Are you planning to exercise in 2015? If so, you may want to seriously reconsider… Here are the cold, hard facts: Weight-loss was the number one New Year’s Resolution in the U.S. in 2012 through 2014; I’m sure it will be the same in 2015… Only 46% kept their resolutions beyond 6 months Only 8% achieved their goals!!! You see; success is a mindset that very few have. We all have the same 24 hours in the day, but only a select few have the mental discipline to truly change their circumstances. So, if you plan on making a health, fitness and/or weigh loss resolution, I’m here to shift your mindset and help you join the top 8%… How? By telling you to “STOP EXERCISING IN 2015!” Wait, what?!?! Yes, I meant exactly what I said: STOP EXERCISING To reach your goals you must TRAIN Yes, there’s a serous difference… Coach Mark Rippetoe, one of the most respected strength and conditioning coaches in our industry, defines the difference between exercising and training really well: “Exercise is physical activity for its own sake, a workout done for the effect it produces today, during the workout or right after you’re through.” [By the way, this is certainly better than sitting on your butt watching TV] Training is physical activity done with a longer-term goal in mind, the constituent workouts of which are specifically designed to produce that goal. Exercise is fun today. Well, it may not be fun, but you’ve convinced yourself to do it today because you perceive that the effect you produce today is of benefit to you today… In contrast, training is about the process you undertake to generate a specific result later, maybe much later, the workouts of which are merely the constituents of the process.
Training Program Considerations
One of the truly unique things about [Business name] is our approach to program scheduling. While many programs may design their workouts week-to-week or even day-to-day, we design our workouts annually! Yes, every workout is pre-programmed to ensure a proper training “flow,” which provides our members the best possible results that last a lifetime. This process is referred to as periodization. Periodization employs phase-specific variations of training, each with a specific goal or training adaptation. Periodization systematically overloads the body to create a desired physical change while balancing work and rest to avoid overtraining, burnout, and/or injury. Ultimately, the annual training program (macrocycle) aims at achieving the best possible, long-term results for our clients… Mesocycles: We divide our annual training program into 8 mesocycles (phases). Each of these cycles is programmed with a specific training adaption in mind taking into account the different muscle fiber types and energy systems we have in our bodies. Each macro-cycle is approximately 6 weeks in length, although there is some variation based on the holiday/school calendar for your convenience. Microcycles: A micro-cycle refers to a week of training. Each week consists of three training sessions that we label A, B & C. These training sessions are performed Monday, Wednesday & Friday, respectively and repeated each week for the duration of the macro cycle. This is a very important training philosophy to understand – don’t be fooled by marketing that preaches every workout will be different to “confuse” your muscles. We don’t want to confuse your muscles, we want to develop them, make them stronger, and more metabolic…ultimately burning loads of unwanted fat! This can only be accomplished through repetition. As you become more skilled at an exercise each week, you’ll be able to recruit more muscle fibers, do more work (weight x reps), and see greater results. Training Sessions: Each training session has a very specific purpose in the program as well. During some mesocycles (phases) each training session in the microcycle (week) will incorporate the same exercise-to-work ratio. This is a more traditional approach to interval training. Other times, the training sessions will incorporate different exercise-to-work ratios. This is known as undulating interval training. Both methods are beneficial and have their place in an overall training program.
