Body Transformation - How to Build Your Weekly Training Schedule for Body Transformation

Are You Really Training OR Just Working Out- What’s the Difference?

How to Build a Weekly Training Schedule to Get Body Transformation Results

When your goal is simply to get started with a more active lifestyle, pretty much any exercise or regimen will do. However, when you are ready for serious body transformation results, your weekly training regimen requires a little more thought and planning. To consistently lose fat and increase muscle definition you must abandon random workouts and learn what it means to truly engage in a results driven training program. A training program doesn’t require that you take all of the fun out of your training; it simply means that everything you do has a purpose and moves you closer to your body transformation goal. No more back to back group exercise classes and walking on the treadmill at a pace slow enough to read your favorite magazine. For body transformation, there are four workout categories that can be included in your training plan: strength workouts, high intensity interval workouts (also called conditioning work), moderate intensity cardio (moderate intervals or steady state), and regeneration work that includes foam rolling and stretching. Since the goal of a training plan geared toward body transformation is to cause and maintain an increase in metabolism, the following training hierarchy should be used.

Training Hierarchy

1. Strength Workouts

2. Regeneration Workouts

3. High Intensity Intervals

4. Moderate Cardio

Your strength workouts are your first priority as they will help you build and maintain muscle which is critical to maintaining a high metabolism. Next on the list is foam rolling and stretching. Your regeneration work will help your body recover from the intense workouts that you are doing and insure that you are getting the best results for your efforts as well as staying injury free. Next priority is high intensity intervals. These interval sessions will improve your overall fitness level as well as create an after burn effect that keeps your body burning calories at a higher rate for up to a day and half after the session. High intensity is relative to each person however during interval training, you should be working at near maximal or maximal effort levels in short spurts followed by periods of working at recovery level. See my article on intervals if you need to know how to build an interval training program. Your last priority in your training regimen (and sometimes an unnecessary one depending on your goal and previous exercise history) is moderate cardio. This element can help burn more calories and accelerate results only when you have addressed the higher training priorities and implemented a sound nutrition plan. Unfortunately most of us flip this hierarchy upside down. The tendency to do lots of cardio and eliminate strength training and recovery sessions when your schedule is tight leaves many women on the weight loss rollercoaster losing and gaining the same few pounds repeatedly and never achieving true body transformation. You can not kickbox and spin your way to a tight, athletic figure- hitting the iron is critical. Now that you understand the components of a weekly training schedule, lets get on to the business of building one. A weekly training schedule can vary a lot based on the goal of the person training, their previous exercise history, and the amount of time they have available to dedicate to training. You do not have to spend endless hours in the gym to transform your body. You only have to train smart and eat well. The schedules below are not the final word on training schedules but simply examples to give you an idea of how to build and customize your own weekly schedule.

Sample Weekly Training Schedules

I have helped dozens of women transform their bodies tremendously with as little as two hours per week broken into four weekly workouts. Remember, proper nutrition is really the key to shedding fat to show off all of the hard earned muscle you have gained with your training program.

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