For many people, working out three days a week is ideal. A day on/day off schedule allows you to balance home, career and family obligations while providing ample opportunity to develop a good degree of fitness. Unlike bodybuilders, most exercise enthusiasts don't need to perform a high volume of exercise to achieve their goals. Three hours or less of exercise per week is sufficient for their needs. Perform the following three workouts on non-consecutive days, making sure that you warm up for five minutes by doing light cardio and dynamic stretching.
Day 1
1. Squats--An effective lower body exercise, squats will strengthen and tone your entire lower body, especially your thighs and butt.
2. Bench Press--This exercise will develop your chest, shoulders and triceps muscles and can be performed with dumbbells or barbells.
3. Lat Pull-Downs--To strengthen your upper back and bicep muscles, perform lat pull-downs by pulling the bar down to the front of your chest and using an overhand shoulder-width grip.
4. Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises--With a dumbbell in each hand, lift your arms out to your sides. This exercise works the sides of your shoulders.
5. Wide Grip Bent Over Rows--Focusing on the muscles between your shoulder blades, this exercise is important for posture.
6. Lunges--Your second leg exercise can be performed using a barbell, dumbbells or just your bodyweight and it is an effective all-round leg conditioner.
7. Stability Ball Crunches--Using a stability ball turns the traditional crunch exercise into a really effective ab workout.
8. Dorsal Raises--This exercise is a bodyweight-only back exercise that will keep your lower back in good shape.
Perform two or three sets of 12 to 20 repetitions of each exercise and finish up with some light cardio and full-body stretch.
Day 2
1. Leg Press--Providing your back with support while you exercise your major leg muscles, leg presses are similar to squats and will tone and strengthen your entire lower body.
2. Push-Ups--A classic upper body conditioning exercise that will strengthen your chest, shoulders and triceps.
3. Seated Rows--The opposite movement to push-ups, seated rows will strengthen your upper back and biceps muscles.
4. Dumbbell Shoulder Press--Pressing weights over head will strengthen your shoulders as well as the backs of your upper arms. Perform this exercise either seated or standing.
5. Pull-Ups--For this demanding bodyweight exercise, hang from a bar and pull your chin up and over the bar using the strength of your arms. If you can't manage pull-ups, substitute lat pull downs instead.
6. Leg Curls--To strengthen your hamstrings, perform leg curls. Make sure the machine is adjusted to suit your height and leg length.
7. Dumbbell Side Bends--Performed holding a dumbbell in one hand, this exercise will strengthen and tone your obliques or waist muscles. Make sure you do this exercise on both sides.
8. Hip Bridges--Part glute and part lower back exercise, this bodyweight yoga pose is excellent for improving your posture.
Perform two to three sets of 12 to 20 repetitions of each exercise and finish up with light cardio and full body stretch.
Day 3
1. Dead Lifts--As well as being an excellent leg and lower back exercise, dead lifts also teach you the correct technique to ue when lifting objects off of the floor.
2. Dumbbell Flies--This exercise will strengthen and tone your chest muscles and can be performed on a flat or slightly inclined exercise bench to hit different regions of your chest muscles.
3. Dumbbell Rows--Make sure you keep your knees slightly bent and your back flat when performing this exercise for your upper back and biceps.
4. Leg Extensions--Focusing on your quadriceps at the front of your thigh, leg extensions are a good exercise for both tone and strength. Make sure that you adjust the machine to suit your height and leg length.
5. Reverse Flies--A good postural exercise, reverse flies are performed using dumbbells and lying on your front on an exercise bench.
6. Upright Rows--Using all of your shoulder muscles and your biceps, upright rows can be performed with a barbell, dumbbells or a low cable.
7. Cable Russian Twists--With a cable set to waist-height, Russian twists are a very effective oblique or waist exercise.
8. Back Extensions--Using a back extension machine, make sure your lower back is not allowed to round when performing this exercise.
Perform two to three sets of 12 to 20 repetitions of each exercise and finish up with light cardio and full body stretch.
