If you want to get in shape by losing fat, building muscle or both you can hire a personal trainer to get instructions and guidance or you can simply have your own workout program for fitness that’s tailored for you.

Having a personal trainer can be useful if you find the right one. But the problem with most personal trainers is they seem to use a cookie cutter workout program for fitness training, which they believe will work for each client the same way.

To get maximum results from your workout efforts it’s important to have the right protocols that fit your own individual situation and goals. Therefore, you may be better served to get your own workout program for going after your fitness and body composition goals. Creating a workout plan is actually much easier than most people think as long as you have the right guidelines.

Creating A Workout Program For Fitness That Meets Your Individual Needs

The first thing that you'll want to do is list your specific goals, then focus on planning your workout program around these goals. If you are looking to lose body fat, then you'll want to focus your workout program on fat burning exercises.

Cardio is the most popular type of exercise used for years in fat loss training. However, recent trends in the fitness community as well as recommendations from health professionals makes it a rule for resistance training to be included in all fat loss workout programs. It has been shown that strength training provides a number of great benefits when included in a fat loss program. On top of all, it is the right training for muscle maintenance which is crucial for health and fitness, but not a benefit produced from cardio training only.

It’s important to know the impact of the type of fat burning exercises to be better able to set up a workout program that will help you get the results that you want. If you want to lose fat and get toned then cardio combined with weight training would be an optimal workout. If your aim is to gain muscle mass, then obviously you need to focus your workout program on lifting weights.

But since cardio don't provide many good benefits for building muscle you’ll want to keep it at a minimum.

Your Fitness Level And Workout Program

Another important factor that you want to pay attention to when setting up a workout program is your fitness level. Someone who is really overweight may not be in good condition to do the same exercises like a person with a higher level of fitness.

However, what you'll typically see is trainers taking every person in their group through the exact same exercises. Whether it’s cardio or weight training it’s important to do exercises that fit your preferences. And most importantly, you need to be doing exercises that will produce optimum results based on your goals.

Your Time Schedule And Workout Program

Time schedule is also another factor that should be looked at in setting up your workout program for fitness. If you cannot workout 7 days per week or 2 hours per day, then you do not have to. There are many ways to setup a workout program to get good results without having to workout too frequently or for too long.

It can be done by manipulating the intensity of the exercises as well as the type of exercise itself. If you want to lose more fat in less time you may want to incorporate High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in your workout if you are able to do it. HIIT can double or even tripple the number of calories burned from a lower intensity workout.

HIIT can be done with both cardio and weight lifting exercises so you have options. My advice to you is to keep educating yourself about the fitness goals that you have and what type of workout approach it will take to achieve them. This will create a better path to reach success in getting fitter.