Training Principles For Program Design

January 3, 2012

The first question one needs to ask when designing a workout program is "What is my priority?" This refers to one's main objective or ultimate goal. Whatever your goal may be; weight loss, strength gain, or muscular endurance, it is important to have your workouts designed accordingly.

If your priority is to become leaner and drop weight, you should focus on a combination of proper nutrition, German body composition-type workouts, and highly intense interval sessions. Additionally, it is beneficial to keep your time under tension (TUT) for each set between 40-60 seconds. For example, if you are lowering the weight for 3 seconds and raising the weight for 1 second, you are accumulating a total of 4 seconds per repetition. This means you will need to complete at least 10 repetitions (reps) to achieve the desired 40 seconds of TUT. If you fall short of this, you will then begin to focus on training your nervous system versus training for body composition / weight loss.

If your priority is to gain strength and train your nervous system, the best training method is a wave-like training program, a cluster training program, or an advanced German Volume training type regimen. Your TUT should not exceed 20 seconds per set, otherwise you will begin to train for body composition.

If, however, you are looking for a little bit of both body composition and increased strength, a functional training program with 20-40 seconds of TUT is your best option. This program will give you both a strength gain as well as a body composition response. It is important to be smart when designing a workout program, otherwise you may get an undesirable training response. If you are looking for direction, I am happy to help you achieve your goals, whatever they may be.