Do you struggle with going to the gym and feeling like you’re not getting any results? . You want to build muscle, lose body fat, get stronger, and you know that you need to strength train to make that happen. So you’re training multiple times/week and you while you feel like you’re getting a good workout in but something’s just not working like you want it to. You’re thinking...“Should I be training MORE frequently? Do I need to be doing MORE exercises??” The answer to both these questions: probably not. It’s most likely that you just need a structured program to follow so that you can train more efficiently and get the results you deserve.
Ladies, I'm here to tell you that: THE ORDER IN WHICH YOU PERFROM YOUR EXERCISES 150% MATTERS!!!!
A lot of women come to me saying they are working out 5 even 6 days a week. Then I ask what they are doing and often times I hear:
- on demand workouts
- group fitness classes
- random workouts found on an app
This may sound harsh but...there is a reason why these workouts only cost $50-$100 a month! They are typically random exercises put together with essentially no rhyme or reason which is why you aren’t getting the results you are looking for.
On the other hand, there is a reason why personal trainers charge $50-$100 an hour. We are subject matter experts at designing programs that are structured to get you the results you want.
So what order should I perform my exercises in you ask?
While there is a lot that goes into a well-structured strength program, here are a few general guidelines to follow:
First, decide how many days you are strength training. This is important to ensure you are training all of your major muscle groups while avoiding under/over training.
3 days/week = full body
4 days/week= I recommend 2 upper body & 2 lower body
5 days/week= stick to 3-4 days of strength training & add 1-2 days of cardio.
Trainer tip #1. Always start with your main lift!!! This includes: squats, bench press, deadlifts, hip thrusts, and bent row.
These exercises are where you’ll use the most energy and get the most bang for your buck. Reason being because your main lift is an exercise that uses multiple muscles or muscle groups at the same time and that allows for relatively heavy weight to be used.
We start with these so that we don’t waste energy on exercises that don’t require as many muscles to be used (or as much weight).
Example: an overhead press primarily uses your shoulder muscles, but a barbell bench press uses your chest, triceps, AND shoulders. 3 for the price of 1! If you’re doing other exercises (“accessory” or “secondary”) like overhead presses or raises before your main lift, you’re just leaking precious energy that could have been used for your main lift. . By doing your main lift FIRST, you’ll be able to use the bulk of your energy on the exercise that will actually benefit you the most— aka help you build muscle and strength much more efficiently.
Trainer tip #2. After you perform all your sets of your main lift, you can then move on to accessory/secondary movements. These include exercises using anything from dumbbells, kettlebells, cables, suspension trainers (TRX) or even bodyweight.
Some examples of accessory exercises to do after your main lift include: lunges, dips, hamstring curls, glute kickbacks, and bicep curls.
Trainer tip #3. Make sure you time your rests appropriately. While this does depend on how many repetitions/how heavy you are lifting but for your main lift, a minimum of 60 seconds in between sets is appropriate. If you are doing a circuit or a superset, rest 30-45 seconds in between each round.
There is a lot more that goes into structuring an efficient strength training program but if you want to kickstart your goals, try my FREE 5-day fat loos challenge here:
Comments