My Programming Is Working!
You may have seen this trend on social media of trainers doing videos of:
If you can curl this weight → you can press more.
If you can press more → you can row more.
If you can row more → you can squat more.
If you can squat more → you can deadlift more.
If you can deadlift more → you’re getting stronger.
Well, I have been frustrated that I was stuck on 15-pound dumbbells for curls and could only do 20s for a few reps. So each week, I have increased my sets by 1 rep and am working my way up to 10.
Which is also forcing me to use heavier dumbbells on other movements because if curling is the limiting factor, let’s strengthen that and level up all the other stuff.
Similarly, I’ve been determined to regain my tricep strength for dips. I’ve used the same approach of adding 1 rep to each set every week, with a goal of getting to 10 unbroken. It may take me another month or more, but I am confident I’ll get there.
All this to say… my programming is working. It really is working.
I’m not going to minimize it and say it’s a cookie-cutter approach of just adding 1 rep to each movement. I think there is more to it than that, like balancing things throughout the week for all muscle groups so I’m not focusing too much on one or fatiguing a muscle group when I could be splitting my days with other movements.
I’m not the most sciency trainer out there, but I know what works. And it has been surprisingly rewarding owning my progress because of my own programming.
I studied for a certification years ago. I am always learning and evolving. My programming for my clients grows as they do and pivots when needed. It’s a process that I find gets better and better the longer I do it.
So maybe I’m coming in at my peak, or maybe I’m coming into my own. Because after programming for other people and seeing them get results, it reiterates that I can do the same for myself.
If you remember when I started programming, I admitted that I worried I wouldn’t program into my weaknesses. And I’m finding I actually am.
Pretty darn well, too, might I add.
I enjoy looking at how I do week over week and using what I’ve done so far to figure out what to focus on in the upcoming week. Same as I program for my clients, I only program one week out. Feedback is everything, and I want to make sure I set them up for success. The only way I know how to do that is by seeing how they do each week.
When I started my programming, I had hoped others would join me, and I dubbed it “Train Like a Trainer.” I am not too proud to admit that my marketing has been an epic fail.
I had one person sign up, only to cancel without getting to do it. She’s been training hard for multiple half marathons and realized she had enough on her workout docket—and I would agree! But more on that in a minute.
Without having a coach for the first time really in decades, as I’ve worked out either through classes, running groups, or programming customized for me, it is the first time I don’t have someone to check in with.
No one to tell, “That workout humbled me,” or “You are a sadist,” or maybe less unpleasant things.
I was hoping, not so secretly, that if I had at least one other person doing my programming, that would keep me accountable.
I haven’t had that.
But I do have something else that is keeping me moving.
My drive to get stronger.
Which, prior to this, apparently wasn’t really enough to get me there.
But now, because I am following a tried-and-true strength program for deadlifts, back squats, and shoulder press (I’m using Wendler’s 5/3/1), I am fully aware that it is only effective if I stick to it each week.
Knowing I want to be able to hit my old back squat PR of 215 again, the only way I have a shot at doing it is by showing up every single week.
Even if I’m tired.
Even if I’d rather cuddle on the couch with my dogs.
Nobody can squat 215 for me. And if I want it, I need to work for it.
So it’s sort of like my programming has become my coach.
I’ve had moments when I’m about to start a workout, particularly metcons, where I look at the workout I wrote on my whiteboard that I sat down and methodically put together a few days prior and think, “Why the fudge would I want to do this?”
Followed by, “Well, I wrote it. I can change it.”
I never do, though.
Because I trust the process.
And I’m learning to trust myself more.
Just because in the moment I may be less gung-ho about it, or figure I don’t need kettlebell swings in my life that day and why not just not do them, I get past it.
I almost feel like I’m disrespecting myself if I don’t follow through, so I suck it up and just get it done. Even if I’m less than thrilled with it.
And every time, I get it done and I’m better for having done it.
I also don’t want to discredit all the trainers and coaches who program for people (including myself), because it is a science of sorts—even for those who are less sciency like me—and it is a skill.
In a world where there are many influencers trying to sell their workouts, we all know some are created better than others. There is definite value in hiring someone to do it for you.
Even as a trainer, I did for years.
And I only stopped because I was missing something, which was more intrinsic, and opted to try an app thinking it would give me that push I needed.
When it didn’t, I asked my prior coach to resume programming for me. She didn’t have time to do it, and so the (not so) natural next step was, I need to do it myself.
So I want to be clear that so many things should be left to professionals.
The idea that anyone can cobble a workout together or pull free YouTube videos and have a solid plan isn’t always the best approach. Following a friend’s workout may not be the best plan either.
Sometimes programming is highly personalized. And even when it’s meant for the masses, knowing it was put together in a way that makes sense is everything.
And I finally, after 8 years of training and programming for other people, realized that I am capable of doing it for myself.
Who Is Train Like a Trainer For?
Before I go, I want to circle back to how I was hoping to get people to sign up to do my programming with me and how that hasn’t happened. I think I have a better idea now of who the right clients are to join me in it. They should be somewhat similar to me and where I am at in a few ways.
I would love to say I will always be a CrossFit junkie at heart, but the older I get, the more I know I am gradually moving away from that. There are still so many elements of CrossFit that I do even as I program for myself, but at least right now, I’m less interested in getting a new Grace time or doing Fran again. (I think I’ll be OK in life if I never do that again.)
I’m using pieces of CrossFit that make sense for me where I am right now, which could change as I regain my strength and, well, confidence. There are movements I had never done before CrossFit that I want to always be able to do, like toes-to-bar, handstand push-ups, and even power cleans. The list goes on and on. I’m OK not doing box jumps or wall balls—the former because there is too much risk for injury and the latter because I absolutely loathe them.
I mentioned this in a prior blog, and I still stand by it: I do not need or wish to do crazy volume of things. Because if I’m being honest about CrossFit, so much of it is volume. And that was great for me 10 years ago, even 5 years ago. But as I age, I need more recovery. And I kind of like not walking around sore every day from doing so much volume and intensity.
I do enjoy the lift-heavy aspect of CrossFit, even if my heavy is not what it was. A big part of my programming, though, is to get back to my prior heavy or close to it, if I can.
I learned a lot from CrossFit and definitely built up a really solid, well-rounded set of capabilities that I am proud of. I want to be 70 years old and still be able to do a pull-up and not be scared to get into a handstand.
Because of all that I learned, I’ve also recognized that my programming may be somewhat more advanced than average.
So, if I had to describe who my target is for my Train Like a Trainer programming, it would be people similar to me: ex- or current CrossFitters who still want to be badass, but a bit more tame.
It would also be for people who either have access to a gym with a lot of equipment or work out at home and have a pretty full gym setup beyond just the basics of dumbbells or kettlebells.
I want it for people who already know the feeling of conquering workouts, or are eager to experience that feeling that CrossFit has given us. That feeling of doing pretty hard shit and wanting it.
It is also for people who want variety.
I know repetition of movements builds confidence and mastery, and that’s a great place to be. But for everyone, I believe at some point it is beneficial and rewarding to expand their skill set. I’m always finding new movements, and I love incorporating them into my clients’ workouts and my own.
So, if this sounds like you—an ex- or current CrossFitter, over 40, with access to or your own private gym with a lot of equipment, who wants to do hard shit smartly and is looking to be part of a small community for accountability and camaraderie—then Train Like a Trainer may be for you.
Feel free to drop me an email at [digyourdeepest@gmail.com]
And if I lost you at CrossFit, but you do want that community, accountability, and camaraderie, then also please reach out. I’d love to find more people who want that and build a program out for you to do wherever you work out.
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