Written by Martin Ebner
Last updated September 2026
Joining a gym is easy. Knowing what to do once you get there is the part that catches people out.
You can wander between machines, copy a few exercises from Instagram and still finish feeling as though you’ve trained. The problem arrives several weeks later, when you’ve no idea whether you’re stronger, what needs changing or why the session looks different every time.
A training plan fixes that. It doesn’t need to be clever, colour-coded or built around six days a week. It needs to fit your goal, tell you what to do next and give you a way to measure whether it’s working.
A PLAN SHOULD MAKE THE NEXT SESSION OBVIOUS
A list of exercises isn’t automatically a training plan. A useful plan tells you which exercises you’re doing, how many sets and repetitions to complete, roughly how hard they should feel and what progress will look like next time.
It also has to fit the person following it. Three excellent workouts every week are useless to someone who can only train twice. The same applies to exercises you hate, equipment your gym doesn’t have and sessions that take longer than the time available.
The best plan isn’t the one that looks most impressive. It’s the one you can repeat long enough to learn from.
START WITH THE WEEK YOU CAN REPEAT
Be honest about how often you can train when work, family, sleep and everything else behave normally. Don’t build the plan around a fantasy week where nothing interrupts you.
For most people starting out, two or three strength sessions a week is plenty. The American College of Sports Medicine’s 2026 position stand recommends training all the major muscle groups at least twice a week and makes the bigger point that going from no resistance training to some resistance training produces the largest improvement.
Two full-body sessions completed most weeks will beat a five-day split that lasts until the first busy Tuesday. Start with what you can maintain. You can always add another day when the first two have become part of your life.
CHOOSE EXERCISES FOR A REASON
Your plan should cover the main jobs your body needs to perform. That normally means a squat or leg-press pattern, a hip hinge, an upper-body push, an upper-body pull and some direct work for anything important to your goal.
That doesn’t mean everyone needs to barbell squat, deadlift and bench press. Machines, free weights, cables and bodyweight exercises can all work. The latest ACSM review found that equipment type didn’t consistently change results for the average healthy adult.
Choose movements you can perform well, that suit your body and that your gym allows you to repeat consistently. If an exercise never feels right, find another way to train the same area. For every exercise that isn’t right for you, there are five others we can use instead.
SETS, REPS AND WEIGHT DEPEND ON THE GOAL
There isn’t one magical repetition range. Heavier loads are generally better suited to maximum strength, while muscle can grow across a much wider range when the sets are challenging enough.
A large systematic review and network meta-analysis found that every resistance-training approach studied improved strength and muscle growth compared with doing nothing. Heavier loads ranked best for strength, while multiple-set programs ranked highly for muscle growth.
Two or three working sets per exercise is a sensible place to begin. Pick a weight that lets you control the movement and makes the final repetitions feel challenging without your technique falling apart. You don’t need to reach complete failure on every set. The research doesn’t show that it’s required for strength or muscle growth.
Take the recovery the next set needs. Large compound lifts will usually need more than curls, raises or other smaller exercises. My guide to rest times between sets explains how to adjust them without spending half your life staring at a timer.
TRACK THE WORK, NOT JUST YOUR BODYWEIGHT
Your scale weight and the mirror can’t tell you whether Tuesday’s squats improved. Your training record can.
Use an app, a spreadsheet or the notes on your phone. Record the exercise, weight, repetitions and anything that affected the session. You don’t need a diary entry for every set. “Last two reps messy” or “shoulder felt better with neutral grip” is enough to make the note worth reading next time.
Without that record, it’s very easy to repeat the same comfortable work and assume you’re progressing because the session felt hard.
PROGRESS WITHOUT REBUILDING EVERYTHING
Progressive overload simply means asking your body to do a little more over time. That might mean another repetition, a small increase in weight, better control, a larger range of movement or an extra set where it’s needed.
You don’t need to change all of those at once. If your plan says 8 to 10 repetitions and you complete 10 with good form, add a small amount of weight next time and work back up. That’s enough.
My guide to progressive overload goes into the method properly. The important thing here is that progress should be visible in the plan, not left to memory or how energetic you felt that morning.
DON’T CHANGE THE PLAN BECAUSE YOU’RE BORED ON THURSDAY
A program doesn’t stop working because you’ve followed it for eight weeks. It stops earning its place when you can no longer progress it, your goal changes, your schedule changes or an exercise needs replacing.
Changing everything too often makes the plan impossible to judge. You never spend long enough with the same exercises to improve your technique, understand the right weights or see whether the structure works.
Some variety is fine. Training shouldn’t feel like a prison sentence. Keep the main lifts steady long enough to measure them, then use the smaller exercises for a bit more freedom.
GYM CONFIDENCE COMES FROM KNOWING WHAT YOU’RE THERE TO DO
I’ve trained for more than 25 years and still occasionally walk into a new gym and feel slightly lost. New equipment, an unfamiliar layout or a locker that appears to require an engineering qualification can make anyone feel like a right plonker.
The first visit doesn’t need to be a perfect workout. Find the changing room, locate the equipment in your plan and learn how the machines adjust. Four exercises completed calmly are better than racing around trying to prove you belong there.
Most people in the gym are far more interested in their own session than yours. Give yourself enough visits for the place to become familiar. Confidence usually arrives after repetition, not before it.
DO YOU NEED A PERSONAL TRAINER TO BUILD THE PLAN?
No. Plenty of people can learn to train well on their own, and a decent plan shouldn’t require somebody standing beside you forever.
A personal trainer is worth considering when you don’t know how to turn the goal into a program, you’re unsure about your technique, previous issues affect your exercise choices or you’ve trained consistently without getting anywhere. Accountability can help too, although it shouldn’t be the only thing you’re paying for.
A good trainer should make you more capable. You should understand what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and how the plan changes as you improve. If the entire process remains a mystery, they’re protecting their importance rather than teaching you anything.
If you’re already working with somebody and wondering whether the relationship is helping, my guide to ten signs your personal trainer sucks covers the problems I wouldn’t ignore.
PERSONALISED TRAINING PLANS IN BARCELONA
When I coach you, I do the planning. You turn up ready to train, and we adjust the session when your body, schedule or progress gives us a reason to.
I work mainly from my private outdoor terrace in Eixample, as well as suitable homes, offices and private gyms around Barcelona. You can read how personal training with me works and check the current prices before making any decision.
If it feels right, complete the intake form. I read every enquiry myself and reply directly.
