If you’ve ever wondered how to create a workout plan for beginners that doesn’t feel overwhelming or unrealistic, you’re not alone.
Creating an effective and successful workout routine goes far beyond picking a few exercises and hoping for the best – it’s about building a roadmap that fits your fitness goals, current fitness level, and overall lifestyle.
A good physical fitness program starts with understanding your body, your schedule, and your motivations. It should be customizable, doable, and above all, sustainable. In this article, we’ll break down exactly how to craft a custom workout plan for your needs and goals.
When it comes to how to create a workout plan for beginners, here are some key things to consider, whether you’re male or female. These factors will help you customize a plan that’s not only safe, effective, and sustainable in the long term.
Your Primary Fitness Goal
This can also be described as your ‘why’. Why are you working out, and what goal do you wish to achieve with this program? Is it:
Knowing your exact goal is an important part of how to create a workout plan for beginners at home or the gym, as it determines which exercises you should do, their intensity, frequency, etc.
Your Current Fitness Level
The best workout routines are those that match the user’s fitness level. You need to be honest about where you’re starting. Are you:
Different fitness levels require different types of workouts as well as different intensities. Failing to be honest about this could increase your risk of injury and burnout and may lead to not achieving your long-term goals.
For example, someone who is completely new to exercising will need shorter sessions made up of simpler movements to help them get into exercising and help them learn the basics. This same plan won’t work for someone with experience, but who lacks consistency, as their program will have more intermediate moves. Both will still need to focus on building consistency and perfecting exercise form, but someone with more experience is likely to be up for more challenging movements.
What Are Your Exercise Preferences?
A successful workout plan for beginners (or any other type of exerciser) doesn’t follow virality – it’s the one that excites you the most. This is supported by a study published in Frontiers in Psychology, where researchers found that enjoyment was rated the highest in reasons why novice exercisers stuck to a fitness regime (1).
As you’re more likely to stick to a plan you love, weigh your options to find the one that excites you the most. Common examples include:
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Or simply, how many days a week and minutes a day can you realistically commit to exercising? Some with freer schedules can exercise for 1 hour a day, 5 days a week, while others can only spare 20 to 45 minutes a day, 2-3 times a week.
In order for you to stick to your beginner fitness routine, the program should work with your schedule, not against it. So check your calendar and slot in the workouts where they’re possible and doable.
Find a Balance
According to research experts, a good workout fitness program should include a variety of types of cardio, strength training, and flexibility work, all designed to meet individual goals (2). Remember that:
Therefore, for a well-rounded workout schedule for beginners female or male, all the above types of exercises should be included in the program. Make sure to also include proper rest and nutrition to help supplement your exercise efforts (2).
Plan for Progression
Something many beginners may be unaware of is that your body will eventually get used to your routine over time. Exercises that feel brutal in the beginning will start to feel easier, and you may find yourself breezing through the session.
While this is great news, it means that you’re getting stronger and your endurance is better, but sticking to this original plan can lead to a plateau. A plateau in fitness is described as hitting a brick wall. It’s when your progress, be it in muscle growth, strength, endurance, or even weight loss, stalls despite consistent training efforts (3).
Gradual progression, which is also known as progressive overload, can help prevent or even overcome an exercise plateau. Research has also shown that such a plan can promote gains in strength and muscle hypertrophy in untrained men and women. Therefore, when you’re creating your plan, you should allow for small progressions in your reps, sets, weight, and exercise duration and intensity (4, 5, 6).
Schedule and Prioritize Rest
To see any or even sustainable progress in your fitness, you must allow your body enough time to rest. Prioritize at least 48 continuous hours (2 days) of rest per week to allow your body and muscles to repair and recover from the strain of exercise.
Read more: Beginner Gym Workout Plan: Tips for a Balanced Routine That Meets Your Goals
All the factors mentioned in the above section help make a good workout plan. As a beginner, you should make a routine after considering all the above factors, from your main goals to your lifestyle and rest days – only then can you have the perfect plan to help you gradually and sustainably reach your desired fitness and body goals.
Once you’ve understood your goals and figured out what to include in the plan, the next step is actually starting and sticking to the routine. Here’s what a beginner needs to do:
According to the CDC, adults require at least 150 minutes of both moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity a week. This equates to 30 minutes of exercise, 5 days a week. While this is a good starting point, not everyone can do it, particularly if they’ve been leading a sedentary lifestyle for several years.
If this is your case, start with shorter weekly routines. Exercise 2-3 times a week for 20-30 minutes per session. This will help you gradually build a routine and consistency without feeling overwhelmed. Once you are used to this, you can then add the number of days or minutes per session.
The goal as a beginner should be to lay a strong foundation. Choose beginner-friendly movements that work your entire body, or rather, the major muscle groups in one session. These may include options such as:
Keep everything simple to help you learn proper form and don’t overdo the exercises. This will help you avoid injury.
To learn proper form, look for the best fitness app (we suggest BetterMe), use online tutorials, exercise in front of a mirror, or find help from a certified trainer.
A 5-10-minute warm-up before and cool-down after a workout session can help keep you free from injury and reduce the risk of soreness. Always perform dynamic movements or stretches before the workout as a warm-up and end with static stretches after the main workout session.
Whether you’re exercising for weight loss, maintenance, or muscle growth, protein is an essential part of any workout routine. This macronutrient is the building block of muscle, and it helps build and repair muscles that are damaged when exercising.
Make sure that you increase your daily protein intake from the daily recommended 0.8g per kg of body weight per day to at least 1.2 g of protein per kg of body weight per day (7, 8). Aside from your protein intake, you should, overall, eat healthier and within the recommended calorie intake limits for your fitness goals, and stay hydrated.
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A full-body workout split – where you exercise all the major muscle groups in one session – is the best workout split for beginners. This split should be done 2-3 times a week. This allows for adequate muscle recovery between exercise sessions and helps the beginner lay a strong foundation without risking overwhelm or injury.
There is no scientifically proven best time to work out. The ‘best time’ will depend on an individual’s preferences and lifestyle. However, staying consistent with exercise will lead to results, and if you’re not sure what time of day you like exercising, try morning, evening, midday, or night workouts. This is the only way to determine what ‘best time of day’ works for you.
Read more: Beginner Calisthenics Workout Plan At Home With Exercises, Tips, And FAQ
There is no single best exercise that works best for novice exercisers. They should focus on being consistent with movement and perfecting their exercise form. Rather than just one thing, the best workout routines for beginners at home or at the gym combine a mix of full-body cardiovascular, strength training, and flexibility workouts. As previously mentioned, this combination makes a well-rounded and balanced program.
Yes, it does. The CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week as the minimum requirement for physical activity (9). Therefore, a 30-minute session, 5 days a week is enough for a beginner. You can eventually work on increasing this time limit once your body has adjusted to regular exercise. There is no scientifically proven ‘most successful’ workout split. The split that will likely be the most successful for you will be aligned with both your individual goals and your schedule. Staying consistent with exercise is the most important factor. Some people may find that full-body splits work best for them, while others may find that an upper/lower or push-pull-legs (PPL) split works best. Ultimately, there’s no single workout split that will automatically be the best for every individual.Frequently Asked Questions
Does 30 minutes really work for beginners?
What is the most successful workout split?
When it comes to creating a workout plan for beginners, the best plan is one that fits an individual’s goals and preferences. Always keep in mind that what works for others may not necessarily work for you.
Carefully weigh your options at every instance to see what you prefer and choose that over what others might say. And if you’re unsure of anything, feel free to experiment with available options to best determine what you ultimately like. That is the only way to stay true, committed, and consistent with your goals.
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