, you will probably use fullbody workouts (see below). In addition, we will also introduce upper/lower body splits suitable for exercisers who can work out 4 times a week and finally, we'll take a look at plans for enthusiasts who want to spend time in the gym 5 or more times a week.

The level of the exerciser

Beginner training, as common sense suggests, will varydifferent from the training of exercisers who have already spent some time in the gym. So we have to pour ourselves some clear wine and see how we are doing. Overestimating our strength could lead to overtraining and, in the worst case, injury. Another criterion we should look out for is health, whether it is short-term disabilities or long-term limitations affecting the musculoskeletal system. The state of health and fitness will then directly influence the choice of exercises in the training plan, as not everyone can start with exercises such as deep squats, deadlifts or other complex, bilateral exercises. However, the choice of exercises is central to the results of a given plan, by which I mean thatthat more complex exercises stimulate muscle growth better than isolated exercises. Both types are needed, however, and you should focus your training on complex exercises to make your plan balanced and all the more effective.

Fitness and working out at home

Equipment is a pivotal criterion for setting up a training plan. If you don't have access to a gym, don't despair, effective training can be done at home. However, going to the gym has several advantages. Once we get to the gym, we usually don't tell ourselves that we don't want to work out anymore, so we get our workout in despite some of that "reluctance". Another advantage is the variability of exercises, whether it is machines, as an example of isolation exercises, or free weights and related complex exercises.

Is the gym a priority or is it just a supplement?

If we are doing a sport, for example running, cycling, etc., even at amateur level, the training will be designed in a different way than if it were a priority. The main differences will then be in the frequency of training, intensity and regularity. Exercisers who use the gym as an adjunct to sport generally train fewer times per week and must be careful not to overtrain. If we feel very tired after exercising outside of the gym, there is no harm in taking a day to rest and recover to be ready for the next training session.

What training plan to choose and what should it look like?

In this section, we'll look at roughly what different training plans might look like. We'll rank them according to how many times a week you get to the gym. We'll introduce workouts that effectively exercise your whole body with just two exercises.visits to the gym per week, as well as workouts for five or more sessions per week.

Fullbody workout

This type of workout is ideal for exercisers who have less time and so only get to the gym 2-3 times a week. The effectiveness of fullbody training lies in the fact that even with a low frequency of workouts, you can still trainYou can do enough sets for all muscle parts and thus optimally stimulate muscle growth. The basic idea of fullbody training is that we try to train all parts of the body in one training unit. After all, muscle grows for 48 hours after a good workout, which means we don't have to do a specific exercise for each part, but to train all of them. It may seem like the same thing, but the difference is huge. Let's explain it with the following example. If we decide to choose the back squat as our leg exercise, we can check off both the front of the thighs and the glutes from the list of areas to be trained. This way we can cover two areas with one exercise. The same is the case with bench press, where the main part is the pectoral muscles, but the triceps and the front of the shoulders are also involved. With this style, we can combine exercises into a fullbody workout so that we don't necessarily have one exercise for each part. Another advantage of fullbody training is the ability to "skip" one part. Then if you don't want to spend 2 hours in the gym, it is possible to leave one part only secondarily. Even though this is not the optimal stimulus for a given union, there is nothing to worry about. We just need to focus more on it in the next training unit and "drop" some other one. That way the muscle will be well exercised and you will save time, energy and a higher probability of overtraining.

A - B split

As the name suggests, this is a training plan that alternates between two differently focused training units. Since we are no longer training all muscle groups in one workout, the number ofThe time commitment will increase to a minimum of four visits to the gym per week. The essence of this split is to split into upper and lower body, or upper and lower body. This way we can better focus on the individual parts and better stimulate them for both growth and strength. Compared to fullbody training, we have to be extra careful about overtraining

Classic split

As we discussed in the Time Options section, this training plann is effective "only" for five or more visits to the gym per week. This is due to the fact that we need around 15 quality sets per week for optimal muscle growth. In splits, we divide this number into several training units, allowing for a better quality stimulus for the muscle. The problem then again can be a greater chance of overtraining. Within this split, you can then train the chest along with the shoulders in one workout, then the midsection in the next, then the legs, maybe the back and shoulders the next day and cardio on the last day.

Cardio

At the outset, it's worth saying that cardio is an essential part of a balanced training plan. This is also true for exercisers whose goal is to gain muscle mass as quickly as possible. Below, we will introduce the two basic types of cardio and the different activities that can be included instead of the most common one, running. Aerobic workouts have a number of benefits, including strengthening cardiovascular system, reducing the risk of diseases such as obesity, hypertension or type 2 diabetes.

Low intensity cardio

This type of cardio is by far the most commonly included, due to its simplicity. Basically, just go for a 30min run, at a leisurely pace, and you're done. The beauty of this type of cardio also lies in its variability. You can replace running with a variety of other aerobic activities such as team sports like football, floorball, basketball, etc. or cycling, hiking, cross-country skiing in the winter or classicm downhill skiing, swimming and other activities that suit the exerciser. You just need to be out of breath with these activities and they are not purely relaxing.

HIIT - high intensity interval training

HIIT, or high intensity interval training, is a great change from the classic low intensity cardio. It is less time-consuming as the activity is performed with high effort. There are many "templates" for HIIT, one of the most common is 20-10, which means that we do the exercise for 20 seconds followed by a 10 second break. This cycle is repeated several times in a row, ideally for at least 4 minutes, which works out to 8 exercise rounds. The intervals can be varied, so if the 20-10 pace doesn't suit you, you can vary it, for exampleto 30-10, 40-20 or 40-15, depending on you and your current fitness level. Probably the most important aspect of HIIT training is the effort with which you train. You should train the work portion of the interval with maximum effort to make the workout effective.

If you have a preference when it comes to split training, please share it with us and othersreaders, or you can add your own tweaks for other exercisers.