How a Personal Trainer Plans His Workouts

By Hannah SeoJan. 26, 2023

Finding a weekly workout routine can be tough. What exercises should you do on what day, for how long, in what combination?

I asked Maillard Howell, a personal trainer in Brooklyn and co-owner of Dean CrossFit, to describe his ideal weekly workout →

The biggest hurdle is psychological.

Mr. Howell has been obsessed with fitness since he was a 12-year-old boy in Trinidad, perusing fitness magazines at the local barbershop and lifting dumbbells in his garage.

But cardio is his least favorite type of exercise. Knowing that, he intentionally starts each workout with cardio and does the longest and hardest runs early on.

As the week continues, he loosens up and rewards himself with "the fun stuff": lifting and strength training.

Day 1: The longest run.

At the start of the week, he is usually at his most rested, ready for his long cardio session. Lately, that's been 40 minutes of running.

If running is not your thing, Mr. Howell said, your cardio can involve a walk, an elliptical trainer, a stationary bike or a rowing machine.

Pick a pace that's not too taxing, he advised. You should still be able to chat with a buddy; "you shouldn't be huffing and puffing," he said. If 40 minutes of cardio is too daunting, start with a shorter time period. But it should be close to the maximum duration of time you can sustain that pace.

Day 2: Less cardio, start lower body strength.

On the second day, Mr. Howell cuts back his cardio to 30 minutes. He might up his intensity just a little to compensate, if he feels up to it.

Then he spends 30 minutes strengthening his lower body and abs. He uses free weights and chooses exercises like dead lifts and squats that involve big muscle groups.

If you are trying to build muscle, choose weights that are light enough for you to do eight to 10 reps per set, for four to five sets, but heavy enough that you can't do many more.

Day 3: Even less cardio, more upper body.

The next workout begins with just 20 minutes of cardio, and then focuses on the upper body. To activate as many muscle groups as possible, he does a variety of moves like bench presses, incline dumbbell presses, strict presses, push presses and kettlebell swings.

Day 4: A smidge of cardio, then machine exercises to "polish off" the muscles.

By the fourth workout of the week, Mr. Howell is down to just 10 minutes of cardio. From there, he plays with moves and exercises he enjoys or hasn't done in a while. For him, this typically means machine work.

"Machines are really good at targeting really small muscle groups, or even one specific muscle," Mr. Howell said. If he feels like his back needs more attention, for example, he can turn to different pull-down machines and decide what muscles to target.

Day 5 (Optional): Full-body experimentation.

On the last day, Mr. Howell engages his whole body. His exact routine on this day is the most flexible, because he’ll reward himself with fun exercises he feels like doing.

Oftentimes this means high-intensity interval training — such as burpees, sit-ups, jump rope or planks, done in short bursts.

Working out his whole body on this last day means he can start the weekend ready to rest.

Have fun with it.

The key to building effective exercise habits is to have fun with it, Mr. Howell said.

"Fitness is a huge playground," he said, so "find your sandbox" — that is, find what works for you and your goals.

Remember that it doesn't help to get down on yourself for missing a workout. What matters is building habits and discipline, he said, and working up to your goals in a way that's enjoyable.

Check out our other strategies for choosing and sticking with a fitness habit: