One of the most common tweets I see is some form of “I have no idea how to workout“. I try to jump in those conversations with a few ideas, but I realized it might be good to catalog some of those pointers on our site.

And now that I’m not limited to a 140 280 character count, I want to take the opportunity to expand just a bit. You’ll still get a free routine, of course, so you can skim for that and deuce out if you’d like. But I think it’d be super helpful to learn the big takeaway of why certain moves should be done and how to adjust these moves for your own needs.

Come for the workouts, stick around to learn some workout programming.

Let’s take a look at one of the Leg Day Workouts we made for a client who has access to Planet Fitness:

Warm-Up

• Bird Dogs 3×6
• Deep Body Weight Squats 3×7

Primary Lift

• Dumbbell Goblet Squat 4×8

Accessory Lifts

• Dumbbell Reverse Lunge 3×6
• Dumbbell Squat Clean 3×12
• RKC Plank 4×15 seconds

Client Context

Compared to our Back Day routine, you’ll notice this workout is much shorter. And that’s on purpose.

Our client works a later shift, so he wanted something brief he could squeeze in before his commute home. The other thing we needed to take into consideration was giving a strength training routine that incorporated free weights while being “quiet” enough not to set off Planet Fitness’ lunk alarm.

In the “worst case” situation that he couldn’t swing by the gym, these moves are easily doable at home.

Adjusting the Moves for a Beginner

Rather than any major substitute, you’d probably start with keeping most of the moves at bodyweight. Then, for the squats really working on the depth and getting that mind-muscle activation for the legs.

For the Accessory Lifts, you’d really want to take care of actively going through the motions so that you’re not just running through the moves mindlessly. Lunges are learned very well robotically. Squat Cleans definitely have more oomph, but learning when and where to explode ensures you don’t bang up your knees.

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