Which Workout Program Is Right For You?
Probably none of them!
That seems like a pretty broad statement, but let me explain.
When personal trainers, fitness influencers, or other health and wellness gurus offer a program, they tend to market them as the “Best Program for X Results”. Whether it’s weight loss, muscle gain, or some other goal you’ve got in mind, they’ve typically done (hopefully) some research into what reps, tempos, weekly volume, and types of food you should eat to get your goal.
Most people go pretty in depth, taking the guess work out of your program and creating an easy formula to follow for a good chance at seeing results. Some are niche and focus on getting growth in specific areas, like a bigger behind or thicker back. Some are created to get you running farther and faster than you ever have! And while these are all great in theory, almost always they lack something crucial to your long term success.
Context.
Can You Stick to the Program?
If you aren’t already exercising four to six times per week for at least an hour, do you truly think buying that $59 “Fat Burning, HIIT-Training Focused, 90-Day Program” is going to be the catalyst that gets you there, and keeps you there? Was it the lack of a program that kept you from sticking with it for this long? Or was it something else?
You see, for someone who has fallen in love with training, these kinds of purchases are a sure investment. They know that they’ll be training forever, and so experimenting becomes a natural part of the journey.
But what about people who struggle with social anxiety, and for them, going to the gym is draining? At-home workouts sound like the way to go, right? I would ask, how many of you kicked off an exercise regiment during the start of the pandemic, and are still sticking with it? National interest in exercise spiked dramatically in April 2020, according to a recent study by British Journal of Sports Medicine.* Yet, most folks I’ve personally surveyed have found it difficult to keep their home routines going, with more activities becoming available as the pandemic winds down.
At this point, those two categories sound like they cover every choice. At-home is out and the gym is out, what’s left? Am I telling you to do strictly parkour workouts or give up hope? Not at all.
What I am telling you, is that a program that puts exercises in front of you, but doesn’t meet you where you are at, is going to fail you from the start.
What Happens After?
The other factor to consider, is what happens after you finish? Did this program teach you why you did the exercises you did? Did it break down exercise science into simple concepts, and leave you feeling like you could put your own spin on the program without causing problems?
If you got results, and you don’t know why, you won’t know where to turn once the results stop coming. Plus, the program might’ve been a bit of a slog for you to finish, since it’s trying to be a one size fits all plan, and that’s leave you with much room to experiment with other options you could enjoy much more.
Programs Teach Movements, Not Habits
Except for a literal handful of programs I’ve seen out there, virtually every fitness influencer is going to sell you information that you can find in a certification textbook or research study, for free, on your own. They fell in love with fitness, did their own reading, and are passing their knowledge down to you. They mean well, but they don’t bother to look deeper.
Where they mess up in delivery, and where you pay for it, is in their failing to recognize that putting this info in front of you has a minimal chance of creating permanent, long term change, without first establishing a successful, enjoyable routine. Not to mention when they stamp an unrealistic, or plain unnecessary, results-oriented goal in front of you, and risk causing you to feel as though it’s possible to fail at taking care of yourself, all because you didn’t hit an arbitrary metric in time. If you aren’t suffering from life-altering illness, there isn’t a reason whatsoever to rush your personal development.
Ditch the Programs… For Now
I know with all this nay saying I’ve made lots of folks out to be shills, and told you it’s hopeless to try and get started off of a program, but my intentions aren’t to throw shade or discourage. I bring up these realities because, first off, I was once one of those personal trainers. I needed to pay my bills, and to keep clients they HAD to get results, so I pushed people hard, taught what I could, and hoped it stuck. I tried to teach people habits and exercise science, but there’s only so much me to go around.
These Instagram models don’t mean any harm, I hope. They’re trying to make their living, too. Plenty of educators are out there teaching the truth though, and I love sharing their good work with others. But even they are teaching strictly to the folks who are already doing, but need help to improve.
With the internet at my disposal now, and no need to rush what I’m sharing, I can meet people at square one, and equip them with what they need to truly win. What is square one, though?
It’s starting small. Smaller than a program. Smaller than a goal to lose weight.
If you want to get to the point where your biggest problem is choosing between growing X muscle or training for X event, then you need to know you can depend on yourself to do the work, no matter what. That kind of self-confidence is created on the back of small, consistent steps.
Think of it this way. You’ve never touched a guitar. Would you be frustrated with yourself if you couldn’t learn Eruption in 60 days? (Look it up if this is the first you’ve heard of it, you won’t be disappointed) Of course not.
Losing thirty pounds, writing your first novel, or playing or favorite songs all the way through each require you to start from ZERO experience, and build from there.
Trust yourself to get there, eventually. And stop paying people for basic lessons you’d soon learn if you stuck with it anyway.
