3 Things Your Training Program Needs & Probably Doesn't Have
Every year I spend some time looking over my client exercise programs to see what is ‘trending’ in my writing style. I find these trends help me circle back to the ‘why’ in the program.
What I have found recently is that the following three things tend to show up frequently in my clients programs whether they are 18 year old college athletes, 47 year old work from home professionals, or 67 year old retiree’s. To SOME degree, these three pieces show up.
So I decided to share!
1. Bands
Bands have become popular in workouts as a tool to add resistance to traditional barbell lifts. Where I’ve had the best luck is having people use bands as their primary source of resistance. What makes bands so useful is that as your muscle contracts and squeezes tighter, the band is lengthening and giving you more resistance. The flip side of that is the band has less tension when you’re in the start position of the exercise allowing for you to feel less stress. For the general population, this combination is very helpful.
Next time you’re in the gym, try swapping your traditional shoulder raises and rows with the band variations shown below.
2. Sprinting
I know, right?!
Majority of the people I work with see me program sprinting for them and they get extremely nervous. Let me be clear, I’m not saying you should go rip some 40’s at the local high school. But what I do think works well for most people is shorter, 5 to 10 yard sprints. Sprinting is a great way to train power and get your ankles, knees, and hips into triple extension. As we age, power production is one of the first strength qualities to disappear. Short sprints on land or a treadmill, can help keep those losses from happening.
One of my favorite variations is this band-resisted version. Minimal space, minimal equipment, and gives a high return.
3. Ground-based movements
I’m a firm believer that performance of any kind starts on the ground. Performance, regardless of age or goal in the gym, can mean a lot of things.
Strength goals? The ground provides a firm surface and oftentimes a restricted range of motion to allow higher loads.
Posture improvement? Laying on the flat ground helps support the spine hips in extension. Last I checked, laying in extension helped combat sitting.
Achy body? Get off your feet, literally.
We tend to spend a lot of time sitting on machines or laying on benches in the gym.
Next time you’re in the gym try these two favorites out.
P.S. I’m super excited to now be offering online coaching along side my in-person coaching. If you’re interested in learning more about online coaching, and if it’s a good fit for you, you can click the button below to get started.