Finally Decided to Take a Plunge & Adopt a Healthy Lifestyle:? 5 Complete Weekly Workout Plans You can Start Your Transformation Journey With! (2020)

• If you are healthy, you will stay happy. Exercise enhances brain sensitivity by excreting serotonin and norepinephrine to keep us away from depression. It also produces endorphins which reduce the perception of pain.


• Routine exercises lower your metabolic rate, which induces weight loss.


• If you wish to get into a habit of exercising, then having a workout plan is a great idea.


• Having a routine exercise plan also helps you in keeping track of your progress. You can make a fitness goal and record how you started and what you achieved.


• If you are one of those people who tend to overdo your exercise and then be in pain, then having a routine exercise plan can help you overcome that. You will know what your aim is and what needs to be done to achieve your goal; this way, you will stay focused and get faster results.


• If you have a set workout plan like a 4, 6 or 12-week plan, then it will be easier for you to reach your goal.

• Before creating a workout plan, you need to figure out your availability. People working full-time jobs may not be able to give a lot of time for exercise, therefore, evaluate your schedule and see how many days in a week will you be able to offer to a workout plan.


• Figure out what kind of exercise routine you wish to follow, what muscle group you want to work on etc. This will help you decide on what kind of workout plan you should make for yourself.


• You need to find the motivation and consistency to keep going or else no workout plan will get you the desired results.


• Remember to keep a day or two for rest, but resting does not mean doing no exercise at all. You can plan a long walk, some yoga, swimming, etc. for rest days to recover from a week of strenuous exercise.


• Decide the place where you wish to work out and make a workout plan accordingly. Different workout plans work for different places, for instance, you can't use the same workout plan for exercising at home and at the gym.


• Decide on how many sets and reps you should do for effective results. The recommended are 3 to 5 sets per exercise, 8 to 10 reps per set when starting out.

Upper-body strength training (45 to 60 minutes)

• Bent-Over Reverse Fly: Bend at the waist and hold the dumbbells with palms facing inside. Stand on your heels with a straight back. Raise your arms to the side and pull the elbow back. Don't lock elbows. Do 8 reps of this.


• Lateral to Front Raise: Stand with keeping feet together and raise your arms out towards the sides with palms facing downwards. Bring it lower then raise arms directly in front. Don't swing your arms as you do this. Do 8 reps.


• Upright Row: Keep your arms in front and stand. Raise dumbbells to the front side of the body up to your shoulders leading with your elbows. Do 8 reps.


• Overhead Press with Triceps Extension: Keep your dumbbells in racked position with palms facing in, keep your wrists over your shoulders and press overhead until arms are extended. Squeeze your triceps to straighten your arms by keeping hands apart and elbows up, bring it back down. Do 8 reps, rest, then repeat the circuit twice more.

HIIT

• Bear Crawls: Stand straight with feet hip-width apart. Bend over and place palms flat on the floor. Come to a high plank position by walking with hands, pause then go back. Keep your hips high and legs straight. Repeat for 30 seconds.


• Triceps Dips: Start by sitting on the floor, keep your feet flat in front of the hips and keep your hands behind your hips with fingers pointing towards heels. Now press hands and feet to lift your hips off the ground. Bend your arms as low as possible with elbows pointing at the back and squeeze triceps to straighten arms. Repeat for 30 seconds.


• Push-ups : Start with high plank position then lower your chest and tap the floor with it with elbows pointing backwards at 45 degrees. Now, lift your chest away from the floor, keep your core as tight as possible. Repeat for 30 seconds.


• Dive Bombers: Come to a dog position with hips lifted and heels towards the floor. Now, bend your elbows first, then your chest and stomach towards the ground in a scooping motion and come back to the upward dog position at the end of the motion. Next, reverse the movement. Repeat for 30 seconds.

Lower-body strength training (30 to 60 minutes)

• Balancing Squat: Stand with feet wider than hip-width apart, keep chest lifted with a straight spine. Come down to a deep squat and touch the floor with your palms. Now, go back up while shifting your weight to your right leg, bend your left knee and hold your shin with your left hand. Hold for a few seconds and release and return to start. Do 20 reps total, alternating sides.


• Standing Slow Side Kick: Stand with legs hip-width apart and keep your hands on hips. Extend your right leg to the side in 3 counts. Keep your inner thigh parallel to the floor and hold for 1 count. Come back again in 3 counts. Do 15 reps per side.


• Side-Stepping Curtsy: Stand with wide feet and hands behind your head. Now, cross your right leg behind the left and lower into a curtsy lunge, reach your right hand to the floor and quickly come back. Do 20 reps total, alternating sides.


• Alternating Side Jump: Put your hands on your hips and stand tall. Hop 3 feet to your left, you should end on your left foot with slightly bent left foot. Now, bring your right foot down to the floor. Do 15 reps per side.

Yoga or a low-impact activity like barre, light cycling, or swimming (30 to 60 minutes)

• Aqua Zumba: This is one of the best ways to burn calories and have fun during summers. Water makes a safe, low impact environment which is easy on your knees, feet and hips. It provides great cardio and strength benefits. You can end up killing around 700 calories in an hour and have a lot more fun. Make sure to keep your core engaged and maintain the right posture in the pool.


• Rowing vigorously can burn around 600 calories in an hour, and it gives you a total body workout in one go. When doing rowing remember to push back with your legs and let the arms and back follow for maximum results.


• Rollerblading: If you like outdoors, then go for rollerblading. It is a low impact way to burn around 860 calories in an hour. You can start with a slow pace and increase the pace at regular intervals.

HIIT (20 minutes)

• Pencil Squats: Keep your feet together and stand straight, raise your hand above your head and hop your feet apart then come down to a low squat. As you come down, reach out with your fingertips and touch your heels. Do this for 30 seconds.


• Oblique High Knees: Stand and form a T at chest level with fingertips pointing towards each other. Now raise your right hand and twist your body so that the left elbow touches your right knee. Do it simultaneously with both legs for 30 seconds.


• Spiders: Come to a push-up position and bend the elbows back to lower the chest to just 1 inch from the ground. When you lower yourself, bring the right knee in toward the elbows and go back to start position. Do the same with the left knee. Do this for 30 seconds.


• Star Bursts: Stand straight keeping feet together. Bend your knees and push your hips back into a low squat. Engage your core and bring your arms in the centre of your body. Explode yourself as you jump as high as you can. Extend your arms and legs and form an X. Do for 30 seconds.

Total-body strength training (30 to 60 minutes)

• Pistol Squats: It works wonders on your core not to mention your glutes, hamstrings and calves. Hold your arms in front of your body and raise the right leg off the floor. Now, lower your body on one foot as down as you can. Hold it there and push back into the start position.


• Turkish Getup: Lie on your back and hold a dumbbell in your left hand, extend the arm straight above you. Now, roll to your right side and prop yourself up on your right elbow. Stand up but keep your arm straight. Hold and come back to starting position.


• Burpees is a great full-body exercise. It works on your chest, arms, thighs, hamstrings and abs. Just combine squat thrusts and return to standing position in between each rep.


• Plank: It is a great exercise for your core. Do a plank and hold it for 40 sec for a start. You can increase it if you like. Don't let your hips sag.

• Steady-state cardio (running or cycling for as long as it feels comfortable for you).
• You can repeat the HIIT again on Saturday or simply run or go for a bike ride for as long as you want.

• Take rest but don't stay still. Go for a mild walk or a swim, or play with your dog on the beach to keep yourself active.

• Weights (if you can implement, with 30-second breaks)
• Flat Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets of 10
• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets of 10
• Machine Chest Fly: 3 sets of 10
• 50 pushups
• Exercise for abs
• Exercise for cardio

• Seated Cable Row: 3 sets of 10
• Seated Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 10
• Machine Row: 3 sets of 10
• 50 bent-over dumbbell rows for time, each arm
• Exercise for abs
• Exercise for cardio

• Seated Dumbbell Military Press: 3 sets of 10
• Seated dumbbell flys: 3 sets of 10
• Seated dumbbell front raises: 3 sets of 10
• 50 Seated dumbbell military press again, for time
• Exercise for abs
• Exercise for cardio

• Leg Press Machine: 3 sets of 10
• Hamstring Leg Curl: 3 sets of 10
• Quad Leg Extension: 3 sets of 10
• 50 Bodyweight squat jumps for time
• Exercise for abs
• Exercise for cardio

• Dumbbell Curls: 3 Sets of 10
• Dumbbell Skull Crushers: 3 Sets of 10
• Rope Cable Curl: 3 Sets of 10
• Rope Arm Extension: 3 Sets of 10
• Preacher Curl: 3 Sets of 10
• Bent Over Arm Extension: 3 Sets of 10
• Exercise for abs
• Exercise for cardio

Note

• Exercise for abs: Do 25-second plank, 2 sets of 15 leg raise and 2 sets of 21 bicycle crunches.
• Exercise for cardio: Do walking on incline treadmill at 4 degrees at 4 miles per hour for about 25 minutes. You can go slower if you don't feel up to it.

Take rest on the 6th and 7th day, but try and do 5o push-ups each day, take a 20-minute walk or do 3 sets of 15 burpees.

• Chest and triceps: Lie on a flat bench, hold a barbell and keep your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Lower the bar towards your chest and bring it back while keeping your core tight. Do 5 reps.


• Triceps dip: Hold the rings or parallel bars, keep your arms straight and chest up. Bend your elbows and come as low as you can. Push back and return to start. Do 5 reps.


• Incline dumbbell press: Lie down on an incline bench and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Press the weights and keep your arms straight then bring them back to start. Do 3 reps.


• Dumbbell triceps extension: Hold a dumbbell over your head and stand straight with arms straight. Lower the weight behind your head and bring it back up. Do 3 reps.

• Pull-up: Grab a pull up bar and keep your hands shoulder-width apart. Pull yourself up till your chest touches the bar. Lower yourself. Do 5 reps.


• Bent-over row: Hold the barbell with hands outside your legs now lean forward from your hips. Bend your knees a little and pull up the bar with the help of elbows pressure. Go back to start position. Do 5 reps.


• Chin-up: Hold the pull up bar and pull yourself up over the bar. Lower and go back to start position. Do 3 reps.


• Standing biceps curl: Keep the dumbbell on your sides and stand, keep your elbows inward and curl the weight. Squeeze your biceps hold, lower it back. Do 3 reps.

• Back squat: Hold a bar across our shoulders from the back and stand. Squat down as low as you can and come back up. Do 5 reps.


• Barbell good morning: Take a lightweight barbell and keep it across your shoulders from behind. Bend forward from the hips till you reach your hamstrings. Go back to start. Do 5 reps.


• Glute bridge: Sit on a bend, hold a barbell across your tights. Thrust your hips upwards and squeeze your glutes. Return to start position. Do 3 reps.

• Overhead press: Hold a bar in front of your neck. Press it overhead with your arms straight. Bring it back, Do 5 reps.


• Rack pull: Take a barbell and put is on the safety bar at knee height. Bend and hold the bar with an overhand grip and stand till your back is straight. Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Do 5 reps.


• Seated dumbbell press: Take a dumbbell in both hands and sit on an upright bench. Keep hands at shoulder height. Press the weights overhead and make your hands straight. Come back to start position. Do 3 reps.

For chest

• Barbell bench press
• Superset of flat dumbbell flyes and flat dumbbell press
• Decline dumbbell press
• Incline barbell press
• Superset of pec deck flys and chest dips

Tricep workouts

• Narrow grip bench press
• Superset of diamond push-ups and bench dips
• Skull crusher tricep press down
• Parallel bar dips

• Pike push-ups
• Shoulder barbell press
• Arnold press
• Dumbbell lateral raises
• Superset of rear delt flyes and reverse pec deck flyes
• Upright rows

• Lying leg raises
• Scissors
• Reverse crunches
• Plank
• Cross-arm crunches
• V-sit ups

Back Workout

• Pull-ups
• Superset of overhand grip lat pulldown and underhand grip lat pulldown
• Deadlift
• Bent-over barbell row
• Superset of dumbbell shrug and rope shrug

Biceps Workout

• Chin-ups
• Superset of bicep curls
• Bicep Curls With Ez Bar (Narrow Grip)
• Bicep Curls With Straight Bar (Wide Grip)
• Concentration curls
• Hammer curls
• Superset of reverse grip bicep curls and incline dumbbell curls

• Barbell squats
• Leg extensions
• Dumbbell lunges
• Hamstring curls
• Superset of standing calf raises and seated calf raises

Leave day 6 and 7 for rest. Also, follow a balanced diet and be determined and watch the workout do wonders for you.

Strength Training — 1 Hour — 3 Days Per Week

• Compound lower-body exercise (e.g. deadlift, squat): You don't need to follow a set of reps or steps for this training, but you can do 5 reps in each session if you like. Start with a light weight and increase later on. Keep increasing 5 pounds of weight every time until you can't add any more.


• Upper-body superset: You can do exercises like dumbbell bench press, push-up and upper body pulling exercises like single-arm bent-over row, dumbbell curl. Start with one set of the first one, then do the second one without taking a break. Try and do three sets of 12 reps for each exercise.


• Lower-body/core superset: Start with exercises like reverse lunge, step-up and core exercises like the plank and the Russian twists. The unilateral exercises let you work one leg at a time, making sure you give the same amount of time to both your legs. You will have to do three sets of 12 reps without taking rest in between. You can try doing the plank for 30 seconds if you are a beginner.


• Metabolic finisher: For better calorie burning, you can opt for three minutes or jump rope or 15 minutes of burpees. Whatever you choose to do, do for a set number of times and as fast as possible.

• For the HIIT part of the training, you will be doing it 1 day per week for 20 minutes. You can decide yourself as to what you want to do, it could be running, cycling or burpees. Do it as fast as you can for 30 seconds and take rest for 60 seconds. Keep repeating this for 20 minutes.

• For cardio, you will be doing it for 1 day per week for 35 to 45 minutes. You can choose from running, rowing, swimming, etc.

Don't forget to take rest. For the next 2 days, eat well-balanced food and let your muscles recover.