The best workouts are the ones designed with intention to propel you towards your goal.
Too many people hit the gym and keep doing the same workouts over and over without making progress.
A training plan is like a map to take you from point A to point B. Whether your goal is muscle strength, size, power, or cardiovascular endurance, a training plan ensures you don’t waste your effort.
If you’ve never created a training plan, an experienced coach is your best resource. But once you understand the principles, you can design a plan that helps you get results.
Let’s look at:
- How exercise impacts the different aspects of physical fitness
- Which forms of exercise align with different fitness goals
- How to create a workout plan and adjust it over time
How Exercise Impacts Physical Fitness
Let’s start by going back to the basics.
Exercise is simply the act of physically challenging your body to induce positive health benefits. When your body is subjected to physical demands, it adapts by becoming faster, stronger, and more powerful.
Not all forms of exercise result in the same physical changes. The specific adaptations your body makes depend on the type of challenge and load.
This isn’t really news. Most people know that lifting weights sculpts muscle and running makes you cardiovascularly fit.
Understanding how to harness the different effects of exercise is the path to creating your optimal training plan.
Types of Physical Fitness
In general, exercise of any kind provides:
- Improved mental well-being [1]
- Reduced risk of chronic disease and all-cause mortality [2]
- Better physical function [3]
But different types of exercise confer unique benefits. If your training plan skews too heavily toward one form of fitness, you may hit your goal but also create an imbalance that isn’t in your long-term best interest.
At the same time, if your fitness goal is very specific, such as competing in a fitness-related competition, like a marathon, your training plan will naturally emphasize a specific type of fitness. But cross-training and changing things up in the off-season is wise.
Physical fitness can be categorized into:
- Strength
- Cardiovascular fitness
- Muscular endurance
- Power
- Agility
- Balance
These categories are not exhaustive, and there is overlap between them. But they provide a framework for building a well-rounded exercise plan.
Muscular Strength
Strength refers to the maximum amount of force a muscle or muscle group can exert. For example, the maximum amount of weight you can lift during a bench press or back squat, often referred to as your one-rep-max (1RM).
Benefits of training strength [4]:
- Improved force production
- Protects and strengthens bones
- Reduces the risk of injuries
- Improves athletic performance
Training strength should be part of every training plan, regardless of your fitness goals. Even if you are not an athlete or bodybuilder, a balanced training program should maintain a baseline of strength to protect your bones and keep you strong as you age.
How to train strength
To build muscular strength, you have to lift challenging loads.
In the gym, this means lifting weights heavy enough to intensely stress your muscles and prompt your body to adapt by building more muscle.
In general, high-load training is the method recommended for increasing strength.
In high-load training, you lift heavy weights (about 80-100% of your 1RM) for 1 to 5 repetitions. [5] Between 10-20 sets should be performed for each muscle group each week, using a variety of high-load exercises. [6] [7]
For example, to build strength in your chest muscles:
- Chest press at 85% of 1RM for 3 sets of 4 reps
- Decline dumbbell press at 80% of 1RM for 3 sets of 5 reps
- Weighted push-ups using a weight that only allows you to perform a max of 5 reps for 3 sets.
- Chest flys at 80% of 1 RM for 3 sets of 3-5 reps
How often to train strength
Spreading those 10-20 sets per muscle group across a minimum of 2 days appears optimal. [7]
If muscular strength is your primary goal 3 days of high-load training should allow you to get the volume of sets necessary for each muscle group to see gains.
Cardiovascular Endurance
Cardiovascular endurance is the ability of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels to efficiently deliver oxygen to your tissues during challenging activity.
Benefits of training cardiovascular endurance [8] [9]:
- Supports weight management
- Improved stamina and energy
- Improved cardiovascular health and blood lipids
While resistance training has some cardiovascular benefits when performed at high intensity, there really is no substitute for dedicated time in the cardio zone.
How to build cardiovascular endurance
If your goal is the general health and fitness benefits of cardiovascular endurance, you should accumulate 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio, or 75 minutes of high-intensity cardio each week. [10]
A fitness wearable can measure your training intensity and help you track your progress and increase your pace over time.
How often to train cardiovascular endurance
How you incorporate cardiovascular training is really up to you and how it aligns with your time and goals.
- If your focus is more on strength than cardiovascular endurance, you should still train cardio (no, it doesn’t ruin your muscle gains when done right). Two to three 30-minute cardio sessions performed after weight lifting may be all you need in a week. If time is short, do more intense cardio for less time.
- If your focus is weight loss, higher amounts of cardio exercise have been shown to have some benefit, though it won’t help you lose weight in the absence of a caloric deficit. [11] Between 150-300 minutes a week may be helpful. However, keep in mind that if the amount interferes with incorporating weight lifting, it may not be worth it.
- For general health, as long as you get your 150 minutes in, how you split it up doesn’t really matter.
Muscular Endurance
Muscular endurance differs from muscular strength. While strength is a measure of the heaviest load you can lift, muscular endurance is a measure of how long you can sustain muscle contractions.
Strength is “how hard,” endurance is “how long.” Both are important for overall fitness and one doesn’t guarantee the other.
Benefits of muscular endurance: [5]
- Increased stamina and resistance to muscular fatigue
- Increased mitochondrial efficiency
- Increased capillary density
How to train muscular endurance
Unlike training for muscular strength, muscular endurance training involves lifting less weight for more repetitions.
In general, lift a load that allows you to perform anywhere from 12 to 15 reps for 3 sets. [5] You can integrate this type of training into high-load, low-rep strength training, so you don’t need more training days.
How often to train muscular endurance
How you incorporate muscular endurance training into your plan depends on your overall goals.
Integrate some low-load, high-rep sets into your strength training to vary the stimulus and tap into the unique benefits of muscular endurance. There is no specific minimum goal.
Power, Agility, and Balance
Strength and endurance should make up the bulk of the average exercise plan. However, an optimal plan will incorporate some elements of power, agility, and balance to create well-rounded fitness.
Power
Power is how quickly you can move a load. It combines your strength with speed.
Adding some power work to your strength workouts will make you quicker and more capable in a variety of activities.
- Integrate explosive movements like plyometrics
- Add speed to exercises you already do. Try lifting the weight quickly and then lowering it slowly. (Only try this with light or moderate weight.)
- Kettlebell swings, medicine ball throws, and Olympic lifts are other examples of exercises that require power.
Agility and Balance
Agility refers to how quickly, easily, and gracefully you can move.
Balance is just one aspect of agility.
Athletes often display impressive agility and balance in their sports. But, even non-athletes should be concerned about their agility.
Being agile means better coordination, improved ability to handle changes in direction and uneven surfaces, and less risk of falls. [12]
- Yoga, pilates, and tai chi can improve balance and agility
- Single-leg balance work can be incorporated into strength training routines
- Practice with an agility ladder
- Play a sport
Final Word
Designing a training plan may seem daunting at first. It’s impossible to do everything at once, and your time in the gym is likely limited.
Start by clarifying your fitness goals and then build from there.
Get the basics of strength and cardiovascular training in place first. From there, explore other elements of fitness that make up a well-rounded plan.
If you’re not making progress toward your goals or you feel your fitness routine is stale, connect with a coach for a personalized plan.
Training plans should grow and evolve over time as your fitness needs change. When you understand the essential elements, you will have the skill to adapt and keep your routine fresh.
References:
1. Noetel, Michael et al. “Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.” BMJ (Clinical research ed.) vol. 384 e075847. 14 Feb. 2024, doi:10.1136/bmj-2023-075847
2. Momma, Haruki et al. “Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.” British journal of sports medicine vol. 56,13 (2022): 755-763. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061
3. Qiu, Yan et al. “Exercise sustains the hallmarks of health.” Journal of sport and health science vol. 12,1 (2023): 8-35. doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2022.10.003
4. Suchomel, Timothy J et al. “The Importance of Muscular Strength in Athletic Performance.” Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) vol. 46,10 (2016): 1419-49. doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0486-0
5. Schoenfeld, Brad J et al. “Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: A Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum.” Sports (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 9,2 32. 22 Feb. 2021, doi:10.3390/sports9020032
6. Baz-Valle, Eneko et al. “A Systematic Review of The Effects of Different Resistance Training Volumes on Muscle Hypertrophy.” Journal of human kinetics vol. 81 199-210. 10 Feb. 2022, doi:10.2478/hukin-2022-0017
7. Bernárdez-Vázquez, Roberto et al. “Resistance Training Variables for Optimization of Muscle Hypertrophy: An Umbrella Review.” Frontiers in sports and active living vol. 4 949021. 4 Jul. 2022, doi:10.3389/fspor.2022.949021
8. Jayedi, Ahmad et al. “Aerobic Exercise and Weight Loss in Adults: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis.” JAMA network open vol. 7,12 e2452185. 2 Dec. 2024, doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.52185
9. Patel, Harsh et al. “Aerobic vs anaerobic exercise training effects on the cardiovascular system.” World journal of cardiology vol. 9,2 (2017): 134-138. doi:10.4330/wjc.v9.i2.134
10. O'Keefe, James H et al. “The Goldilocks Zone for Exercise: Not Too Little, Not Too Much.” Missouri medicine vol. 115,2 (2018): 98-105..
11. Jayedi, Ahmad et al. “Aerobic Exercise and Weight Loss in Adults: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis.” JAMA network open vol. 7,12 e2452185. 2 Dec. 2024, doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.52185
12. Lichtenstein, Eric et al. “Agility-based exercise training compared to traditional strength and balance training in older adults: a pilot randomized trial.” PeerJ vol. 8 e8781. 14 Apr. 2020, doi:10.7717/peerj.8781
