Training is an essential part of achieving fitness goals, but simply going to the gym or doing a workout routine without a plan or structure is not enough. To truly optimise your training system, you need to have a structured approach that is designed to help you achieve your goals efficiently and effectively. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned athlete, having a training system that works for you can help you to get the most out of your training, avoid injury, and achieve your goals faster. In this article, we will explore some of the key elements that can help you to optimise your training system and achieve your fitness goals.
What is a training system?
Before diving into how to optimise your training system, it is important to understand what a training system actually is. A training system refers to the structure and approach that an individual uses to achieve their fitness goals. It includes a variety of factors such as training frequency, volume, intensity, exercise selection, and recovery.
A training system can be as simple or complex as the individual desires. It can range from a basic routine consisting of a few exercises done a few times a week to a complex program involving multiple workouts per day, specific exercises targeting different muscle groups, and advanced techniques such as periodization.
The key to a successful training system is creating a structured approach that is tailored to the individual’s goals, fitness level, and lifestyle. A well-designed training system should take into account an individual’s strengths and weaknesses, progress over time, and should be flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances or needs.
In summary, a training system is a structured approach that an individual uses to achieve their fitness goals. It includes a variety of factors such as training frequency, volume, intensity, exercise selection, and recovery, and should be tailored to the individual’s goals, fitness level, and lifestyle.
Training systems for coaches
The most important thing for a coach is always to create their own training system that is individually adapted to their experiences, their athletes, goals and needs. Optimising your training system is one of the best things you can do for your business and coaching. getting shit done will take you less time, you will get better at it, and your athletes will experience a better outcome. This, however, takes time and can be devious as the first question that most coaches ask themselves is “Where do I start?”.
When it comes to coaching others, having a well-designed training system is crucial. As a coach, your training system should be tailored to the needs and goals of your clients, and should be designed to help them achieve optimal results.
One important aspect of a training system for coaches is assessment. Before designing a training program, it is important to assess your client’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as any physical limitations or injuries they may have. This will allow you to create a program that is tailored to their individual needs and abilities.
Another important aspect of a training system for coaches is progression. A good training system should include a progression plan that takes into account an individual’s progress over time. This may involve increasing weight or reps, changing exercises, or adjusting rest periods to continue to challenge the client and help them achieve their goals.
Finally, a training system for coaches should include a focus on education and communication. It is important to educate your clients on proper form and technique, as well as the purpose and benefits of the exercises they are doing. Communication is also key, as you should be regularly checking in with your clients to assess their progress and make any necessary adjustments to their training program.
In summary, a training system for coaches should include assessment, progression, and a focus on education and communication. By tailoring your training system to the needs and goals of your clients, you can help them achieve optimal results and reach their full potential.
Training tips
In order to start optimising your training system, you need to actually have one and the easiest way to create one is by using various approaches with your athletes. If you coach 20 people, you simply put 10 of them on program A and 10 of them on program B. You continue the program for 12 weeks and note down your insights. You follow this pattern for a year and end up testing 8 different training systems, each for 12 weeks.
Upon gathering essential data, you can start analysing it. Go through each of the macrocycles, through each of the athletes and try to see the patterns. Then, start connecting the patterns and extracting valuable information. When you’re done, you pick the most efficient approaches in certain situations and perform reverse engineering to disassemble the system and see through the mechanisms behind it. You compare the type of progression, the volume, frequency, intensity, the choice of exercise and start making notes on how they have affected your athletes and their performance. When you’re done with that, you can start making amendments, that is optimising the system.
The first thing you want to look at is how many athletes actually do well on this type of programming and how many do not. Next, think of what would you do if they don’t. How would you adapt this strategy for people who need individual approach. What would you change? Would it be the exercises, the type of progression, the length of the cycle, the frequency of the deloads? Think through all of these questions, come up with a strategy and write it down. Take into account even very rare scenarios as it will allow you to automate the process and next time you encounter this kind of situation, you will intuitively know what to do.
By noting down extraordinary cases and coming up with a solution, you will encourage your brain to think creatively. Use this skill wisely and create various situations in which your system might not work. Create solutions and design a scheme. Build upon the scheme and develop a nearly automated system where you exactly know what steps to take in case something goes wrong.
Such systems might include instructions on what to do if in case A exercise B fails and what steps should you follow. Think of it as building up on your program and developing backup strategies that secure your and your athletes’ chances of succeeding. It doesn’t matter if your plan is simple or complicated. All that matters is have you thought of what might go wrong and have you created a backup strategy that will be there for you when you need it.
After creating backup plans, you create more of them. Correct, you heard me. When something doesn’t work, you need a plan B and when the plan B doesn’t work either, you need a plan C. In simple terms, it can be compared to a situation where you get approached by one of your clients and asked “What do I do If X doesn’t work?”. The simplest thing to think of is the plan B which in that case would be “If X doesn’t work, you switch to Y” but then you get hit with another question “And if Y doesn’t work either? What do I do then?”. You need to be aware that not all problems are simple to solve and not all solutions are easy to implement.
In the end, you have to be conscious of what’s going on, what to do when things get fucked up and what to do when your backup strategy fails. These situations are rare, although real and if you want to be a good coach, you must be able to deal with them in a way that makes your clients perceive you as a valuable mentor.
P.S. Remember that there is a lot of popular training systems that can give you good results but aren’t truly optimal. The Soviet Training System is a good example. Don’t be afraid of adapting a training system and experimenting with it to fit your goals and needs. If you manage to make it better, good for you. If you don’t, just go back to its initial form.
