With the new year upon us, many folks will be setting out to get in the best shape of their lives in 2024. The gym is often where people set their sights. At least once a week I see posts on other forums asking for folks to analyze their “plan” or to recommend a workout. So I wanted to take some time to provide a few pointers on what to look for when determining if a particular workout plan might be good for you. You can also use some of these tips to improve a plan you are building for yourself. Though, honestly, if there is anything new in this article, then you should not be making your own plan.
Set your goals
Max value nutrition is all about matching your actions to your goals. So, I place a particular emphasis on goal setting. Do you want to build muscle? Compete in a specific sport? Get stronger? Or generically just “get in shape”? One thing that I recommend is created a SMART Goal. Your goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Let’s look at a few examples of SMART fitness goals that you might set before heading to the gym. You might even set a few. A good plan can meet more than one goal. “By the end of the year I want to lose 15 lbs”, “By the end of the year I want to add 50 lbs to my bench press”, “By the end of the year I want 16″ biceps”. Each of these goals meets the SMART criteria, but would require a different approach in the gym to accomplish.
How do I know if my plan meets my goals?
Any time spent lifting weights will increase muscle mass and increase strength. Those goals go hand in hand. But some things can make a plan more optimal for one over the other.
Strength Optimized Training
When people talk about training for strength they are generally referring to increasing a one rep max for one or more specific lifts. People generally use the compound movements used in either powerlifting (back squat, bench, deadlift) or Olympic weightlifting (clean and jerk, snatch) as the yardstick, though it’s not uncommon to want to increase an overhead press or some variation like a front squat. These movements require coordination of multiple large muscle groups, and part of the process involves training your nervous system to have the ability to trigger as many muscle fibers as possible. Strength optimized training will focus in lower rep ranges and be centered around the main movements and accessories that directly impact those main movements.
Muscle Mass Optimized Training
Hypertrophy training is about building large muscles. Training that is optimized for building muscle mass will certainly have plenty of compound movements, but it will generally include much more single joint lifting, since the goal is a balanced appearance. For this reason, it’s also important to carefully analyze imbalances and alter your training to work on muscle groups that are lacking for you personally. Hypertrophy training generally focuses in higher rep ranges. The goal is to increase the total volume lifted in a session and balance that against fatigue to the nervous system.
Sport Specific Training
Finally, there is sport specific training. Maybe your goal is to compete in powerlifting, or strongman, or to run a marathon, or join a league rugby team. A sport specific training program should primarily contain movements that are specific to your sport, or at least mimic your sport very closely. Nothing an prepare you for overhead pressing a log better than overhead pressing a log. My personal experience is in strongman. My training is changed from contest to contest and includes training for the exact events in the next contest, plus supporting accessories, and general conditioning. I rarely bench press, because bench press isn’t something that is done at strongman competitions.
Progression is Key
One of the common criticisms I see when folks ask to “Rate My Plan” is – “this isn’t a plan. This is just a list of exercises”. So what makes the difference between a plan and a list of exercises? Plans have goals. In strength training, we meet our goals with a progression. A progression is a schema for increasing the difficulty of a session over the span of many weeks, usually between 8 and 16. There are a few kinds of progression, but the two most often used are “Linear” and “Undulating”.
Linear Progression
A linear progression simply adds something at a regular interval. It could be weight or reps or a combination. Running plans might add distance or call for shorter distances at faster speeds. But, if you plotted the progression over time on a graphs, it would look like a line.
Undulating Progression
Undulating progression relies on working particular muscle groups in different styles from week to week. Week 1 of bench press might be light weight for many reps, week 2 could have me working at lower ranges with heavier weight, and week 3 would focus on speed and include work with bands or chains. Then after a 3 week cycle the weights for each style come up. Undulating progression allows for more recovery time since you are never working out with the same intensity two weeks in a row. Progress is slower, but also has less injury risk than a pure linear progression.
Exercise Selection
The specific lifts that make up your program are also key in determining if a program is right for you. Most plans will be built around 5 key lifts – Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Row, and Overhead Press. Together these lifts work nearly every muscle in your body. Or to put it in terms of the muscle groups, they are Legs, Chest, Lower Back, Upper Back, Shoulders. A workout plan should not have any gaps in working the major muscle groups, even if you aren’t doing these specific barbell exercises, you will likely do some machine assisted variation. Some advanced plans may work each of these groups 2 or more times per week.
Along with making sure all of your muscles are worked, it’s important to make sure you have access to all of the equipment needed. It is possible to substitute certain exercises to accommodate your equipment. But make sure that you choose the best possible substitution. Websites like Bodybuilder.com and ExRx.net have exercise libraries that can provide some guidance on substitutions. But, if you have to replace too much, it might be more worthwhile to find a different plan that meets your equipment constraints.
Finally, there are personal constraints to consider. I honestly believe that most people can perform the 5 main lifts with some resistance, even if it’s only a bodyweight variation. But, there are always exceptions. I would not advocate for people to do something like skip leg day on account of bad knees. But – it might be worth considering when making sure your goal is achievable. If you had a double knee replacement in November, you might not want to set a goal of a double bodyweight squat by the end of next year. And the plan you choose should reflect your personal constraints. If you do have a major health condition, consult with a physician and see how a plan might be modified to your specific needs.
Rest
Deload Week
One final piece that should be added into any program is a deload. Deload is usually a week of decreased intensity, load, and/or volume. Any kind of progression leads to accumulated fatigue on your muscles, joints, and nervous system. A deload is a vital reset period that will allow you to continue making progress. When looking at a plan, if it doesn’t have a specified deload period – keep looking!
Pivot Week
One alternative to a deload week is a pivot week. Pivot weeks are more rare in programs, but can provide similar value, particularly in more specialized programs. You might set a goal of increasing your back squat, and find a plan that is tailored for squat specialists. It may have a deload week, or it may have a pivot week. A pivot week would be a week where the focus is on something like bench press. This gives your legs time to recover, but may not include the drastic cut backs of a traditional deload.
Summary
Building workout plans is not easy, and unless you are particularly seasoned in the gym, you are likely going to get the most value by choosing a premade and well established plan. Before you choose a plan set a SMART Goal, so you know what you want to achieve and when. Look at the exercises and rep ranges to determine if a plan is more optimized for maximizing strength or maximizing muscle mass. Make sure there is some kind of progression. Progressions might not occur every week, but the end of a program should look different than the beginning as far as weights, reps, or both. Make sure that your plan has the right exercises for your goals, your equipment, and you. Finally, make sure the plan includes a deload or pivot week. Our time in the gym does not build muscle. In fact, you are spending all of that time damaging muscle tissues. When we rest our body has the opportunity to rebuild the tissue stronger, so that it can better withstand the forces you are asking of it. So rest is absolutely critical to success. Outside of this many of the differences in plans come down to personal preference. For myself, I prefer a 4 day split focusing on a different key movement each day. Many people I know use PPL (Push, Pull, Legs), or UL (Upper Body/Lower Body). Consistency and time are what make you successful, not which split you choose. If you haven’t already, check out my last article on how to determine of a nutrition plan is best for you. Biceps are built in the gym, but abs are built in the kitchen! Be sure to check out my homepage for more recipes, shopping list recommendations, and nutrition calculators as well.
One final note – this article is heavily skewed towards strength training and strength sports. But all of the principles can be applied to other types of athletic training as well. If you have any questions about how to adapt the ideas to another arena – drop comment and I’ll do my best to answer.
Maximum Value Nutrition 