Workout Program Design 101

Whether you've been coaching for years or are just getting started, designing a workout program is a crucial aspect of ensuring progress for your athletes. Without it, you can't be certain that you're maximizing your efforts to help them advance. Here are some helpful tips to either kickstart your journey or refresh your memory.

Goal Setting

Initiate a conversation with your athletes about their goals. What do they aspire to achieve in their sport? What are the weaknesses and strengths in their game? Are there any specific body composition goals? These questions are essential for understanding their needs. Additionally, performing a needs analysis of their sport will further guide your program design. This analysis involves examining the requirements and demands specific to that sport, including physiological needs, movement patterns, injury risks, and competition schedules.

Movement Patterns

Avoid the common mistake of focusing solely on muscle groups when creating a sports performance workout program. Instead, consider movement patterns such as lower body push (e.g., squats), lower body pull (e.g., deadlifts), upper body horizontal push (e.g., military press), and upper body horizontal pull (e.g., pull-ups), etc. A needs analysis of the sport will help identify the main movements, emphasizing where athletes spend the majority of their time during their sport. However, this doesn’t mean that you should neglect the other areas. The best and healthiest athletes are the ones that have good structural balance. Another area to think about are the planes of motion. The three planes of motion refer to the three-dimensional movement capabilities of the human body. The three planes—sagittal, frontal, and transverse—are crucial in sports performance and strength workout program design. Sports often involve multi-planar movements. Athletes benefit from understanding and training in all three planes, enabling them to replicate sport-specific motions during training. This comprehensive approach improves joint stability, flexibility, and strength, lowering the risk of injuries during sports activities. Real-life activities encompass multi-dimensional movements as well. Training in all three planes enhances functional fitness, optimizing the ability to perform everyday tasks efficiently. In summary, incorporating exercises that span the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes is essential for a well-rounded strength workout program. This approach contributes to improved sports performance and overall functional fitness by addressing the diverse movement demands placed on the body.

Training Variables

Start by examining training frequency and communicate with athletes and their coaches to determine any minimum or maximum workout sessions per week. Consider factors like the number of hours spent executing their sport each week and any other commitments. Training frequency will influence workout splits. For instance, a total body split might be suitable for two sessions a week, while a four-session week could involve two lower body and two upper body sessions. When selecting exercise order, prioritize heavier compound movements and power movements at the beginning of the session to optimize the fresh state of the nervous system.

Some Extra Tips

Limit sessions to under an hour, as testosterone levels decline after this point. Optimize time by incorporating supersets, which not only save time but also enhance motor unit recruitment. Don't overlook rest periods; pre-determine them to calculate session length in advance, maximizing efficiency and training results. In conclusion, mastering the art of workout program design is a pivotal skill for coaches, whether seasoned or just starting out.