Exercise has been shown to have a huge list of benefits and little to no downside. It’s common to hear that if exercise was a medication, it would be the greatest wonder-drug ever created. But “exercise” is a broad term that covers a lot of specific movements and activities, not all of which are right for everybody. Getting a program specifically designed for you and your goals can be the difference between progress and frustration or injury. What goes into program design and where can you get a good one? Let’s take a look:
Exercise Selection
There are a lot of things to think about when choosing exercises. Machine vs. free weights, isolation vs. compound lifts, cardio vs. strength and more. Each one of these factors is important, so making the wrong choices could lead to wasting time working on the wrong things, limit your results or cause an injury.
Volume
Volume is a way of thinking about how much work you’re doing during a workout. Doing a few reps with a heavy weight or a lot of reps with a light weight could end up being the same volume. Same goes for running a shorter distance quickly uphill vs. a longer run at a slower pace on a flat trail. If your volume is too great you won’t recover well between workouts and create the possibility of injury. Too little volume and you won’t see results.
Progression
If you’ve been doing the same exercises with the same weight and the same number of reps and sets, you’re not progressing. Same goes if you jump on the treadmill for the same amount of time with the same settings. To make progress, things have to change. The program that works for your first 6 months won’t work for you 2 years down the road.
Designing an exercise program is a complex challenge with a lot of factors to consider. Most people have a history of injuries and don’t have perfect movement in every joint which further complicates things. If you’re not getting what you want out of your workouts or just want to make sure they’re as effective as they can be, have your physical therapist take a look at your program. Your PT can help design an individualized program to help you reach your goals while keeping you safe and injury free.
