When a new athletes starts at our gym, we give them a simple program that asks them to add weight (about 2.5lbs for upper / 5lbs for lower body exercises) each time they train.
This weight increase structure works because we’ve started a bit light. Starting light allows the athlete to improve their technique as well as mitigate some soreness that’s a result of starting a new program.
Once the athlete has been training for a few weeks, things start to get heavy. When things get heavy, it’s important to recognize the athlete can’t simply add weight each time because we told them to.
Programming Variety
Using light and medium days in an athlete’s program become vital to their continued progress, sanity, and commitment. Here are some quick examples:
Beginner Program
Mon (heavy)
Wed (heavy)
Fri (heavy)
Intermediate Program
Mon (heavy)
Wed (light)
Fri (heavy)
Later Intermediate Program
Mon (heavy)
Wed (light)
Fri (medium)
The stress curve (change in intensity) is designed to maximize athlete recovery. Heavy days are supposed to take a lot out of you. Heavy days are for attempting to add more weight to the bar!
Light days are vital so recovery can do it’s job.
Medium days become the bulk of our training past 6 to 9 months. These are “blue collar” days. They can still be challenging but should allow for continued recovery.
Fitness vs fatigue
With our changes in intensity, we are aiming to appreciate that fatigue and fitness are competing.
As fatigue increases, fitness decreases. This is why you can walk into the gym feeling fine and then have a terrible day under the bar, or vice versa.
If fatigue is high (and this can come from host of factors like stress, exercise, work, relationships, money, etc.), fitness (in this case strength) will be diminished.
We are trying to get as much fitness (strength in this case) as possible while minimizing the fatigue response.
As your training career develops, so too will your programming needs. This makes “following the program” an important factor in overall success.
Want help with your training and programming? Book a Meeting and let’s chat.
