A good workout plan to get stronger targets all of your major muscle groups at least once a week. The National Federation of Personal Trainers recommends workouts that include exercises that exhaust your muscles within 12 to 15 repetitions. Perform resistance exercises using an amount of weight that exhausts your muscles within the target range. Vary your exercises every three weeks to keep your muscles in an adaptive state, which optimizes strength gains.
Day 1
Complete a chest and back workout on the first training day. Perform 10 to 12 sets of back exercises, which target your latissimus dorsi. Wide-grip pullups, rack pulls and inverted rows, are top latissimus dorsi exercises. Complete eight to 10 sets of chest weightlifting exercises. Free weight variations of the bench press, such as the guillotine press, dumbbell incline press and chest fly, maximize pectoral muscle activation in your chest.
Day 2
Perform shoulder, biceps and triceps exercises on your second workout day. Complete six to eight shoulder exercise sets, with upper body pushing exercises, such as the military press, behind-the-neck press or band face pulls. Hit your biceps with five to seven sets of exercises that flex your elbows against resistance. Pullups with a narrow grip may be the best exercise for your biceps. Work your triceps with six to eight sets of exercises that extend your elbows against resistance, such as rope or cable grip triceps extensions.
Day 3
Work your thighs and trapezius on the third workout day. Perform 10 to 12 exercise sets for your quadriceps. Variations of the barbell squat, such as the full squat and parallel squat, maximize quad activation. Target your hamstrings with three to four exercise sets that contract the muscle during hip hyperextension movements, such as reverse hyperextensions and straight-leg bridges. Perform three sets of trapezius exercises with dumbbells, such as chest-supported rows, prone trap raises and bent-over rows.
Day 4
The last day of a good workout plan to get stronger targets your core muscles, which includes your abdominals, gluteus maximus and erector spinae. Start with six to eight sets of glute exercises, which hyperextend your hips against a horizontal directional load, such as hip hyperextensions, hip thrusts or glute bridges. Perform two to four sets of abdominal exercises. Hanging leg raises and Swiss ball crunches to activate your abdominal muscles more than the standard crunch or curl up. Your erector spinae responds to exercises that extend the joints in your spine and neck, such as 45-degree back hyperextensions, deadlifts and back extensions.
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