Do I Need a Program or Can I Go It Alone?

This will depend on a couple of things.

• What are your goals?
• Will you be training in a gym, at home, outdoors or elsewhere?
• Have you been able to get the results you want in the past?
• Are you injured and do you know how to avoid agitating or worsening it?

If you can confidently say you've met your goals before and you know your training ground and how to make the most of it, then I'd suggest you pick up some fitness magazines or browse good fitness sites for ideas and motivation rather than depending on a trainer.

If you end up spending more time looking around your training ground thinking, "What now?" than you do actually working out, get a program from a trainer you have seen in action. You want to know they prescribe workouts that you'd WANT to do!
The more experience you get and the more you understand WHY you're doing particular exercises and for how long, the more prepared you'll be to design your own workouts in the future.

If you want to go it alone, here's my guide to making your own program:

• What are your weaker areas? (ie. many people have a weaker back from sitting and hunching forward)
• What are your time and budget? (this will define how much time your program takes to complete and where you'll exercise)

Prioritise your weaker areas first - and usually, you'll want to work with the bigger muscles down to the smaller ones to make sure you have the most energy to devote to the larger muscles.

SAMPLE PROGRAM

Back Exercises - Number of repetitions - Number of sets 

Chest Exercises - Number of repetitions - Number of sets 

Glutes Exercises - Number of repetitions - Number of sets 

Leg Exercises - Number of repetitions - Number of sets 

Shoulders - Number of repetitions - Number of sets 

Abdominals - Number of repetitions - Number of sets 

Stretches