This week marks the start of a new programme here at Elevate98 and it has led to lots of conversations around how we programme at the gym.
Programming is an interesting topic and has been widely discussed inside the fitness world with regards to how important it actually is.
My opinion?
It's important without doubt but it's not top of the pile.
In my humble opinion the hierarchy of importance in your fitness journey is this:
-Consistency/Adherence.
-Intent and technique.
-Programming.
So it comes in third which shows it is important but how the programme is coached and performed is even more important for me.
Even if the exercise selection isn't absolutely perfect but it is coached and then performed really well then you will achieve better results than someone who chooses the 'perfect' exercise but doesn't perform it as well (although there is no such thing as perfect).
Top of the pile is adherence and this is where it gets interesting.
A programme that balances variety with progression e.g. doing stuff enough that you see progress but varying it enough so you don't get bored is one of the BIGGEST factors for adherence (alongside community, both of which we have here at Elevate98).
So, what goes into our programming (this blog will be a 2 parter)?
We aim to hit the 7 fundamental movement patterns as often as possible to ensure a well balanced programme, they are:
-Squat (squats and lunges).
-Hinge (all deadlift variants and hip thrusts).
-Push (overhead, chest press and press ups).
-Pull (rows, pull ups and pulldowns).
-Core/Carry.
-Rotation (twisting and turning).
-Breathing/Conditioning (getting the heart rate up).
Now of course certain goals will lend themselves to a slightly different balance of each of these but everyone should do them all to ensure we have the best balanced training programme.
Next week I shall share how we use these to build out a plan...
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