Posted on April 17, 2015 by Jenny Cromack
I’ll let you all in on a little secret, the reason Motive8 North personal training clients are so successful is because as a company we invest a significant amount of time in periodising clients training programs. This doesn’t mean we simply change the program frequently, rather we build programs over long periods of time that slot together like pieces of a jigsaw. Many people don’t have any idea about what ‘periodising your workouts’ mean, but the aim of this blog is to help you understand that. We believe that periodising your workouts is hugely important, especially if you are going to get RESULTS!
Unfortunately most members of gyms sit on a hamster wheel turning their legs over and end up going nowhere. Did you know that your body will adapt to any program in around 4-6 sessions. That means you’ve probably got a month to get the most out of a program then the training becomes ineffective.
However this doesn’t mean you can just change all the variables of the plan and keep getting immense results, the programs have to blend together. One program that isn’t built on the last program will render the last program pointless, you’ll end up losing the progress you made on the previous plan while your body adapts to the new one.
Still with me?
Here are an a few of the variables we can manipulate
- Repetitions per set
- Sets per muscle group
- Tempo of the lift
- Rest between sets, or between workouts
- The exercise selection
- The exercise order
- The amount of resistance used
- The total volume per session
- Whether we use isolation or compound movements
- The combination of exercises
- Range of movement
- Angle of movement
Then if you imagine how many variation of the above we can create you’ll realise there are billions of variations we can use, each program must carefully include variables that build on the success of the previous plan if not results are slow and sluggish.
The best example of this to demonstrate the point is through running. Meet Terry……..
Terry started running aged 25, he’s never run before. 6 weeks into the program he’s able to run the same 3 mile route without stopping…. amazing work Terry, well done! However Terry continues to run the same 3 mile route over and over past the magic 6 week window. Sure Terry can run the route a little faster but only by a couple of minutes, progress has slowed down… If only Terry had periodised his program! He would then have know that manipulating some of the variables, such as his distance, pace and training approach could have meant that over the next 6 weeks terry could have been able to run up to 6 miles.
Repetition of the same workout leads to diminishing returns, mixing up programs leads to diminishing returns. Planning a program that builds on the previous leads to amazing results.
One of the best methods of fat loss we have utilised in the past, is when periods of lactic acid resistance training are followed by spells of strength training. Because it doesn’t involve running, or hours on a spin bike people are often very sceptical…. until they see the results careful planning can bring.
In summary planning ahead in training is the same as everything else you do in life… if you keep taking random turns your not likely going to get where you’re going. Hopefully this blog has helped to explain why periodising your workouts is important.