The Importance of Following a Strength Program
As a fitness professional, I can say that I have tried many different strength programs over the years. Some really good and some not so good, but I learned from these experiences and it has definitely had a profound impact on me as a fitness professional. Furthermore, this has helped me better able to steer my clients/athletes in the right direction with their own training programs.
Early on in my career, I followed strength programs as many of you reading this probably have done, such as Smolov, Stronglifts 5 by 5 program, Maximum Strength, The High Performance Handbook, just to name a few.
Me following Smolov squat program in 2013
These programs served a purpose for me and my past goals and if your reading this with your mouth dropped and have never heard of any of the above, I would highly consider doing one for yourself. Back to the point I was trying to make, the overall thing I learned from following these programs was that I was more likely to reach my goals if I had a plan to follow (a road map to my goal if you will). Not to mention, I started to love training again.
Right about now you’re probably thinking to yourself, “no shit Sherlock. You won’t get anywhere without a specific plan.” And you’re right! However, in this field you may or may not be surprised to know that fitness professionals (maybe you) don’t get to train as much as you would like and or don’t follow programs due to various reasons. Let’s face it, we can easily get caught up with our own clients programming (not to say they are not important), worrying about whether such and such individual is going to renew on training, having enough time to promote your business, and so on. What I’m trying to say here is that if we the fitness professional can’t follow our training program where does that leave our clients/athletes…
Me programming for my clients/athletes
Ok. About now you’re probably thinking to yourself where is this going. Earlier I mentioned that I had completed several different training programs and they all served a purpose for me, which was me better able to reach my goals. However, I still felt like I was missing something. It was almost like the programs were too general and not specific to my needs. Well recently I decided to take a shot at getting ready to compete in a powerlifting competition, so I hired an online strength coach by the name of Miguel Aragoncillo from Cressey Sports Performance.
My strength coach Miguel A.
Interesting thing is that I had the opportunity to go to Boston in late February and was lucky enough to schedule an evaluation session with Miguel. I learned a lot from this two hour session and I really enjoyed working with Miguel. During the evaluation he mentioned that he does online training and I wasn’t so sure at the time and I thought about it for a month, but then I said yes. I knew that I wanted something that was specific to my needs and my goals. I started in April and have been going strong ever since. Week in and week out, I feel like I’m getting stronger and my lifts have been improving dramatically.
I can’t stress the importance of following a strength program for the fitness professional, client, athlete, and neighbor, anyone else that comes to mind. You are better capable of reaching your goals and more importantly stay consistent with your training.
As always
Lift-Nourish-Grow
(As a side note, when you follow any exercise program, there is always a chance of injury.)
Additional Links:
http://www.smolovjr.com/smolov-squat-routine/
https://www.amazon.com/Maximum-Strength-Strongest-Ultimate-Weight-Training/dp/1600940579
