I muddled my way through one semester of exercise science in high school and worked with a personal trainer at Goodlife Fitness for a couple of months as an introduction to working out. So, no, I am not certified or qualified to build legitimate exercise programs for people. But I’ve taken the time to learn what I can online and test stuff myself after almost five years of working out—only two years of consistently doing it. In those two years, I’ve honed a process for building exercise programs for myself that has helped me get harder, better, faster, stronger—all that good stuff.
Framework, Frequency, and Focus
I used to simply change my exercise program with every season, meaning my programs would be about three months long. This meant I only had to sit down and put everything together four times a year, which was nice, but I found I really started to get bored of my program in those last few weeks and anxious for something different. Most exercise programs fall within the four to eight-week range, so with this new spring program, I want to try a two-month block instead. So, this new program will last nine weeks, from March 30 to June 1. This way, I have one week to test-run my program and make tweaks if necessary.
Now to decide how many days a week I want to work out! I’ve been doing five or six-day splits for the past year or so, but things are really starting to ramp up with my business, plus, a girl’s gotta eat. So, I think this year I’ll be shifting more into maintenance mode for my fitness while I go into build mode for L’s Digital Solutions. The Heart and Stroke Foundation, as well as many other reputable sources, says that the recommended amount of exercise for adults is 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity and muscle and bone-strengthening activities using major muscle groups at least two days per week. For starters, it sounds like two full-body workouts are on the menu! As for aerobic activity, running is my number one choice. I usually like to do a shorter run, around 5k, earlier in the week, then a longer run around 10k on the weekend. That plus my daily walks should get me to at least 150 minutes. Perfect! Let’s get building.
Form, Fundamentals, and Fun
For my programs, I like to keep it simple because, well, I’m not a professional. So, every week will be the same routine; the difference will be the effort I put in. With my weightlifting, I’ll be working within a six to ten rep range. I start with a weight that I can do at least three sets of six with. Once I can do three sets of ten, I go heavier. With my long runs, I’ll aim for one extra km every week. I’m currently back up to 8k since my winter legs have been “thawing out”. If successful, my final long run of the program will be 16 km. But I may get sick, have an important event, or simply need a deload week so I don’t injure myself. The furthest I’ve ever run is 13 km, so I’d be happy with a goal of running 15 km by June!
Now, let’s start with the fundamental movements in weightlifting.
Squat
This is perhaps one of the most practical movement patterns to train, because you use it every time you sit down and stand up! The primary muscles you use for this are the glutes and quadriceps. Some common ways to do a squat are with just your bodyweight, or adding weight with a barbell or by holding dumbbells, kettlebells, a medicine ball, or a cat, whatever’s handy. Lunges and split squats also count as a squat movement, you’re just using one leg at a time!
Hinge
This is also a very important movement you use in everyday tasks, mainly picking things up. Hinging primarily uses the glutes as well, and instead of the quadriceps (the front of the thigh), this uses the hamstrings (the back of the thigh). There are a variety of ways to train these muscles, the most popular being deadlifts, hip thrusts, glute bridges, and kettlebell swings.
Rotation
Moving up to our core, being able to rotate and twist your body also comes up a lot in our lives. There’s a reason Pilates has gained so much popularity – it’s extremely important to train your core! The most effective movements to train these muscles are woodchoppers, windmills, pallof presses, side planks, and bird dogs (you may need to Google some of these, I know I did).
Horizontal Push
Think of pushing away from something, hopefully this isn’t something you’re using on a regular basis, but this still targets a major muscle group: the chest.
Horizontal Pull
Important for posture, horizontal pull movements target your upper back. The best way to train this movement pattern is with push-ups and bench presses. The way to train this is with rows: bent-over rows, single-arm rows, seated cable rows, all the rows.
Vertical Push
Targeting your shoulders, the vertical push helps you lift things over your head. The way to train this is with presses: z-press, overhead press, push press, shoulder press, all the presses.
Vertical Pull
This targets your lats (middle back) and also your grip strength because the best exercises for this are pull-ups, chin-ups, and lat pulldowns.
That was a really quick rundown of everything! If you do want to learn more about movement patterns in weightlifting, I definitely recommend following this link for all the details on everything.
Now that we’ve covered the form of the program and the fundamentals of exercises, it’s time to put the workouts together, AKA the fun part! Because if it doesn’t sound fun, you won’t want to actually do the workout. So “Fun” is very important here, and why I switch things up every couple of months so it stays fun!
One More Time
Since we’ve got to hit every movement pattern in each workout, let’s start by picking two for each:
Squat
I’m tired of barbell squats and feel like I’m hitting a plateau, so another way to do that is using the leg press machine. I also just did lunges in my last program, so let’s go with step-ups this time.
Hinge
Again, I’m really tired of doing the same old barbell deadlifts, so let’s do hip thrusts this time. I also like doing single-leg Romanian deadlifts, so even though I did them last program, I’ll keep them in for this one. That way, I have a compound and single-leg version for both the squat and hinge movement patterns.
Rotation
I loved doing side planks while holding a dumbbell with my top arm and reaching up and down while holding the plank, but I’m too comfortable with that movement now, so I should mix it up. Let’s go with side bends and cable chops.
Horizontal Push
I want to keep improving on my push-ups, so those are being repeated from my last program as well, but I’ll switch out the barbell bench press for a dumbbell press instead.
Horizontal Pull
Switching out a barbell bent-over-row for a single-arm dumbbell row, and we’ll do a seated cable row as well. Where possible, I like to do both arms and single arm movements, like with my legs!
Vertical Push
I finally got strong enough to do an overhead press with a barbell (45lbs) last fall, but I think I’ve plateaued on that movement, so let’s go with a dumbbell overhead press and then also work on my muscle imbalance in my triceps and do single-arm triceps extensions. I started this in my last program, but I’ll actually do two extra reps on my weaker side (my left) to balance my strength.
Vertical Pull
I can barely do a pull-up on my own, and once I do, my muscles are shot, and good luck trying to get another one out of me. So, the goal is to keep building those muscles! There’s an assisted pull-up machine at the gym that allows me to lift progressively more of my weight until I can handle my full bodyweight. I’m down to -30lbs, so I’m close! I’ll also repeat lat pulldowns from my last program because it’s a really good movement to help train pull-ups. Instead of pulling yourself up to the bar, you’re pulling the bar down to you.
Accessory Moves
My fellow runners may be squirming in their seats right now, “But Laura, what about calves?!” Hush now, I’d never forget to train calves. Since they’re not a major muscle group and don’t fall under any of the fundamental movement patterns, they’re considered an accessory movement. So yes, I’ll throw in some single-leg dumbbell calf raises. As for my other accessory movement, anyone following me on Strava knows my hip has been bothering me on my runs lately. To give it some love, I’ll add seated hip abductors to hopefully strengthen it so it shuts up. Anything but mobility work, am I right?
Can’t Forget About Core
I know we’ve already sort of covered core with our rotation movements, but we kind of skipped over the middle—and I’d never say no to a six-pack. So, if possible, let’s throw in the two best exercises to get visible abs: cable crunches and hanging leg raises.
Put It All Together
Now I just need to put everything in order. Typically, the best way to structure a workout is to start with your compound movements. They typically require the most strength because they target multiple muscle groups. Save them for the end, and you won’t be able to do them properly or very well. Then you move on to the unilateral moves (single-arm or single-leg). Lastly, we’ll finish with the accessory moves since they’re the smallest muscles and can still be trained properly even if you’re a little tired.
That sort of determines the order, but if you counted, we have 18 exercises that need to be split into two workouts. How do I split them? Honestly, based on what machines are grouped and what exercises use the same equipment. It makes things go a bit faster in the gym. What also makes things go faster is supersets! Since I’m doing three sets of 6-10 reps for each exercise, I’ll take 90 seconds between each set to rest. That can add up to a lot of time, so an easy way to make a workout shorter is to group two exercises that use different muscles together so you can combine their rest time. I usually leave the compound movements alone because they require a lot of effort, but it’s definitely doable for dumbbell work and unilateral moves. Now, let’s see how I can put this all together!
Full Body A
Full Body B
Hip Thrusts
Assisted Pull-Ups
SS: Seated Cable Row / Push-Ups
SS: DB Overhead Press / DB Step-Ups
SS: SL DB Calf Raises / DB Side Bends
Hanging Leg Raises
For my first workout of the week, I’ll start with my compound leg movement, then my compound upper body movement. First superset will be my horizontal pull superset with my horizontal push. Next, my vertical push superset with my single-leg squat movement. Then, my accessory movement superset with my rotation movement. Lastly, my core movement.
Leg Press
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns
SS: DB Chest Press / SA DB Row
SS: Seated Hip Abductors / SL DB RDLs
SS: Cable Triceps Extensions / Cable Chops
Cable Crunches
For my second workout of the week, I’ll again start with my compound leg movement, then my compound upper body movement. Then, I’ll again superset my horizontal push and pull movements. Next, since the triceps extensions and chops both require the cable machine, they should go together, forcing my seated hip abductors and single-leg Romanian deadlifts together. That’s fine, I can just put the dumbbells beside the machine and use them right after. Then, of course, I’ll finish with my core movement.
Let’s Get Lifting
So, that’s how I go from a chaotic jumble of “I should really do more upper body” thoughts to a structured, balanced, and fun workout plan. The key takeaways? Keep your framework simple, hit all your major movement patterns, plan for progress (but also for real life), and make sure your workouts are something you actually want to do. If it’s not fun, you won’t stick with it—and I say that as someone who’s quit plenty of un-fun programs halfway through.
Remember, you don’t need to be certified to build something that works for you. You just need a little intention, a bit of knowledge, and a willingness to try stuff out and tweak it as you go.
If you’ve made it this far and feel inspired (or confused, or ready to overhaul your own plan), I’d love to hear from you! Drop a comment, message me your favourite accessory movement, or check out my other posts on running, lifting, and building a fitness routine that fits your life—not takes it over.
One last note before you lace up: the only thing I didn’t touch on in this post is warm-ups and cool-downs. They’re easy to skip but incredibly important—so I’ll be dedicating a whole blog to them soon. Keep an eye out!