Surprisingly, one of the biggest factors in your success with training on gym machines is how frequently you don’t use them! There is a limit, of course… nobody gets big by sitting on the couch looking at their gym machines. But, a good workout routine is key to getting the best results from the work you do. Here’s a guide to setting up your routine.

Number of days per week to train

You’ll hear all sorts of advice on how often to use your gym machines. Here is a guide:

* A usual routine includes 3-4 days a week of training
* Let your body guide you to some extent… but don’t skip training just because you’re a touch sore. Find a midpoint.
* Never work the same muscle group two days in a row
* If you train to failure, give yourself at least a 3-day break
* When you feel like you want to train more heavily, increase your gym machine workout intensity and/or duration, not the number of days you train

Number of reps

Here’s a guide to the number of reps to do for each exercise:

* If you’re lifting weights in top third of your range, do 5 reps

* When lifting weights on your gym machine in the middle third of your range, do 10 reps
* For most gravity-only exercises, do 15-20 reps

Number of sets

If you want to use your gym machines to build muscle bulk, you should increase the number of sets when you want to train harder, rather than the number of reps. For women that want to stay lean, keep the weight on your gym machines lower and increase reps as you go.