We all know that exercising and getting in enough movement is important for our health. But what kind of physical activity is best? How can we maximize the benefits of our workouts despite our busy schedules? Is it important to follow an exercise program, or is it OK to simply just move in whatever way we can?

People’s fitness routines typically fall into one of three buckets:

A committed, set routine. This is the person who loves consistency: They usually come into the club on the same days, at the same times, and work through the same routine. Often, the familiar regimen (which may be on the same piece of cardio equipment or use the same strength exercises on repeat) is comfortable for them, allows them to work up a sweat, and is something they stick with for months or years.

A social, high variety approach. This person thrives on the energy of a community and classes. They usually choose to include several different large group class formats in their plan and stick with set class times. As a result, a core social group is often formed to blend exercise with friendly accountability.

A goal-oriented, highly specific focus. Aiming to assign a purpose to every minute of exercise, this person has a plan for every workout. Their approach is more prescriptive and has a specific, desired outcome.

So, which method is best? As with many answers in health and fitness, it depends on your individual goals and sought-after results.

What exactly is an exercise program?

Fitness programming uses exercise science and concepts of muscular, neurological, and metabolic adaptation to set up training phases, or blocks, that drive specific, desired changes to fitness with a goal in mind, such as building strength, muscle, power, stability, or endurance. The length of training phases can vary, but 12-week blocks are the most common.

Using a formulaic approach, programs incorporate and adjust several different exercise variables from workout to workout and week to week. For example, with strength training, variables to change and track over time include:

Weight: The amount you are lifting or moving through a given range of motion.

Sets: The number of times you repeat an exercise before moving onto the next one.

Reps: The number of repetitions you complete of a particular exercise.

Tempo: The speed of movement broken down into four phases, often designated with four numbers. Each number correlates with a phase of the movement: lowering, pause, raising, pause again. For example, a 2010 tempo means two seconds of lowering, zero seconds of pause at the bottom, one second of raising, and zero seconds of pause at the top.

Rest Periods: The amount of time taken between each set, used to replenish energy and bring your heart rate back down.

In any well-formed exercise program that’s designed to drive a specific result, the variables that are adjusted are not random. Increasing weight, sets, or reps, or decreasing tempo (in weight training) or rest periods progressively overloads the muscles, adding week-over-week challenges to push positive changes and physical adaptations.

Brian Fox, a certified personal trainer and Alpha master coach at Life Time, sums up a program simply as a “planned, structured part of a larger picture.”

Programming can take away the guesswork, making it especially beneficial in light of busy schedules, work responsibilities, and family demands. It can also eliminate trial-and-error exercise approaches, as well as save time and frustration for newbie exercisers. Jennifer Walter, certified personal trainer and master coach at Life Time, explains, “The structure of programs allows you to meet deadlines. By following an established program, it’s one less item you have to manage — your job becomes solely the execution of it.”

How are workouts different than a program?

Workouts are more loosely defined than programs. Generally speaking, if you’re purposely moving, increasing your heart rate, and sweating, you’re doing a workout. This could include everything from a hike outside to a yoga class, game of pickup basketball, or gym session on your favorite machine.

While workouts can have a one-and-done nature or take shape as active play — being fun, random, and unplanned — they also can be built into exercise programming. “Each workout that’s tied to a program is a workout with direction,” says Fox. “You’re on a path leading to a goal of some sort.”

Large group fitness classes, for example, are a great way to stay active. However, if you’re working toward specific fitness goals, they could be an example of when it’d be helpful to have them be part of a program, versus just something you do to keep moving. The key to successfully including classes in a program is to work them in for endurance and cardiovascular benefits, rather than using them to replace a specific, formulaic workout. For example, you might use a cycle class to fulfill the need for a weekly high-intensity cardio session, if that’s what your program calls for.

“If you’re looking to move more, sweat, burn calories, and have fun, hopping into a group exercise class might be all you need,” says Shannon Flood, group fitness instructor at Life Time. “But if you have specific goals in mind, such as losing weight or getting stronger, large group classes may have a place in your plan, but as an approach alone, likely won’t be enough to help you reach those goals.”

“Every single person in a large group exercise class format has a different goal in mind, so rather than catering to the individual, the classes have to be structured to provide motivation and healthy movement for all.”

While staying active and getting in workouts as you can is great and may be enough for some if you have specific needs or are going after a desired outcome, it’s important to understand that it’s possible to be very active and still not see the results you’re looking for unless you’re doing so as part of a tailored program.