5 Principles to a Successful Workout

With all the information and opinions out there, it's easy to get overwhelmed when designing your own workout program. Knowledge is important, but in your fitness endeavors, it is also important to remember the basics. Here are 5 principle building blocks that will lead you down the path of success.

Design Your Workouts Around Your Goals

If I want to get better at piano, I don't exclusively practice the drums. If I want to get better at running, I need to include some degree of running into my program. If I want to get better at bench pressing, I need to include benching movements and develop all the muscles involved in the movement, as well as their antagonists. This is in line with what Dr. Squat calls the specificity principle, one of the seven laws of training, which states that you best improve at something by doing it. You should also keep in mind the Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands (SAID) principle, which states that your body responds and adapts very specifically to the stimulus you apply. If I want bigger muscles, my workout should be designed to create that adaptation.

Let Your Nutrition and Caloric Intake Reflect Your Goals

Your body, like a car, performs better with better fuel. Eating healthier will always help you, regardless of your goal. If your goal is to lose weight ( which can be different than losing exclusively body fat) your body needs to be in a caloric deficit, whether through increasing your caloric output through exercise and muscle development, decreasing your caloric intake, or a combination of both. If your goal is to gain weight, you need to be in a caloric surplus, generally by eating more. Now, certain hormone dysfunctions can change things a little bit. For example, if you have hypothyroidism, weight loss can be significantly more difficult, if not impossible until the levels of T3 and T4 hormones are increased. However, if there are no problems with the bodies hormone levels, these principles will hold true.

Periodize Your Workout

Focus first on achieving good technique, then increasing your volume (sets, reps, number of exercises, etc.) then intensity, which is the weight used during your set. Progress is never 100% linear. If it was, everyone would bench press 1,000 lb. This is why most strength programs will follow this model, progressing to really heavy weights, before resetting at a slightly higher weight than first used.

Your Body is Your Body, not "Their Body"

Listen to your body. Sometimes blanket statements are made about the ideal workout length, how frequent to train a muscle or exercise, what type of loads to use, how to pair muscles, what constitutes proper technique, the list goes on and on. However, there is no one size fits all answer. Why? There are several reasons, the first of which is no two people are the same. Everyone has a different musculoskeletal structure, with different muscle insertion points, recovery, and strength capabilities. One persons bread and butter exercise might put another in the ER. One person's overtraining is another person's warm up. Other important factors to consider are what level the trainee is at. Usually, an intermediate lifter can handle a lot more exercise volume than a beginner. Age also can play a role, as generally when you reach a certain age it will take your muscles longer to recover.

Be Consistent

Perhaps this is the most important part, and where true success is found. Just like playing the piano, good consistent practice makes perfect.