When it comes to exercise programming, there’s a couple of schools of thought. Depending on the experience of the individual, their specific circumstances, or even medical history, they may need a very specific and structured program, a general “hits all bases” kind of program, or even a program with a sole purpose of developing one special trait.

An example of a specialized program could be someone coming back from a heart attack who is also diabetic. For the general program, it could be anyone looking to gain some muscle and lose some fat while also getting a little stronger. This is a massive niche targeted through things like P90X and any of the infomercial products you see out there.

The specialized programs could be something like taking your squat strength through the roof, much like a Smolov squat program or a Bulgarian Strength program. It could also be a run-specific program, a hockey specific program, or any other sport outcome where the desired adaptations make you better in a very quantified direction.

There’s nothing wrong with any of these approaches. They all have warrants and needs to qualify the individual, and will produce benefits in the directions intended when used properly. If you used the cardiac rehab program for the hockey player, however, their performance may suffer because of a mismatch to the program goals and the desired outcomes. Likewise, if you gave the cardiac rehab client the Smolov program, you’d have the undesirable effect of having to use the AED and chat with some paramedics, while also getting to meet some lawyers too.

Sometimes the best results can be reached from following a non-specific program written for the purpose of seeing results in a tangible outcome. Dan John wrote about this in his new collaboration Fat Loss Happens on Monday, and talks about how following a program by a source of authority should be done on a regular basis to get you out of the rut of specialized and work on some general aspects of fitness.

In many ways, a workout program may not need an assessment and complete outline of someone’s total body range of motion, joint mechanics, muscle imbalances, vestibular responses, or any number of factors that might affect their exercise program. Can you still do programs from specialized assessments? Sure. But you should also have enough of a fitness reserve to run in different situations.

Imagine if you had a car that could only be driven on level pavement with no potholes, and never in rain, snow or hail. The heater/AC didn’t work so you couldn’t take it out on days where the ambient temperature was any different than room temperature, and has a turning radius equal to a baseball diamond. Seems like a sweet rig, right? Well, that’s pretty much how most top fuel dragsters operate. They’re amazingly fast in one direction, but don’t turn well, have no climate control, and aren’t meant to corner. This is analogous to an exercise program that’s very specific: great for what it’s meant for, but not much else.

I’ve done many of these specialized programs myself. Many of them were focused on improving strength in one way or another, with some focused on increasing VO2 max, mobility and control, and other odd dimensions of fitness. They all worked great for what they were intended to do.

Aside from the highly specific authoritative program, you could have the general authoritative program. As with P90X, this is a program that works with a lot of dimensions of health, and give you great results all around. Crossfit is another great example of this type of programming. It gives you a set workout to accomplish, with some scaling to your ability level, but you still have to do the workout. They’re highly popular because they do produce results, are very inclusive and community oriented (P90x has over 870,000 members in its’ Facebook group, and Crossfit has almost 2 million), and involve a lot of variety in their workouts.

In many instances, both the specific and general authoritative programs will produce results for a finite period of time. This is the case with any training program that has a common approach. In many cases, I’ve heard people who have done Crossfit for a couple of years say they aren’t seeing the results they did in the first year, so they begin to look for new options. Similarly anyone who has done a time-sensitive program (12 weeks to a bigger deadlift) will see similar outcomes. After the 12 weeks, they either start the cycle over again or move on to something else. This is normal. It’s called a plateau. It happens with every program.

In many cases, adaptation to an exercise program of relatively common variables will occur through neural adaptation, with muscular adaptation coming in second. These adaptations produce strength gains for a few weeks after the structural adaptations attesting to the skill development of the movements, but even then the strength adaptations will slow, as shown in this figure and in THIS paper:

 

Doing a structured program once or twice a year, regardless of your specific goals, can be a great way to shake up your training and take the guess work out of it, and may help you pick up some new moves or learn some new ways of doing things. Obviously if you’re competing for a spot on the olympic team or in need of a highly specialized program, this wouldn’t be a good option for you, but still, how many people are elite in the world?

A great new product just hit the market today by the one and only Jen Sinkler. I love Jen, she’s one of my favourite people in the fitness industry, simply because she isn’t afraid to be herself and does a great job in pulling people’s guard down to help them achieve what they want with a sense of confidence and swagger like no one else I’ve known.

Her new product is actually a massive update on her highly successful Lift Weights Faster, aptly titled Lift Weights Faster 2.0. I was fortunate enough to contribute to this one, so you’ll find one of my ground-based workouts here, as well as about a years worth of other workouts to boot.

The workouts are designed to give you a cardio kick using different gym equipment, meaning you’ll not only sweat (a lot) but also build some strength, mobility, explosive power & athleticism, and some serious core strength. For those in a time crunch and want an effective workout, these are a life saver. There’s 181 workout options, each with varying equipment needs ranging from full commercial gym to bodyweight only, meaning you can get your butt kicking in on the beach or on your way from the boardroom. All of the workouts are sub-categorized into 10-, 20-, and 30-minute workouts, meaning you can cook up your own workout based on how much time you have as well as the equipment you have handy.

The exercise glossary is professionally shot and edited, which makes a huge difference in terms of readability and user engagement, plus they have a slick data tracking profile via Adaptifier.com that you get a free years access to, which for data geeks like me is worth it’s weight in gold. You can track your progress, see peaks and valleys, and even predict when you will be able to hit a PR.

The whole package is on a steep discount for this week only and is only $39. For an extra 20 bucks, you can pick up the expansion pack with some bonus material like “Get Stronger Faster,” an outline of how to use biofeedback testing to get the best bang for your training buck by finding your optimal positions and postures to see faster progress than otherwise. This is the system used by Movement Minneapolis, and one of the reasons they were named one of the most innovative training facilities in America by Greatist. I use some of it too, and it works.

Everyone should follow an authoritative general program at least once or twice a year. If you’ve fallen off the New Years exercise bandwagon, this could be the kick start you need to get back on the bus and keep getting after it. Pick it up before Friday at midnight before the cost goes up and you’ll be a happy camper.

Pick Up Lift Weights Faster 2.0 Now!!

 

But Wait!! THERE’S MORE!!

If you get a copy of Lift Weights Faster 2.0, I’ll sweeten the pot. All you have to do is email me your receipt (Clickbank blacks out all payment info, so no worries on that), I’ll send you a free digital copy of my video series Foam Rolling 101. I’ll also give you front-of-the-line access to my two upcoming products. This access will be 1 full week before general releases, and also for $10 less than the initial launch pricing. So as freebies, you’ll get a free $67 video series, and early access plus save $20 on two major products in the pipeline.

Sounds pretty sweet, right? And all you have to do is pick up a copy of Lift Weights Faster 2.0 and email me the receipt at THIS email address. My assistant will track everything and send you your download links.

So what are you waiting for? Get your copy of Lift Weights Faster 2.o now, get your exercise on, your foam rolling on, and your total awesome badassery on too!!

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