Planning a 5-Day Workout Routine and Other Exercise Tips

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Everyone’s heard that exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. But many people don’t seem to know how to exercise properly. Some go to the gym regularly but waste their time doing useless routines. Others push themselves past their limits and end up hurting themselves. If done right, exercise keeps you fit and can help you lose extra weight. Here are some exercise guidelines to help you plan a 5-day workout routine that’s both safe and effective.

Exercise Basics

Before getting to planning a 5-day workout routine, it’s important to understand how exercise keeps you fit.

Building and Maintaining Muscle Mass

Your muscles aren’t static. They’re constantly changing to meet the demands you put on them. Without regular physical activity, they start to atrophy (get weaker). That’s why astronauts in microgravity conditions absolutely need to exercise. In space, their muscles don’t have to deal with gravity. So without working out, their bodies would get so weak that they wouldn’t even be able to support themselves when they return to Earth.

An astronaut exercising in space. Astronauts need physical activity to keep their muscles from atrophying.

As you can see, exercise really is for everyone. Even fit people need it to maintain their muscle mass and strength. If you’re trying to lose weight, then it’s even more important. In addition to burning calories, regular exercise will help you keep your existing muscle mass while you lose weight. Otherwise, your body will break down your muscles for energy. Muscle tissue also burns more calories than fat tissue, so maintaining it will help you keep in shape long after you’ve reached your weight loss goal.

Contrary to popular belief, when you “build muscle” you’re not adding more muscle fibers. Instead, you’re making your existing muscle fibers grow and become more reinforced, a process called muscle hypertrophy. The mechanisms that cause muscle hypertrophy aren’t entirely understood, but it’s hypothesized to be a combination of the following factors: metabolic fatigue, putting tension on your muscles, and repairing muscle damage from physical activity. In addition, biological factors (such as genetics, sex, and nutrition) and hormones like testosterone also affect it.

Lastly, it’s important to note that building muscle mass and losing weight are largely incompatible goals. Muscle hypertrophy requires an energy surplus, meaning you need to be eating more calories (especially from protein) than you burn. Obviously, that’s exactly the opposite of what you should be doing for weight loss. So, you should only focus on one or the other at a time.

Disease Prevention

Exercise can also help prevent some diseases, too. There’s evidence that it can reduce the risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, and diabetes and can even help treat depression. The strongest link (and perhaps most obvious one) is with preventing obesity and cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and stroke.

Types of Exercise

There are three general types of exercises. Each type of exercise is good for a different purpose, so it’s important to pick the right kind(s) for your goals when you plan your 5-day workout routine.

Aerobic

Also known as cardio, this type of exercise involves light to moderate-intensity activities that are done over a relatively long period of time. Some examples are swimming, running (not sprinting), hiking, biking, and rowing. The reason it’s called aerobic is because the intensity of the activity is generally low enough that the body can still use aerobic metabolism. Aerobic metabolism uses a combination of fat, carbohydrates, and protein for energy; uses up a large amount of oxygen; and produces very little lactic acid.

You’ll notice that aerobic exercises usually involve the legs. That’s because they’re best for training Type I (slow-twitch) muscles, which are the “endurance” kind. Although aerobic exercise is great for endurance training, it’s generally ineffective for losing fat (unless you’re really consistent about it) or for building muscle mass.

Anaerobic

In essence, anaerobic exercise is the exact opposite of aerobic. It’s high intensity activity for a relatively short period of time. Some examples are sprinting and weight lifting. These kinds of activities require more energy than what aerobic metabolism can provide. So, the body switches to using anaerobic metabolism. This kind of metabolism uses mainly ATP and glucose/glycogen for energy, uses very little oxygen, and produces a lot of lactic acid.

Anaerobic exercise is best for training Type II (fast-twitch) muscles. These are the kind that give you quick bursts of power. Anaerobic exercise can’t be sustained anywhere close to as long as aerobic exercise, but its intensity makes it effective for building muscle mass and for increasing strength, speed, and power.

Flexibility

These kinds of exercises focus on improving muscle function, joint flexibility, and your overall range of motion. Improving these things helps with performance in other physical activities and reduces the chance of injury. Some examples include stretching and yoga.

Planning a 5-Day Workout Routine

Now that you know the basics of exercise, it’s time to plan that 5-day workout routine. The first step is to set up a reasonable goal. Are you trying to maintain fitness, lose weight, or build muscle? How much physical activity can you handle? What kind of exercises do you like to do? These are some of the questions you should be asking yourself. Remember, your routine is supposed to be fun, too. One of the keys to an effective routine is being motivated to actually keep at it.

Once you have a goal in mind, pick exercises you like that fit that goal. For example, if you’re just trying to stay fit, focus on aerobic exercises in your plan, like jogging or biking. If you’re trying to build muscle, put more emphasis on anaerobic exercises, like pull-ups and bench pressing.

Whatever you decide to do, you don’t need to go overboard with the amount of exercise. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate or at least 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic physical activity a week. For a 5-day workout routine, that translates to just 30 minutes each day or 50 minutes every other day.

One thing to note is that it’s important to give your muscles time to rest and recover. There is such a thing as too much exercise. If you don’t let your muscles repair themselves, they can suffer long-term or even permanent damage. This is especially apparent in athletes who train for extreme, cardiovascular exercises like marathons. Many of them have hearts that show signs of scarring. If you want to work out every day, what you could do is exercise a different muscle group each day. That way, no muscle group goes too long without rest for the week.

Here are two examples of 5-day workout routines:

A 5-day workout routine focusing on legs with rest days.

A 5-day workout routine focusing on a variety of muscle groups with some anaerobic exercise. Note that no two consecutive days exercise the same muscle groups.

Exercise Mistakes to Avoid

Many people, especially beginners, often make mistakes that reduce the effectiveness of their routines. Some of these can even have the potential to cause injury. Avoid the following mistakes to exercise effectively and safely:

Not Warming Up First

By warming up your muscles (both figuratively and literally), you’ll help prevent injuries when you’re exercising. Warm muscles are more pliable and less likely to tear. Warming up isn’t the same as pre-exercise “static” stretching (like touching your toes), though, which is largely useless for preventing injury.

Having Bad Form

Bad form is one of the main mistakes people make when doing exercises. It not only reduces the amount of calories you’re actually burning, but it can also make you more prone to injury. An example of bad form is leaning on the support bars of various exercise machines. When you’re leaning on the bars, you’re offsetting some of your weight, so your muscles aren’t holding up your full weight. The calorie count on the machine (if it has one) doesn’t take into account bad form, so the number it reads could be much higher than what you actually burned.

Another example of bad form is locking your joints in a straight position when lifting weights. Not only does this have the potential to really mess up your joints if you’re not careful, but it also takes much of the load off your muscles making the exercise less effective.

Always use the correct form for each exercise. If you aren’t sure what the correct form is, ask a gym employee or someone around you to show you. Also if you can’t seem to maintain proper form, try decreasing the weight on the machine or the number of reps.

Talking Too Much

Friends can be great motivators for keeping up with your routine. But if you’re spending most of the time chatting, you’re just wasting time. Keep the socializing to a minimum so you can focus on your exercises.

Taking It Easy

Sorry, but if you’re not exercising at a high-enough intensity, you’re not going to see good results. Some people believe that just by going on a exercise machine and working out at the lowest intensities, they’ll still lose weight. It doesn’t quite work that way. Your workout needs to be at a certain intensity (as indicated by your heart rate) in order to be effective.

Believing the Exercise Machine

The readings on exercise machines are based on mathematical formulas, not real life conditions. It doesn’t take into account bad form or other things that might make you burn less calories than normal. In addition, some labels on the machines might be misleading. For example, the “fat-burning” zone is generally too low intensity to burn much fat.

Going Full Force from the Start

You shouldn’t try to perform at the level that you’re striving for right at the beginning of your routine. If your body isn’t used to it, that’s just asking for an injury. Instead. work your way up from your current level. Not only is it better for muscle development, it can help with motivation. After all, reaching incremental goals along the way is more satisfying than consistently failing in the beginning (or getting hurt).

Doing “Spot Reduction”

You can disregard any exercises that promise to burn fat in a particular area. Spot reduction is a myth. Your body burns fat roughly evenly. So the next time you see something promoting an “amazing exercise that burns belly fat fast”, just ignore it. Want a six-pack? Well, you already have one. It’s just underneath a layer of fat. Keep exercising properly, and you’ll eventually get rid of that layer (along with fat in other places). There really aren’t any shortcuts.

Indulging Yourself After Working Out

Workout complete! Time for a victory smoothie, right? Not if you want to keep your progress. Although you may feel like getting something indulgent after a successful workout, resist that urge. Those things often have way more calories than what you just burned. So if you give in, you’re just sabotaging your efforts. Instead, drink water and get a small, healthy, high-protein snack like nuts or yogurt.

Not Switching Up Your Routine

A lot of factors can affect the results of your routine, and some of them have to do with differences between individuals. For example, people who are naturally lean don’t need as much cardio to obtain the same results as someone who has higher levels of fat and muscle. If you find that your routine isn’t getting you the results you want, feel free to change your routine.

Another reason to change your routine is if you feel that your routine is getting easier. While this could be a sign of progress (yay!), it also means that your muscles aren’t working as hard. You’ll need to increase the intensity of your workout to keep getting the same gains.

Other Exercise Tips

Remember to breathe. Aerobic exercise takes a lot of oxygen. If you don’t breathe properly you’ll wear yourself out quickly. Proper breathing is also vital in maintaining good form.
Bring a friend. Having a friend work out with you can be a huge boost to motivation and can make your routine go by much faster. Just remember to stay focused on exercising, not chatting. Your friend can also help you with certain exercises, such as bench pressing where it’s important to have someone watch over you and intervene in case you run out of strength mid-press.
If you’re trying to burn body fat, aim for a body fat percentage of under 14% for men and under 25% for women. You can use this handy calculator to figure out how much you have.
Don’t neglect your nutrition. Your body needs the proper nutrients to repair itself after workouts. This is especially important when you’re on a diet since you’re eating less.
Remember to stay hydrated. Drinking enough water is essential to keeping your body working at peak performance. While water is generally enough, if you’re doing seriously tough stuff, like marathons, you’ll need a drink that replenishes electrolytes.
Pay attention to and dress for the weather. Try not to exercise in hot temperatures (you can get overheated and dehydrated very quickly). Also, make sure you’re wearing enough when exercising in cold temperatures (preferably layers you can take off easily if you need to).
Listen to your body. Exercise can make you sore. That’s just minor damage to your muscles from your workout (which will be repaired). But exercise is never supposed to be painful. If you experience sharp pain, stop and try something else. Likewise, if you’re sick or just not feeling well, don’t force yourself.
If you can afford one, get a personal trainer. These professionals can tailor a routine specifically for you and make sure you follow it properly.

Yue’s Recommendation

One of the best ways you can exercise without going to the gym is by using dumbbells. They’re extremely beginner friendly, and you can incorporate them into many different exercises. For example, I practice martial arts, and when I’m not using a practice sword, I use dumbbells to practice arm movements (like punching) and balance.

Using dumbbells for strength training not only improves your muscles, but it also keeps your muscles and bones in good shape as you get older. It’s an effective fitness tool for people of all ages. That’s why I recommend that everyone invest in a pair (or set) of good dumbbells for home use.

One such set is this 3-pair chrome dumbbell set from WF Athletic Supply. The dumbbells I use are chrome ones, very similar to these, and they’re great for a number of reasons. First, there’s no plastic or rubber coating that can wear out or get sticky with age. Second, the bar is curved slightly and etched with a pattern, allowing for getter grip. Lastly, these things last forever. Mine have been around for at least 30 years, and they still look relatively new. With care, I can definitely see these lasting for a lifetime.

The 3-pair set comes with a pair of 3, 5, and 8-pound dumbbells, so you can vary the intensity of your exercises easily. It also comes with a sturdy, foldable metal rack to hold them, so you don’t have to worry about them rolling around. It’s a great, visually-appealing, and durable product that’s sure to help you enhance your workout routine.