Training techniques - Why failing to plan is planning to fail - Part 1

The fitness industry has come a long way from Jane Fonda videos (bless her soul) and there are a lot of ready to buy programs out there which many of us do buy because of ease of use and the flexibility of working out at home...your own bathroom for one. These home programs are great especially if you already have a baseline of fitness and understand your body somewhat.

Going to a fitness centre is different. Everyone there looks like they know what they are doing, they have great bodies...save for the pregnant mama lifting over there...what is she doing there? Oh, that's me, say hi :-)

It can be intimidating, not knowing what to do, how to do it and for how long.

This is why you need to arm yourself with information before hand, especially if you're signing up at a gym where the trainers will not touch you except if you pay personal trainer fees. Which is well and good if you can afford it, but if you can't here are a few tips to help you through.

1. There is such a thing as too much too soon. Going at your maximum pace might not be a good idea especially if you're a beginner, recovering from injury, have a BMI that classifies you as obese or if you're older.
Don't get me wrong, it takes effort to become fit and to lose weight. But your endurance and strength comes in stages. I have answered a lot of questions regarding knee pain of late, most of it comes from doing too much too soon and not taking the time to learn proper form, or develop strength.

2. Now that you're going, increasing reps/weight/duration/intensity by too much. You've got proper form, you think....and the guy next to you is squatting 100kg....and you're only squatting using the bar. Why not add 20 kilo plates on each side? Because it took time for the guy next to you to get to that point. Strength and good form builds over time. In fact, I have found that good form gets entrenched with strength as your core and support muscles strengthen in a balanced way, your body naturally performs the exercises as they should be. It's a building process, and your body needs time, and stimulation to break down and repair, and do it over and over again until genetics will not allow any more growth of the muscle. By that time, you will be positively ripped, but it takes time. The rule of thumb is, for a casual exerciser, no more than 5% increments per week. For a more serious exerciser and fitness buff on a given regime (more of an athlete)....10% increments are adequate. Nothing more.

3. Exercise "type" progression - Yes, there is such a thing as type progression. Some exercises can be performed by almost everyone. Like walking, and swimming. All you have to do is change the intensity to your own fitness levels. However, there are some types of workouts that requires progression. For example, high impact step aerobics, any plyometric (jump) training, power lifting, high intensity interval training....These all require a baseline of strength and cardiovascular endurance without which you risk injury or worse if you have an underlying condition.