Individual training program: how to adapt the programs?

An individual training program consists of many components: exercises, approaches, number of repetitions, intensity, training frequency and cycles. It is impossible to provide programs that work well for all people:

• No two people can understand training tasks in the same way and implement them in the same way;
• Brothers and sisters may look alike on the outside, but no two people have the same psyche;
• There are no equals that can withstand even stressful outings from the gym that can have a big impact.

Individual training program

There are many factors that can influence the effectiveness of a training program: age, muscle-building genetics, mental state, motivation and passion for training, training supervision, family or work demands, sleep and rest habits, training knowledge and equipment selection. Therefore, an individually designed training program can work very well for one person and worse for another.

The intensity of the training program

Intense weight training is very difficult, much harder than most people realize. Your fitness level determines the training volume you will use. In general, the more muscle mass you build, the less training you need to do.

My recommendation for moderate fitness is to use approximately 6-8 exercises per workout (4 core and 2 auxiliary exercises) during training twice a week, using a different number of approaches per workout. Then, if necessary, reduce the number of exercises at the end of the cycle. But if you can continue to grow with all the exercises without cutting back, then by all means do it.

Reducing the volume of training can be done in three ways

1. Reduce the number of exercises;
2. Do the same number of exercises and training days, but change the exercises frequently, e.g. change exercises every week;
3. Do the same number of exercises and training days, but perform fewer approaches.

For many, training twice a week is more productive than training three times a week. Weight training more than three times a week is “suicide” for most people, and even 3 times a week is too much for most slow gainers.

There are people who have become very big and strong by constantly training on shortened programs. They have become so big and strong that before no one would have thought that it was a “hard gainer”. Some people who can build muscle a little easier have worked through full hard gainer programs and achieved amazing strength and mass.

Training frequency

Many people weight train too often and don’t give their body enough time to grow and get stronger. In this way they inhibit progress; they increase the chance of injury because their bodies are overworked.

A relatively low training frequency is recommended Stuart McRobert – Beyond Brawn the book is only about weight training. If you do cardio, on the days you don’t go to the gym, you should only train 4 or 5 days a week, but only the weight training should be heavy.

The more progressive training programs you perform, the faster your work progress will be. But if you train too often, you won’t be able to get much or at least a productive workout.

You need to find the right training regularity, but with a rigorous training program when training when you are not fully recovered. If you normally train on Mondays and Tuesdays and your Monday workout is hard, you should definitely feel fatigued on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. If you followed an extremely heavy training program or had family crises that “ruined” your sleep those two nights, you will be under-rested for Tuesday’s workout. Then, stop this training for a day or two until you have fully recovered. Don’t exercise if you still have trouble “stretching” your legs after your last workout.

Postponing training should be the exception, not the rule. If you feel like you have to postpone your workout often, you need to repeat the program so you don’t overtrain.

Successful training sessions should last as long as possible. 12 progressive workouts in 10 weeks will produce greater results than 13 workouts in the same period if only a handful of them were progressive. The success of weight training is in the results, not just the number of hours spent in the gym.

It is recommended to postpone training if you are not recovered from the previous training, but this does not mean being apathetic towards training.

Consistency in training is important. But if only you consistently dedicate yourself to what benefits you and makes you feel good. You can be the most dedicated person, but if your training isn’t working, all your dedication and consistency in training won’t produce muscle strength and size. Find the frequency and volume of training that works well for you and then become a very dedicated athlete, starting or skipping training only on rare occasions.

Experimentation

You may find that some exercises and body parts grow better if you train them twice a week, other body parts three times every two weeks, or once a week. Doing the same exercises at least once a week, especially squats and deadlifts, may be the best solution with weights. You have to experiment, but with a reason. Don’t try to train six times a week with 20 sets per muscle group.

Finding a good training frequency is critical when performing a “hard work” training cycle, rather than an initial, less difficult phase. When performing a heavy training cycle, keep training volume and intensity (including rest, sleep, nutrition) as balanced as possible and only adjust training frequency. Perform the exercise twice a week for four weeks, except for deadlifts, which are performed once a week.

In this experiment, find exercises that you can’t add weight to. Perform these exercises three times in 2 weeks. If the weights increase and you’re getting good rest, stick with it. If not, cut back to once a week and see if the energy and training weights increase. If so, then low frequency training is best for you.

If you are a beginner, try deadlifting once every 2 weeks, try doing light squats every 10 days. Be smart: keep what helps, throw away what gets in your way

A training program can only bring good results if you rest well, sleep well and follow a balanced diet. Use an abbreviated program that works for you, train hard, rest and sleep well, and meet your nutritional needs – only then can you experiment with training frequency to find what works best. Better means you can consistently increase the weights for all exercises.

Selection of the number of repetitions

Programs can consist of many repetition formats. The number of repetitions is not the most important factor: effort and progress are the most important. You can build muscle and strength with low, medium or high repetitions. Some rep ranges are better for some people than others and this can vary from exercise to exercise for the same person.

The statement that “all repetition formats are safe as long as performed with excellent technique” is not true. Your body gets used to the number of reps used in the workout after the previous workout before you start pushing yourself with singles (one rep sets) and very low reps (2-4 sets).

Single-rep sets or very low reps carry a greater risk of injury than higher reps. This is because the joints, muscles and connective tissue are under greater stress. If you get out of rhythm by performing a single set (one repetition) you are much more at risk for injury than you would be if you performed medium or high repetitions. This doesn’t mean that higher repetitions with lower weights will protect you from injury.

Even with high reps and low weights, you risk injury if you use poor technique. When performing heavy, grueling, high-rep exercises, you need to take extra care not to let your technique deteriorate. There is only one repetition to be successful. But many people can’t train this way because their bodies can’t tolerate the heavy weights needed, no matter how carefully they’ve lifted them for months.

You need to learn the correct technique to perform the exercises

Even some people who have adapted something else to their training while training other people. Experience has shown that, at least for some exercises, they have a specific number of repetitions that produce the best results. Dr. Ken Leistner discovered the following:

What I have found in my case and in many others, despite what is written in the books, the actual number of repetitions will vary from exercise to exercise, from body part to every other person who trains. Forget comparing them. Some work really well in the following rep ranges: 10-12 for triceps and biceps, 6 for presses, and 15 for lower back

In my case, all the pressing exercises had no effect if I performed more than 3-5 repetitions. I never recommend such low reps, but I find them essential for shoulder presses, deadlifts (a weight lifting action), and bench presses.

By trying different repetitions on different exercises, you can find the ones that help you increase the weight the most. The number of repetitions will not be the same for every exercise you do. While some people do well with 5 reps or less, others do well with 10. For some exercises, perhaps especially the squat and deadlift, you can progress with both high and low reps depending on the various cycles.

Never blindly follow a certain program, adapt it to yourself, always. Find what you do well, what you really recover from, what you enjoy doing, and you’ll get what you expect from your training: bigger, stronger muscles.