Tools to build a perfect program by Jess Casteel

Tools to build a perfect program by Jess Casteel


It seems almost weekly I am swamped with questions regarding program design and the miracle cure for fat and a magical cure for lean body mass. I am a far cry from a guru and I have no such magical wand or a nifty wizard hat or else I would not be spending countless hours on program design for my clients and friends. What I do possess is the ability to absorb information on anything I am interested in and I am not happy until I consider myself good at what I do.

It seems like daily I am telling my clients not to be so hard on themselves yet I have not been able to follow my own advice. I hold myself to a standard of talking the talk and walking the walk though I get quite clumsy and trip over my own feet at times. The studying and researching I conduct daily not only fuels my love for all things fitness but also wrecks my personal life. The first thing I think of when I hear the questions about how to gain more muscle or burn more fat is a question I am fast to reiterate. How long have you been using your current routine? Most people don't get the concept of program progression and that is understandable. I'm not talking about how many sets and reps you do either.

Most people start every session with the same routine and loading parameters every day. You can almost spot the complacency when they get out of their car and stroll into the gym with their heads low and expressionless look on the front part of their heads.Have you started every leg session with squats for a year and yet you still look like you are hitching a ride on a chicken back? Sure you add reps and change foot position but when is the last time you stopped squatting for 4-6 weeks in favor of split squats? How about the tricep rope you spend more time with your hands wrapped around than someone of the opposite sex?Program design and I mean real program design is not established for a set in stone daily grind that is never changing.

You must design a program to evolve towards a set of goals that you have to establish for phases dependant on your main finishing point. If you don't have room for progression then you are doomed to plateau and in most cases give up.When I design a program for either my personal regiment or a client’s routine I consider 3 things first.#1. Long term goals or what they are looking to gain from my services. For example: fat loss, muscle tone and definition, improved athletic performance, health from the inside out, and to look better naked. All of which are the usual answers to those who are serious about hiring a trainer.#2. Specific timeline goals such as weddings, class reunions, or specific competitive challenges. All of which are considered return on investments and can be used as motivational tools by the trainer but also can be a motivation for a trainer to show his work and gain more business and recognition which in this industry is as good as finding a bag of money.

The specific timeline goals can also be the long term goal but you want to provide more room after the specific goal to allow for further fitness or once the specific timeline goal is done the trainee may fall into a ok that's done so what now mentality or a well that went well so thanks for the help and ill see ya later type deal which is ok but all that progress you made just packed their gym bag and left to go have a big mac and watch reruns of the biggest loser. Be specific but have further goals to keep them progressing. Have the client give you dates like on October 19th 2009 I want to be at 8% body fat and my deadlift weight to be at a 600lb max.#3. Short term goals that are progressive and ever changing to overlap the specific goals and drive the client straight to the long term goal with room for modification.

The key here is to offer small incremental steps and not big leaps, allow me to elaborate further with a few examples. If a new client drinks 4 sodas a day then give them goals like in 2 weeks drop that intake to 2 a day and 2 bottles of water daily. In 6 weeks drop soda intake to one a week on cheat days. If fast food is an issue tell them to drop the burger fry combo and opt for Subway sandwiches or my personal favorite Jersey Mikes.

Next is the guidelines for eating (not rules) Rules seem to change the tendencies of a new client to lean towards less effort. Explain that when eating out which at this point we will not discourage due to small steps being easily kept and giant leaps being easily disregarded, we will lay guidelines like no fried foods, no breads, and no deserts. I learned that guideline from reading Chris Shugarts articles and it’s worked well for him.Now that goals are established let's start the assessment process to determine where the must fix muscle imbalances are and where the biggest weaknesses are so we can move towards our "trainer goals" which differ slightly from the client goals. Ahhh, Catch 22 just tossed a doughnut into the fat burner and caused a huh? Moment didn't it.

Ok fast forward the boring assessment blah blah blah and get to what the trainer goals most likely look like.Obviously most clients want certain goals but you as a trainer need to be able to spot the goals they need because one of the aspects of being a trainer is the ability to spot and find muscle imbalances. This can be done by good assessment design and just observing the client as you talk with them. When they walked into the gym where they walking pigeon toed, knock kneed, slouched over, shoulders rolled forward or just crooked posture? These are obvious signs of weakness and or severe muscle imbalances but some are harder to detect without the assessment.

Once the imbalances are worked out enough to safely progress to compound lifts or any other training protocol like complexes, circuits or even explosive movements you have to continuously watch for the creation of imbalances and adjust the program accordingly. You will do fine at first setting up some big lifts with some isolations and progress from there. The main focus is noticing when the program starts getting easy for the client and at times the program may not be easy but some exercises may so change the exercise by swapping out grip, stance, or even pick a similar exercise with more fiber recruitment.

Let me explain a little further here once again. If an incline dumbbell press is too simple and you bet it is then perform an incline rotation dumbbell press or if flyes are too easy then perform a dumbbell flye press.From here play with sets and reps for a change instead of the exercise. Admit it we all get wrapped up in 3 sets of 6, 8, and 10 but try to do 1 set of 1 of five different exercises as a circuit with Maximal weight and then rest for 90 seconds and repeat. The key is to change things up and never do any program for more than 6 weeks or your inviting the fat to re accumulate on the now stale client who will soon be hiring a new trainer. Bottom line is this, grab a notepad and get a plan but don't call it concrete and don't try to reinvent the wheel either. Use the tools that have worked since before you got your jollies looking at the models in fitness magazines.