Top 10 mistakes athletes make in their programming
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How do you choose your workouts?
Determining your workout is something that every person who has ever spent time in a gym has had to answer. In my experience, both personally, and in viewing what other people do, it was common for me to see people focus on very simplistic movements that revolved around perceived weaknesses. Examples would be sit-ups, bench press, curls, jogging, leg press, calf-raises or if we felt tight, we might do some twists, then bend over, stretch out our hammy’s and then do a quick quad stretch. All of which might help us to accomplish a very isolated goal in the short term, but what are the consequences of this approach…could you be doing more harm than good?
CrossFit is defined as “Constantly varied, functional movements executed at high intensity”. No matter your skill level, health, sport, or goals, incorporating this statement into your methodology will assist you into properly determining your workouts. Before finding CrossFit my workouts looked very different. My goals were pretty simple---LIFT HEAVY & GET STRONG! I generally tried to write out my workouts, but really my programming looked like this:Monday-Leg Day, Tuesday-Arm Day, Wed- Rest, Thursday-Back & Legs, Friday-Shoulders & Arms. I would also throw in some ab work during each day. What I did on those days was pretty predictable and could be described as anything but well thought out. While I always worked hard and was very good at getting strong, I now find myself wondering how my life and health might look like today had I approached those workouts with a different philosophy.
I use to think that the two most important elements in determining the success of ones training were 1) The quality of your form and technique, and 2) The intensity of your workouts. While both correct & imperative to ones success, these two elements alone do not allow us to correctly determine the quality of ones training. In my view you must first judge the quality of the programming, then combine that with those prior two elements in order to properly predict ones success.
As a coach who now programs on a daily basis I have learned many valuable & crucial lessons. At the top of my list is understanding that success is directly related to the quality and balance of ones programming. In other words, when I choose a specific movement or exercise to program, it is not only imperative that I understand the intended benefit, but also any unintended effects. In knowing this I can then make an intelligent decision and decide if the benefits are worth any negative effects or risks. Or better yet, I can incorporate other movements that may counter those predicted negative effects.
For example, if I have a client who has a goal of increasing upper body strength, specifically the upper back & shoulders, I might consider including exercises that also focus on the rest of the back such as the lower traps and rhomboids as a counter for possibly creating an imbalance between lets say the upper and lower trap. With the understanding that if the upper trap becomes overdeveloped in relation to the lower trap, pain can then begin to occur in the neck thus increasing the risk of injury and the long term success of my client.
In essence when I sit down to program a cycle for an athlete I am not just telling this person what to do; I am telling their body to change and am shaping them into a joint vision putting just as much emphasis on helping them as I do in not hindering them. These lessons have proven to be invaluable and should all be taken into account when determining a workout.
No matter where you work out or who programs your workouts, there is nothing wrong with taking the time to understand what your doing and why, it is something that I would highly recommend. We are fortunate enough to be part of a community where highly motivated people not only work hard, but also are consistently looking for ways to improve.
Many of you participate in other sports or seek ways to improve outside of your normal programming. So now when your wondering what else to do (or if you should or need to), the first thought that should come to mind is what is the desired effect on the body? After determining this, ask yourself what effect that might actually have on the body, both intended & unintended. Again, it is crucial to understand that by doing a particular exercise, you are in fact telling your body to change. Those changes can have unintended consequences, thus being able to predict these things, understand why, and then account for them ahead of time is one of the most crucial keys to quality programming and long term success.
I am a firm believer that the quality of ones workouts and the benefits we get from them are directly related to our understanding and grasp of not only what we’re trying to accomplish, but also on what we’re not.
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Thank you for taking the time to check this out, I hope that it adds value to workouts and long-term success. Please leave some feedback and a question if you have it. I love hearing from you out there!
