This post is the first in a series that will introduce the key components of fitness program design.  If you’d like to design your own training programs, this mini-series will help.

Program Design Part 1 – Introductory Rant (…and Goal Setting)

The fitness industry frustrates me.

I hate that people are lead to believe that eating a 1200 calorie a day diet, swallowing a bunch of supplements, adding more and more cardio, or doing whatever cookie cutter program is popular that week will help them reach their goals.  Regardless of what their goals may be.

With all of the misinformation spewed by magazines, TV shows, late night informercials and so-called fitness gurus, it’s no wonder people are confused about how to properly train their bodies.

So what ends up happening?

  • Bewildered exercisers confine themselves to the cardio room.
  • They pick a few arbitrary exercises that they see others doing, throw them together, and call it a training program.
  • They follow a cookie cookie-cutter program that’s not designed for their goals, experience level, or in the case of athletes, their sport.

After getting mediocre results, they get frustrated and either give up or repeat the same vicious cycle.

Program Design

Sound familiar?

Well, here are some solutions:
  1. Ideally, find an experienced coach to train you or design you a personalized program.
  2. Find a pre-designed program that is specifically meant for your training goals and experience level.  (HINT: If a program is marketed as “perfect for everyone” or “for any training goal”, don’t waste your money.)
  3. Do some research, learn how to design a program, and design it yourself.  Follow it for 4-6 weeks, then objectively evaluate your progress.  Make note of what works and what doesn’t.  Then over time, use that information to improve your programming skills.

I truly believe that the most benefit comes from one-on-one coaching or personalized program design (from a qualified professional), but I realize that it’s not financially feasible for everyone.

That’s why I’m writing this series of blog posts — to teach you how to create simple, effective resistance training programs based on your personal needs and goals.

Let’s get started…

Program Design Step 1:  Identify Your Training Goal

A training program is nothing more than a roadmap designed to achieve a specific result as functionally, effectively, and efficiently as possible.

The first step in designing a program is to identify that desired result.  What do you want to achieve?  What do you want to improve?  In what ways do you want to be better?

Brainstorm.

You will probably come up with more than goal.  That’s okay, but sometimes two goals can be conflicting.  In other words, they require different types of programming, so it’s best to focus on one goal at a time.

Choose the goal that’s most important to you right now.  Use this goal as the basis for your first training program (or first few programs).

Make sure that your goal is SMART — specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-related.

Program Design

Congratulations, you’ve completed step 1.

Next, it’s time to come up with the action plan for achieving your fitness goal — your training program.

In my next few posts, I’ll introduce a few key concepts to help you design your program:  exercise selection, training frequency, order of exercises, sets and reps, intensity, and rest.


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