- Run 'N' Lift
- Posts
- PERIODIZATION IN DETAIL
PERIODIZATION IN DETAIL
HOW TO INCORPORATE THE 'FITT' PRINCIPLE INTO YOUR PLAN (PART III)
Bradley Abbott
November 05, 2024
Hi everyone!
Welcome to PART III!
In this article, I will go through:
How to apply the principles of fitness in your own plan.
How to design your own plan.
How to apply the principles of fitness to your recovery.
How to design your own recovery plan.
BONUS Feature!
ARE YOU READY?
When I first started out my fitness journey is a Personal Trainer back in 2014/15, I honestly didn’t have a clue about how to design a plan in as much depth as I’m teaching you now.
I mean, sure, we’re all taught to design plans in our course, but to the level at which I’m showing you . . . it didn’t exist. You had to figure the rest out in the job.
You may be surprised to hear that I learned a lot from the people I coached. It was my clients who taught me through constant feedback.
Through our consultations and weekly meetings, my clients showed me what to include in each individual plan, by telling me their own struggles, what they ate and how their work effected their ability to train.
This is why I have left spaces in the plan samples you’re about to see, because I want you to use this to write your own plans.
You are all unique to your own individuality . . .
How Do You Incorporate the Principles of Fitness into Your Mesocycle?
Incorporating the ‘FITT’ principle into your fitness macrocycle is something that you will do automatically when you decide on what the following elements are for your particular skill and fitness level:
a. Times per week you’re going to commit to exercising.
b. What exercises are going to be in each session.
c. Repetitions of each exercise.
d. Sets of each exercise
e. Rest periods for each set and round.
f. Duration and Intensity of the exercise.
After the above has been decided it can be developed into a single session like this:
Exercise | Reps | Sets | Rest | Purpose |
Barbell Squat | 10 | 4 | 90-120 seconds | Functional Strength |
Hamstring Curl | 15 | 3 | 90 seconds | Mobility |
Leg extension | 15 | 3 | 90 seconds | Mobility |
Hip Abductor | 12 | 4 | 60-90 seconds | Hip Mobility & Strength |
Hip Adductor | 12 | 4 | 60-90 seconds | Hip Mobility & Strength |
Or like this:
Exercise | Duration | Distance | Intensity | Purpose |
Run | 30 minutes | Irrelevant | Heart Rate Zone 2 | Cardio. Endurance |
Members also taught me what to include in my plans, and what not to include. They showed me that for some, heavy weights weren’t necessary, but for others, it was paramount!
It wasn’t until i left Pure Gym in the Summer of 2015, and took a 3-year gap, to then begin to grasp what members and clients were trying to tell me in the gym.
When you’re a young PT, but also young in business, you realise quickly that you don’t know a lot; and you need more life experience . . . which is exactly what I needed.
When I returned to Pure Gym in 2018, I felt more equipped to coach clients, and had gained more insight about what people wanted to gain from their experiences.
I learned how to specifically, tailor plans to people’s individual needs, and how to explain the benefits of their plans in more detail.
Getting into the ‘Nitty-Gritty’
You can then take this a step further and schedule both of these in for the week:
Mon | Tues | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sess. | Legs | Run | |||||
Purp. | Stren. | Endu. |
Next, we can think about breaking down what we would do on our ‘Rest Days’.
Exercise/Activity | Duration | Purpose |
Stretching | 20 minutes | *Mobility/Flexibility |
Cold Shower/Ice Bath | 2 minutes | *Muscle & Joint Recovery *Nervous System Recovery |
Prioritize Sleep | 7-10 hours | *Muscle Recovery *Nervous System Recovery *Immune System Support *Replenish and differentiate cells *Filter out toxins in the bra |
Now, we can add this into our microcycle:
| Mon | Tues | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
Sess. | Legs | REST |
| Run | REST |
| REST |
Purp. | Stren. | REST |
| Cardio -vascular | REST |
| REST |
After this, you can then use several weekly training plans that guide you to develop the components of fitness that you desire for your goals.
These weekly training plans all form to make up your Fitness Mesocycle.
Myself delivering coaching points back in 2014.
I continued to learn through mistakes, and through my relationships I had with clients, how to develop better plans.
I had the opportunity to practice these plans and watch my clients improve. They got fitter, they had more energy, and they became their own “coach.”
I want that for you too!
So, as a bonus feature I have dropped a little something for you to listen to.
Thanks for reading! I will return with ‘PART IV’ that shows you how to incorporate these mesocycles and naturopathic principles to form you ‘Fitness Macrocycle’.
These tracks will never be released to the public through my podcast channel, nor by any other means.
Reply