Gym Routine Basics: Knowing the Way From Start to Finish

If you’re like most people, you may be confused about the “right way” to structure a workout. “What muscles should I work?” “How many exercises do I need to do?” “What exercises should be done first?” “What should be done last?” If you’ve ever had these thoughts don’t stress—so has everyone! And honestly, the fitness world is so confusing, they haven’t done much to help ordinary people feel set up for success. Don’t worry though, today we are going to take a little bit of time to give you enough detail to feel confident structuring your workout from start to finish. General Principles Whether you’re working legs, arms, core, or back the general principles discussed here are going to be the same. Keep in mind, this applies for STRENGTH TRAINING workouts (i.e. weights, bodyweight, fitness bands, hypertrophy, strength, muscle endurance, etc.). Principles may be similar but if you are targeting things like cardio or mobility your routine may look different. *Keep in mind that while these principles apply to most workouts, there is always nuance and exceptions can be made—such as using pre-fatigue techniques for hypertrophy. Stay informed, prioritize safety, and ensure every choice supports your goals Big to Small Complex to Simple When training your muscles, one of the first things you want to make sure you do is start with bigger or more complex movements early in your workout and slowly move to more simple and isolated exercises later. This allows your body the energy and neuromuscular activation to appropriately handle the higher demands of heavier and complicated exercises. It builds a foundation for your body and gets your prime movers active and engaged to get the most out of your workout. Starting with bigger muscle groups and more complex movements also helps protect against injury. As a workout progresses, your muscles fatigue, and if the prime movers are tired or unstable, more demand is placed on smaller supporting muscles—which may be more than they’re prepared to handle. This can unfortunately result in injury. Preventing injury is another key reason to start with larger muscles and complex movements first. Complex movements, by their nature, are more prone to injury. They involve multiple joints, ligaments, and muscles, with stabilizers, prime movers, and antagonists all seeking to move in a coordinated fashion. Performing these types of exercises under fatigue increases the risk of something not syncing up correctly — and injury can follow. Examples of Big or Complex Exercises Remember, what makes a movement “complex” is that it usually involves multiple joints. For example, the hip and knee both move during a squat, whereas, a hamstring curl only moves the knee. A squat also requires coordination from several muscle groups: Prime movers (quads, glutes) Antagonists (hamstrings) Stabilizers (low back, abdominals, calf complex, foot intrinsic muscles) All of these work together to perform the movement with control and technique. Even if multiple muscle groups are involved, an activity can still be more or less complex depending on the stability component required. For example, A leg press would be considered less complex than a squat because the body is supported. Multiple muscles are still working, but the machine provides stability. However, it would be considered more complex than a leg extension. Complex Exercise Examples: Squat Bench Deadlift Push Jerk Lunges Less-Complex Exercise Examples Leg press Bicep curl Hamstring curl Tricep pulldown Calf raise Perform 2-3 Exercises with 2-3 Sets Per Muscle Group This may sound confusing at first, but it’s simple: Whatever muscle group you want to train (pecs, quads, calves, glutes, etc.), make sure you do at least 2 exercises, with 2–3 sets each (reps typically between 2–15). So, for example, if I am training my pecs, I would choose at least 2 exercises that work the pecs. Example (there could be many): Bench press — 3 sets of 12 Cable flys — 2 sets of 15 Another Example — training quads: Squats — 3 sets of 8 Seated leg extension — 2 sets of 12 Balance Your Prime Movers, Stabilizers, and Antagonists A good fitness program doesn’t just target the same thing over and over again (we’ve all seen the guys who always skip leg day). A good program balances each muscle group and prioritizes the full body. Definitions Prime Movers: These are the main muscle involved for whatever movement you are performing. For example, in a bench press it is the pecs. In a pull up, it’s the lats. In a squat its the quads. *These will change based on whatever movement you are performing Antagonists: The antagonist is the opposite muscle for whatever movement you are performing. These obviously change based on whatever your prime mover is and prime movers and antagonists often switch roles depending on the movement. If I am performing a squat the prime mover is the quad. This muscle flexes the hip and extends the knee. The opposite of this is the hamstring which extends the hip and flexes the knee. For a bicep curl the prime mover is the bicep which flexes the elbow. The tricep would be the opposite which extends the elbow. You can imagine if I was performing a tricep extension those roles would be reversed. Stabilizers: Lastly (and often neglected), are the stabilizing muscles. As a physical therapist, a lot of my job is helping people work these underutilized muscles. Their goal is to keep the rest of the body and other joints stable while performing a movement. A key example is the rotator cuff muscles in the shoulder. Another example is the hip rotators or low back muscles. Putting them Together This is where the 2-3 sets of 2-3 exercises per muscle group becomes useful. A good routine will balance out the prime movers, antagonists and stabilizers. These don’t have to happen all in the same day but should happen throughout a program. If I was building a good lower body day, I could choose 2-3 quad exercises like the squat and leg extension (prime movers), 2-3 hamstring exercises like deadlifts and hamstring curls (antagonists), and 2-3 hip exercises like clamshells and hip abduction (stabilizers). You could take a second to consider how you could do this same thing with an upper body workout: Just think: “What main muscle group(s) do I want to train?” “What are 2-3 exercises for that muscle?” "What are the antagonists to that muscle? What are 2-3 exercises for those?” And potentially, “What stabilizers are involved and what are 2-3 exercises I could do for those?” *Keep in mind, whether you are using dumbbells, bands, a machine press, or bodyweight, the principles are the same. We will discuss in another article the differences in types of equipment. Final Thoughts There is obviously much more you can learn about building a good fitness routine — I’ve been studying it for over 10 years and still learn more! But hopefully, these principles help you avoid wandering aimlessly, the next time you’re at the gym. With these principles, you should be able to confidently create a solid exercise routine, no matter where you are. There’s still much to discuss about reps, programming, and goals (look for future blog posts)—but if you follow these guidelines and perform anywhere from 6-12 reps per set you will be in an acceptable range for good results. Good luck with your next exercise session!