The reason why exercise, fitness and nutrition are so confusing and hard to figure out is that there are many quality approaches that will work AND the human body is amazingly complex and complicated. In other words, lots of things work, however, what works for one person may not necessarily work for you.
That's why individualization of a training program is so important. YOU NEED TO ADJUST IT TO APPROPRIATELY FIT YOU.
In this article I won't be able to completely individualize the program for you, but through the lay out and by taking you through the process, you can come up with a pretty top-notch system that will at least be better than what you're likely doing now. And that means you will be taking a step in the right direction...
The Prerequisites
Before you can begin a program design, you absolutely have to know what you're trying to do. That means you need to have a SPECIFIC GOAL you are after that will keep you focused and going as the weeks and months of hard work roll on. Decide what that is and you will be able to lay out everything else.
Ask yourself these questions:
Am I preparing for a specific sport, activity or event?
(This will impact the specific exercises and energy systems you target)
Am I in the off-season of the sport, or how long do I have to achieve my goal?
(If you have a lot of sport practice/competition time, that will be your primary training goal and too much fitness training will likely interfere with your sport performance)
What is my training experience level right now? Have I been actively training for a while or am I just returning to it?
(Don't compare yourself to when you were at your peak...if you've been out a while then give yourself the chance to build it back up...patience, my friend!)
Do I have any injuries or physical ailments to consider in organizing this program?
(Helps with individualizing the program to prevent injuries and tie in the weak links)
What are my training preferences...what exercise and fitness activities do I enjoy/prefer?
(If you don't like it to some degree, it won't last)
If you don't have at least 3 months to work with, you cannot devise a complete training periodization program. Even though you may be after quick fat loss or as-fast-as-possible results, thorough and realistic programs that create sustainable results need significant time commitment.
Now you have all your prerequisites in order and are ready to plan out your first "macrocycle".
Macrocycle is just a fancy word for big picture block of time in the training process. Here we are going to use 3 months as the length of our macrocycles.
A macrocycle is broken up into mesocycles, which we will divide into monthly (4 week) segments.
Each Mesocycle will have 4 (weekly) microcycles in it, allowing you to manage it on a week-to-week basis.
So your Macrocycle=3 months, and your Mesocycles=1 month each, and your Microcycles=1 week each
We are keeping it simple with a Linear Periodization model (if that doesn't make sense to you don't worry about it:), so in Part #2 of the article I will actually lay out each of the focus points for the mesocycles (each month) and details for organizing and progressing each week so your body keeps adapting and improving.
Until then...shoot me any questions you have to this point!
Sincerely,
Chad R. JohnsonPersonal Trainer (ACE-CPT)
Strength Coach (NSCA-CSCS)
Youth Fitness Specialist (IYCA-YFS)
Martial Arts Instructor (Taekwondo 3rd Degree)
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