Understanding Different Fitness Phraseology with Program Design
There are many terms and the usage thereof I take for granted within the fitness industry being that, I have spent most of my life within the sports realm. In today's post, we will look at some of the terms around programs that cause confusion and continue our quest to demystify fitness. This industry thrives on future trends that make it a rapidly changing environment. There is nothing to feel ashamed about or even intimidated by learning is a continuum. Every fitness coach or personal trainer must keep their credentials up to date through continuing education. Beware, most states do not require personal trainers to have certification. Although this does not necessarily discredit trainers who do not have official education; however, make sure you are working with someone who is up to date with training clients in a safe manner.
Let us start to break down some of the basic terms so you can talk the talk while growing to walk the walk. First “programs” are sometimes called plans or simply workouts. All these terms are used interchangeably, but only programs and plans are closely related. Within fitness, a program consists of multiple plans that work together to create the overall desired outcome. In short, a plan is usually short term lasting anywhere from four to twelve weeks, and a program is more on the long-term side. Fitness coaches normally when mapping a custom program design for you would have your desired outcome in mind. While continuously building out your program through a series of plans. Unfortunately, too many people want the right now results, that is how many scammers can enter the industry and confuse the marketplace. The results can come quickly, especially for the newbies within weeks, however, most of those changes are within the neuromuscular system. I will not go off the deep end with the scientific stuff, not the purpose of this post. A program is a series of plans designed for your specific outcome, and the workout is you doing the actual work on that day of the plan.
Going into the specifics of a particular plan varies largely on your desired outcome(goal). For example, let’s say Sue wants to lose weight while gaining strength. Sue has never been into sports and fitness outside of PE during her grade school years was not happening. Then we have Joe, a sports fanatic that needs to gain muscle mass and bone density; because he continues to get an injury during his weekend warrior events. Assuming both athletes/clients are newbies (just starting) to strength training, their plans will be similar in "volume" and "load" but completely different in "design" and "exercise selection". We will further break down those "terms" here shortly with a small disclaimer, there is more research gathering that goes into programming a plan for individual clients. I’m working out how to find that balance between mental overload and trash content. Considering we could go deeper into this process, let us continue with the basic phraseology. That will have you fitting right in with the fitness culture.
“Volume” is the amount of work you performed(done) within a given session(workout). Whereas “load” is the amount of weight lifted within a given “set” of “reps”. Normally, a well-balanced workout is "designed" into different "sections" that have different "exercise selections" again depending on your goals. "Design" is the structure in which the workout, plan, and program are developed. Typically the "design" is split into "sections". Yikes, let us pause a bit, for a newcomer, these can already be mentally exhausting. Maybe there are a few people interested in knowing these basics, I didn't think this post would go quite this long.
Furthermore, "sections" can take on a few different forms depending largely on the coach/trainer but can be as such A) being the section, 1,2,3 where the numbers are the exercises within that section, in these cases A). Then it could go on to B) 1,2,3… C)1,2,3… D)1,2,3 something within that structure(design) also the numbers could represent the section while the letters are the exercise selection. "Section" A) usual would be your "warmup"/" activation"/" mobility work" or some more terms that are not for this post. Maybe, if enough shows interest, we can go over those in another post. "Section" B) could be your main workload or core exercises, core, in this case, is not abs, then "section" C) the assistance exercises or single-joint movements. Lastly, you have a cool down/stretching “section” (D)
I almost forgot about the “sets” of “reps” which is how coaches give out “volume” through “sets”/rounds or the number of times to do a specific “exercise” e.g. pushups. “Reps” are the number of times to repeat the specific “exercise” consecutively. For clarity, if you see 4x10 or 4 sets of 10 reps that would be? Yes, 10 pushups in a row, a “rest” period or break then 10 more pushups in a row, "rest" until you have completed 4 sets or rounds. Hopefully, that is clear please comment or message me with any questions my handles are on the blog post. Oh yeah, "exercise selection" is your coach choosing pushups as the exercise fit for you to perform. These terms cover the basic phraseology around program designs, and with this, you can walk into any gym around the world and at least get a good “workout” in.
Live life free and stay fit!
J'Nathan Bullock CSCS