I received an email from my friend and fellow fitness pro BJ Gaddour (Sven) where he mentioned he was asked to comment on in article on MSN Fitbie called “Is this workout completely insane?”, referring to the latest infocommercial craze “Insanity”.

You can check out the article and his complete comments here http://fitbie.msn.com/get-fitter/workout-completely-insane

In the email he went on to highlight some concerns beyond the protocol itself, which included lack of progressions, modifications and the high volume of plyometric work. I know BJ well enough to know these are legitimate concerns, not just the ranting of another jealous trainer.

His email got me to thinking about a subject near and dear to my heart, which is quality program design. One of the best tools we can put in your hands is the knowledge why you are doing what you do when you train with us, so please read on.

There is much more to effective and safe program design than meets the eye.

I remember the first time I sat with the coaches at King Sports International and started going over the concepts of effective program design –  it was truly mind boggling to me.

The way our bodies are designed to move is truly incredible. Single joint, multi-joint, unilateral, bilateral, vertical, horizontal, push, pull – and that’s just the upper body!

Since that time I have had the opportunity to write hundreds of training programs taking thousands of hours, and spent more thousands of hours on the training floor with clients. I’ve gotten a bit better at it over the years, but the learning and refining never stops.

So you may be asking yourself “What’s the big deal?”

Well let me preface by saying that just about any program will get you some level of results, at least when you are newbie.

But then reality sets in and one or more things happen:

• Progress stops
• You get hurt
• Progress stops because you get hurt

And while there can be more reasons than program design why these things can happen, it is a common culprit.

Thought I would show you an example of movement types and parameters we use when considering our program design, just to give you an idea of what it involves. Keep in mind that exercise selection is just one of many parameters that are considered when designing strength training.

Others include number of sets, length of set, rest between sets, rest to work ratio, etc. We also consider the ratios between pulling exercises, which tend to be neglected resulting in injury, and pushing exercises. Same thing goes for hamstrings versus quads (back and front of legs).

I haven’t given examples for every exercise, but you’ll get the idea.

Upper Body Movement Patterns

Vertical Push
Unilateral
Single Joint
Multi Joint
Bilateral
Single Joint (lateral raises)
Multi Joint (push press)

Vertical Pull
Unilateral
Single Joint
Multi Joint
Bilateral
Single Joint (pullovers)
Multi Joint (chinups)

Horizontal Push
Unilateral
Single Joint
Multi Joint
Bilateral
Single Joint (t-raises)
Multi Joint (pushups)

Horizontal Pull
Unilateral
Single Joint
Multi Joint
Bilateral
Single Joint (t-raises)
Multi Joint (partner band rows)

Lower Body Movement Patterns
Quad Dominant
Unilateral
Single Joint
Multi Joint (1-leg trx squat)
Bilateral
Single Joint
Multi Joint (goblet squat)

Hip Dominant
Unilateral
Single Joint (1-leg stiff leg deadlift)
Multi Joint
Bilateral
Single Joint
Multi Joint (KB swing)

Trunk (Core)
Stabilization (plank variations)
Flexion
Extension
Rotation (sprinkler heads)

Within each one of these patterns are myriad progressions, regressions and modifications.  Each training week is programmed within the current training cycle to keep your progress moving forward and your body feeling good. Flexibility training, soft tissue work, and even our training schedule is designed with a purpose in mind.

The beauty of great program design coupled with great coaching is that your program is individualized in a group setting, and it’s a lot more fun and effective to have someone to sweat with!

The bottom line is the real Insanity is choosing to train somewhere else!

Thanks for choosing to train with us, and keep…

Making It Happen,

Coach Dean