You’ve heard it from me and others 1,001 times right? We love to get way back in the weeds as it pertains to the details of programming and training, but for those of you who have been in the game for any length of time already know…..consistency and effort trump all.
I don’t care what program you follow, what coaches you respect, and what lifters you idolize…..none of the details of the program you follow matter a lick if you aren’t consistent with your training.
And most people aren’t unfortunately.
One of my roles as a coach is to help people stay consistent by setting them up within a structure that is most likely to breed success in the short and long term.
This is part of the “art” of coaching.
Sets/reps/frequency/intensity/exercise selection, etc all have to be in alignment with the lifters level of advancement, the lifters goals, but also the lifter as a human being.
People bring their personalities with them into the gym. And to the degree possible (i.e. we aren’t going to completely sacrifice results and principle) we need to accommodate this in order to get the most out of our clients.
When I start work with a new client I don’t just ask them about their goals, I try to get a sense for who this person is as an individual. A Mechanical Engineer will typically have a different approach to training than a Serial Entrepreneur. It’s two different personality types and this influences training to a degree.
So this brings us to point number one……
#1: Do What You Like To Do….Not Just What You Need To Do
Fact of the matter is that there are a lot of different ways to train that are effective. Most of us have a preferred “style” of training that suits us best. Some of my clients love order, structure, and repetition. Many of these types of clients were drawn to the Starting Strength Program because the simple structure of the program was appealing to how their brains are wired. As intermediates these types of trainees will likely prefer programs that are similar in structure. 3 days per week of full body workouts are a good choice. Simple Heavy-Light-Medium or Texas Method Programs are a good idea. Pre-set templates are also a good idea. These types of trainees tend to operate well when there is structure provided and not too many decisions have to be made “on the fly” and there aren’t a lot of new variables to constantly learn and manage.
“Loose Programming” is often how I train my clients at the gym. I have a plan and a structure but I’m constantly adapting and modifying as we go. Some extreme Type A clients hate this approach and do better in a format where they can operate off a pre-determined 12-week Spreadsheet. This is opposite my own personality, but that is irrelevant. A good coach understands his clients without projecting his own personal biases onto his clients.
There are of course drawbacks to operating with extreme rigidity, but there are positives as well. For certain clients the biggest positive is the relative security and confidence they have in a well thought out plan versus the lack of confidence and security they have in a loose plan that is constantly evolving and changing as they go. When security and confidence are lacking then effort will be sacrificed. Trust me – people do not train hard on plans they don’t like or trust.
And when the effort is not there, then neither will the results. And that’s when people start Program Hopping. This is a guarantee of no progress.
The other side of the coin is the guy who just can’t do rigid. He needs some variety. Split Routines work well here. Split Routines typically give our lifter the structure he needs at the front end of every workout with dedicated work on the major barbell lifts, but also give him opportunities at every session to experiment and chase whims.
If you don’t build this into the program the client will do it anyways!! So best build it into the program!!!
Split routines generally get the lifter his volume in with a hefty dose of assistance exercises rather than repetition of the basics over and over again. There is pros / cons of either approach, but that is a debate for another time.
The larger point is that the higher assistance volume type of routines (often upper/lower or body part splits) fit certain personality types better by giving them opportunities for more experimentation with different exercises and protocols.
Typically the full body type approach has the lifter training like exercises more frequently with only a day or so of rest in between sessions. In these types of programs the lifter and coach have to be very careful about overdoing things as we have to keep in mind that more of the same is coming in about 48 hours. Haphazardly adding new exercises or experimenting with some crazy new rep scheme can wreck our next workout.
With the split routine we typically have more days of rest between similar sessions. This makes the handling of all the relevant variables much less complicated. Overdoing things a bit or experimenting with new exercises or set/rep schemes is typically less consequential when you have more days to recover between sessions.
Below you’ll find links to a few programs I offer that suit different personality types:
If you like rigidity and the structure of a 3-day per week full body workout you might like the following programs:
The Classic Heavy-Light-Medium Program
The Garage Gym Warrior Program (A Cyclical Heavy-Light-Medium Program)
If you like variety in your programming you might try:
The KSC Method for Power Building
The KSC Method for Raw Power Lifting
#2: Train More……..OR……..Train Less
Talking out both sides of your mouth again, Baker! Yep. I am. Because I know from having coached hundreds and hundreds of clients that trying to conform to a routine that doesn’t match the rest of your life just won’t work to keep you consistent over the course of the coming year.
Time is always a problem for busy adults with careers and families.
Even people with the time to train often struggle with one of two options: Do I train more often, but with shorter sessions? Or train less often but with longer sessions?
There really is no right or wrong answer.
Adapt the program to fit around your work and family schedule. If either of those two things are getting negatively impacted by your training, eventually your training will slide.
So maybe you need to just hit ONE major lift 5-6 days per week. Or maybe you need to consolidate 3-4 lifts into a 2-day per week program. Or maybe it’s somewhere in the middle.
Just keep in mind BOTH ways can work. BOTH ways do work. So pick which one works for YOU and run with it. Keep your life in balance as best you can and you will enjoy your training more and stress about it less, giving you time to focus on work, family, and training in the appropriate ratios.
#3: Schedule Your Year, Program Around Obstacles
At the beginning of every year I suggest that each of you take a birds eye view of your calendar and try to get a feel for how your training will be impacted by events that are inevitably going to impact your training.
Most of these big events are work related travel or vacations. If you KNOW these big events are coming, plan your training accordingly.
It drives me bonkers when I get an email from someone who starts one of my 12 week programs KNOWING they have a week long camping trip right in the middle of the it!!!!
Schedule your testing or peak weeks BEFORE these events occur, and if you want to follow a rigid 8, 12, or 16 week program, don’t stick a vacation right in the middle of it. Plan to run these types of programs during the times of year where you can train uninterrupted to the extent that is possible. For most people January – April are productive as is Sept – November. These are good times to try and plan to work through a structured program and potentially run a test or mock meet prior to summer travel or the holiday season.
If you have periods of the year where you just can’t be consistent (summer vacation months, military training, sports seasons, etc) then I’d suggest you learn about Conjugate Training or other methodologies that allow you to train effectively without any long term rigid plans.
I have articles on this Blog site about Training Without A Plan and Annual Periodization. They’re worth the read.
#4: Find Accountability
Most of the clients I work with online train alone in their garage or basement gym. Training in this environment is great for convenience and for avoiding the hassles of a crowded gym. But at times it can cause some people to struggle with consistency. If your home gym is too close to your home office or your wife and kids are always dragging you away from your workouts then your training sessions won’t be as therapeutic as they ought to be.
And of course, when you train alone – who knows when you miss sessions?
Having the accountability of a coach, a training partner, fellow gym members, or even an online community can help hold you accountable to your training if this is an area where you struggle.
Figure out a way to build something into your training life that holds you accountable to other people. Maybe you training in your home gym Monday – Thursday but Friday nights you go to the local barbell gym and Deadlift with a group of fellow lifters. If it’s a good environment it can help spark enthusiasm into that Friday night Deadlift session that you otherwise dread.
There are now thousands of online communities you can plug into and find good people to interact with and this can also help.
I’ll go ahead and plug my own service here with the Baker Barbell Club Online. Some of the things we offer that help people stay accountable to their training are:
- Done for you weekly programming with TWO different tracks: A rigid Basic Barbell track and a highly variable Power-Building Track. Or some members do their own programs or one of my templates
- A highly engaged interactive Facebook Group where you can discuss the programming, get video form checks, and troubleshoot your own training
- A super positive and informative Private Forum where you can participate in several Q&A forum with me and other members and a place to keep your training log.
So if 2018 wasn’t your year for training, then hopefully 2019 can be a better more consistent year. Implement a few of these strategies and see if you don’t get a better result.
thefappeninggirls.com
