There are a lot of people out there who want to build muscle and burn fat.  Who doesn’t right?  I mean, we all want to look like our favorite actor or actress, athlete or superhero, physique wise that is.  We know we need to eat right and get rest but how do you choose the right workout program?  Don’t worry, below I’ll let you in a 2 simple tips to choosing the right program for you.  Just ask the following two questions and you’ll be well on your way to finding the right program for you.

1.  Do you want to build muscle or burn fat or both?

If you want to build muscle then you’ll want to stick with a program that focuses on a lower repetition and high weight style.  If your wanting to burn fat then the optimal program will involve high repetition and low weight resistance.  Finally, if you want a little of both then want a program that involves medium weights and medium reps.

For example, a building muscle routine would workout a muscle with enough weight that you can only get between 5 and 7 repetitions.  A fat burning routine would involve enough weight that allows you to get out 12 to 15 repetitions.  And finally, if your focusing on both at the same time you want to workout with enough weight to where you can lift 8 to 11 repetitions of a given weight.

2. What is your budget like?

The reason I ask this is can you afford to go to a gym?  If so, you can follow a muscle building program that utilizes machines and free weights.  If not, you’ll need to improvise and focus on other means to stimulate various muscles of your body.  You can go old school and do push ups, pull ups, sit ups, run or jog, curl full milk jugs, go to your neighborhood park and work out there, etc..  Don’t laugh, this can be a very effective way of achieving your fitness goals.

It’s really pretty simple when you step back and analyze your particular situation.  For example, if you want to burn fat but have a limited budget, you can follow a nature program.  Go to your neighborhood park and run the trails.  Most parks have a workout area as well where you can do pull ups and various stretching exercises.  The point is it’s easy to design a custom program for yourself when you answer the above questions.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 2:56 am and is filed under Programs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.