Designing Your Program

Sure, it's great to pick up a new book with strength-training programs already written for you. It's even better to have a personal trainer design the perfect program for you and help you implement it. Well, we aren't all lucky enough to have a personal trainer, and what do you do when you complete all of the book's programs? You have to learn how to design your own training program. Even if you never actually have to use it, it's nice to learn how the process works so that you'll know whether the programs that you've following are meeting your goals.

Now that you have a good understanding of the whys of strength training, it is time to figure out the hows. Several common principles apply to any specially planned and designed training program.

Determine Your Goals and Needs

Decide on Frequency and Intensity

Select Your Exercises

Include Rest

Maintain a Training Log and Add Variety

Sample Programs