How to Design Your Own Workout

published 11 February 2008

1. Divide your muscles into two groups:

- Back, biceps, glutes, hamstrings, oblique abs

- Chest, shoulders, triceps, quadriceps (front of the thigh), ab muscles that run down the center of your body, transverse abs (abs that run across your body, very low in your pelvis)

2. Work each muscle group only twice a week; wait 48 hours before working the same muscle group again.

3. Work the big muscles before the smaller ones (e.g., work out the chest before the triceps).

4. Change it up every two weeks. Alter the weight, the number of sets, or the type of exercise.

5. Try new exercises, and don't let yourself off easy. If you continue to demand new things from your muscles every week, your body will continue to improve.