Whether you are a fitness freak or a trainer, you will need to write a fitness schedule. As a trainer for the person whom you are training and if you are exercising yourself, for yourself. Before you pick up a pen and paper and dash out exercises and timings randomly, take a moment to think things through.
The first thing you should ask yourself is why do you want to work out? Is it because your friend does, because someone commented that you are growing fat and lazy, because you feel that you need to work out, or because you enjoy it? Be honest with yourself and plan out a realistic schedule which you will stick to. There is no point in having a schedule which you will not follow.
Your Current fitness Level
Just as you can’t jump from class III to Class VI, you can’t jump from level 0 to level 5 while working out. Assess yourself and set targets for the next level up. Talk to a personal trainer if you like. Setting high and unachievable targets will only deter you from your routine.
Here is preview of this Fitness Schedule Template created using MS Excel,
Your Current fitness Routine
Do you engage in some form of exercise regularly like walking or jogging? If you are new to workouts, it is best to begin slowly and gradually work your way up to more strenuous exercise. Otherwise you may end up hurting yourself or giving up work outs altogether.
Your Daily Routine Other Than Exercise
Besides exercise what are your other activities during the day? Take a moment to consider if these are strenuous and tiring. If you try to work out after having travelled all over the city during the day, chances are you may not do a very good job and may be discouraged from keeping it up.
What you need?
Once you have assessed yourself, talk to a personal trainer, and decide what exercises are best for you and how much time you should spend on each of them. The advantage of beginning slow and gradually increasing the tempo and time you spend on exercising cannot be overstressed.
How much Time you Have?
Having decided what you need, the next step is to note down exactly what times of the days you can devote to exercise vis-à-vis the required time. Then work out your exercise program with the help of your trainer. You will also have to accommodate him if he is not free in a particular time-slot which you would like to take.
Charting and Printing
Chart out your routine with dates, times and type of exercise. Print it out and hand over a copy to your trainer for his reference so that he knows what is expected of him. You can seek help from several planning templates online from office guru site.
Some Dos and Don’ts for working out
Do’s
- Always allow time for warming up and cooling down.
- Start small – Start with 10 to 15 minutes a day and gradually increase it.
- Diversify your exercises as much as possible to avoid boredom.
- Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration
- Have a friend or some music to keep you company.
Don’ts
- Never over do it. If you feel tired or strained, stop.
- Never skip breakfast. Breakfast jump-starts your digestion process and provides energy required through the day.
- Never skip warm-up and stretching.
- Never lose sleep. Staying up late may seem like a good idea to get your work done. But it stresses you out and saps your energy during the day.
- Don’t set unattainable goals. They will only discourage you.
- Don’t compare with others.
- Don’t do random work outs.
Here is download link for this Fitness Schedule Template,