You walk into the gym motivated, excited, pump cover on and all and as soon as you get ready to start your workout you have what we call the “lifters crisis”. This is not knowing what workout(s) to do at the gym and instead, you end up either walking on the treadmill googling workout plans last minute, or creating your own program as you go through your workout. While the College Kettle Bell is all about going with the flow, one thing you do want to follow is having a solid workout plan

So often College Students get angry they don’t have their spring break body ready or that they’ve been working out 2x a day 7x a week for the past 6 months and have seen barely any change. This is all due to not planning and executing a proper routine. If you think about your morning routine it’s most likely structured right? You wake up, shower, brush your teeth, pick out an outfit, maybe have some breakfast (this is highly recommended), and take on your day. If you’ve been able to follow the same morning routine for years what’s stopping you from doing this with a workout routine?

There are three major keys to building any major fitness routine.

Key #1: Choosing your routine

As mentioned in my previous blog post You Chose Your College, Now Choose Your Fitness Style I talk about the importance of discovering what fitness style is best for you. This is the most important step of them of all as this draws out your type of workouts, frequency, dieting, equipment needs, and location.

The four main types of training out there include Powerlifting, Body Building, Olympic, and Cardio. Before you even begin to start thinking of ways to create a fitness plan for yourself I strongly encourage you to research each style and evaluate what your physical and mental fitness goals are. Better yet, I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone and find your top two styles and perform each one for a week to become familiar with what suits you best.

Key #2: Find a reputable source

Having a legitimate source for your training is crucial to seeing results. While it is great if you have developed knowledge of the fitness industry, it is still best practice to seek out a program done by a professional or well-known accredited source. Some great examples to get you started are BodyBuilding.com and MuscleAndStrength.com.

Most importantly remember you don’t have to pay for these programs! While they are great paid programs out there such as Jeff Nippard’s Science-Backed Programs. You can also reach out to the campus resources around you! I would recommend first seeing if your school offers any fitness clubs you can become involved with who coach and write programs for you! Another great resource is asking Human Health and Performance students if they would be willing to create a program for you. Many of these students are looking for careers in personal training or athletic coaching and this serves as a great way for them to gain experience all while it being zero cost to you!

Key #3: Follow the Plan

Consistency is key! Following your plan is crucial to achieving your desired fitness goals! So often, you will see fitness goers have a solid workout plan yet don’t stick to the schedule. This goes beyond attending the recommended amount of training days but sticking to the workouts and rep ranges of your program. The program is designed specifically for a reason to optimize your fitness goals, letting your personal opinion overpower a program can significantly slow down your progress!

How can you stay dedicated to your plan? Start tracking and measuring! Students often times get bored quickly while running a program for an extended time as it can seem repetitious. However, by logging all of your progress you are much more likely to stay in line and see how it has benefited you. Some great ways of tracking your progress can be daily post-workout pictures. Each day after your workout take a picture in the mirror and let time do its work. Another great option is keeping track of your weights, you can do this with a notes sheet on your phone, excel document, or even some good ol’ fashioned pen and paper. Lastly, keep a journal! Whether it was a good day or bad day write down a short summary of how your workout went talking about the good, the bad, and the things you want to improve upon or have questions on.

Staying Organized

While you are going through the process of developing a fitness program, remember to stay organized! It can be very easy to find yourself lost after attempting to measure too many things at once. Creating a fitness plan is not a race and is something that should be taken on strategically. Your fitness matters, your goals matter, don’t let time be the limiting factor for what’s stopping you from hitting your goals! Remember to take one task at a time during this process, when you load weight on the barbell you perform this one weight at a time, the same principle applies when creating a program. Layout the steps you need to accomplish this and then put on one “weight” at a time!