Written by Robert Forney - ISSA CFT
So your thinking about starting a workout routine, or you thinking about creating a new workout. You have high aspirations to gain a ton of new muscle mass, or maybe you just want to trim down and lose some fat. If So, you have come to the right place. This article will teach you how to build a basic exercise plan.
As a beginner, you can do any kind of exercise routine and make progress, but after about 3 months you will see your results slowly diminish. This is known as the laws of diminishing returns and you want to avoid this stagnation, therefore you should construct a periodization workout plan. We will discuss the basics of building a periodization exercise routine starting with a solid foundation.
Most people start out by going gungho, only to burn out or get injured. I highly recommend you follow the suggestions this article and start out slowly. This will help you start off correctly and avoid the pitfalls of every new weight lifter.

Keeping a record of your goals and workouts is very important.
The first thing you must do when beginning a new workout routine is figure out your goals. In addition you need to figure out why you are beginning an exercise routine in the first place. If you are doing it because someone else is telling you to, then you will be heading for failure. You, and only you, must be the one whom wants to change your life for the better by becoming healthy.
Now with that out of the way, we can get down to business. Start out by figuring out what your main goals are. For example, are your goals to attain more muscle, get leaner, get stronger, lose weight, lose fat, etc? Write down what your goals are. No seriously, sit down and write down your goals on a piece of paper and get your ass in gear. This isn't going to be simple since your just getting started, but once you get started, it will become a routine and it will be hard to stop! You will find that your goals may change as you advance, and that is a good thing, but you need to have your goals written down so you know where your going. You wouldn't take a trip without a map would you?
Now that you have your goals in mind, cause you followed my advice and wrote them down, we are ready to begin to create the actual training program. The goal of the exercise program is to build a solid foundation which can be built on later. The following table is a general rule for rep ranges:
Strength Power Hypertrophy Endurance
Reps
1-5 1-5 8-15 40-60