The most important thing to keep in mind when you are embarking on a new training schedule is to make it personal. It must be catered to your needs and be based on your abilities and targets; not the targets of your lazy housemate or the abilities of that big bloke down the gym who can lift small cars. Nevertheless it is important to remember to make your routine varied to include all parts of your body.

You may be embarking on a new training schedule to improve one aspect of your body i.e. to achieve larger biceps or tighter thighs. However it is important that your workout is balanced. It must include a range of activities to benefit your whole body. You can't just opt for exercises you are good at and neither can you choose to just work on the exercises that you are not very good at. Variety is the spice of life and is also the key to a healthier body. From within a balanced training schedule it is then easy to shift to focus on the particular aspect of your body that you want to improve.

A training schedule should include work on all aspects of your body, chest, back, abdominals, shoulders, legs, biceps, triceps and your cardiovascular system. This means that even if you are focussed solely on building bulk through weight training you must try to include aerobic exercises such as running or cycling as this will supplement your programme. Conversely if you are a runner and you want to focus solely on developing your cardiovascular system it is important to include specific exercises on the parts of your body that you might not initially consider such as upper body work.

It is also crucial to schedule time off in your training schedule. Although you may feel like you are benefitting by doing exercises every day of the week this might not be the case. The body needs time to recover after exercise and this recovery time can be as beneficial as exercise. It is also important to be aware that overuse and over doing it can be damaging to your body. You may or may not believe in the old saying 'no pain no gain' but it is important to be aware that too much of a good thing can cause you damage.

The best way to avoid overuse and the potential damage this can cause is to organise your training schedule to alternate between different muscle groups. A general rule of thumb is that you should not exercise the same muscle group on two analogous days. That is to say if you have worked your chest muscles on one day it is important to give them a rest the following day. In this case you may choose to work a different group of muscles instead such as the leg muscles.

It is also important to include days of complete rest from training. A typical weekly schedule for someone wanting to improve their general fitness might be as follows: Day 1 - Chest, back, abdominal muscles and 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise. Day 2 - rest from training. Day 3 - Biceps, triceps, Abdominal Muscles and 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise. Day 4 - rest from training. Day 5 - Shoulders, Legs, Abdominals and 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise. Day 6 and day 7 - rest from training. Please note that the abdominal muscles are used a great deal for all of our physical activities and will benefit from the greater amount of training.

A key part of your training should be your diet. It is essential that you eat the right quantities of food. Protein supplements can be taken to supplement your diet for training. Add a good diet to your balanced schedule and you will achieve the maximum results from your efforts.