How do I design a strength training program?
When you're designing a strength training programme, you have to consider what your goals are, how much time availability you have, what equipment you'll have access to, and how many days a week you're willing to, or realistically have the ability to exercise. In very general terms, if you have no pre-existing conditions, then when you're starting an exercise programme with resistance training, you only need to do two to three days a week, of about 30 minutes. If that's the way you're starting out, you should do fundamental full-body type of movements; a squat, a leg press, a lunge, a chest press movement, a pulling motion, a pressing motion and then a curling and extending type of motion. Then some core movements as well. Now, this is very general, and this is also why it's very important to hire a trainer, because there may be some fundamental exercises that you need to do preceding that to ensure that your body is in balance; to do functional movements, to make sure that your pelvis is stable, that your back is aligned, that your knees track appropriately, and that your hips have the ability to move. So, oftentimes you need to do those types of exercises preceding the onset of a very well-structured weight training routine. So, ensure that you have the proper foundation and you seek the proper advice before you actually implement your strength training programme.
