Exercise Programming for Those Starting or Restarting: Keep it Simple

Rotating the same movements / exercises with relevant progressions and regressions is a huge part of any successful routine.

Exercise programming can be a daunting task, especially for beginners or those new to fitness. However, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Rotating the same movements with relevant progressions and regressions can be a simple yet effective way to build a successful routine. In this article, we will provide some practical tips and list benefits of changing up your training plan.

What are Exercise Progressions and Regressions?

Exercises that involve adjusting the difficulty level of an exercise to match the individual’s fitness level. Progressions make exercises more challenging, while regressions make exercises easier. These modifications can be made by adjusting the intensity, complexity, or range of motion of the exercise.

Why Use Them?

When creating an exercise program adapt the difficulty level to your current fitness level. First, this allow individuals to perform exercises that are appropriate for their fitness level, reducing the risk of injury and increasing efficiency. Second, this keeps the workouts challenging and engaging, preventing boredom and ensuring continued progress. Third, they can be used to target specific goals and particular needs. For example, some athletes may require an explosive exercise variation to focus on power and reactive strength while some may need to adjust the stability demand of an exercise to focus on rehab and injury prevention.

Tips for Incorporating Changes into Your Workout:

Start with consistently challenging your body with Basic Foundational Movements such as Squats, Hinges, Lunges, Pulls, Pushes, Carries, and Rotational core work. Prioritizing quality movement development is crucial to long term success in your training. Then consistency over time is what leads to results.

1. Incorporate Progressions: Once you’ve mastered the most effective way to execute each movement pattern, challenge yourself with relevant progression methods to develop strength, increase range of motion, and prevent injuries. For the goal of getting stronger, progressive overload should be applied. This is when you gradually increase the weight, frequency, or number of repetitions and sets in your strength training routine. The new stimulus leads to relevant adaptations. For example, you could progress squats by adding resistance with a barbell. You wouldn’t necessarily want to increase the load or volume by large amounts every week – 1-2% is plenty – even less as you get more advanced! Prioritize quality and range of motion over quantity. “New” doesn’t mean better… Any successful routine is full of foundational movements and structure. Randomly varying what you’re doing or increasing intensity or volume before you’re ready could be detrimental to progress. Operate with intention!
2. When necessary incorporate Regressions: If a progression is too challenging, it’s important to have regressions available. They can be used to reduce the intensity, complexity, or range of motion of the exercise. For example, you could regress squats by using a chair to reduce the range of motion, give you a target for your hips, and make the exercise less knee dominant.
3. Rotate Exercises: To keep your workout challenging and engaging, it’s important to rotate exercises in the same movement family. This could involve changing the exercise completely or simply adjusting the progression or regression. For example, instead of or in addition to doing squats, you could do split squats – a unilateral variation that emphasizes single leg strength and has extra mobility and balance requirements.

Conclusion:

Incorporating exercise progressions and regressions into your workout routine can be a simple yet effective way to build strength and prevent injury. By starting with a basic movement and incorporating relevant progressions and regressions, you can create a challenging and engaging routine. Remember to rotate movements to keep your workout fresh and challenging. With these tips, you’ll be on your way to achieving your fitness goals in no time.

References:

Clark, M. A., Lucett, S. C., & Sutton, B. G. (Eds.). (2018). NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. Wolters Kluwer Health.

Cressey, E. (2015). Assess and Correct: Breaking Barriers to Unlock Performance. In NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training (pp. 93-113). Human Kinetics.