Category Archives: Programming

4 ways to kill your routine

There are several ways to completely destroy your routines, be they good or bad. Here are 4 sure fire ways to kill your training routine’s potential:

  • Not following through.
  • Not using the right progression
  • Not keeping a log
  • Not making adjustments along the way

Not Following Through

This one needs no elaboration. It’s quite simple: if you’re not doing it, it won’t work for you (duh!). You want to make it work? Work at it!

Not using the right progression

This one has 3 possible causes: you don’t know what comes next, you’re going too easy (lazy) or you’re going too hard (ego). Using the right progression will keep you advancing while honeing you’re technique. It will make you stronger and results will flourish. Now, if yours is the first scenario let me be the first to welcome you to the internet, you’ll find a shitload of information, variations and progressions for whatever excercise you’re doing (this is particularly tough for bodyweight excercises and other fixed weights), do your research, ask questions, whatever you need (if I can help you, leave me a message and I’ll answer you as soon as I can).

The second reason, that you’re going too easy, means that you’re basically going through the motions: when was the last time you added weights? reps? shortened your rest periods? made an excercise slightly harder? If you keep doing what you always did, don’t expect to move forward, but backwards instead.

If the problem is that you’re going too hard, please, either leave your ego at the door or be smarter while doing it. Singles and partials have their place, but doing 3 sets of 1 or half a rep a week won’t get you anywhere. Best start at least with an excercise you can manage 5 reps in good form and do 3, keep adding reps till you get where you want. Everyone has a pace, and it’s there for a reason.

Not keeping a log

For years I read this one and thought it was not really needed, I could keep track. Reality said different. A training log is a pool of information made by you, for you, about you. It doesn’t get better than this. A good log will let you see:

  1. Where you’re at.
  2. How you’re progressing
  3. What you’re failing to do
  4. What’s working and what’s not

If say, your log shows that you’re stuck for months in the same excercise/weight/volume it’s probably time to change the variables. But you won’t know it until you’re able to check it!

Not making adjustments along the way

This one’s related to those that came before. A good plan needs to be adjusted: you’re life, you’re progress won’t always keep the same, you’re strength levels, etc. won’t either. You need to be able to make adjustments according to your context. Maybe you’ve gotten stronger and need to adjust the weight, or change the excercise. Maybe you’ve got no time in you’re hands and need to prioritize certain excercises.

Remember, you’re doing this to improve your life, not to be ruled by it.

Remember, there’s a pace for everyone and it will be dictaded by your own body. Just be clear on your goals, where you’re at, and act accordingly. Don’t be afraid to go heavier, and there’s really no shame in going back a couple of steps.

The Easiest Fix

The easiest way to fix this is: KEEP A TRAINING LOG. And make it detailed. It can have as many or few items as you want it to, just make sure it tracks what you’re doing in your practices and how you’re progressing. Use photos, weigh yourself, take down volume, intensity, etc. Just make sure YOU understand it and that you can follow it. Besides, it’s easy to do it, bare minimum, write after each workout to make .

Motus Virtute,

Second step: building your workouts

This post is directly linked to the one about Goal-setting.
This time we should focus on planning and programming. Simply put, once we know where we’re going we should chart the best way to get there.

What makes a program?

  • Excercises: what we’ll do
  • Intensity: how hard we’ll do it.
  • Volume: how much we’ll do.
  • Frecuency: how often we’ll do it.
  • Progression: how we’ll advance.
  • Rest: how you’ll recover

These items will, of course, depend on our goals. Back in the other post I mentioned that one of my goals was to do 3 one-arm pull-ups by September, so here is how the programming will look like:

  • Excercises: any that builds towards the OAPU. Mostly Pull-up variations.
  • Intensity: this is a strength feat, so my focus should be on high intensity training (basically, the hardest pull-up variations I can manage for at least 5 reps).
  • Volume: Mid to low. It’s best to practice strength excercises while being as fresh as possible.
  • Frequency: The higher the volume, the lower frequency should be. Being that the OAPU is going to be a tough challenge, a higher frequency is recommended. So let’s say high.
  • Progressions:  Here we should determine two things:
    • Which excercises to tackle: assisted pull-ups, pull-ups, grip variety pull-ups, archer pull-ups,…
    • When to tackle them (as in, when do you believe you’re ready for the next step) (once you manage 3 sets of 10 reps, advance, etc.)
  • Rest: You should determine your de-loading weeks, how often you’ll workout and how you’ll rest.

So, once you’ve defined your goals you should be able to write up your plan. I’ll make a list of some generalities to take in account:

Goal orientation

Strength focus

Intensity: High, between 80% and 90%

Volume: low (think 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps).

Frequency: highish. You should do this between 3-5 days a week. And, since volume will be low, feel free to repeat your workouts during the week.

Rest: High rest periods between sets are preferable. And deloading at the end of each cycle will be key.

Stamina/endurance focus

Intensity: mid to low (think 50%-60%)

Volume: high to ridiculous (just do as much as you can)

Frequency: here it’s a tough one: you want to leave enough to recover but want to train to go on while tired. Go with a mid frequency, but allow time to recover yourself.

Rest: as little as possible between sets, many swear by heart rate measurments (ie: once you’re back to 135 bpm). Also, you should deload after every cycle.

Muscle building focus

Intensity: mid to high (think 70%-80%)

Volume: high. You want to create fatigue. I’d recommend going to muscle failure often (probably in your last sets of each exercise)

Frequency: Depending on how you’ll split your routine. But I’d go no more than 3 times a week for the same movement patterns.

Rest: a mid term rest (between 1 and 3 minutes) between sets is usually a good place to start. Try to let your muscles recover between their workouts (if you’re working on split routines)

Please bear in mind that muscle building, as well as fat burining are tied to a diet and nutrition plan. Much more so than your routine.

General health

Intensity: Varied. Go through the whole spectrum at least one a week.

Volume: Varied as well. You’ll want to do more on your lower intensity days, less in your higher intensity days.

Frequency: I’d recommend daily, but allowing plenty time to rest. A good way to manage the fatigue would be to create a small cycle in your week, having light, medium and tough/hard days.

Rest: This will depend on that day’s/cycle’s focus. But please bear in mind that you should feel “fresh” on the next day. A deloading week after each cycle is highly recomended.

Just remember, this is not enough. Once you know what to do you should start doing it. The only programs that give results are those that ar followed.

There’s not much more to this (if you’re a pro, your needs will probably be very different). The rest is up to you. And remember, the plan is the path, but you’ll have to walk it to get to your goals.

What are your fitness plans? Feel free to share with us!

Motus Virtute