Most of us would agree that nutrition plays a really big role in the results that we see. Some may even say that nutrition is what makes or breaks you. This major emphasis on nutrition is good, and although I believe better nutritional habits should continue to be encouraged, the nutrition obsession has caused a lot of us to overlook the importance of a good training program.
This is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of trainers are scrambling to put together at home workout programs, and 95% of them aren’t any good. Exercises are thrown together at random with the goal to make the client (you) move and sweat as much as possible.
“Well, isn’t getting super sweaty and sore a sign of a good workout?” Nope, not at all.
A good training program and even a good workout contain many intricacies that play a major role in the benefits you may or may not see once you’re done.
So, what does make a good workout program? Let’s find out.
GOOD WORKOUT PROGRAMS ARE PHASED
This is by far one of the biggest mistakes I see when someone shows me the the workout program they’ve been doing from XYZ company. Workouts aren’t phased the way they should be.
What is phasing, exactly? Think of phasing as progression. Your workout program needs to set you up to be able to progress week after week, month after month, phase after phase. In short, your workout program should contain phases that will call your body to progress each time it begins working in a new phase.
Generally speaking, our bodies adapt to exercise in 3-6 weeks. Because of that, phases are generally 4 weeks long. That is the length I use to phase my client’s programs because it gives them a good amount of time to reap all the benefits of the phase, and it simply works well on the calendar to have each phase last one month.
As you go from phase to phase, things need to change in order for your body to change. You need to tell your body to change by changing the way you exercise. I can’t tell you how many times guys my age are stuck and aren’t seeing any results because they’ve been doing 8-12 reps for the last year thinking that it’s the only rep range that can build muscle.
Three of the best ways to change and phase your program is to adjust the amount of sets, reps, and rest as you go from phase to phase. Here is an example.
Phase 1: 3-4 sets, 4-6 reps, 2 minutes rest between sets
Phase 2: 3-4 sets, 8-10 reps, 90 seconds rest between sets
Phase 3: 3-4 sets, 12-15 reps, 60 seconds rest between sets
At week 3 or 4 of each phase, your body will begin to reap all the benefits of the routine you’ve been doing, and will be primed for more change as you transition into higher or lower reps, and more or less rest between sets.
Structuring your workout program as such will allow you to change and progress towards your goal as long as you stay consistent.
Before moving on, we need to address undulating periodization. UP is when there are multiple different rep ranges in a workout, and they change day by day. It would look a little something like this:
Workout A
Exercise 1: 4-6 reps
Exercise 2: 12-15 reps
Exercise 3: 8-10 Reps
Workout B
Exercise 1: 12-15 reps
Exercise 2: 8-10 reps
Exercise 3: 4-6 reps
Workout C
Exercise 1: 8-10 reps
Exercise 2: 4-6 reps
Exercise 3: 12-15 reps
There really isn’t any rhyme or reason. Tons and tons of people have seen great benefit from structuring their workout program like this, but not more so than progressively phasing after each month. I normally don’t recommend UP because it is hard to pin point why your body is or is not responding well. If you do this for a month straight and don’t see any progress, there’s no way of knowing how you should change your reps because you were training at a different range each day.
Far better to simply do one rep range, assess your progress, and adjust for the next phase.
GOOD WORKOUT PROGRAMS ARE BUILT ON FOUNDATIONAL EXERCISES
When creating your workout program, don’t get caught up in the flashiest, most complicated moves. Stick to the moves that stand the test of time.
Good foundational exercises are squats, deadlifts, lunges, presses (bench press), overhead press, pull-ups, and rows. Does that mean curls and calf raises are useless? Absolutely not. But building a strong foundation on these movements will enhance the results your body sees from other exercises.
These exercises will also send a louder strength and muscle building signal to your body because they are compound movements. They use more than one joint and more than one muscle. But what if your goal is to lose body fat? You should still use these exercises with the intent to build strength and muscle. Not only do compound exercises burn more calories, but the improvements you see in strength and muscle will help you burn more calories each day, too. And that will make fat loss way easier.
Generally speaking, you want these exercises to be at the beginning of your workouts, because they require the most energy and mental focus to be done with lots of weight and quality form. I never recommend putting any of these exercises at the end of your workouts when you’re completely gassed.
GOOD WORKOUT PROGRAMS ALLOW FOR REST
The thing I hate the most about fad workouts aside from the lack of progression and phasing is the lack of rest. Everyone wants to feel like they’re dying and getting a great workout from sweating their balls off, so they never rest. And that is what hurts them in the long run.
Let me make this clear. YOUR WORKOUT PROGRAM MUST HAVE REST PERIODS.
If your only goal is to get sweaty, then do your workouts in the blazing sun and just jump around for an hour straight. Actually, don’t do that. But if your goal is to get leaner, lose body fat, and get stronger, you need to allow your body to rest in between sets.
Resting in between sets will allow your central nervous system and muscle fibers to recover so they can lift the same weight, if not, more weight in the upcoming set. Remember, your goal is to progress workout after workout, week after week, and phase after phase. Do you expect your strength to stand a fighting chance if you do 10 heavy squats, rest for 10 seconds, and then try another set of 10 heavy squats? Absolutely not. You need to rest in between sets so your body can progress.
Methodically structuring your rest periods is just as important as the reps you do and the exercises you select for your workout program.
If you want pure strength benefits, you’ll want to rest a little longer, 90 seconds to 3 minutes in between sets as the central nervous system is largely responsible for strength and takes much longer to recover than muscle fibers do. If you want pure muscle building benefits, you want just enough rest between sets to allow your muscles to recover, but not so much rest that the muscle building signal goes down. 45-90 seconds is a good amount of time to rest in between sets when wanting to build muscle. Can you build muscle when resting for 2 minutes and focusing on strength? Yes. Can you build strength when purely focusing on building muscle? Absolutely. The two can certainly go hand in hand. But generally speaking, rest longer if your focus is strength, and a little shorter if your focus is on muscle building. If you want to improve your stamina and endurance, you can rest even shorter, around 30 seconds in between sets.
The main reason most people don’t rest long enough in between sets is because they don’t feel like they need to. All this means is that they need to lift heaver. Your muscles and central nervous system should feel like they absolutely need that rest before they go into the next set.
Your rest is important.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Good workout programs have phases. Structure your workout to allow you to progress phase after phase (month after month)
Good workout programs have great exercise selection. Use the exercises that are going to give you the most benefit, and add accessory moves from there. Squats, deadlifts, lunges, presses, rows, and pull-ups are your best friends.
Good workout programs have rest periods. Your rest is just as important as anything else. Your muscles and central nervous system need to be challenged with heavy weight. In order to meet that challenge, they need to rest before going into the next set.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life.
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