How to Create a Weekly Workout Plan: A Guide for Beginners

The motivation to get fit and healthy has kicked into high gear and now you’re looking to adopt a sustainable, fun workout plan that will give you the results you want. Take the guesswork out of planning and create an enjoyable fitness regimen that works for your lifestyle and abilities.

Don’t know where to start? No problem! We’ve created a fool-proof, ultimate guide on how to create a weekly workout plan: a guide for beginners! Read on for expert tips and tricks if you’re just getting started.

How to Create a Weekly Workout Plan

In every weekly workout plan, you should have a mix of two key workouts: cardio and strength training. Both are essential for reaching your goals, no matter what they are – losing weight, getting toned, lowering blood pressure, building endurance, etc.

This guide will help you to better understand the basics of developing a workout plan. Before you get started, we highly suggest meeting with a Personal Trainer who can understand what your needs and limitations are and build you a customized plan that is most beneficial to YOU!

Some may find Personal Trainers a bit intimidating, but here at Fitness World, our trainers care about our members and visitors reaching their fitness and wellness goals! They’ll provide you with a customized workout and nutrition plan that matches your workout style, lifestyle and goals. Get started by booking a complimentary Personal Training session today!

Ready to build your workout plan? Here are the key elements for building a sustainable plan you can stick to!

Cardio

Implementing various cardio workouts into your routine is a great way to build endurance, lose weight, and improve your blood pressure. And the best part? There’s no wrong way to add cardio.

Cardiovascular workouts come in many forms and can be altered to meet your needs. Here are a few of our favourite cardio-based workouts and recommendations on how often they should be added to your routine. Pick one that excites you most!

Running

Running is one of the most effective ways to improve your cardiovascular health. For beginners with no prior experience with running, we recommend starting with a manageable 2x per month schedule. This will help you build stamina and avoid injuries to the ankle, knees, and lower back.

Biking

Biking or spinning is a phenomenal way to introduce cardio if you’re just getting started. Spin classes or outdoor biking is a great low impact exercise that can also be modified to fit your abilities.

For beginners, we recommend adding one low-impact spin class to your weekly workout regime. This can be anywhere between 30 min to 1 hour depending on your current activity level. 

Walking

Walking is one of the best and most underrated cardio workouts out there! Not only is it easy on the joints, but it improves concentration and sleep, all while getting your heart rate up. If you’re just starting out on your journey, simply hitting 10,000 steps per day is enough to help you reach your cardio goal. For those looking to bump it up, you can add in an additional, low-impact cardio workout on top of your 10,000 steps a day.

Swimming

If you have access to a pool, swimming is the choice for beginners who are looking to implement cardio workouts into their routine. Swimming adds the least amount of pressure to your joints and works nearly every major muscle group.

We recommend adding 2x of swimming per week for beginners. Doing simple strokes and paddles is a great way to build endurance, improve muscle strength, and ensure your heart and lungs are healthy. 

Strength Training

Strength training days are non-negotiable when creating a workout plan. No, you won’t get bulky and yes, it is the answer to reaching 90% of your goals.

Strength training builds muscle, yes, but it also strengthens your bones, helps fix bad posture, can reduce stress and anxiety, and continues to burn calories even after you stop doing it.

We’re telling you – strength training is the GOAT. And, for beginners just getting started, here are our personal favourite strength training combinations to add to your weekly workout plan.

Leg Day

Leg days are important days, but can be complicated because there are so many different muscle groups in the legs/lower body. There are the major muscle groups, including the calves, the quads, the hamstrings, the glutes, and the tibialis anterior. But, there are also minor muscle groups which are equally as important.

To keep it simple, we recommend these five lower-body/leg day workouts that are beginner friendly.

The Squat

• For beginners, we recommend doing 3×10 (3 sets of 10 repetitions).

Lunges

• For beginners, we recommend doing 3×10 (3 sets of 10 repetitions per leg).

Single-Leg Bridge Lifts

• For beginners, we recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetitions per leg).

Lying Butt Lifts

• For beginners, we recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetitions).

Deadlifts

• For beginners, we recommend doing 3×10 with a 15.8 kg barbell. (3 sets of 10 repetitions).

Chest and Triceps

Chest and triceps are often a pair of muscle groups that don’t get enough attention. In the average day, most people don’t use these muscles, which means they’re underdeveloped and require that much more attention.

Here are our favourite chest and triceps exercises to build your “pushing” muscles.

Pushups

• For beginners, we recommend doing 3×10 (3 sets of 10 repetitions).

Chest Fly

• For beginners, we recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetition).

Triceps Cable Pushback

• For beginners, we recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetitions).

Dumbbell Overhead Shoulder Press

• For beginners, we recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetitions).

Shoulder and Bicep

We know you’re already carrying the weight of your friend group, but having toned, strong shoulders and biceps will help ease the stress a bit.

Having toned shoulders and biceps are great to look at, but they’re also functionally pretty terrific. The rotation and strength of your arms are carried by these two muscles, so if your goal is to be able to carry more shopping bags around at once, you’ll want to follow this easy, beginner-friendly workout routine.

Knee Pushup

• We recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetitions).

Dumbbell Shrug

• We recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetitions).

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

• We recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetitions).

Standing Dumbbell Curl

• We recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetitions).

Upright Dumbbell Row

• We recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetitions).

Abs and Back

Your abdominal and back muscles are central to everything you do. The many muscles contained within the abs and back are responsible for posture, bending over, sitting, standing – you name it, they control it. And often, we neglect them. Without proper strengthening, you can start getting chronic lower back pain, have difficulty sleeping, or have trouble standing for long periods of time.

We can’t stress enough the importance of taking care of your trunk muscles. So, here are our favourite beginner-friendly ab and back exercises for beginners.

Crunches

• We recommend doing 3×15 (3 sets of 15 repetitions).

Heel Taps

• We recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetitions; 6 for each side).

Raised Leg Circles

• We recommend doing 3×8 (3 sets of 8 repetitions).

Leg Raises

• We recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetitions).

Bicycles

• For beginners, we recommend doing 3×12 (3 sets of 12 repetitions; 6 for each side).

Fitness Classes

One of the best things you can do for both your mental and physical health is taking a fitness class. Fitness classes are designed to be fun, exciting, and motivating. Classes provide you with an expert instructor who can help you accomplish a day of fitness in a unique way.

Fitness classes are also great for socializing – which has been proven to help with stress and anxiety. As humans, we naturally crave human interaction, so if you work from home, these classes are a great way for you to have at least one day a week of social interaction.

Rest Days

When creating a fitness regimen or workout plan, the best thing you can do is leave at least 2x days a week for rest days. Yes, this workout plan instructs you to spend some quality time on your couch!

During a workout, you’re actually tearing muscles that will rebuild and become stronger. But, this can only happen if you give those muscles a rest while they repair and grow.

As you grow in your fitness journey, we recommend taking an active rest day, which can include a casual walk or a fun sporting activity for easy movement.

Start Your Fitness Journey at Fitness World

If you’re just getting started with your fitness routine, you’ve come to the right place! At Fitness World, we encourage our members to do your fitness, your way. Our team of Personal Trainers and staff are available to guide you through your unique fitness journey in a way that feels best to you.

To find out more about how to create a workout plan or to view our membership options, get started by contacting us today!