Gym Workout Plan: The start of summer usually marks when many of us start thinking about our fitness goals. While we believe everybody is a bikini body, heading out into the sun will usually leave you feeling super motivated to get slimmer and healthier. However, exercising too hard can also have downsides, as it increases the risk of overtraining and muscle overstimulation if done too soon.
What is your best choice? Find a good training program to follow, as this will ensure you improve and progress at the right pace. But what is the “correct” speed? Working at your threshold fitness level can improve strength and cardiovascular fitness without feeling excessively tired.
The program can help with this. It provides a carefully crafted plan of what you must do to achieve your fitness goals, including the number of reps and sets you must perform each week. This will help you stay consistent in the gym, and you’ll be able to track your development and stay motivated for months to come. Looks good.
Starting a 12-Week Gym Training Plan: Take Your Time
How should you structure your 12-week gym plan? A common mistake I see over and over again, even among seasoned gym goers, is to go all out on day one of a workout program and forget about the required number of rest days. This is counterproductive to your goals because it will ultimately mean you will have to miss extensive sweaty workouts due to delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and mental fatigue. Don’t fall into this trap! Rest days exist for a reason, so take advantage of them.
The same advice applies to weight lifting: don’t increase the weight before your body is ready. Let me paint a picture of why this is important. Gym Goer A has planned two leg-focused strength training sessions: one on Monday and one on Thursday. On Mondays, he pushes himself to lift as much as possible, leaving the gym satisfied and with high endorphins. But his legs still felt like they had not recovered by Thursday, and he could only lift 50 per cent of Monday’s weight.
Gymgoer A will benefit more if he aims to use 60-70 per cent of his strength training during the first few sessions to allow his legs to adapt to the load. Please take note of this warning and be careful when choosing your weight!
Will I be able to recover in 12 weeks?
Now, you want to participate in the program but need a plan to follow. This 12-week gym training plan is suitable for everyone as it focuses on improving all fitness areas, including cardiovascular and strength. It features compound (multi-muscle) exercises—squats, presses, and deadlifts—over 12 weeks. This is designed to allow you to build full-body strength while performing compound movements that provide maximum muscle recruitment for your workout.
You’ll also find “assistance” movements (using smaller muscles) that allow you to increase your training volume and target specific muscle groups. The repetitions vary every four weeks to keep things exciting and continually train the muscles. Before you get started, setting some short- and long-term goals for yourself is recommended. This will help you keep going and make your training more likely to continue beyond the 12 weeks.
An excellent short-term strength goal is doing a full push-up without assistance; a good long-term goal is doing ten push-ups without stopping. An excellent short-term cardio goal is to run an uphill route in at least one of your weekly cardio sessions, and a long-term goal is to run a 5K in under 25 minutes. Ready? Let’s go to…
Your 12-Week Gym Workout Plan
This plan is based on completing two strength and two cardio sessions per week – ideal for starting your fitness journey. Spend 10 minutes warming up before each workout and five minutes cooling down after each workout. Each week, choose the suitable workout variation (see overleaf), increasing the number of repetitions, sets and movements to maintain the load on the muscles.
Training Tips
Keep improving. You can move your exercise’s volume, frequency or intensity. This ensures that your body remains challenged.
During your 12-week gym plan, if the number of repetitions of a particular exercise reduces or remains the same as the preceding month, increase the weight, keeping your muscles under tension.
Take progress photos to track your physical results. This can be a great incentive. Try to photograph the front, back and sides of your body in the morning before you eat and on the same day each week.
Weeks 1–4
MONDAY: Strength Day Workout A (see below)
TUESDAY: Rest day
WEDNESDAY: Cardio (endurance). Run for 25 minutes without stopping or run 5 km.
THURSDAY: Rest day
FRIDAY: Strength Day B workout (see below).
SATURDAY: Rest day
SUNDAY: Cardio (speed). Dash for 20 seconds, then jog for 40 seconds. Repeat for a total of 10 minutes.
Week 5–8
MONDAY: Strength Day Workout A (see below)
TUESDAY: Rest day
WEDNESDAY: Cardio (endurance). Run for 35 minutes without stopping or run for 7 km.
THURSDAY: Rest day
FRIDAY: Strength Day B workout (see below).
SATURDAY: Rest day
SUNDAY: Cardio (speed). Sprint for 30 seconds jog. Repeat for a total of 10 minutes.
Week 9 – 12
MONDAY: Strength Day Workout A (see below)
TUESDAY: Rest day
WEDNESDAY: Cardio (endurance). Run for 45 minutes without stopping or run 10 km.
THURSDAY: Rest day
FRIDAY: Strength Day B workout (see below)
SATURDAY: Rest day
SUNDAY: Cardio (speed). Sprint for 25 seconds and jog for 35 seconds. Repeat for a total of 14 minutes.
12-Week Gym Workout Plan: Strength Day A
See below for complete instructions on how to perform the exercises.
WEEKS 1–4
Squats with a barbell 3×15 (2 minutes rest)
Hip thrust 2×15 (rest 60-75 seconds)
Split squats 2×15 on each side (rest 60-75 seconds)
Military press 3×15 (rest 60-75 seconds)
Backward flight 2×15 (rest 60-75 seconds)
Dumbbell lateral raise 2×15 (rest 60-75 seconds)
Push-ups 1xMAX
WEEKS 5-8
Squats with a 3×12 barbell (2 minutes rest)
Hip thrust 3×15 (rest 60-75 seconds)
Split squats 3×15 on each side (rest 60-75 seconds)
Military press 3×12 (rest 60-75 seconds)
Rear deltoids 3×15 (rest 60-75 seconds)
Dumbbell lateral raise 3×15 (rest 60-75 seconds)
Push-ups 2xMAX
WEEKS 9-12
Squats with a 4×8 barbell (2 minutes rest)
Hip thrust 3×15 (rest 60-75 seconds)
Split squats 3×15 on each side (rest 60-75 seconds)
Wall sit 2×30 seconds (rest 30 seconds)
Military press 4×8 (rest 60-75 seconds)
Rear deltoids 3×15 (rest 60-75 seconds)
Dumbbell lateral raise 3×15 (rest 60-75 seconds)
Push-ups 3xMAX
