Believe it or not, writing a simple ‘fitness’ program is actually pretty simple if you know a few basic fundamentals, that’s why so many average PT’s still have jobs. For example if Joe normal is overweight he clearly needs to do something but does not know what that something is so along comes coach average. Coach average prescribes a simple exercise program and tells them to stop eating candy for breakfast and low and behold, Joe average gets results. Weird right?
Anyway, this week I’m going to cut out the middle man and let you in on a few little secrets so that you can understand the ‘why’ component of basic program design. A few months back I wrote a free beginner’s workout that you can get here. This is a great starting point and coupled with today’s information as well as the gold mine of info available in my FREE E-book you will know more about basic program design that probably half of the fitness ‘professionals’ out there.
Just remember this is a starting point so that you can walk into any gym and have a basic idea of what you should be doing. Training for performance and rehabilitation are a completely different kettle of fish, which is why most PT’s do not have a clue when it comes to these areas.
Firstly,
The program has to be balanced. I liken this to tightening the spokes in a wheel, if you crank up one side it’s going to pull the wheel out of shape and it won’t run smooth… or at least look wonky as hell and everyone will call you a kook. You don’t want to be a kook do you? If not then keep things balanced!
By this, I mean that over a training cycle (usually a week) for every push exercise with your arms there needs to be a pull exercise, and don’t forget about legs! Because friends don’t let friends miss leg day. This is referred to as push, pull, legs and should be the foundation of every general fitness program. Rehabilitation and corrective protocols are exclusions to this rule but if you require assistance with these jump over to my contact page and send me some info.
Some examples of foundation exercises are as follows
Push exercises
- Dips
- Pushups/bench
- Over head press
Pull exercises
- Chin up
- Seated row
- Standing bent over row
Leg exercises
- Squats
- Lunges
- Dead lift
Secondly,
Most exercises are some sort of variation of the above nine compound movements so if you understand these you can play around a bit but don’t over complicate, keep it simple! Sticking to compound movements (movements involving more than one joint) if the safest most functional way to train. You can still get killer biceps by doing chin-ups so leave the isolated (single joint) exercises like curls alone. The main reason I say this is that so often people say yeah I want killer arms so they curl till the cows come home, but forget to do adequate triceps work to keep things in balance both structurally and aesthetically, also they don’t realise the majority of your arm size is actually from the triceps. So stick to compound movements and leave the isolated stuff to the pros and body builders.
Third,
Workouts should be under an hour long. If you are in the gym for over an hour, unless you are just flicking through Facebook or swiping on Tinder, you are going to be fatigued and entering the realm of diminishing returns. This means that you are getting exhausted and there is no longer as much benefit to training because you simply don’t have enough left in the tank.
Fourth,
Warm up! Lift around 50% of your working weight for a set before proceeding with your working sets, this will make sure that your neurological system is geared up for the big lift but also get the blood flowing to the right areas of your body. This also stimulates the release of synovial fluid to lubricate and protect your joints.
Fifth,
Stretch, if you work a muscle stretch it down otherwise eventually you will end up as a knotted up ball of muscle unable to move properly. There are so many reason to stretch some of which I covered a few months back in a previous blog post you can read here, just remember if you work an area make sure you stretch it either later that night or the next day. When stretching you want to feel a mild pulling sensation and hold for around 30 seconds to a minute for each stretch.
Finally,
Drink lots of water! Over an hour-long workout, you should be drinking at least a litre of additional water above your typical daily consumption. Water is essential for proper muscle function so stay hydrated!
Take this information and use it wisely, don’t assume you know everything because to put it simply you don’t and you never will. Elite coaches like myself spend literally thousands of hours each year researching and reading not to mention the financial investment into our continuing education. This is all so that we can provide you, our client, with the absolute best most up to date systems to get you the results you want and need. If you are ready to take your performance to the next level and want o be a part of the Actionsport Performance team then click here and contact me today.
Train hard and be safe.
Your strength coach,
Cam