Maybe you’re looking to get back into a workout routine after gaining a few extra pounds. Perhaps you’ve recently been to the doctor who advised increasing your activity level to combat health issues. Maybe you have a vacation or big event coming up, and you want to look your very best.
Whatever your reason, a 5-day workout routine is a great place to start.
If that’s what you’re looking for, read on to learn about:
- The benefits of working out regularly
- Exercise routines based on your specific goals
- 5-day workout routines you can complete from the gym or at home
Table of Contents
- Is a 5-Day Workout Routine a Good Idea?
- What Does a 5-Day Workout Routine Consist Of?
- 5-Day Workout Routine for Weight Loss
- 5-Day Workout Routine to Build Muscle
- Should Men and Women Workout Differently?
- 5-Day Workout Routine for Men
- 5-Day Workout Routine for Women
- Do You Need a Gym Membership To Get a Good Workout?
- 5-Day Workout Routine at Home
- 5-Day Gym Workout Routine: 3 Steps to a Better Workout
- #1 Full Body Strength Training
- #2 Hypertrophy for Muscle Gain
- #3 Metabolic Training
- What is In Motion O.C.?
Is a 5-Day Workout Routine a Good Idea?
It’s no secret–moving more is good for us. We hear about the importance of regular exercise time and time again.
A 5-day a week workout routine is ideal for consistent physical activity because it includes built-in opportunities for rest and recovery.
Getting into a consistent workout routine is incredibly beneficial to your health. And while the catalyst for exercise is often losing weight or building muscle, regular physical activity also:
- Reduces the risk of chronic health conditions and diseases
- Keeps body weight in check
- Promotes better sleep
- Increases energy levels
- Improves mood
- Builds and maintains muscle and bones
- Improves brain health and memory
What Does a 5-Day Workout Routine Consist Of?
Here’s the thing, if you Google “5-day workout routine” you’ll find more than 100 million results.
Yep. More than 100 million.
How do you know what kind of 5-day workout routine is the right one for you?
It completely depends on your:
- Current fitness level
- Goals
- Limitations such as past injuries
- Likes and dislikes when it comes to exercise style
- And more
A workout routine for someone interested in bodybuilding will look different than a workout routine designed to improve heart health.
That’s why you should look to the experts to help come up with a 5-day workout routine designed to fit your needs.
After all, why waste time with a program that won’t help you achieve your goals?
We’ve helped thousands of clients improve their fitness and become their best selves.
We can do the same for you.
5-Day Workout Routine for Weight Loss
If weight loss is your goal, a 5-day workout routine can help to achieve that, especially when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle.
To see the results you’re looking for, it’s essential to include both strength training and cardio workouts into your routine. Common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight include:
- Focusing entirely on cardio
- Ignoring lifting weights
- Exercising too much
- Overestimating how many calories you burn during exercise
- Eating too little
- Setting unrealistic goals
5-Day Workout Routine to Build Muscle
Are you working to build muscle? If so, a 5-day workout is a great way to go about making it happen.
Building muscle means increasing muscle mass. If this is your goal, lifting heavier weights is vital. Additionally, you’ll want to strength train a minimum of twice each week, and ideally more often.
Full body strength training is the key to increasing muscle mass, so if you’re looking to bulk up, you’ll want to focus on exercises that work several muscles at the same time.
When you use multiple muscles simultaneously, you’ll be able to lift heavier weights.
These compound exercises include:
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Bench presses
- Barbell rows
Lifting heavy weights is the key to hypertrophy, which means more muscle growth.
In order to build muscle, you’ll also need to:
- Give yourself plenty of recovery time
- Eat more/increase protein intake
- Be consistent in your weight training
Should Men and Women Work Out Differently?
You know the stereotypes, women want to tone or get lean, and men want to bulk up. But that’s not always the case. Goals are specific to individual people rather than genders as a whole.
The truth is–men and women can both lift heavy and hard. Men and women can both get lean with yoga or pilates.
It all depends on what you’re looking for in a workout routine.
While men’s and women’s workout routines don’t need to look different based on their genders, they often do because of habits found to be typical among either men or women.
5-Day Workout Routine for Men
Men tend to favor lifting heavy weights. For some men, it is the only exercise they regularly perform.
However, men could benefit from additional focus on flexibility and strengthening the core.
5-Day Workout Routine for Women
Women tend to have a more balanced approach to fitness. A woman’s 5-day workout routine is more likely to include a mix of cardio, strength training, and mind-body practices such as yoga.
Women are also more likely to seek guidance on their fitness journey, whether:
- Working with a personal trainer, or
- Enrolling in group fitness classes
Do You Need a Gym Membership To Get a Good Workout?
A gym membership isn’t necessary for you to get a good workout. It can, however, help to keep you on track with a workout routine.
A gym membership can provide:
- Motivation
- Accountability
- Guidance and coaching
- Equipment
Still, if you’re looking to tackle a 5-day workout routine, you can achieve it by exercising in the gym, at home, or a combination of the two.
5-Day Workout Routine at Home
Are you looking to workout at home? No problem.
Even with a 5-day workout routine, there’s no need for fancy weight machines or barbells.
The fitness coaches at In Motion O.C. can create a 5-day exercise program that requires little to no equipment.
While each workout routine will differ, based on individual goals, fitness levels, and more, here’s an example of what a 5-day home workout routine might look like:
Days 1, 3 & 5: Full-Body Functional Strength Training
Make sure to hit all major muscle groups, including:
- Trapezius (upper back)
- Deltoids (shoulders)
- Pectorals (chest)
- Biceps
- Triceps
- Abs
- Latissimus dorsi (lower back)
- Quadriceps
- Hamstrings
So, what do you need for functional strength workouts?
When it comes to functional strength training equipment, you can keep it pretty simple.
Most functional exercises use bodyweight for resistance. This means you can do these exercises anywhere, including at home or in a park.
In addition to bodyweight, some exercises might also incorporate:
- Weights
- Kettlebells
- Medicine balls
- Resistance bands
- Pull-up bars
This kind of equipment is readily available to be used at home.
Days 2 & 4: Metabolic Training
Get moving. It’s as simple as that. Get your heart pumping.
- Go for a run
- Do sprints, burpees, and mountain climbers in the backyard
- Go on a bike ride
- Stream a kickboxing or cardio dance class
A few reminders for working out at home:
- Warmup and cool down. Just because you’re working out from home, doesn’t mean you can skip this essential part of your workout. Make sure to warm up before each strength training or cardiovascular session and cool down for 5-10 minutes afterward.
- Focus on using the correct form. Poor form can attribute to injuries as well as slow gains.
- Switch things up. For the best results, it’s important to switch up your workout every few weeks. You can do this by increasing weight and resistance to challenge your muscles.
- Allow time for recovery. Strength training causes tiny tears in muscle tissue. These microtears repair themselves and adapt, forming muscle mass. Give your muscles time to rest and recover before your next strength training session.
Still not sure where to begin?
The fitness professionals at In Motion O.C. are highly trained in developing workout plans to help you achieve your goals. They’re experts when it comes to delivering easy-to-follow exercise programs for home or at the gym.
Book your free consultation with In Motion O.C. and start a 5-day workout routine designed just for you.
5-Day Gym Workout Routine: 3 Steps to a Better Workout
Planning to hit the gym for your 5-day workout routine?
In order to get the best results, it’s crucial to incorporate a combination of:
- Full body strength training
- Hypertrophy for muscle gain
- Metabolic training
Here’s an example of what a 5-day gym routine might look like, depending on your goals:
- Monday – Full body strength training
- Tuesday – Full body strength training
- Wednesday – Full body strength training
- Thursday – Hypertrophy for muscle gain
- Friday – Metabolic training
#1 Full Body Strength Training
If you’re new to strength training, you might think workout “splits” are your best bet to success. That means splitting up your lifting by body part.
For example: lifting arms one day, legs the next, back the following day, etc. It might also mean splitting your strength training by the upper body and lower body.
Edgar, In Motion O.C.’s Director of Fitness, says this isn’t the way to see results:
“Don’t do that. Those principles were based on bodybuilding. The idea was that you train one muscle each day and lift so hard and so heavy, you won’t be able to lift that muscle until the following week.”
Edgar warns with this kind of lifting; you’ll overtrain the muscles and risk injury.
Instead, he encourages full body strength training.
“Train every muscle every day, just enough to where you feel tired. If you do this, you won’t be too sore to hit those muscles the next day.”
#2 Hypertrophy for Muscle Gain
Once or twice a week, it’s important to focus on the muscles that need the most work. This can be done with hypertrophy workouts for muscle gain.
Maybe during your full-body strength training workouts, you identify your shoulders aren’t as strong as other parts of your body.
Use these workouts to focus your attention on building specific areas that need improvement.
#3 Metabolic Training
Switch up your workouts by adding metabolic training to your 5-day exercise routine.
Edgar, In Motion O.C.’s Director of Fitness, says:
“Your metabolic training should be cardio, low weight-bearing, cause no breakdown of the muscle, and require little to no skill.”
This might include:
- Running
- Interval training
- Sprints; or
- A spin class
What is In Motion O.C.?
In Motion O.C. is more than a gym. It’s more than a physical therapy clinic. In Motion O.C. is a place where your health and wellness is our #1 priority.
We offer several fitness programs featuring workouts co-designed by physical therapists, postural specialists, and fitness coaches.
Just a few of the programs we offer include:
- Women’s Health
- Back Health
- Performance Therapy
- Runner’s Analysis
- Hip Rehabilitation
- ACL Injury Prevention
Our goals are to help our clients:
- Look and feel better.
- Improve their posture, balance, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, and function.
- Prevent reoccurrence of pain and injury.
How One of Our Fitness Coaches Can Create the Ultimate 5-Day Workout Routine for You
Feel like you need some guidance to come up with the best 5-day workout routine for you?
That’s where our experts with years of experience come in.
The fitness coaches at In Motion O.C. are standing by to help. We’ll work with you to create an individualized 5-day workout plan that best serves your:
- Goals
AND
- Lifestyle
You’re more than a number at In Motion O.C.
We know there’s no “one size fits all” program when it comes to achieving peak fitness. Each and every client is different.
Our fitness coaches and physical therapists know our members and more importantly, understand their goals. We focus on teaching members how to maximize workout routines to enhance their overall health and wellbeing.
After meeting with our fitness coaches, you’ll have a plan tailored specifically to your needs and be well on your way to achieving your health and fitness goals.
Come see the In Motion O.C. difference for yourself.
