To Stick To A Program…Or Not; That Is The Question.

You’ve probably heard or read something along the lines of this before in many aspects of life: if you do the baseline requirements, you’ll reap at least some of the rewards. Now, in training, in diet, in body re-compositions, in strength pursuits this is no different. So: simply showing up to the gym may be half the battle, but not putting in the effort means you’re stopping at that 50%. If you are new to the gym, that 50% is huge. If you are a seasoned lifter, one who has aspirations and strength or body goals, 50% is…not enough. You need a process, you need a goal, you need to follow something or someone. What do I mean by this? A program. A coach. An expert.

If you want to improve, you probably should follow a plan. If you want to succeed, you should probably stick to that plan- unless it is horrible, and you can obviously tell. As a quick aside: as someone who has now written, facilitated, and re-jigged over 300 training programs (probably closer to 500- but I’ll stay conservative), there is definitely a common tone for a well-designed program and one that is just slapped together. If you’ve been in the game long enough, you can tell.

But, with that said, if you are simply not following your program because you do not understand something but refuse to ask: you are doing yourself a disservice. If you skip elements that are unfun or hard, you are doing yourself a disservice. My colleagues and I all program with the intent of improving what you are good at, exposing what you may be less good at (and then improving it), and helping you to achieve your goal, whatever it is. Essentially: there is a method to the madness.

As a client: it is your duty to communicate when something does not work, simply removing, subbing out, or “not sticking to the program” is a good way to stall progress, negate results or simply put: do nothing. Again, with the caveat: your program is methodically created and you are not a beginner lifter, where something is better than nothing.

So, where do we go from here? Let’s summarize: if you are a lifter who wants to get to the next level, follow some sort of plan. If you are a lifter who competes or wants to compete: you best understand your plan; if you do not, ask.

In the gym, there are many ways to facilitate a training regiment to make sure it at the very least yields positive results, and at the most: reaches said individual’s goals. If you are a strength lifter, which will be the main audience from here on out, you have a few options: progressively lift heavier (linear loading), follow RPE scales, follow percentages of your 1RM, follow undulating periodization, or a combination of some of the above. Personally, I find a sweet spot with RPE scales and percentages with the majority of my clients. This is largely in part because: you will not be able to consistently, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly just add weight to the bar. Eventually, you will fail, you will stall, and you may get injured. I do not want to be preaching gym injuries, but if you are not intelligent with your program, it is possible to have some sort of injury.

The biggest fault I tend to see is a disconnect with RPE scales and therefore a deviation from the program. If something is supposed to be an RPE 7, but Eddie ‘big boy lifter’ Smith doesn’t understand the goal of a 7, he may go heavier or do more reps, reaching closer to max. This is an issue. There is a reason to train at submaximal loads: the main reason being, you can facilitate the same strength gains and hypertrophy gains (when load and volume is equated) with less, instead of more. And, quite frankly: if you are “balls to the walls” each set, we get back into the issue of stalling progress, or regressing. Moreover, an RPE 7 is a good indicator of technique refinement, as RPE goes up, as percentages reach closer to max, you are likely to have some form of technique breakdown. If you are consistently breaking down, how do you get better? How do you correct your weak spots? You can’t. If you default into lumbar flexion at max loads on a deadlift, but only max load your deadlift, you aren’t understanding the lumbar flexion. You aren’t respecting your body. This isn’t a positive means to an end.

Adherence to a specific RPE is the difference from meathead lifting, ego lifting and intelligently recognizing that long term progress occurs over a continuum of weeks, months and years. The desire to add more weight to look cool or because you can, is not a smart move. It is a direct representation of a disrespect to your own progress. Don’t be this individual. Accept that growth takes a very long time-likely longer than you think or want.

Now, I do want to preface with one more caveat: with the goal being to get stronger, you do need to eventually touch heavier loads with higher RPE and percentages. I am more than aware of this. I am simply suggesting that you do not need to be near or at failure on a weekly basis. If your goal is to powerlift, for example, eventually you will need to peak, taper and actually hit meet day, where you will test your max. But, this is also suggesting that you follow a process to reach meet day: lower stress to higher stress; not 100% high stress every day.

After several paragraphs, I’d like to hope I have beaten home the main point of: adherence to a program. This does not mean: if your program says dumbbell curls, you do a hammer curl. In the grand scheme, that is a lower-tiered issue. But, rather what I mean is this: if the program says a single on a squat at an RPE 7 or at 75%, and you do a double, or increase the RPE to 9, or percent to 90%. This becomes an issue. You may be putting more weight on the bar, but you are not getting stronger. You are merely increasing intensity in a linear manner.

As a strength lifter myself, I fall victim to wanting to just add more weight on the bar, but I have to ask myself: do I want to get stronger, or do I want to look cool? Do I want to break an old PR or stay the same, month after month, year after year? Undoubtedly, the answer is consistently: I want to get stronger, I want to shatter PRs, I want to be better longer term.

Are you the same?

Thanks for reading ladies and gents! If you enjoyed this read, please share it on your social media platforms, with your friends, family members…and maybe even enemies. It helps motivate me to write more frequently!

David.