Do I Need An Exercise Program?

If your one of the many who find it difficult to juggle work, a social life, and the gym, then you definitely need an exercise program. 

Having a tailored gym program is the easiest and most effective way to ensure you're making the most of your time in the gym. They provide structure, help you adhere to your goals, and make it much easier to track and monitor your progress.

A training program will not only schedule your workouts, but it will also detail every part of your exercise regime, from the muscle group your training to the number of sets you're performing, right down to your rep tempo and rest periods. 

WHAT IS AN EXERCISE PROGRAM?

A training program is an individualised plan, outlining the crucial details of your workouts. They highlight the exercises you will be completing, the number of sets and reps you are performing, right down to the rep tempo and rest periods.

An exercise program should always be unique to your individual goals, resources and abilities to ensure you are getting the most out of the plan. 

THE BENEFITS OF HAVING AN EXERCISE PROGRAM

1. YOUR WORKOUTS ALIGN WITH YOUR GOALS

We all start our fitness journey with some sort of goal in mind. To lose weight, get stronger, improve our sports performance. But how many of us are effectively training for that goal?

Having an exercise program ensures that your workouts are being tailored towards your individual goals, helping you achieve your desired results as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

To help explain this in a little more depth, let's take the example of someone who is on a mission to knock 3 minutes off their 5km running time. 

They sign up to the gym so they can jump on the tready 5 days a week and do the same 5km run.  

Eventually old mate would see improvements to their speed, however, did this 'plan' of attack also help them improve their running style? Did their new speed come at the expense of their strength? Did they suffer any setbacks due to overuse injuries?

Perhaps it may be more efficient for them to incorporate some strength training and running conditioning into their exercise plan. This would have helped them improve their running technique, minimise their risk of injury, and ensure no strength-gains were lost in the process, whilst also helping them achieve their desired goal - a faster running space - more efficiently.

The right exercise program should also be tailored towards your interests as much as your goals. This is because to remain motivated throughout the program you need to enjoy the exercise you are doing.

2. YOU'RE USING YOUR GYM TIME WISELY

We are all guilty of fluffing around at the gym from time to time. You know, those workouts where you sort of just dawdle between whatever machines are free, spend an obnoxious amount of time 'resting' between sets (scrolling on Instagram), and when you walk out the door, you think to yourself 'well, that was pointless!' 

A lot of the time we do this because we went to the gym unprepared. Rookie error 101. Why? Because "a man without a plan is a man without direction".

If you have absolutely no idea what you're going to do during your workout, then chances are your workout is going to be pretty average. Having a gym program gives you the structure and direction needed to succeed. It ensures that for the next 4 - 12 weeks that your training has been carefully thought out, with a clear purpose in mind.

3. HELPS TO INCREASE YOUR WORKOUT MOTIVATION

To be completely honest, sticking to an effective exercise routine is more about consistency than it is motivation, however staying motivated tends to be a lot easier when we have a plan in motion.

As we mentioned before, having a goal in the gym is great, but having a plan on how to attack that goal is even better. 

When you have a workout program you'll feel determined to see it through. This is because you've just given your gym ambitions a stronger meaning. It helps you feel more accountable towards your goals, making you less likely to skip a session.

4. ALLOWS YOU TO EASILY TRACK YOUR GAINS

Every exercise program should incorporate progressive overload. These are small, gradual increases to the intensity of your workouts, implemented to help you advance in your training. 

By writing these incremental changes into your workout plan you're ensuring that you are continually pushing, growing, and making gains in the gym. It also makes it much, much easier to track your progress, as you're writing down and monitoring whether you went harder than the week before.

For example, with a gym program you might have 3 X 5 60KG deadlifts in your program for week 1 and 3 X 5 62KG deadlifts in your program for week 2. If you are successful in completing both these exercises then you know you've just made improvements from the week before.

Progressive overload can be added to a training program by increasing the amount of weight you push, the number of reps or sets you do, reducing rest times, or extending the length of your session. 

Hot tip: make sure you do not overexert yourself. The key take away from this is that SMALL increases to the intensity of your training should be added to your program, not big. You cannot expect to lift 40kg one week and 70kg the next.

We hope this has cleared up how important it is to have a gym program! For any more tips or tricks, feel free to contact our team or drop a comment below!