Today’s message will teach you how I progress workout programs.
You’ll also learn the five questions I ask when reviewing a past phase.
If you find this email useful, please share it.
Let’s dig in . . .
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It’s common for a program to last four weeks.
Then, a coach ‘changes it up’ for no reason other than it’s been four weeks.
This is wrong.
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Client progression should dictate workout programming
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I do actually program in four week chunks.
It’s an arbitrary time frame and doesn’t mean I change anything.
Every four weeks,
I’ll review and adjust.
My programs don’t start or stop. They evolve.
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| This is a picture of me in workout attire. I felt like one belonged here but have basically zero pictures of me training. So, here’s one of the few I have. It’s old. K, moving on.
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There’s five questions I ask when reviewing my program:
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- Did anything not work in terms of exercise flow?
- Is progress stalled on any exercise?
- Are there any limitations that might affect exercise selection?
- Is the client bored or do they hate any aspect of the workout?
- How should I progress the program for next month?
I’ll show you how I make changes based on these questions.
To do so, let’s walk through my workouts.
My goal’s hypertrophy.
The program has three different workouts repeated twice a week for four weeks (24 total workouts).
My split:
- Legs / shoulders
- Chest / back
- Arms / core
To start, I’ll pull up my list of completed workouts using my free software, QuickCoach. Fit.
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K, let’s begin the review:
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1. Did anything not work in terms of exercise flow?
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On day 1, I perform heavy BB Romanian Deadlifts (RDL’s). This thrashes my hamstrings.
Then, on day 2, I perform bent-over BB rows.
While I didn’t get hurt, I’m going to switch the bent-over BB rows in phase 2 to a bench-supported DB row.
Reason being: The goal is back training, not core stability.
Therefore, the extra risk from
bent-over rows with fatigued hamstrings isn’t ideal.
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Beyond that, the flow was good.
Moving on . . .
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2. Is progress stalled on any
exercise?
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For each program, there’s two, maybe three exercises I monitor progress on. It’s usually a large multi-joint movement that I feel is representative of my strength.
In this program, there’s two exercises I want to monitor:
- Incline BB Bench Press
- BB Romanian Deadlift
To check up on progress, I’ll pop open the Past Performance tab in QuickCoach:
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I’ll then search for the exercise I want (BB Bench Press), and click on it to view performance.
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Based on this it looks like progress is stalled.
But I also know that I was coming back from a layoff to begin this program so pushed the weights up quickly to start.
With that in mind, I’m not going to change anything for this phase but made a mental note to monitor it.
Four weeks isn’t a long time with fitness. Changing it up too quickly would be a mistake.
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3. Are there any limitations that might affect
exercise selection?
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With a 5 month year old baby, my time’s stretched.
To save time, I’m training at the community center close by and not a real gym farther away.
A downside is that the DB’s max out at 55lbs––not heavy enough for conventional pressing.
(#humblebrag)
So, I’m doing higher-rep alternating DB presses to increase time under tension. (Credit to Paul Kanu for the idea.)
It’s not ideal, but it’s right for me right now.
The right plan for a client should fit their life at that time, even if it’s not the Capital B-Best exercise.
Sub it in, and let’s move on…
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4. Is the client bored or do they hate any aspect of the workout?
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As a trainer, your client is your
boss.
Changing a workout because you’re bored isn’t OK.
Changing it because they’re bored is.
That, and sometimes client’s just hate certain things.
There’s usually a change you can make that’s just as good for the client’s goals that they hate less.
Here’s a few things I didn’t like in my previous training phase:
- Cable ab crunches feel weird. So I replaced them with ab wheel rollouts.
- Russian twists drag on for me. So I replaced them with side planks.
- I switched cables for DB’s for chest flyes as noted in a comment I had sent to myself early on in the previous program.
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5. How can I progress the program for next month?
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Here’s what works for me:
Week one is a deload. Then volume increases followed by intensity ramp up.
- Week 1 I’ll do 3 sets at an RPE of 8 (Using the Borg CR10 scale).
- Week 2 I’ll bump up to 4 sets.
- Week 3 I’ll increase RPE to 9.
- Week 4 I’ll increase RPE to 9.5.
Then I’ll deload again. And repeat the process.
I’ve found this to be a great way to progress without crushing myself.
If my life revolved around training and I didn’t have a family or business to run, I might be more aggressive. For now, the deload week each month helps keep my body in check.
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There you have it: My next four weeks of programming.
24 workouts cued up and ready to go.
Here’s how it looks on my side as a coach.
From this page, I can reorder and edit anything and it’ll change in real time on the client view.
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Then when it’s time to train, I pop open the client link on my phone, click the next plan, and I’m ready to
go.
Here’s what the client (in this case: me) sees:
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Go Deeper: Watch me share my screen as I build my program in real time (19 mins)
I recorded myself building this entire phase of programming in real time, exercise by exercise, using QuickCoach.
If you’re interested in watching it and hearing me talk through my thinking it as I go, click here to watch on
YouTube
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Elevate your brand with Professional Coaching Software Today
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All screenshots from this email showcase QuickCoach in action, which you can use 100% free with your clients.
QC is professional coaching software, built by coaches, for coaches.
It works for fitness, nutrition, habits, physiotherapy, chiropractic, and running––both in-person and online.
Join 13,000+ others and register your free account at
www.QuickCoach.Fit to start playing around.
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Finally, as crazy as it is, I think that this is the first time that I’ve ever shared my own workout and thought
process behind it.
Wild.
Does this officially make me an Internet Fitness Bro?
Do I need to start posting pics of me half-nekkid?
I have so many questions . . .
Anyway, thanks for letting me share my thought process with you. Hope it helps.
-Jon
P.S. You’re always welcome to reply to my emails.
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Jonathan Goodman
Improving fitness trainers.
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Thanks for reading. Here's a few additional ways that I might be able to help you:
My IG: @itscoachgoodman
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