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Writer's pictureTom

Set in stone gym programmes don't work

Updated: Oct 14, 2019



At first glance this might seem like a strange thing to come from a personal trainer but let me explain.


For most people (i.e. those people who are not bodybuilders or pro athlete’s), normal day to day life will often get in the way of doing exactly what your gym programme card says every single time. You might have shoulder pain from being sat at a desk all day. You may have picked up a knee injury on the squash court. You may only have 45mins rather than the full hour to train because the school run was a nightmare. You may have a new born baby (like me) so lack of sleep may mean you need to think twice about the duration of each set.


All of this is ok, as long as you can adapt your sessions with skill and agility without losing sight of your overall goal.


So, the guy with shoulder pain from their desk job will have corrective exercises factored into his programme and the focus will be on the lower body strength for a few weeks. The lady who hurt her knee on the squash court will use the ski erg in her personal training sessions to protect her knee whilst increasing her conditioning level. And the new dad who hasn’t slept properly in weeks will focus on short intense bursts (10-20secs) with lots of rest to avoid over-stressing his body.


The key take out I'm trying to get across is that 99% of people can’t rigidly stick to their gym programme week in week out for one reason or another but as long as you keep the bigger picture in mind and seek smart, sustainable advice then your goals are still very achievable.

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