If you are without a coach, you may find yourself lost. You have the ambition to train and get better, but you have no idea where to start. I understand that. I have been there. You are taking the first step, seeking out help. Looking for knowledge on how to train is the first step to figuring this whole deal out. This article I hope will give you a framework as to how to create your very own program.
Goals?
The first thing you need to figure out is what do you want out of training. What are your goals? Do you want to be faster, stronger, or more significant? All of these questions and more. Get your mind straight on what you want from the training you are about to undergo. The answer to these questions is going to lay out how your practice will go.
You must be brutally honest with yourself. What are your weaknesses? Are you willing to do what you have to correct those failings? When you can be honest with yourself about where you want to be and where you are right now, you can start making real progress to developing a good program. Take the time to write down your goals.
What Does Your Sport Demand?
Your program is going to depend on what it is that you are doing as a sport. The demand for whatever game you play is going to dictate how you train. I am sure if you are an athlete who has been through some form of programming in the past have some idea as to what it is your sports needs.
Lay out the type of sport your playing, what energy systems are involved. That is going to determine again how your program is structured. Ask your direct coach his or her opinion as to the style in which you should be training. This article is not a sport specific training article. That would become a book. This is a very general framework that will touch as many bases as possible.
The Movements
The movements you choose to be your primary movements does not matter that much, but they must be consistent with your program. You can change up the variations of the motions, but there are categories in which you should always include into your schedule. They go as follows:
Squat
Squatting is a great way to increase whole body strength. You can do any variation with any tools you need. Make sure you use full ranges of motion no matter what you decide to use.
Hip Hinge
Kettlebell Swings and deadlifts are two of the most common forms of hip hinge movements. Hip hinge movements will bring up your posterior chain. A structure is imperative to athletic performance.
Press
Verticle (bench) or Horizontal ( Overhead ) pressing is an excellent tool for developing the upper body and shoulder girdle.
Row
Movements that require you to be pulling the load into the body. Excellent upper back developers.
Core
The midsection is the base from which all movement comes from. It a source of power.Developing the core is going to help in all aspects of training.
Conditioning
Now I know this is not a movement perse, but it is an integral part of athletic performance. Increasing your work capacity is only going to allow you to improve your training load.
The Basics
Ok you know where you want to be, you understand where you currently are, and you have a good idea of which movements are best for your sport. Now what? If you have a good understanding of the training zones, you should be in you need to start structuring your programming around that.
For example, if you sport sits in the ATP-CP zone you are looking to make your training fast, Possibly higher sets, lower reps and high loads.
If your sport has periods of activity that lasts longer than 12 seconds (Glycolic), then you should be doing sets that are at or longer than that.
And finally, if you are an endurance athlete then you should be focusing there as well. Now there are benefits to training every single energy system to some extent. However, if you are just starting you should build up a solid base in which your sport resides. Again that is my opinion. Training is not an exact science and what works for one person won’t for another. This journey can be very lonely regarding finding out what works for you but once you get a handle on that aspect of this you will be able to adjust your programming to match!
Frequency
There are many schools of thought when it comes to how often you should train during the week. Frequency is personal once again. Some may need to train less, some more. It is still an exploratory process by the athlete but here are some excellent guidelines for training.
Lifting: 3-4 times per week
Recovery: 4-5 times per week
Conditioning: 3-4 times per week
Do not train the same group of muscles in a row. If you do make sure one day is some form of recovery and the other should be a builder. Structure your training about 48-72 hours between muscle groups.
Duration
How long should the program last? A good question. It is difficult to nail down how you are going to respond to an 8-12-16 week program. It is an experimental system. Some respond exceptionally well to 2-month cycles, and others get very little from it. I always start in the middle of the road. Right at 12 weeks. Then take a week of just relaxation followed by a week of testing. Testing to see how the program has worked for you. A simple system of work and testing.
Now that you know where you are going you only need to lay out the foundation. FInd your movements, layout your rep and set schemes. Figure out your frequency and finally know how long you want to this cycle to go for. You can now give yourself a decent program. Remember it is essential to learn more about programming if you’re going to do it on your own for the most benefit. Keep learning new ways and do not use this framework as gospel. This is a fundamental and general framework to build on.
KHO Health was acquired by was acquire by 9INE POINT in the summer of 2019 and is now referred to as 9INE POINT Health.
