Secrets to Creating a Successful Fitness Program
With the upcoming MUVFit fitness program changes, going away from the app and phone use and switching to cool new tablets on each rack, I wanted to talk a little about programming, how we do it, and how to build the perfect workout program.
Warning – this gets a little nerdy, but if you’re interested in simplified results through a fitness program, keep reading.
A Common Misconception Your Fitness Program
You see, there is a common misconception that doing random workouts all the time is a good thing.
It started with P90X years ago when they introduced a fad concept – muscle confusion.
In truth, it was a marketing concept. They wanted their audience to feel like it wasn’t THEIR fault they weren’t getting results. They weren’t confusing their muscles enough! (by the way, their marketing WORKED – to the tune of almost $1 billion!)
But when you looked through their programming, they were hitting many of the same movements and working to get stronger in them over time. They just varied the order and added cute little twists.
But “muscle confusion” confused people – and some trainers who like to latch onto the latest fads without vetting them out.
The Truth About Fitness Programs
Here’s the truth: to get stronger and see progressive results, you must consistently hit the same exercise/movements in your fitness program over and over. Not each workout – but each week.
There are 7 fundamental movement categories:
- Knee dominant (squats, lunges)
- Hip dominant (deadlifts, glute bridges)
- Horizontal pushing (pushups, bench press)
- Horizontal pulling (rows)
- Vertical Pushing (overhead press, tricep pressdowns)
- Vertical Pulling (lat pulldowns, chin-ups, bicep curls)
- Core (plank, farmer carries, dead bug, etc).
Within each of these categories, there are subcategories like unilateral, bilateral, power, combination, etc. But I digress….
A Solidly Built Fitness Program Will Hit All of These Movements in Some capacity
Depending on the fitness level of the client and what their movement ability is (which we test in our initial assessment). We immediately know what movements we can/should load (add weight to) when we take a client through their initial assessment.
Some clients get confused and think their program needs to be crazy with all kinds of weird new movements like they see on Instagram that don’t really fit into any of these categories – but they look COOL. And hey…their buddy is doing it!
I get it – we want our workouts to keep us interested and be fun – but not at the expense of seeing results.
HINT: These instagram circus movements will do no more for your results than joining the circus yourself. 😉
Strength and Weight Loss Results
Here’s the deal – you could see AMAZING strength and weight loss results by literally following a very simple program – just hit squats, deadlifts, pull-ups and pushups 3x/week, working to progressively overload the movements and vary your loads/reps/rest intervals, etc. Every week.
Seriously.
But, if you want a more rounded program that hits all movement patterns, that’s how we build our workout programs for our clients.
We make sure all movement patterns are accounted for. We hit them in sequences that allow for proper recovery and improvement. We vary the pattern enough to help with boredom, but not so much that we take away from the science of what works.
Then, we can get fun and creative at the end of the workout. If your goal is fat loss, add some metabolic movements like burpees, mountain climbers, kettlebell swings or sprints.
If your goal is building muscle or getting toned, you can add some accessory work like shoulder raises, bicep curls, or tricep pressdowns.
Or if you have unique interests like an improved handstand, you can do that here too. You can combine a variety of all of those to finish your program out!
So I just wanted you to understand a little of the science that goes behind how we program for our clients.
Ready to Learn More?
If you’ve tried and failed, or have achieved some results, only to backslide… you are not alone. MUVFit provides the best personal training Nashville has to offer. Call us at 615-530-8999 or click on the link below to request a free consultation.