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Man with a Plan, Part I
How to Design a Training Program

By Mike Robertson
First published at www.johnberardi.com, Oct 6 2003.

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Introduction

I'm sure you've read all the headlines in the magazines before: "The ULTIMATE shoulder training routine," "Put 50 pounds on your bench press in 8 weeks," etc. I would also be willing to guess that many of you have tried these programs before and followed them day-by-day, week-by-week only to get to the end and realize that the gains reaped weren't all they were cracked up to be.

Well, if you're looking for some cookie-cutter routine that's designed by some strength guru, then this isn't the article series for you. All you're going to get here is some quality training info, coupled with practical training knowledge to help YOU get better, no matter what your training background or goals.

Evaluation, Goal Setting, and the Action Plan

Let’s say for instance you have a war general on one hand. He knows everything about the country you want to invade: the terrain, the weapons the enemy will use, their movement and communication patterns, their strengths, weaknesses, etc. On the other hand, you have a brilliant war strategist and philosopher, but he knows nothing about the specific country or has any of the IMMEDIATE knowledge needed to be successful in a war with said country. If you were President, which general would you chose to lead your war?

Here is my point: You are the President AND the first general! Think about it, you have the ability to choose what you do to your body, and you know more than ANYONE else about your body, so why are you constantly taking someone else's advice or following their program? If you have been training for an appreciable amount of time, you probably know 1000x more about yourself and your body than anyone else. You know what exercises make your body grow, which make you stronger, which ones improve your squat, and which ones are just plain HARD. While some of these things are universal, the point is that you probably already have the knowledge to make an excellent training plan for yourself, you just need to sit down, sort out your thoughts and have a little guidance with regard to setting up a program. Follow the steps outlined below to get a good idea of what your needs and goals are.

Part 1. The Evaluation

The best time to evaluate your training is immediately following a contest for a bodybuilder, powerlifter, or any other competitive athlete. How did you perform? Were you peaked at the right time? Here are some questions that bodybuilders, powerlifters, and other athletes can ask themselves to better assess their performance:

Bodybuilders

• Were you dialed in on your competition day?
• What areas looked very good or strong?
• What areas looked flat or weren't where they needed to be?
• Were you as symmetrical as you would like?
• Did some muscle groups overpower others?
• Did you talk to the judges, and if so what were their impressions?

Powerlifters

• Did you hit the weights you expected? If not, why?
• Was your technique flawless on all lifts?
• If you missed lifts, where did you miss them at (or what are you sticking points)? Is this a recurring theme?
• If you had to make weight, did this affect your performance?
• How did you feel during your warm-ups and during the competition itself?

Competitive Athletes

• How was your performance? Could you have done better?
• What aspects of physical development could increase your productivity and performance?
• Do you have any injuries that have hampered your training and performance?
• What areas do you feel you need to work on?

These are just a few of the questions you can ask yourself, but you need to thoroughly evaluate and scrutinize your performance. Critical evaluation will only lead to improved performance in the future.

I firmly believe that competition gives you the truest evaluation of yourself, because you will do anything necessary to succeed and accomplish your goals. There is a certain "urgency" to everything you are doing when you are preparing for a contest, whether it be training harder, dialing in your nutrition, or just getting more sleep every night to increase your recovery. So if you aren't currently competing in some sort of iron sport, maybe it's something you should think about to help take your strength and physique to the next level. I know this from experience: I had trained with weights all through my undergraduate studies, but my training was sporadic and my focus wasn't all that great. When I joined the Ball State Powerlifting team during my first year of Masters work, I immediately saw strength and size increases, and the reason was simple: If I was going to stand on a platform and compete, nobody else could move that weight for me. The choice was simple…get stronger or go home!

In the same breath, I know there are many of you who don't have the time or desire to compete. Anyone who works out can assess their current physical status and decide which areas need work or increased development. Here are a few things you can do to assess yourself and decide what you need to work on:

If you are interested in physique changes, have a friend take pictures of you from the front, side and back. Again, the idea here is to get an honest appraisal of what your strengths and weaknesses are, and therefore determine your goals for the coming weeks. If you can't be honest with yourself, have your training partner or someone who knows more than you give you an honest assessment. Another thing to think about is the lifts you usually have problems with. Often, these are weak areas or ones that are harder for you to develop. Now could be the opportune time to bring them up to par and balance your physique.

If your goal is to improve strength, determine the areas of your body and/or lifts you want to increase strength in. The next step is to go into the gym (hopefully with a trained spotter) and to test your maxes on the necessary lifts. A word of caution is needed here: If you aren't trained to do heavy triples or singles, DON'T DO THEM! A good 7-10 repetition maximum will work just as well for the time being. Again, be honest with yourself and only count the repetitions you get with good form and complete WITHOUT the help of your spotter.

Below, I've given you a thorough assessment of my squatting performance after a powerlifting meet in December. This should give you an idea of what you need to look for. Remember, too much information and detail is always better than too little!

December 2002 Meet Review – Squats:

• Didn’t hit the weights expected, felt somewhat flat
• Missed squats were just above parallel
• Making weight could have affected performance; again, felt flat
• Problems with depth; need to work on consistently training lower
• Chest tended to get “caved” over; work on getting more upright throughout squat
  

Part 2. Goal Setting

After you have thoroughly analyzed your current status, you need to set specific goals for yourself, both short, intermediate and long term. The key here is to be as SPECIFIC as possible. Saying something like "I wanna increase my bench" or something of that nature just doesn't cut it.

The more specific and detailed you make your goals, the more engrained they will become in your mind, and the more likely you are to achieve them. For example, "I want to increase my bench press 20 pounds in the next 3 months," is a specific and quantifiable goal, meaning it can be measured and you know whether or not you achieved it at the end of that time frame. It is also important to make sure the goals are REALISTIC, yet not easily achieved. Trying to increase your bench 50 pounds in two weeks just isn't realistic, but in the same breath your goals shouldn’t be easily accomplished. You only get satisfaction from achieving goals if you worked hard to achieve them. It is often said, "It's not the destination but the journey that is important."

Below is my squat goal following my last powerlifting meet in December:

These are specific, short-term goals. You also need intermediate and long-term goals to spur you on and help you achieve long-term success. My current intermediate goal is to compete at USA Powerlifting's American Open (a National level meet that is one step below Men's Nationals, but a step above Collegiate Nationals, which I competed at last year), and my long term goal is to compete at the Men's National competition.

These goals are more general, and for a reason: You never want to put a cap on your strength or capabilities. If I say, "My long term goal is to squat 600," then I've put limits on myself. When I got to 600, I may be stuck there for several years and never move past it. I could also get close to 600, but never actually do it in competition. Or, I could get injured somewhere along the way and give up. The point here is that you really don't know how strong you can be, so don't put a cap on yourself or your strength. Your self-image must always be evolving so that you can accept yourself; whether it’s squatting 800 pounds, winning a bodybuilding show, or winning a state track meet, if your self-image doesn’t allow it, you won’t achieve it!

Part 3. The Action Plan

Goal setting is key to continual success and progress in general. However, a goal is really no good if you don't have a plan to get there. It's like our general saying "I'm going to take over the country," but not having a strategic battle plan laid out. He may have a better trained army, braver men, and more menacing and destructive weapons than the opposition, but if he blindly rushes in with no battle plan, his efforts will probably be in vain. In essence, this is your training "battle plan." If you've thoroughly evaluated yourself and set reasonable goals, the next logical step is to set-up a battle plan to help you attain those goals. Using my goals from above, this was my action plan to get from my current best squat to my goal.

March Competition Action Plan 2003 – Squat

• Don’t cut weight!
• Point the knees and toes out more to promote stability from the ground up
• Force knees out from the start to activate the hips and get that “spring” out of the bottom – This should help with the sticking point
• Have coach watch depth on all work sets
• Put the bar a little higher on the back to stay more upright and avoid getting “caved” over; also, bring hands in on the bar to help keep chest up and upper back tight
• Increase the intensity of ab and low back work to improve posture and stability

By determining your weaknesses, setting goals, and then designing and implementing an action plan, you have set the stage for your training success in the weeks and months to come. In Part II I will describe how to design a program that emphasizes your needs and helps take you to the next level!

Mike Robertson, M.S., C.S.C.S., is the Director of the Athletic Performance Center (APC) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The APC offers sport performance training, injury rehabilitation, and personal training to its clients. Mike received his Masters in Sports Biomechanics from the Human Performance Lab at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. Mike has been a competitive powerlifter for the last 2.5 years, and is the USAPL Indiana State Chair. To contact Mike, please send an e-mail to mikerob022@yahoo.com.