Effective program design starts with an end goal in mind.
Better get me to the gym
The vast majority of gym goers that I have met over the years really have no clue as to why they are training. It’s usually “to loose a few pounds”, “to look good” or something similar.
Most of their training advice comes from their mates or from some overpriced magazine with more adverts than information.
The vast majority of gym goers make zero noticeable progress year after year.
The quintessential fitness gadget is also the perfect metaphor for the very people that use it.
The Treadmill.
You can get on it day after day and run as hard as you like, but you still end
I'm running, but I'm getting nowhere!
up in the same place you started. It is the hamster’s wheel, the road to nowhere.
Too often new clients have come to me and told me how they do 20 minutes on this machine, 20 on that, then lift a few weights, and then do another 20 minutes on the treadmill to cool down.
There is no plan, no rhyme or reason, this is just what they do and it’s because everyone else does it. And everybody can’t be wrong, right?
Wrong.
There are as many training methods as there are coaches, but any coach worth his salt knows that there are certain principles that must be adhered to.
One of them is this – Know where you are going before you set off.
You cannot plan a route without first having a destination; you cannot plan a training program without first having a goal.
When new clients come to me I get them to list out 3 short term goals and three long term goals. This gives me some of the most useful information to work with. More useful than the other 3 pages of information I ask for.
It gives me an insight into the persons mind. Every client comes in with ideas and suggestions, looking to try some new thing they just read about or heard about, some more than others, but if those goals are committed to paper, we can steer a steady ship, we can keep our client on track and working towards their target.
One such client has just left to go travelling, she told me on the first day that she wanted extra upper body strength for two reasons, one to carry her backpack and two because she felt out of proportion, like her upper half was too small for her lower half.
She hated every upper body workout I gave her, once or twice I’d catch her slacking, not pushing herself. On these occasions I could remind her of those goals, her own reasons for doing the workouts I gave her.
By the time she left she’d gone from struggling to perform kneeling push ups to easily banging out full push ups, she was comfortably throwing around kettlebells and looked fantastic. She’s probably already turning heads in Australia.
Only because we had a plan.
Pull Ups - Now we're making progress!
Spend a few minutes today committing your training goals to paper. Then spend a few more minutes asking your self whether your current training routine is bringing you closer to those goals.
Be honest with yourself.
If the answer is yes, then keep doing what you are doing. If it’s no, then you have to change, and if you’re unsure how, ask.
Why is there a Hamster theme in today’s post? I have no idea, too much coffee I guess, or it’s looking at the big gym I pass on the way into Wild Geese with the treadmills lined up at the window reminded me of the poor creatures.
Regards
Dave
Next Kettlebell Workshop:
17th October – Level 3, Snatch & Jerk
Next Boot Camp commences 15th November – This will be the last Boot Camp until February 2011
Email for more details (info@wildgeesema.com)
