Introduction
It is a common misconception amongst clients that they need to be regularly maxing out their lifts in order to build strength. This belief is both false and can also be detrimental to progress, potentially leading to burnout and injury. To prepare for a marathon, you wouldn’t necessarily run a marathon every day: you’d program longer, slower runs; shorter, faster paced runs; interval runs managing different paces etc. Similarly, building strength involves more than just pushing the limits of their strengths every day. We can break down building strength into three fundamental principles; Structure, Progressive Overload, and Recovery.
Structure
Structure is the foundation of effective training. Random programming leads to random training and random training yields random results. For your clients to see real progress, a structured plan is required. It allows you to focus on a specific goal, consider how to get there, and also what training metrics should be measured along the way.
Why is Structure Important?
A well structured plan is tailored to individual goals, whether that is to increase muscle mass, gain strength, improve endurance, or all of them! Having a good structure that considers your clients’ current level and aspirations is key for progress.
How to create a Structured Plan
You should always start by clearly defining your clients’ goals. Once these are set, create them a workout schedule for the week which breaks down their training into manageable segments. Plan their days, the hours they’ll go to the gym, which muscle groups they’ll train, etc. You can utilise tools such as training log apps to help keep clients on top of their progress. Part of having a good structure is keeping on top of your progress over time, which we will explore deeper now when we discuss progressive overload.
Benefits of a Structured Training Plan
Consistency & Accountability
When you prescribe a structured plan for clients, you are creating a routine which promotes consistency. Consistent training is key for your clients’ success in getting fitter and stronger. Having a structured plan will also help keep your clients accountable. When they know exactly what to do, when to do it and why they’re doing it, you’re removing the guesswork and allowing them to systematically work towards their goals. This actually makes it easier for your clients to stick to the plan and stay accountable.
Balanced Progress
By having a structured plan, you’re guaranteeing that your clients will have balanced progress and development. Your clients won’t be overtraining certain muscle groups and neglecting others, instead they will target their whole body properly in accordance with the structured plan you have provided them. Balanced progress is the best progress, as overdevelopment in certain muscle groups and underdevelopment in others can lead to injury further down the line.
Effective Progress Tracking
Following a plan with structure allows you and your clients to track their progress effectively. It is much easier to see improvements when you either have testing built into the programme, or if you are consistently executing the same elements of workouts within the plan’s structure. Tracking progress is key for client success as it keeps them motivated and also allows you to make any necessary adjustments to the programme.
Progressive Overload
The second principle for gaining strength is progressive overload, which refers to the gradual increase of stress placed on the body during exercise. With progressive overload, this stress increases over time.
What is Progressive Overload?
The concept of progressive overload is quite simple; over time you are increasing the demands of your clients’ musculoskeletal system. This can be achieved by increasing the weight, changing the tempo or reducing the time between sets. These factors cause the body to adapt in response to increasing demands, leading to muscular growth and increased strength.
How to Achieve Progressive Overload for your Clients
Start with the Goals
As a personal trainer, you should ask questions to identify with your clients the areas in which they want to get stronger. Without an idea of goals, it is impossible to plan and structure a programme that is right for them, with the progressive overload principle in place.
Regularly Adjust the Variables of Training
As we mentioned previously, there are several variables that you can manipulate in order to achieve progressive overload. Here is how you can do that for each variable:
- Weight: Gradually increase the weight your client lifts session by session or week by week.
- Reps: Increase the number of repetitions your client lifts with the same weight.
- Sets: Increase the number of sets your client performs. This can be by exercise, muscle group or overall session.
- Rep Tempo: Slowing down the speed of repetitions on the eccentric phase increases time under tension if done with the same weight and for the same number of repetitions, therefore can be counted as progressive overload.
- Intensity: Increasing the intensity of a workout by reducing the rest and keeping all other metrics the same is another more unconventional method of progressively overloading.
Monitor Progress
Encourage your clients to track workouts. Record the weights they use, the reps, sets and any changes in rep pacing/tempo and rest periods. You can’t recognise progressive overload without having a clear record of that progress over time.
Periodisation
Periodisation is the changing of a training programme at regular intervals in order to prevent plateaus (and boredom!). It can include going through different phases of training such as hypertrophy (potentially higher rep ranges), strength (potentially lower rep ranges) and power (lower rep ranges executed with a lighter weight at high speed). Programming periodisation into your clients’ structured plan is conducive to continuous improvement and preventing them from getting bored!
Recovery
A common misconception among many personal training clients is that they get stronger whilst doing the work inside the gym. This is not the case. Strength gains happen during the recovery process as we sleep. Recovery is key for muscle repair and muscle growth, which in turn both lead to strength gains over time. Stress + Recovery = Growth.
Why Does Recovery Matter?
Muscle Repair
When you train for strength, microtears are created in the muscle fibres. The recovery process is what repairs these fibres, making them both bigger and stronger. Without focusing on getting adequate recovery, your muscles cannot repair and grow effectively.
Preventing Overtraining
Quite often when people think they are overtrained, it is more likely that they are actually underrested. Overtraining occurs when you do not give your body enough time to recover between workouts, and can lead to massive decreases in performance, increases in fatigue and risk of injury.
Hormonal Balance
This is linked to overtraining. When the body has experienced intense training or is generally overtrained, there can be an elevation in stress hormones such as cortisol, which is not conducive to good health or recovery. Encouraging your clients to get enough rest and focus on recovery can help to normalise these hormone levels, ensuring that the body is functioning at its best.
How to Optimise Recovery
Encourage your clients to make sure that they are getting enough sleep, as this is the main time that the body will recover. They will also want to make sure that they are consuming enough calories and the right balance of nutrients from their diet to maximise muscle repair and refuel the body. Incorporating active recovery days into their routine may also help, engaging in light activities such as walking or yoga, which keep them moving whilst not overtaxing their muscles. Whilst recovering, encourage your clients to focus on hydration and keeping their stress levels low.
Here are some easy general guidelines that you can pass onto your clients for optimising their recovery.
- Sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Deep sleep is when the body and muscles recover, so getting enough total sleep to guarantee sufficient deep sleep is key.
- Nutrition: Ensuring that you consume enough protein to support muscle repair and carbohydrates to replenish glycogen stores is necessary for general strength gain and for recovering for the next session.
- Hydration: Staying hydrated is key for almost every pillar of performance, including recovery.
- Complete Rest Days: Whilst we do encourage active recovery days, we do also see the value in full rest days to allow the body to completely recover and adapt to training load.
Conclusion
Ultimately, when looking to gain strength, the principles of structure, progressive overload and recovery are the key pillars to consider optimising. If you want to learn more about the principles of training, then be sure to check out CPT, our certified L2 & Level 3 personal trainer course.