Long time trainer Bob Whelan has always been an advocate of what is known as balanced training and that's what will be designing a program for in this article.

This type of workout is training the whole body in a balanced way - which consists of an equal amount of pushing and pulling movements, coupled with compound lower body movements, with an emphasis on total body development.

For balanced training, you want to incorporate horizontal and vertical push movements as well as horizontal and vertical pulling movements. Examples of vertical pushing would be barbell or dumbbell presses. Vertical pulling exercises would consist of chin-ups, pull-ups or pulldowns. Horizontal pushing would be bench presses with barbell or dumbbells and horizontal pulling movements would be rows with dumbbells or barbell.

Below is an example balanced training program:

Balanced Training Program

Day One:
Bench Press 2 x 6-12
Rows 2 x 6-12
Squats 1 x 12-20
Ab Work 2 x 12-25

Day Two:
Overhead Press 2 x 6-12
Chin-ups or Pulldowns 2 x 6-12
Deadlifts 1 x 12-20
Ab Work 2 x 12-25

Notes: Workout twice a week with horizontal movements on day one and vertical movements on day two. Leg and ab work will be in both workouts. You can tailor this to whatever set and rep range you want. You could also add a finisher like Farmer's Walks or sandbag carry to complete the routine. You could also do one set to failure for each exercise if you so choose. Feel free to make adjustments to suit your needs.

Understand that to be successful in any weight training program - hard work is a must! Half-hearted effort does nothing for you. If you're new to weight training or grossly out of shape, consult a physician first. End of disclaimer.