Picture a scenario where you were to send a fully working motorcycle back into the Middle Ages, just to see what would happen. We could probably agree that even though the people alive back then would have zero reference points for what it was, except perhaps that it has wheels. Given enough time, someone would likely figure out how to turn the key and get it working, many would probably even get quite good at riding it.
However, when the fuel tank ran empty or the first part failed, this same individual would be at a loss. Lacking the knowledge to produce or replace the intricate components, there would simply be no way of getting the motorcycle working again. I give you this example because there are parallels at play as to how one might approach a workout program by engaging in it, yet not fully understanding why it works.
Letโs imagine for argument’s sake that you’ve just acquired an exceptional workout regimen from a top fitness coach but find yourself in a state of perplexity. Having yet to implement the program, you’re unsure of its effectiveness and how to maximise its potential. Essentially, you’re keen to get started but are unsure of what to expect because you are yet to walk the path.
At times perhaps when you have an off day, or are feeling a little low you might find some doubt beginning to creep in. Which may tempt you to modify the program based on personal preferences or common beliefs about what might work. This can have devastating effects when a carefully designed program is changed due to incorrect understanding. Such alterations can undermine the effectiveness of the plan, greatly reducing the chances of achieving your desired fitness results.
How to read a fitness program
Understanding a workout program is akin to understanding a finely tuned machine – you can only fully comprehend its function when you grasp how every cog, lever, and screw relate to one another in order to work in harmony.
Just as a master watchmaker discerns the purpose and interplay of every minute part in a timepiece, so should we strive to understand the individual components of our workout program – the exercises, sets, reps, rest periods, and more.
Each element plays a specific role, and when expertly orchestrated, they result in a symphony of progress toward our fitness goals that cannot fail to deliver.
When we appreciate the interconnected nature of these components, we can harness their collective power, and our fitness journey becomes not just about going through the motions, but about truly understanding and controlling the mechanisms of our physical development.
Only then can we fully engage with our workout programs, adapt them to our evolving needs, and consistently drive ourselves toward our goals. Make no mistake, if you master this, you will once and for all be free from guesswork. No longer will you question whether a fitness program will work or not, it becomes the simple act of consistent implementation with results guaranteed.
The components of a workout
Exercise selection & order
Exercise selection is a crucial component of an effective workout routine. It’s the process of choosing exercises that will help you achieve your fitness goals while considering your skill level, physical limitations, available equipment, and other factors. The exercises you choose directly impact the development of your muscles and overall strength, therefore they should be tailored to your specific needs and objectives.
Sometimes there is some over-complication to exercise selection, and every exercise is going to have several, even dozens of variations, for the most part, the basic movements of squats, deadlifts, lunges, basic presses, and rows are going to be where the vast majority of your progress is to be found, especially from a muscle building or strength gaining standpoint.
I have an expansion on the best exercises for every muscle group and training goal in my comprehensive beginner’s guide to fitness.
Compound vs isolation movements
In terms of strength training, exercises typically fall into two categories: compound and isolation movements.
Compound exercises are multi-joint movements that work for multiple muscle groups at the same time. Examples of compound exercises include squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. These exercises are typically the foundation of strength training programs because they allow you to lift heavy weights and stimulate a large amount of muscle tissue. Leading to improvements in overall strength and muscle mass. Compound exercises can also serve to play a role in helping you maintain basic functional movement patterns as many of them mirror everyday movements, squatting for example.
On the other hand, isolation exercises target a single muscle group and involve movement at only one joint. Examples include bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, and leg curls. While isolation exercises may not always be as effective as compound movements for building overall strength and mass, they’re useful for targeting specific muscles that might need additional work for example in bodybuilding or for injury prevention and rehabilitation.
The exercises you choose can also depend on your level of conditioning coming into a program. If youโve been immobile or unconditioned for some time, but have the dual goals of wanting to gain muscle and also feel fitter and more energetic for example, you might stand to benefit from bodyweight versions of compound exercises which would allow you to de-risk your workouts whilst you get comfortable with the major movement patterns again.
Targetting Different Muscle Groups & Energy Systems
The human body consists of various muscle groups, each with specific functions. Different exercises target different muscle groups. This provides you with the ability to focus on specific areas for development. For example, a bicep curl primarily targets the biceps brachii, while a squat targets the muscles in your lower body such as the quadriceps and glutes.
Additionally, different exercises also target different energy systems within your body. Your body has three main energy systems: the phosphagen system for short, intense efforts; the glycolytic system for moderate to high-intensity efforts lasting a few minutes; and the aerobic system for long-duration, low to moderate intensity activities. By strategically selecting exercises and structuring your workout, you can target specific energy systems to improve your performance in certain activities, be it sprinting, playing a sport, or long-distance running.
Understanding these nuances in exercise selection can lead to a more effective and efficient workout routine. Helping you make substantial and consistent progress toward your fitness goals.
Understanding Sets & Reps
Sets and reps (repetitions) form the basis of any strength training workout and will also be used in many HIIT and remedial workouts as well. A rep refers to the completion of an exercise movement from start to finish, such as one push-up or one squat. A set is a group of consecutive reps performed without resting. So one might say “I did 2 sets of 10 squats” meaning that they did 10 squats in a row, twice, separated by a period of rest, which we’ll cover shortly.
The number of sets and reps you perform in a workout serves as a dial that adjusts the workout’s intensity and purpose. It’s a key determinant of whether your workout will primarily stimulate strength gains, muscle hypertrophy (growth), or muscular endurance.
Using reps to inform workout intensity & focus
For the most part effective rep ranges for gaining strength and size move along a 1-20 rep spectrum.
Typically, if your goal is to build maximal strength, you’d do fewer reps (1-6) with heavier weights across more sets. This range focuses on your nervous system’s ability to recruit muscle fibers for maximal force output, without causing substantial muscle damage or metabolic fatigue.
If you’re aiming for muscle hypertrophy, you would generally perform a moderate number of reps (6-12) across more sets with moderately heavy weights. This rep range is considered optimal for inducing muscle damage and metabolic stress, two key factors in muscle growth.
For improving muscular endurance, you would do a higher number of reps (15-20 or even more) with lighter weights across fewer sets. This rep range trains your muscles to resist fatigue over extended periods, improving their capacity to perform sustained work.
However these are not hard and fast rules, considerable crossover benefits will be seen between the rep ranges. For example, just because you are training to gain muscle doesn’t mean you won’t get stronger, you will. Perhaps just not as strong and in as linear of a route as you could have had you been training specifically for it. The more new you are to fitness, the less these nuances matter because there is simply more long-hanging fruit on the table for your body to adapt to, as you become more seasoned and close in on the limits of your natural capacity the more you will need to get specific with your training, and indeed the more you will need to accept marginal improvements over the broad success you will see in your early days of training. There is also a safety factor at play here, as you can imagine it’s harder to maintain good technique at the very upper end of your strength capacity, just as it would be to keep control of our motorbike at 100MPH, so until you have mastered a technique and have your muscles fully under control, it would not be prudent to train with very heavy weight.
Moreover, recent research suggests that you can achieve hypertrophy across a wide spectrum of rep ranges, as long as you’re lifting to near failure. Think of it this way, itโs not as if your body is literally counting reps, it’s just reacting to stress. Therefore if a stimulus is novel enough you can gain strength or size from it even outside of the traditional rep ranges, but if youโre looking for the most straightforward route to results, there are best practices for a reason and they help to give your workout program structure.
The relationship between volume & sets, reps, and weight
Volume is the total amount of work you do in a workout, calculated as sets x reps x weight. It’s a crucial variable in the programming of a workout because it’s closely tied to both muscle growth and overall progress.
For example, if you perform 3 sets of 10 reps with 50kg on the bench press, your volume for that exercise is 3 x 10 x 50 = 1500kg. If the following week you do 4 sets of 10 reps with the same weight, your volume increases to 2000kg, which is a form of progressive overload.
Whether you’re adjusting sets, reps, or the weight you’re lifting, any change that results in an increase in volume over time can lead to improvements in strength and muscle mass. However, this should be balanced with adequate recovery, as excessive volume can lead to overtraining.
By understanding the roles of sets, reps, weight, and volume, you can better structure your workouts to meet your specific fitness goals, be it strength, hypertrophy, or endurance.
Once you realise that there is not necessarily a linear relationship between how heavy you are lifting and your ability to gain muscle this is very freeing, way too many people are stuck endlessly trying to lift more and more for the same number of reps and sets thinking that is the only way to gain muscle. This then opens up the opportunity to utilise other highly effective training protocols like German volume training, HST, and 8×8 for example all of which are on the unconventional side but are protocols I use with my clients regularly to switch things up and deliver excellent results.
Rest periods in workouts
Rest periods refer to the time you take to recover between sets during a workout. They’re an integral component of your training program and, if manipulated correctly, can significantly affect your training’s intensity and effectiveness. It’s generally treated as a secondary element of a workout plan, but it’s not as passive as you might think. Picking it wisely is just as crucial as the amount of sets and reps.
The Influence of Rest Period on Workout Focus
The length of your rest periods can dictate what kind of adaptation your body makes following a workout. In other words, the amount of rest you take between sets can influence whether your workout leans more toward strength, hypertrophy, or endurance training.
For strength-focused training, where you’re lifting heavier weights for lower reps, longer rest periods of about 2-3 minutes (or even more) are often recommended. This allows your muscles and nervous system to recover adequately for the next heavy set, enabling you to maintain high performance throughout the workout.
This is an important nuance because it reveals a very important intention, when training for strength, the goal is to perform as best as you can, if you do that you will lift as heavily as possible and that will lead to your desired adaptation.
For hypertrophy (muscle-building) training, rest periods are typically shorter, around 30-90 seconds. This balance allows enough recovery for muscles to perform the next set effectively but is short enough to maintain a level of muscular fatigue and metabolic stress, which are conducive to muscle growth.
In contrast to strength training, the focus here is not performance as such, but more about creating the kind of environment that’s optimal for muscle growth. So whilst performance is still a factor, it is only really relative to the previous workout in order to maintain progressive overload.
So performance in this kind of workout is really just feedback and holds no bearing on your personal bests or other performance benchmarks. Many of the best muscle-building protocols are deliberately working on the basis of creating a level of demand on the body where you cannot fully perform. Be clear that this is the intention and how they deliver results for you, so don’t get stuck in perfectionism and too hung up on what you are lifting. You are simply trying to accumulate metabolic stress.
For endurance training, where the goal is to improve your ability to sustain effort over time, even shorter rest periods of around 10-60 seconds are common. The short recovery time increases the demand on your cardiovascular system and boosts your muscles’ endurance capacity. This kind of training is usually incorporated either to increase overall fitness levels or to use the controlled gym setting to create training adaptations that will translate over to better performance in sports or hobby activities.
What makes an effective workout program?
Now that weโve outlined what the components of a workout are, we need to discuss how they relate to one another. We’re essentially referring to how each exercise complements or impacts the others in your workout routine. This understanding is akin to appreciating the role of different instruments in an orchestra. Each instrument has its unique sound, but together, they create a harmonious symphony. Similarly, in a well-designed workout, each exercise plays a distinct role that contributes to your overall fitness goals.
Before you can gauge whether a workout is going to be effective or not, you must first define what that actually means. A workout is not just about the perception of working hard, it needs to be novel enough to force an adaptation, meaning it needs to be ‘outcome-oriented’. In other words it’s not just about going through the motions, it’s about doing the kind of words that is going to get you from A to B. There is nothing wrong with just wanting to be active but that should treated differently than an actual workout in order to avoid a scenario in which you are simply spinning your wheels.
Frequency & goal alignment
The ideal workout frequency is highly individual and depends on several factors, including your training goals, current fitness level, schedule, and how quickly you recover from workouts.
For general health and fitness, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends strength training at least twice a week. For muscle growth, a frequency of 2-3 sessions per muscle group per week seems to be effective for most people. Advanced lifters may benefit from higher frequencies, but this requires careful management of training volume and intensity to prevent overtraining.
There is also a place for total body workouts for example introducing the higher effective HST protocol into your array of workouts can offer a welcome contrast. Total body workouts also offer a great solution if your schedule makes you prone to missing workouts as every workout hits all of your muscle groups meaning youโre never too far from getting any particular muscle group worked out.
The importance of total training volume
It’s important to note that total training volume (the total amount of work you do, usually calculated as sets x reps x weight) also plays a big role in muscle growth. This means you can achieve similar results with different training frequencies. Providing the total training volume is matched. For example, you could perform six sets for a muscle group in one workout or split it into two workouts of three sets each if the total training volume is similar.
Workout frequency
Workout frequency refers to how often you train, usually measured on a weekly basis. For example, training three times a week means you have a workout frequency of three. This aspect of your training program is crucial as it can significantly impact both your recovery and your growth.
Choosing your day structure
Deciding on a training split or day structure of a training program is a significant aspect of workout planning. The choice can be guided by individual goals, time availability, recovery capability, and personal preference.
Here’s how you might consider these factors:
Total body workout: This is a good option for beginners or those who can only dedicate a few days a week to the gym. In a total body workout, you train all major muscle groups in a single session. This allows for ample recovery time between workouts and ensures each muscle group is worked multiple times per week, which can stimulate consistent strength gains and muscle growth.
Opposing muscle groups: Training opposing muscle groups, also known as antagonist training (for example, biceps and triceps), can be beneficial because while one muscle group is working, the opposing group is recovering. This type of split is often used by intermediate trainees who can afford a moderate number of days in the gym and aims to enhance muscle balance and prevent injury. It can also offer a very time-efficient way to train.
4, 5 or 6-day training week: More advanced trainees or those with specific goals might opt for a 4, 5 or even 6-day split. Which typically means training individual muscle groups or muscle group combinations on specific days (like a ‘chest day’ or ‘leg day’). This approach allows for a higher volume of training per muscle group and can be effective for those aiming for significant muscle hypertrophy. However, it requires more time commitment and adequate recovery capability to prevent overtraining.
The decision should be made on an individual basis, considering the person’s fitness level, recovery ability, lifestyle, and personal goals. It’s also important to remember that the most effective workout split is the one that a person can consistently adhere to. Therefore, personal preference and enjoyability should play a role in the decision-making process. As a person progresses in their fitness journey, they might find it necessary to modify their training split to continue making progress and meet evolving goals.
The balancing act: training & recovery
The goal of resistance training is to create a stimulus that disrupts your body’s homeostasis, prompting it to adapt and grow stronger. However, your body needs time to recover from this stimulus and make the necessary adaptations. Therefore, finding the right balance between training and recovery is essential.
If you train too frequently without sufficient recovery, it can lead to overtraining, a state characterised by fatigue, decreased performance, and increased risk of injury. Conversely, if your workout frequency is too low, you may not be providing enough stimulus for your body to adapt and improve. In which case you may even risk losing some of the gains you’ve already made.
As weโve noted above, the point of a workout is to disrupt your body’s homeostasis enough to force an adaptation. Consider though, that youโre workout plan doesnโt exist in a vacuum, every other form of stress in your life also has to be factored into this equation if you are experiencing or have just experienced a very stressful period in your life, or simply arenโt sleeping well then some of the heavier volume programs could compound this. This is a great example of where you might opt out of a workout program that would be technically effective for you, but contextually inappropriate.
Workout intensity
Workout intensity essentially refers to how hard your body is working during exercise. In strength training, this is most commonly measured by the weight you’re lifting or the resistance you’re working against. This is not to be confused with the effort or strain you might feel, which can be subjective. For example, in strength training where you are lifting a very high percentage of what you could lift once (your 1RM), each individual set is going to be very intense, but with long rest periods, the workout overall might not feel too intense. Contrast that with some of the higher volume muscle-building workouts, where you might be lifting less than half the weight, but with short rest periods, you might perceive the workout as far more intense.
Youโve also got to take into account that weโre mostly discussing strength training here but think about how hard a short period of HIIT cardio might feel versus a strength training workout. HIIT is going to feel many times more intense but it may not have the same effect on the central nervous system so although a โharderโ workout would not necessarily have a greater barrier to recovery than the strength session.
How intensity affects training adaptations
The level of intensity you apply to your workout plays a key role in dictating the type of adaptation your body will make. Training at a higher intensity by lifting heavier weights predominantly recruits fast-twitch muscle fibres, which are responsible for strength and size. On the other hand, training at a lower intensity with more repetitions engages more slow-twitch fibres, known for their endurance capabilities.
The principle of progressive overload
One of the key principles for continuous improvement in strength training is progressive overload. This concept involves gradually increasing the stress placed on your body during exercise over time. One common way to apply progressive overload is by increasing the weight you’re lifting as you get stronger, thus boosting the intensity of your workouts.
But progressive overload doesn’t only constitute lifting heavier weights. You can also achieve it by increasing the number of sets or reps you’re performing, shortening your rest periods, improving your form to make each rep more effective, or even altering the tempo of your reps.
It might be useful to think about progressive overload with an acknowledgement that it should be reset with each new training phase. Which should be changed every 4-8 weeks, this way you are measuring progressive overload from workout 1 of the current training phase rather than the thresholds of what you are capable of overall. This is important because you could use a protocol at low reps and volume one month and next a higher volume program the next, you would utilise lower weights, but this does not reflect a regression, the demand of the protocol has changed, and you have not become weaker.
Other considerations
While lifting heavy weights can help you build strength and muscle, it’s crucial to lift an appropriate weight for your fitness level and the specific exercise you’re doing. Lifting weights that are too heavy can compromise your form and increase your risk of injury. On the other hand, if the weights are too light, you might not be working your muscles hard enough to stimulate growth or improvement, it’s all relative, and nothing supersedes safe effective technique.
To be clear, reps that are not executed with proper technique are not reps, this is fitness training not sports so there is zero utility in risking injury to perform better. Performance is just feedback as to how well your lifestyle, nutrition and training are lining up for you in pursuit of a particular fitness goal, not a reflection of who you are.
In essence, understanding and manipulating workout intensity allows you to tailor your training more accurately to your specific goals, whether they’re related to strength, hypertrophy, or endurance. It’s not always about lifting the heaviest weights, but about lifting the right weights for your individual circumstances and objectives.
Tempo
Tempo in resistance training refers to the speed at which you perform an exercise. It’s typically written as a four-digit number that represents the time (in seconds) it should take to complete the concentric (lifting) phase, the pause at the top, the eccentric (lowering) phase, and the pause at the bottom of a movement.
For example, a tempo of 2-0-1-0 for a squat would mean lowering yourself into the squat position over two seconds, no pause at the bottom, standing up in one second, and no pause at the top before the next repetition. Most training protocols are going to work on the basis of 2 seconds up and 2 seconds down (2-0-2-0).
The impact of tempo on training
The tempo at which you perform your exercises can have a significant impact on your training and the adaptations your body makes in response to it.
Slower tempo: building strength & muscle
Using a slower tempo, especially during the eccentric phase of a movement, increases the time under tension. A key driver for muscle growth. It also allows for greater control over the movement, which can improve form, reduce the risk of injury, and increase the activation of targeted muscle groups.
However, a slower tempo often means you can’t lift as heavy, as the muscles fatigue over the longer set. This can be beneficial for hypertrophy (muscle-building) goals, but might not be optimal for maximum strength development.
Faster tempo: power & athletic performance
A faster tempo, on the other hand, allows you to lift heavier weights, potentially leading to greater strength gains. Moreover, quicker lifts can better translate to athletic performance, as many sports require the ability to generate force rapidly.
The right tempo for your goals
As with other elements of workout programming, the best tempo depends on your specific goals and circumstances. Beginners might benefit from slower tempos to master form and control. Intermediate and advanced trainees may manipulate tempo based on their specific goals โ slower for hypertrophy, and faster for strength and power.
Incorporating tempo into your workouts
When implementing tempo into your workout, remember it’s another variable that adds to the overall training stress. Adjustments may need to be made to volume and intensity to accommodate for increased time under tension when using slower tempos.
Understanding and utilising tempo in your training can provide a further layer of specificity and control, enhancing your ability to target your efforts and achieve your desired results. It’s not just what you lift, but how you lift it, that matters.
Not everyone is comfortable with manipulating tempo, it can significantly reduce the amount of weight youโre lifting, and whilst I can explain why that could be beneficial, a lot of people find it a bit of a knock on the ego, especially in the gym setting. I have some thoughts on the fitness mindset that might help with that, however, the main reason I use a slower tempo in my online personal training service is when the amount of equipment is limited by weight, in which case a slower tempo can put training goals back on the table even with limited equipment.
Advanced intensity-boosting techniques
Below are some more advanced techniques that can be implemented to help bolster the intensity, effectiveness, and novelty of a training program:
Rest/pause: The rest/pause technique involves taking a brief rest mid-set, usually after reaching failure, then continuing with the same weight for more reps. This allows you to perform more reps with a given weight than you could in a single, continuous set, increasing overall volume and intensity.
Super sets: Super sets involve performing two exercises back-to-back with little to no rest in between. This can either target the same muscle group (for increased volume and intensity) or opposing muscle groups (for efficiency and promoting balance).
Drop sets: A drop set involves performing a set to failure, then reducing the weight and continuing with more reps until failure, often for multiple ‘drops’. This extends the set beyond the point of initial muscle failure, providing a high-intensity stimulus for muscle growth.
Forced reps: Forced reps involve performing a set to failure, then having a partner (or sometimes your other limb) assist with additional reps by providing just enough help to get past the sticking point. This can push the muscle further than it could go alone, stimulating further growth and strength gains.
Negatives: Negatives focus on the eccentric (lowering) phase of a movement, which is often stronger than the concentric (lifting) phase. By using a weight heavier than your max, or having a partner apply additional resistance, and focusing on a slow, controlled lowering phase, you can provide a high-intensity stimulus for strength and muscle gains.
Each of these advanced techniques can be highly effective for boosting the intensity of your workouts and driving further progress. However, they may also increase the overall training stress and recovery demand and therefore should be used judiciously.
Coming full circle – basic structure, advanced workouts
Often in the world of fitness training, there’s a fascinating evolution that occurs in the programming structure. Many programs start with a foundation in total body workouts, an approach that is particularly suitable for beginners. As trainees advance, they typically transition into more complex 3, 4, or 5-day training splits, reflecting increased specialisation and intensity. However, it’s intriguing to note that advanced programs sometimes come full circle, reintegrating structures reminiscent of beginner training but infusing them with sophisticated principles. A striking example of this phenomenon is the Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST) protocol.
With HST, we see a return to total body workouts, but with a more nuanced approach. This includes working at different rep ranges and a concentrated emphasis not just on progressive overload but also on systematically increasing mechanical load over time. The HST protocol, which I have found very effective with my clients and in my own training, demonstrates how advanced training can revitalise foundational concepts with a layer of intricacy and pre-requisite experience, creating an entirely new level of effectiveness.
Modify your program with caution: second-order consequences matter
A great way to expand on what I mean is with the principle of Chesterton’s gate. The basic premise for the concept is that should you ever find yourself having acquired a piece of land, and happen upon a gate that doesnโt seem to have a purpose, you should wait until you know what it was originally put there for before you remove it. Otherwise, you might realise its importance (and the consequence of its absence) too late, long after it’s gone, and the opportunity to use it is lost forever.
This narrative isn’t meant to admonish those who seek to adapt their workout programs. There are times when you should be fully in control, and I think that’s progressively more the case the more experienced you are. Especially if youโre building your own workout plan, however, I think slightly different rules apply if youโve commissioned a personal trainer to build you a custom workout program.
As an online personal trainer, I’ve frequently observed that well-meaning modifications, intended to enhance effort or suit individual tastes, can actually backfire. These changes sometimes alter the original program to such an extent that it becomes unrecognisable, and in doing so, its effectiveness is often lost as well.
Like Chesterton’s gate, it’s crucial to understand the purpose and function of each element of your training routine before altering it, preventing the loss of valuable benefits and ensuring optimal results.
To circle back to our motorcycle analogy, let’s envision ourselves as engineers. Leveraging our understanding of mechanics and scientific principles, we wouldn’t need to wait until we had built an actual motorcycle to know if it would function. We could be confident about the operation of any project we had based on the written blueprint itself.
Similarly, if we desired a machine that was faster, lighter, or more powerful, we would know precisely which components and parameters to tweak in order to achieve that specific performance. This predictive capability is incredibly valuable – it saves time, effort, and resources by preventing fruitless pursuits.
This is precisely how experienced personal trainers perceive a workout program, just like a blueprint. Because it lays out the pathways to which your fitness goals will be achieved. As an online fitness coach, my goal is to equip you with a similar level of understanding, to empower you to not only effectively follow a professionally designed training plan but to develop the acumen to construct your own fitness blueprint knowing that itโll work.
With this knowledge, you’ll be able to discern the effectiveness of a program just by glancing at its outline. No longer will you be drawn into routines you lack confidence in or waste your resources on plans that won’t bear fruit. Moreover, this understanding will arm you with the ability to adapt and evolve your fitness strategy, preventing you from feeling adrift once a given program concludes. Your newfound proficiency will be your guide, leading you to a continuous and fulfilling fitness journey. Our goal here is not just to ride the motorcycle, but to understand its inner workings, tailor it to our needs and keep it running smoothly and effectively over time.
Mistakes to avoid in fitness
Mistakes to do with mindset
In my experience as a personal trainer, I’ve observed that the vast majority of the reasons people struggle in their health and fitness pursuits are challenges more to do with having the right mindset around fitness than they are to do with the workouts themselves. There are a lot of logical fallacies and nuances around exercise that could set you back if they lead you to make an unproductive decision with your training. Let’s explore some of the more common mindset-related mistakes I see with exercise.
Overdoing It
It’s a common mistake to think that if some exercise is good, more must be better. However, adding extra exercises, reps, or workout sessions can dramatically alter the carefully balanced structure of your program. You risk straying so far from the original plan that its benefits are lost.
If you have invested in a program from a personal trainer, remember they have crafted a program specifically for you, taking into account your current fitness level, energy, and lifestyle factors. Adding more work can throw off this balance, and your nutrition plan won’t match your activity level anymore.
This isn’t to say there’s no room for flexibility. But remember: working harder isn’t always working smarter. The goal is not to push yourself to the absolute limit each time you exercise. But to consistently follow your optimised plan, which will be calibrated for incremental progression. Don’t confuse doing as much as possible with doing what’s optimal.
Keep in mind, that a coaching relationship involves mutual participation. Boiled down to its essence, it’s your job to implement the program, and the coach’s job to hold you accountable to your intention to change. Experienced trainers want to see you achieve results and trust that you’re following their guidance. If you’re constantly adjusting your program against their advice, the relationship changes. It begins to resemble a transactional customer service interaction, instead of a valuable coaching experience, which isn’t beneficial for either party. For the best results, it’s crucial to value and respect the expertise and guidance your trainer provides, that’s what youโve invested in. To help you make this initial decision and perhaps find the right coach, I have a guide to help you choose the right personal trainer for you.
The all-or-nothing mindset
It’s fascinating to observe a certain pattern frequently emerging among my online fitness clients. Which is that very often, they will arrive at my services feeling burned out, drained, and lacking energy. A few weeks into following a carefully calibrated program, they start to experience a renewal of vitality, which is brilliant. Before long, they’re starting to wake up with newfound energy, ready to embrace the day. However, this surplus energy can sometimes trigger a sneaky behaviour pattern, almost as if they had been low on energy for so long that having energy is actually a problem to solve.
So they begin to take on additional training load, cut down on rest, and subtly slide back into habits that led them to their exhausted state in the first place. It’s crucial to be aware of this tendency, especially if you’re someone who often leans towards an all-or-nothing approach. If you have paid someone to create a perfectly calibrated program for you, doing less than suggested would be sub-optimal, so to would doing more and at least for my clients, usually one of the secondary goals is to get energy levels back to where they should be, so once that’s been achieved, just bask in It, its been hard won.
Not listening to the body
Even when following a well-structured or personalised training program, life has a way of throwing unpredictable curveballs our way. It’s crucial to recognise that, despite your workout schedule, your body might react to external stressors and force a change of plan.
Signals like an elevated resting heart rate, increased hunger, fatigue, irritability, and prolonged muscle recovery can indicate overwork. If you notice these signs, don’t hesitate to share them with your fitness coach if you have one. If you’re on a solo fitness journey, use these cues as gentle reminders to slow down, regardless of your workout plan. Looking into data such as heart rate variability could provide useful insights to help you make your decisions. However, you can also trust your gut instincts and cultivate your unique approach to what we might call ‘instinctive training’.
Short term focus
Think of your fitness journey a bit like a road trip. There’s an optimal speed at which to head toward your destination that strikes a balance between the duration of the trip and fuel consumption. It might seem logical to accelerate to save time, but two significant issues arise from this approach. Firstly, fuel consumption drastically increases, and secondly, the risk of an accident becomes alarmingly high. In fitness terms, think of fuel as your energy levels and accidents as potential injuries. The comparison holds; that pushing too hard, too quickly can lead to burnout and injury.
Remember, a well-rounded fitness approach should always have a medium to long-term focus. It’s not just about achieving results but about maintaining them too. If your focus is too short-term, you might compromise your overall health and fitness sustainability. There is a quick check for this, ask yourself could the way I am approaching this goal be maintained year round? If the answer is yes, the results will be yours to keep. If the answer is no, you’re taking a short-term route, and eventually, you will be forced to re-tool if you want to maintain your results.
Ego lifting
Some of the most potent workout protocols involve lifting lighter weights at higher volume, sometimes as little as 30% of your one rep max as with German volume training, or even lower. Adding in advanced techniques like drop sets, forced negatives, or partial reps can create the illusion that you are struggling with extremely light weights. If you’re overly concerned with how this might look to others in the gym, you’re jeopardising your long-term progress.
Fitness isn’t about appearances or short-lived impressions, but about consistent, sustainable improvement in your health and strength. Stick to your plan, heed your body’s feedback, and ignore external judgment. Your progress will speak for itself.
Reliance on preference
While starting a fitness journey, your preferences matter mostly because the best workout at that stage is going to be the one you’ll actually do. However, as you grow and evolve, sticking strictly to your preferences may lead to imbalances. Just like the infamous ‘skipped leg day’ trope, an unbalanced physique can be a product of favouring short-term preferences over long-term development. But it’s not all fun and gains, two great ways to develop a knee problem would be to neglect ankle mobility or the strength of your muscles at the hip, so even if you want to stack plates on your squats and deadlifts don’t neglect the surrounding musculature or the results can be dire.
Joseph Campbell, a notable figure in the field of depth psychology, who helped inspire the Star Wars movies referenced an idea rooted in King Arthur’s mythology: “Enter the woods where it is darkest.” Applied to fitness, it means tackling your weak points head-on. If stretching feels tedious, prioritise it. If cardio seems like a chore, give it more importance. If resistance training seems monotonous, develop your ability to focus. Training beyond your comfort zone is a crucial skill to develop over time. The areas where you face the most resistance are indeed the best places to start and a sign that its there that you need the most development.
Impatience
Impatience following a workout plan can lead to hasty decisions aimed at accelerating progress, often involving overexertion or undereating. Unfortunately, these actions tend to result in burnout. This impatience usually stems from a reaction to the natural slowdown of progress as one gets more accustomed to a training program. Keep in mind that our bodies are adaptive machines. Thus, in a 12-week training program, for instance, the results won’t be evenly distributed. You’ll always see more results where contrast is at its greatest, which is why we use periodisation to change training programs over time.
Take a weight loss goal, for example. If you transition from a sedentary lifestyle with excessive eating to regular training and a moderate calorie deficit, you’re likely to see rapid weight loss initially due to the significant lifestyle change. As this contrast diminishes over time, progress becomes more incremental. Trying to maintain the early rate of progress is unsustainable and often leads to impulsive decisions. This behaviour could land you in the frustrating cycles of yo-yo dieting. Patience, on the other hand, allows for healthy, long-term improvements, and ultimately results that you can maintain.
Failure to compartmentalise
If you’re aiming for substantial improvements in your body, health, and overall fitness, you should anticipate a timeframe ranging anywhere between 8 weeks to 18 months. It’s quite rare to undergo such a long period without encountering some disruption to your training or nutrition. This could take the form of an injury, limited access to equipment, or lifestyle changes like travel or social events affecting your diet.
The ‘all-or-nothing’ mentality often leads people to abandon their program altogether when one aspect gets disrupted. This mindset suggests that if one part of the plan fails, the rest isn’t worth pursuing. However, this approach is far from productive.
In fact, a more resilient and empowering decision is to lean into the aspects that remain within your control, a principle echoed in the philosophy of stoicism. So, if you find your food intake difficult to manage for a time, focus on making your training outstanding. If you’re dealing with a minor injury or lack of access to equipment, concentrate on ensuring your nutrition is flawless.
Remember, it’s when both aspects โ training, and nutrition โ are neglected that you start to regress and start to lose your hard-earned progress. Maintaining a balance, even when the circumstances are challenging, is crucial to steady progress and lasting results.
Incorrect Implementation
We’ve explored how having the wrong mindset can hinder your progress on a training program, but there are also practical aspects of following a workout plan that are vital to success. Avoiding common and easily correctable mistakes in these areas can dramatically increase your chances of achieving excellent results. Understanding both the mental and physical components of a training program ensures that you’re fully equipped to take on the journey toward better fitness and health. By being mindful of potential pitfalls and actively working to avoid them, you set yourself up for a successful and rewarding experience.
Not tracking rest periods
Rest periods during a workout are a vital but often overlooked piece of the equation. You can think of them as variables in an experiment; if they’re not consistent from one workout to the next, you can’t accurately track your progress from workout to workout, so how would you know you are making progress?
Rest periods are a way to directly influence the intensity of your workout, how fatigued you become, and the weight you’re able to lift.
For example, suppose your training program calls for 30-second rest periods, and you can bench press 40kg. The next week, you aim to lift 45kg but give yourself 60 seconds to rest. How can you tell if you’re lifting more because you’ve become stronger or simply because you had more time to recover? You can’t.
Consistency in rest periods helps you measure your true progress and ensures that you’re comparing like with like in your “experiment.” By adhering to the prescribed rest periods, you’re making sure that you’re truly testing and enhancing your strength and endurance, rather than introducing variables that could skew your results.
Especially if your goal is gaining muscle, consistency in rest periods is crucial. Remember, it’s not just about what you can lift; it’s about what you can lift under the same circumstances as the previous workout. By keeping the rest periods consistent, you’re ensuring that you are comparing apples to apples from one workout to the next. This is how true progress is made, by gradually lifting more under the same conditions, thereby pushing your muscles to adapt and grow. Without this consistency and tracking you may think you’re making gains when, in fact, you’re only changing the conditions of the workout to manipulate your performance. It’s a subtle but essential part of successful muscle building.
Not progressively overloading
Your body will quickly get used to a specific workout routine. If you don’t make the training load gradually more challenging, your body will have no reason to improve. The weights you begin with are just a starting point. You should expect to use many different weights by the end of your program. Always aim to increase the challenge to keep your body adapting and improving, if you don’t you’ll quite quickly find yourself at a stalemate.
Changing rep ranges
A common mistake in following a workout program is frequently changing the rep range from one workout to the next. It’s vital to understand that this practice hinders your ability to track progress consistently. Don’t adjust reps because you feel more energetic or want to lift heavier weights. More reps with less weight isn’t less effective; think of the rep range as a set part of the workout, if you change rep range you are effectively starting a new training program, and this could steer you away from your goals or reduce the amount of contrast in your current program in comparison to what went before and, if you have one, what your personal trainer planning for your progression. Whether you achieve your desired reps or not is beside the point, that’s just feedback. Consistency in this area helps to measure progress accurately.
Changing Weight To Meet Reps
A frequent error in training is changing the weight used to meet specific rep targets within a workout. While it may seem logical, altering the weight in this way can actually prevent you from pushing yourself and adapting to weights that are at the edge of your ability. Instead of viewing rep targets as mandatory successes, consider them as attempts. For example, “3 sets of 15” doesn’t mean you must complete exactly 15 reps in each set; it means you have three attempts to reach 15 reps with a specific weight, tempo, and rest period. Whether you hit 15 or not is less important than logging your actual performance and striving to improve it, even by a single rep across the three sets. This mindset encourages genuine progress rather than settling for artificial achievements.
Incorrect Starting weights
For a workout program to be effective, selecting the appropriate weight is crucial. If you fail to meet the requirements of your workout from the beginning, you aren’t truly following the designed plan. Take the example of 3 sets of 15 reps; for this rep range, you’d typically choose a weight that’s around 67% of your one-rep max, resulting in a relatively light load.
If you decide to lift heavier than this guideline, you might only manage 8 or 10 reps per set, deviating from the intended 3 x 15. In this scenario, the written plan becomes meaningless, as you’re not actually following it. You might find yourself needing to wait until week 4 of the program to see enough strength gains to perform the rep range you should have been at from week 1.
Choosing your starting weights appropriately is essential. Be willing to lift less than your maximum ability to meet the workout’s parameters. If you can’t achieve all the prescribed reps in week one, your chosen weights are likely too heavy. The golden rule is to align your actual performance with the program’s design rather than trying to lift too heavy too soon.
Changing Exercises Frequently
Exercise selection is a key factor in a workout program. In the early and intermediate stages of your training, this isn’t necessarily because one exercise is vastly superior to another for targeting the same muscle. Rather, it’s about using exercises as controlled variables to aid in progressive overload.
For instance, if you have a 6-week training plan and decide to switch up the exercises at week 3, you’ve essentially divided the plan into two, shortening the effectiveness you could have squeezed out of both halves. This interruption can hamper your progress.
When planning your workout program, it’s wise to consider how often you might need to adapt based on equipment availability. For example, in busy commercial gyms, dumbbells might be a better choice than barbells. Barbell availability can be a challenge during peak hours, leading to frequent unplanned exercise substitutions.
So, in designing your program, keep in mind the longevity and consistency of the plan, and make thoughtful exercise selections that suit your environment and allow for steady, uninterrupted progress.
Inconsistency
When planning a training program, it’s crucial to align the plan with your real-life availability and commitment level. This means taking an honest look at your schedule and choosing a program that fits.
For instance, if you choose a six-day program but frequently miss two sessions a week, you’re not only losing opportunities for progressive overload but also likely feeling discouraged by the missed sessions. Over the course of an eight-week program, these missed opportunities can add up and lead to underwhelming results.
On the other hand, if you had chosen a three-day program that you consistently followed, your results could potentially be more impressive. More importantly, you’d likely feel more engaged and satisfied with your progress. Your trainer could then optimise the program for three days, adjusting volume and intensity, and focusing on the specific areas you want to develop.
Remember, more is not necessarily better in fitness. Consistency, realistic planning, and alignment with your lifestyle are often the keys to long-term success. By choosing a program you can adhere to and then following it faithfully, you’ll be more likely to reach your fitness goals and enjoy the process along the way.
Failing to warm up
Warming up before a workout might seem like an obvious step, but it’s essential for more than just improving your performance. If you skip a proper warmup, you’re risking unnecessary injury, something that could not only alter your training plan but might even keep you out of the gym for weeks. To avoid this, begin with a dynamic warmup that follows the movements you’ll be performing in your workout. This not only prepares your muscles but also helps your mind focus on what’s coming next. Including practice sets for each exercise, especially when lifting heavy weights or doing lower reps, helps your body and mind understand what’s required. Think of the warmup as a safety net, setting you up for success while keeping you protected.
Staying with the same program for too long
Even the best workout program designed by an expert coach will only be effective until your body gets used to it. When you reach a point where you can’t push yourself further or you feel mentally or physically tired from your current routine, it’s time to switch things up. This point is known as “diminishing returns,” and it means that your body needs a new challenge to keep improving. Changing your workout routine will give your body a fresh reason to adapt, and help you keep making progress toward your fitness goals.
Not Learning Exercise Form
Learning proper exercise form is crucial, yet often overlooked. If you’re lifting a weight without engaging the targeted muscle correctly, much of your effort can go to waste. More importantly, improper form increases the risk of injury. By taking the time to master the correct techniques, you ensure that your workouts are effective and safe. Whether you’re new to exercise or a seasoned pro, focusing on form should always be a priority. Remember it’s one thing to be able to move a heavy thing, it’s another to perform good technique at the right tempo and properly recruit your target muscles, swinging bicep curls is the most commonly observed example of this. As a foundational fitness principle then, there is zero utility in in sacrificing good exercise technique to arbitrarily lift a heavier weight, only proper reps count.
Not enough Hard Work
While it’s essential not to over-overcook a well-balanced training program with extra work, it’s equally vital to recognise that such a program requires your full effort within those parameters. Many of the words of warning I’ve offered above are some version of holding back that reigns, but all of that said there really is no replacement for hard work. Anything less can lead to disappointing results. More importantly, giving less than your best effort can harm your self-confidence and trust in your ability more forward. Remember, when you don’t put in the work, the only person you’re shortchanging is yourself. Committing to your training and giving it your all is the only way to achieve the results you desire.
Lifestyle Factors
Not staying active enough outside of the gym
Many people overlook the importance of staying active outside of their scheduled workouts, but neglecting this aspect of your workout regime can lead to unnecessary setbacks. Our bodies are designed to move, and if we remain sedentary when not exercising, it can negatively impact our health, even in the presence of a workout at another point in the day. Furthermore, lack of movement can lead to tight muscles and poor posture, increasing the risk of injury during workouts.
Some exercises, like deadlifts and bent-over rows, may become off-limits if you sustain an injury. While the injury might happen in the gym, it’s often the inactivity outside of workouts that sets you up for it in the first place. By maintaining a general level of activity, even when you’re not formally working out, you can prevent many of these issues. It’s a simple step, but one that can keep you healthier and make your workout routine more effective and enjoyable.
Eating less (or more) than advised
One key to success with a workout program is eating the right amount to support your exercise and help you reach your body composition goals. If you eat too little in an attempt to accelerate progress, you’ll likely sabotage your own efforts. Conversely, overeating can prevent you from achieving the desired body shape by the end of your program. Finding the right balance in your diet, tailored to your specific workouts and goals, is essential for optimal results. Nuance and flexibility is important here because an overly rigid approach here isn’t great for everyone’s mental health. Don’t lament a bad day and things don’t always have to be 100% nailed on, the point I’m making is don’t deliberately eat less or more than would be optimal for your goals.
Not Acknowledging the influence of external factors
It’s crucial to remember that workouts don’t exist in isolation. Factors like recovery and overall levels of stress can significantly impact your ability to achieve desired results. I don’t mean that as a throwaway comment or airy fairy advice to ‘manage stress,’ I mean that there is evidence to suggest that the hormones associated with stress can make it more likely that you’ll gain fat, particularly around the abdomen, make it harder to shed existing fat and can even be catabolic. This means that high-stress levels may lead to the exact opposite of your body composition goals, even if you have a great workout regime and are consistently following it. And to bring everything I’ve been saying thus far full circle, make no mistake caloric restriction and excessive exercise are both cleverely disguised forms of stress. To be clear then, you could be doing everything right but if your body is compromised by the effects of stress you will not get the fitness results you could have.
Sometimes a change in life circumstances requires a shift in your workout strategy. For instance, German Volume Training is highly effective for building muscle, but it would be the wrong choice for someone coming to my online coaching service who’s already stressed, fatigued, and burned out. Even though it might be an objectively effective protocol, the context and the individual’s broader lifestyle situation must be taken into account. Personalising the training approach to align with a person’s unique circumstances is key to success and really the point of bringing a coach into the equation.
As we conclude here, it’s crucial to recognise that understanding the mechanics behind your workout is only the beginning. Gaining this knowledge is like receiving a key that opens up a world of potential in your fitness journey. Yet, the power of this key lies not in merely possessing it, but in using it effectively.
Hopefully, this workout has given you the fundamental grounding you need in your fitness journey and will enable you to never ask the following two questions ever again:
2 Questions you never have to ask again:
- What’s the best workout program for โxโ – Having dived into exercise and training programs in the level of detail that we have in this guide, youโll know all too well that the perfect training program is a moving target. As frustrating as that is to learn, because youโll never have one program that will deliver for you forever, itโs also very empowering to know that youโll never again be stuck in a rut with the same tired training program scratching your head as to how to get results. Zoom out one level beyond the training program to your health & fitness framework and youโll never run out of new ideas to break you through even the toughest of plateaus.
- How do I know if this program will work? – I believe having read this guide, this is a question you will never have to ask again. Your ability to see any training program laid out in front of you as a coherent plan ripe for implementation or a fundamentally flawed plan, that should be amended before attempted. The ability to discern the two is priceless.
Understanding why a workout works or why it won’t is like learning a new language. The language of your body. Just as knowing a language allows you to communicate more effectively, understanding this ‘body language’ empowers you to communicate more effectively with your own body, to listen to it, and to respond in ways that truly serve your goals. It’s the language of self-care, of understanding your strengths, acknowledging your limitations, and working with them rather than against them.
Knowledge vs experience
Having a knowledge of exercise methodology is a crucial starting point on your fitness journey, but it’s important to understand that knowledge alone doesn’t equate to experience. It’s akin to understanding the theory of flying a plane but not having actual flight time. Real learning, growth, and adaptation happen when we apply this knowledge over time when we physically engage with the exercises, feel the burn of the last rep, and learn how our bodies respond and recover.
View your fitness journey as a long-term project, not a quick fix. There’s a vast expanse for exploration, experimentation, and adaptation. No one size fits all. The best way to understand how different methods will work for you is by experiencing them, learning from the outcomes, and adjusting as necessary.
If you’re seeking a fitness coach, aim for someone who has already navigated this path. A great coach isn’t simply a library of theoretical knowledge, but someone who speaks from a place of practical experience. They’ve felt the same aches, pushed through similar plateaus, and learned how to overcome challenges in the fitness landscape. That’s the kind of guide that can truly lead you toward your fitness goals and help you turn theory into practice effectively and sustainably.
Furthermore, understanding the anatomy of a workout is understanding that ‘more’ or ‘harder’ isn’t always better. Instead, it is the combination of ‘smarter’ + โSustainableโ that brings real results. It’s about recognising that effective exercise isn’t about punishing your body but about challenging it appropriately, pushing its boundaries while also respecting its needs.
Conclusion
Finally, it’s worth noting that this understanding isn’t achieved overnight. Just like any other skill, it requires patience, practice, and a continual thirst for knowledge. But the reward of improved physical performance, the satisfaction of reaching your fitness goals, and a more profound connection with your body is well worth the effort.
You might think that the approach I’ve outlined seems rather strict, filled with rules and do’s and don’ts. But I’ve structured it this way to help you trust that you’re on the most direct path to your goals, without any guessing or uncertainty. Once you reach your goals, you might be able to relax the rules and have more fun with your workouts, like in fitness classes. Itโs also true that the more experienced you get, the less you need the rules, but in the early to intermediate stages we want to reduce random variables and chance to zero. Then when you are more experienced you can tap into your intuition a lot more in your training, but until then, I want you to stay focused on getting the results you’ve been aiming for.