YOUR ATTENTION DICTATES YOUR SUCCESS
Great exercise programming technically doesn’t need much variety. If you’re constantly changing up what you do you never really get better at a particular movement. However, people’s attention is a key element I prioritize when designing a program. Let’s face it, to keep a client’s attention (and my attention) I need a variety of exercises that are similar, but different at the same time. The variety…but the right amount is key.
If a client can’t give me their full attention 120 minutes a week there is no way they are going to get the results they want. Not only are those 120 minutes “wasted”, but the lack of attention will carryover into the rest of their health habits throughout the week. Their healthy eating will slack, their mobility work will be nonexistent, and forget about getting them to do cardio on their own!
As a trainer how do I keep my client safe, work on the specific areas they need to develop , but still give them the illusion of variety to keep them focused and motivated? I break my training down to 7 movement patterns.
Squat
Hinge (Deadlift)
Lunge
Push
Pull
Twist
Combination of the above
If you think about every exercise you’ve ever done you can put it in one of these categories. The key for keeping your attention is knowing what category you need to focus on and then be creative enough to change the modality, but keep the movement pattern.
The main ways I design variety are:
Change Rep Scheme
Change Rep Tempo
Change the Resistance Apparatus
Change the Grip or Hold of the Apparatus
Change the Stance
Change the Weight
Change the Exercise Order
With these few ways I listed I can make infinite amount of exercises. Let’s take the squat for example. Say you have no equipment at home. What do we do? We can do Tempo Squats. 5 count for the down phase 3 count up. Too easy? Okay, 10 second down phase, 5 seconds to come up. I can easily keep changing the time to burn those legs! Now let’s change your stance. We can go wide stance, close, normal, left staggered, right staggered, Bulgarian split, single leg, etc. We can shoot for 10 slow tempo reps or maybe 50 normal tempo. Instead of reps we can shoot for time to be the goal instead. We can do the squats in the beginning while you’re fresh or at the end to burn you out.
Just the paragraph above I gave you numerous ways to perform an exercise without any equipment. It’s all the same movement pattern, but by doing it slightly different it will keep your attention and keep you heading towards your health goals. If you’re in a rut sit down and think of how you can slightly change it up to keep your attention. Or simply contact me (wink wink).
To Your Health,
Mark Radio
Mark Radio
BA in Exercise Science, certified personal trainer, and certified nutritional counselor. Mark’s ability to connect, motivate, and educate has made him one of the most sought after health and fitness professionals in the industry.