A perfect body is what we all dream of. To turn this dream into a reality, we are always ready to put in that extra effort. If you are someone who has made up his mind to get that perfect body, your next step would be to decide on your workout routine. Any workout target is not achieved by simply indulging into exercises one after the other. Whether you want to gain muscle mass or maintain your body weight, it is essential that you have a fixed routine for exercising. It is very important to give rest to your muscles after an exhaustive workout session. It takes around one week to ten days for full recovery of muscles after workout. Intermittent resting helps the exhausted muscles in rebuilding and regaining their lost energy. This type of schedule with intermittent resting days is known as on and off workout schedule wherein, workout sessions are scheduled on "on" days and rest is taken on "off" days. It is up to a person to decide how many "on" and "off" days he wants in a week. Read the following paragraphs to learn a few tips to plan an on and off workout schedule. Tips for Planning an On and Off Workout Schedule

• Once you have decided to plan out your workout schedule, pick up a notepad and make your own journal. Always carry this journal to the gym to make a note of everything.
• Decide what you want to achieve through workout, and the areas you need to concentrate on, in order to achieve your goal. Plan your week with adequate "on" and "off" days.
• Make a note in your journal, about the muscles you will work on. It is important to decide whether you will go for a complete body workout, specific muscle groups, or complementary muscles. Complementary muscles include back and biceps, arms and shoulders, etc. If you are a beginner, you can combine muscle groups for specific days so that you get more number of resting days in between the workout sessions.
• Now make a schedule of your workout sessions by deciding the amount of time and the number of days you can invest in it.
• Divide the number of days between the muscle groups you have decided to work on.
• Decide the number of sets of every exercise you will perform in each session. The sets will depend on your overall goal. Suppose, if you want to gain muscle weight, you can use more weights in multiple sets with less repetitions. If your goal is to tone your body muscles, go for less number of sets but with more repetitions.
• Choose between free-hand exercising and equipment. Free weights give you freedom of movement, but you may need someone to help you out when using heavy weights for exercising. Equipment provide you with limited movement and are easy to use.
• Decide on the various exercises you will perform during your workout session. Make a note of them and workout accordingly.
• At the beginning of every week, set your goals so that you know the area you need to concentrate on. This will help you in getting a clear picture about your workout achievement at the end of the week.
• Treat your workout sessions as important appointments so that you don't get lazy and miss your workout schedule.

You can also make a workout calendar to monitor your schedule. Place the calendar in a place where you can see it very often. A wall, fridge door, or office cubicle would be a nice place to put up your calendar. Having a workout calendar in place will boost your mind towards achieving your goal. It will also instill a sense of achievement when you will see the number of days you have actually spent working out. On the other hand, you can also keep a check on the number of days you have missed your workout schedule and plan accordingly to make up for the missed sessions. So what are you waiting for? Plan out your workout schedule now and take your first step towards having a great body!