It’s that time of year where the gym population grows and the resolutions are made.

People from all walks of life are setting new goals, and getting in shape is among the most popular resolutions made.

Maybe you’re someone who is brand new to this world of fitness and looking to start on the right foot. Perhaps you’re one of the many who started and stopped short but is now ready to re-commit to the mission of achieving your best.

Regardless of which category you fall in, we’re here to help you succeed.

12 Week Transformation Workout Overview

The program that follows is a 12-week routine that is designed to help you improve strength, size, endurance, conditioning, and overall health. The way this will work is we're going to keep the body guessing and focus on each aspect of your fitness one at a time.

There are three different sets of programs here. You’ll alternate which program you follow each week. You won’t do the same workout twice in a row throughout the entire process.

One week will focus on power and strength, the next on hypertrophy (muscular size), and the final one will help with conditioning and muscular endurance.

The training days will change and muscle groups you train will change. Each week will have its own different type of cardio too so you can burn calories different ways just like you'll train the muscles in a different way.

Weeks 1, 4, 7, 10 Workouts

This phase is devoted to power and strength. So the plan is to go heavy, heavy, heavy. You need to be able to achieve the desired reps but if you can do two reps more, go up. Make sure you keep your form in check too. Just because you’re trying to move serious weight doesn’t mean you get to swing and use momentum. No one benefits from that in the long run.

Rest for two minutes between sets. During this time you should change weights if necessary, drink your water or BCAAs, and focus. Commit your entire mental state to the next set.

Your cardio is going to take place post weight training and will be done in High-Intensity Interval Fashion. For 40 seconds you're going to go at a moderate pace. The next 20 seconds will be all-out max effort. That's one minute total. Repeat that pattern for 12 minutes.

Monday: Chest, Side Delts, Triceps

Wednesday: Back, Rear Delts, Biceps

Friday: Legs and Abs

Weeks 2, 5, 8, 11 Workouts

The focus shifts to muscle building and stimulation at this point. You’ll notice that there are different exercises than last week and the rep ranges are different. The goal now is to complete the reps and feel quality muscle contractions each time. You shouldn’t reach failure at any point.

When the reps decrease, add weight. And when the reps go up, you should lower the resistance. Your rest periods here will drop from 2 minutes to 90 seconds. We want to give the muscles time to recover but also want to maintain a decent pump.

As for the cardio, you’re going to still do HIIT but the pattern changes. Alternate 2 minutes of low to moderate effort with 1 minute of high effort. It shouldn’t be all-out this time but push yourself during those one-minute stretches. Six rounds total will be 18 minutes of work. Do these sessions post-weight training.

Monday: Chest and Side Delts

Tuesday: Back and Rear Delts

Thursday: Arms and Abs

Friday: Legs

Exercise Sets Reps Front Squat 3 12, 10, 8 Single Leg Extension 3 8, 10, 12 Walking Lunge 3 10 Standing Leg Curl 3 10 Calf Press 3 12

Weeks 3, 6, 9, 12 Workouts

When it comes to the weight training, this will be the toughest week of all because the focus is now on endurance and conditioning. For those of you that are new to training, supersets are performing two exercises back-to-back without rest. Trisets are when you do three in a row before taking a break.

You won’t go heavy here because you need to focus more on finishing the sets. Moderate weights will be just fine at this point. Just make sure you keep the form in check.

There is no rest between the exercises within the superset or triset but you do get 60 seconds to recover. This will take a toll on you mentally too but fortunately, as you progress, the mental strength will increase as well as the physical strength.

Since you're going to be going harder in the weight room, the cardio will be low intensity. Walking on a treadmill or riding a bike will suffice. Perform 25-minute sessions on the days you don't train with weights.

Monday: Chest and Back

Wednesday: Shoulders and Abs

Thursday: Biceps and Triceps

Friday: Legs