It is not a lack of information in fitness that keeps people from getting results but too much information. Because of the overabundance of information, fitness enthusiasts often run into “Paralysis by Analysis” and either don’t get started on a training program in the first place or bounce from different workouts more rapidly than a pinball. To prevent this problem this article lists ways you can use yourself as an experiment and figure out what works for you. Here are ten steps to get you started. Eight of the steps are from an e-book by John Berardi on his Precision Nutrition site found here. Steps four and eight are ones I added in because they are important.
Step 1: Define Your Goal. What is the specific goal you want to achieve? Is it increased strength, improving running speed, gaining muscle mass etc.? The key rule here is to focus on only ONE goal.
Step 2: Decide How You’ll Measure and When You’ll Measure It. What are you going to measure to make sure the experiment is working? For example if your goal is to improve your chin-ups, select a program to use and then select consistent chin-up tests/workouts to measure your progress.
Step 3: Collect a Baseline. What is your true starting point? For example, for the chin-up goal from Step #2 stick to the current exercise and nutrition plan you were previously using and get two chin-up tests/workouts on the test dates that you decided on to get baseline data.
Step 4: Make Sure Your Path is Clear. Something many people forget is to consider if their lifestyle or schedule allows them to consistently do the first three steps. When choosing a goal, ask yourself on a scale of 1-10, “How confident am I that I can consistently do this training program for twenty-eight days and get in all the workouts?” If it is a “9” or better proceed to the next steps.
Step 5: Test Your Ideas. Start with small tests and test one thing at a time. For the chin-up example if you have not ever tried the Escalating Density Training program, that might be a good goal to start with. A second idea could be trying the 5 X 5 Program. The key here is to try and test training programs or workouts you haven’t previously done.
Step 6: Follow Your New Plan for at Least 28 Days. Test your program for a four week time period and collect the appropriate data.
Step 7: If It’s Working, Keep Going. This is pretty self-explanatory but people often get in trouble because they get impatient. Remember, we want to find what specifically works for you. Learning one program that works is better than trying to combine multiple training programs and not knowing which one of them worked the best.
Step 8: Continue the Program for 28 Days. Don’t ditch the whole program if you don’t see the changes you want – give the program a chance. In the case of the Escalating Density Training program, if it didn’t work, try a different program for 28 days (5 X 5 for example). Even if a program doesn’t work, at least you know what doesn’t work for you and you can avoid that plan in the future. If you made progress, you know what works and might want to try the program again later on.
Step 9: Work With a Coach. This is where I can come in. A coach can give you direction, implement new or different ideas for your program, assess your progress and hold you accountable to reaching your goal.
Step 10: Repeat Until You Reach Your Goal. Keep trying programs every 28-days based on the above nine rules. Start with your goal, take consistent progress measurements, and try different programs as you go along
I hope these steps help you. They may take time (Four weeks each) but in a twelve week time period you will choose three new plans that can help you and test them accordingly to see if they work for you. Most people, talk about ideas to improve their fitness but never implement them and go nowhere as a result. However, you will be taking action and learning what works for you. In addition you will probably get some nice results without frustration (As you only do one simple idea at a time).
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